Extreme recurring anaemia after sleeve

Posted by cathsvila @cathsvila, Jan 18 9:12am

I had my surgery approx three years ago. It was incredibly successful with massive weight loss. However, I still have zero hunger. My issue is severe iron deficiency. My ferritin levels sit at around 4, every three months. I’m having to have iron infusions every three/fours months as a result. Last year I needed a blood transfusion as my iron stores became critically low. I’ve had cancer screens, all negative. I’m just recently menopausal. Any advice?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Bariatric Surgery & Weight Loss Support Group.

Laurie, Volunteer Mentor | @roch | Jan 18 10:08am

@cathsvila

Welcome to Mayo Connect. It is frustrating when you do all the work to lose weight only to deal with malabsorption issues and low iron. I had similar problems after Rouny-Y over 15 years ago. It seems to come and go. I was never as low as you are.

When they were looking for reasons, they did a GI workup to make sure there was no GI bleeding causing the problem.

I also occasionally have to have iron infusions; sometimes I go for years, and then my ferritin drops.

Do you take IRON pills like Vitron-C? Do you know how many grams of protein you take in a day? Those are all the questions they ask me when ferritin drops.

Have you talked to a nutritionist about ways to increase your protein intake?

cathsvila | @cathsvila | Jan 18 8:16pm

In reply to @roch "@cathsvila Welcome to Mayo Connect. It is frustrating when you do all the work to lose..." + (show)

@roch
Thank you for reaching out. I eat so little, there’s no way I could get all my nutrients based on the amount I eat. You’ve made an excellent point here - I need to see a dietitian asap to find the best way to imbibe everything I need. I can’t digest iron supplements unfortunately, and that’s a major problem here. I’ll get my GP to refer me to a gastroenterologist too.
Thanks so much x

Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | Jan 19 4:51pm

Tagging a few other Mayo Clinic Connect members who've talked about bariatric surgery to see if they've dealt with anemia/iron deficiency issues since their surgeries, @cathsvila. Please meet, if you've not already, @mrnanny1970 @illac @jp9 @lapistwo @hubbrm80 to see if they can relate to this and if so, share their experiences and what helped.

cathsvila | @cathsvila | Jan 20 1:03am

In reply to @lisalucier "Tagging a few other Mayo Clinic Connect members who've talked about bariatric surgery to see if..." + (show)

@lisalucier Thank you!

lapistwo | @lapistwo | Jan 21 5:40am

2003 surgery. using ferrex forte 150mg. iron capsules daily. Iron normal. Sometimes Iron store a bit lower however only after limb surgery hip, bone marrow gone major source blood depletion. have I had iron infusions. Normal after calculated amounts of infusions.

Shelley

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