Have you ever been referred to a gastro for anemia?

[bab]

I am anemic and apparently my iron levels are decreasing. I've been referred to a hematology practice and a gastroenterologist.
What would the gastro be looking for exactly? I don't have bloody stools. Could I really be losing that much blood internally without any symptoms?
She did say follow up with hematology first.

[iamgrace]

Aug 3, 2015 18:18:39 GMT -5 bab said:

I am anemic and apparently my iron levels are decreasing. I've been referred to a hematology practice and a gastroenterologist.
What would the gastro be looking for exactly? I don't have bloody stools. Could I really be losing that much blood internally without any symptoms?
She did say follow up with hematology first.

this was happening to my brother. They could not explain his lack of iron. He was recently diagnosed with celiacs.

[panicked]

Aug 3, 2015 18:20:15 GMT -5 iamgrace said:

Aug 3, 2015 18:18:39 GMT -5 bab said:

I am anemic and apparently my iron levels are decreasing. I've been referred to a hematology practice and a gastroenterologist.
What would the gastro be looking for exactly? I don't have bloody stools. Could I really be losing that much blood internally without any symptoms?
She did say follow up with hematology first.

this was happening to my brother. They could not explain his lack of iron. He was recently diagnosed with celiacs.

This is exactly what I was going to say. I'm chronically anemic and have celiacs . It's actually one of the most common diagnostic symptoms. PLEASE don't make any dietary changes at all until you see the gastroenterologist. Going gluten free before celiac testing can give false negatives.

[bonquiqui]

Yes, I am chronically anemic. When I first saw my hematologist, they sent me to a Gastro to do an upper endoscopy and colonoscopy. Everything was normal, so beyond those two procedures I did not need to see a Gastro.

[hbear]

Doesn't pernicious anemia have to do with absorption in the gut? They may be able to rule out or treat other causes of your anemia.

[bab]

Wow, I had no idea anemia was a symptom for Celiac disease

[panicked]

Aug 3, 2015 18:58:11 GMT -5 bab said:

Wow, I had no idea anemia was a symptom for Celiac disease

Most people don't! Another weird quirk- quite a bit of the celiacs population don't build immunity to the hepatitis b vaccine. I've had the full series three separate times and still don't test as immune. In fact, if a person has titers drawn after a hep b series and don't test immune, they should be immediately tested for celiacs, since it's incredibly rare to not build an immunity to that specific vaccine.

[zoidberg]

Aug 3, 2015 18:58:11 GMT -5 bab said:

Wow, I had no idea anemia was a symptom for Celiac disease

Yeah, the intestinal damage inhibits both iron and calcium absorption. This is why my bones are all fucked up now.

[southernbelle]

Sometimes you are just bleeding very tiny amounts also so GI is recommended for egd and colonoscopy to look for common areas of bleeding.

[bab]

I was 10.5 three months ago and my blood from July came back 9.4
The nurse said they start infusing at 7 or 8 I believe.

[bab]

My hematocrit was 30

[Howards Mom]

Friends mom had gastric bypass (I'm guessing you haven't) a few years ago and had complications including random incidents where she passed out suddenly.

They determined that the GB interfered (I think it was mis-routed out of her new stomach and digestive system?) with the part of her stomach that absorbed iron and was/is severely anemic.

All that to say, it could be a GI issue; he might look to see if that part of your stomach is working properly.

[mountaingirl]

Aug 3, 2015 18:29:37 GMT -5 hbear said:

Doesn't pernicious anemia have to do with absorption in the gut? They may be able to rule out or treat other causes of your anemia.

Isn't that inly a B-12 deficiency?

[hbear]

Aug 4, 2015 9:32:20 GMT -5 mountaingirl said:

Aug 3, 2015 18:29:37 GMT -5 hbear said:

Doesn't pernicious anemia have to do with absorption in the gut? They may be able to rule out or treat other causes of your anemia.

Isn't that inly a B-12 deficiency?

It results in low B12, which is needed for red blood cells, so there is a low hemoglobin, which the OP has.