[rhoobarb]

ive got anaemia at the moment my haemaglobin is 5 and iron is 4 and my Serum ferritin is 4 ive not seen my nornal doctor the doctor i have seen said it could be my periods but i know thay have been a lot worce when i was on the mini pill and my levels where ok then there much better know does any one know what could be corsing it to be like this im on iron tabs but dont fell that much better still fell tyed all the time and faint and pass out some times any advice will help
thank you
Esther xxx

 

[cmfinnis]

Oh gosh Esther, those are very low levels for you I'm sure you do feel tired, breathless and faint sometimes.

I've been anaemic in the past but with a haemoglobin level of 8, ferritin level of 1. If your ferritin level is low, this means it's definitely iron deficiency anaemia. However having lupus can also mean you have an anaemia of chronic disease. You can also be low in B12 and folic acid - it's probably worth asking your doctor to test these for you to see if low levels could be contributing.

Iron tablets do help the ferritin to go up but it's very slow in my own personal experience. Infact my level rarely go above 6 (ferritin that is) despite taking 2 high dose iron tabalets daily. At the moment my haematologist is thinking about giving me iv iron by drip as this gets your levels up quickly. Perhaps you could ask about this too?

I do hope they sort it out quickly, anaemia just adds to your tiredness that you already get from lupus - not what you need at all!

Take care
Cathy x

 

[elisabethm]

Anemia

hi Esther i have had anemia for as long as i can remember i get iron tablets every time i have my bloods done have you been for xrays i have had cameras in both ends they did not find anything my doctor said he will see about a scan to se if anything shows up on that elisabeth

 

[BigSis]

Esther
Are you sure your Hb (haemoglobin) is only 5 that is extremely low.
Mine got down to 8.....anaemia due to chronic inflammation, and I felt lousy.
I had to have high dose steroids as my white count was also low.
I dont wish to alarm you but being that anaemic can cause tiredness, fainting, breathlessness and even heart failure.
I think its unlikely to be periods but you may be loosing blood from some where else like stomach or bowel.Are your stools black or tarry?
I think you need checking out asap.
If you continue to faint I think you should take a trip to A&E.
Iron alone will take months and months to sort out anaemia that bad.

Dont want to scare you but I am concerned.
Let us know how you get on

 

[halfpintfl]

Hi Esther, You're levels are really low, and the fact that you said that you have even fainted does make me worry. That is not normal, and it could be very dangerous. If I were you, I would call your Rheumy and ask him to take a second (or first ) look at the numbers, and then call you back, as yopu are very worried and weak. And that you just do not understand all this. Let us know.

 

[rhoobarb]

thank you all for you help i went the doctors today and he said it could be number of things a slight stomack bleed ive got realy bad inflamary which other doctor never told me about so fell better know i know what it could be im not fainting anymore still fell really tyed all the time he said give it 2 more weeks on iron tabs and then test again so see how its going

thank you again it nice to know that you are all there and understand and care
hugs to all Esther XXXXXX