Iron deficiency anemia without an apparent cause

That is horrible,but it does not surprise me at all.If this GI Doctor does not help you go to another one.If the GI Doctors don't help you go to a Holistic Doctor.Holistic Doctors truly want to help and will not leave any stone unturned to try to get you back to being Healthy.They also have more time and can put more effort into looking into your symptoms than a conventional Doctor.

@j77 well it appears that I will not be taking much of anything for awhile. Oncologist is sure I have hemolytic anemia 😳. Vitamins don't help. My RBCs are being crushed 😳 I am seeing new leukemia doc on Monday. Will see what he says. Always something

That is so Frustrating.I will pray that you feel alot better soon.

Hi, I was diagnosed as slightly anemic about a year ago. I am 69 years old. I've had every blood test, colonoscopy, endoscopy, and a bone marrow biopsy. My diagnosis is CCUS, Clonal Cytopenia of Unknown Significance. In other words, the doctors don't know why I'm anemic? They tell me to keep taking iron. I have more labs, and appointment with oncologist and primary doc next month. Anyone else been diagnosed with CCUS?

I was diagnosed with CCUS in October. I’m 66 years old and have always had ITP or low blood platelets. As I was checking for my numbers for my platelets I saw that that my white blood count was extemely low and that’s how all this started - that was in August. I went through all the testing, including a bone marrow biopsy, which they did find small amounts of cells that were abnormal. I was at Mayo in October and won’t see my doctor again until end of January. Right now they want to monitor my blood draws, check with other doctors and try to see what, if anything, they’re going to do. As my doctor said they want to be very sure exactly what is wrong because the remedies for most of this are quite toxic and they need to be sure of what needs to be done. It’s hard to wait because the numbers are so low I need to do quite a bit of isolating, anxious to see what we’re going to do.

I originally entered this thread trying to see if others possibly connected their sudden iron deficiency to the CoViD vaccinations. There is no medical support - at this time - for such an anomaly. A gastrointestinal workup is a wise next step for you, also, perhaps a bone marrow biopsy if your hematologist thinks so.

I also recently experienced a second dive in my iron readings, not as severe as the first; by the time I got to my hematologist the readings had mostly spontaneously corrected; I am taking a second series of Venofer iron injections notwithstanding at the doctor's recommendation. A GI series showed no significant bleeding problem for me. Unhappily, my hematologist thinks that I have a deteriorating kidney problem but my PCP does not; right now I tend to agree with my PCP. I declined for now a series of Procrit {Retacrit} injections. The hemoglobin {chronically marginally low} does not really support that therapeutic route so far, plus the iron must be normalized at the same time for Procrit {Retacrit} to work as I understand that.

I have iron deficiency anemia and mine is caused by the inflammatory process of Crohn's disease. I was misdiagnosed for over many years before they finely had me swallow a camera pill which was the only thing that found my ulcers in the duodenum. Colonoscopy and endoscopy did not reach the ulcers and so I went undiagnosed for a long time. I became so short of breath that I was hospitalized and given 2 units of blood but they still didn't check my iron. Finally I got a referral to a hematologist and my iron was so low it could've be measured. During the 10 years that followed I tried many medicines that did not work for me. I was finally put on Skyrizi which slowly started my stool calprotectin level (which measures the inflammation in my GI tract) to decrease. Bringing down the inflammatory process is helping my iron levels become more stable. It has been a long hard battle but you can't give up. Find where the inflammation is in your body so you can stop the root cause. I think your body will not release ferritin in order to absorb iron if the inflammatory process is not halted.I don't really understand it all, but somehow finding out where the inflammation is located and stopping it is the key to being able to absorb iron. I hope my experience helps you.

Welcome to Connect, @momoof5 and thank you so much for sharing your experience with iron deficiency caused anemia. You were certainly put through the wringer before finally landing on the solution for the cause of your anemia. I’m so glad you were able to get to the bottom of the issue with the Crohn’s disease and the less obvious ulcers! Now that your gut health is improving, you’re able to absorb the iron again.
Will the Skyrizi be a lifelong med or is this a drug you can be on until your intestines no longer show inflammation and then stop?

I have iron deficiency anemia and mine is caused by the inflammatory process of Crohn's disease. I was misdiagnosed for over many years before they finely had me swallow a camera pill which was the only thing that found my ulcers in the duodenum. Colonoscopy and endoscopy did not reach the ulcers and so I went undiagnosed for a long time. I became so short of breath that I was hospitalized and given 2 units of blood but they still didn't check my iron. Finally I got a referral to a hematologist and my iron was so low it could've be measured. During the 10 years that followed I tried many medicines that did not work for me. I was finally put on Skyrizi which slowly started my stool calprotectin level (which measures the inflammation in my GI tract) to decrease. Bringing down the inflammatory process is helping my iron levels become more stable. It has been a long hard battle but you can't give up. Find where the inflammation is in your body so you can stop the root cause. I think your body will not release ferritin in order to absorb iron if the inflammatory process is not halted.I don't really understand it all, but somehow finding out where the inflammation is located and stopping it is the key to being able to absorb iron. I hope my experience helps you.