I have had my pouch for 14 yrs and in the last 5 with probiotics not many issues. I recently had blood work done due to being soooo tired and winded. Apparently BC of 8.7 very low iron almost no vit d I have had a EGD done all looked great will do the camera pill tomorrow but my only symptoms are those of anemia and bone pain from low D Is this a common problem amongs us j-pouchers? The drs seem baffled and they found gall stones but they are not giving me any problems Any help would be wonderful

Have you had your thyroid and parathyroid hormones checked? Could be malabsorption, hormone issues, or both. Also, are you getting outside? Anemia that cannot be attributed to blood loss can be due to chronic disease.

Jan

Hi Shell,


I have anemia also, and low vit D too. Also a my thyroid has low levels. Got all this good news from a endocrinologist I went to to make sure my adrenal glands were functioning properly (which they are)

I took the D for a while but never started the thyroid meds and I try to remember to take iron. Does low D contribut to bone/joint pain? What is the camera pill looking for?

And Jan if you still out there, about this anemia dx.....do you blood levels ever get back to normal or is anemia a permanant thing? And what about the vit D? Take that forever or what?

So Shell welcome to the boards and good luck with you issues.

What part of MI are you from. I live in Shelby Twp.

Laurie

Oh Jan, maybe you could pm me so this post doesn't change direction but would the EA be considered a chronic disease causing my anemia?

It's interesting you're both suffering from Vitamin D deficiency. I read something the other day which claimed there is an association between Vitamin D deficiency and Crohns disease though unfortunately it didn't go on to elaborate.

thank you for the responses I have had my thyroid and the para checked and it is normal also I do get outside (i have 5 children) I received 5 iron infusions due to not absorbing by mouth and take calcuim daily. I forgot to add I almost always have a low grade fever. Laurie the cam is looking for any abnormality the dr says.

Jan if it is malabsorption why does it show up after so long with the pouch?
I am in GR mi also

If you have a constant low grade fever, you have chronic inflammation somewhere and that is enough to suppress your bone marrow and cause anemia. This is something for a hematologist to sort out.

If you get plenty of dietary vitamin D and go outdoors 20-40 minutes a day, then it has to be malabsorption. It may not be directly pouch related, and can be due to stomach issues, such as not enough acid, gallbladder problems, celiac disease, etc. The vitamin D deficiency and anemia are symptoms...now you need someone to find the cause.

Jan

Jan

Thank you for the help They accidentally found I have gallstones when they did a lower back x-ray but i have no symptoms so the surgeon said it must be something deeper. They did a recheck of my BC and it is up to 9.7 over 3 weeks with 6 iron infusions and the reticulum counts one set went down to 3.4 and the other went up to 85 the dr. said he was happy as things seem to be looking better that way except I still feel pretty tired and I cannot remember how I had the patience for all this when I had chronic UC. I will get the results of the pill cam monday and I leave for Jamaica on Thurs as I told the drs. nothing is going to keep me from spring break. They will retest the blood again then. Again Thank You for all the kinds words and wisdom. It is amazing that I never knew this site existed all these years
michelle