Hello - had total colectomy w/ jpouch 11 years ago after on and off UC for 20-25 yrs and dysplasia discovery / all went very well until the last few years - having more frequent bouts w/ I assume is pouchitis - Cipro always knocks it out but now it returns quicker / all post colectomy scopes including last one in March are good / another problem is that my hemoglobin went from over 14 to 9.8 in two years / have been taking pepto bismol for about 6 weeks and that helps a lot w/ frequency and somewhat w/ night leakage / regular doc prescribed iron supplements for the low hemoglobin and that worked (am 62 and for the past year could hardly jog a half mile - after about 3 weeks of iron I can jog 4 miles in 42 minutes as hemoglobin is now at 13.5) - woner why apparent iron deficiency has just manifests itself the last couple of years?
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Maybe you need your entire GI tract examined. Maybe you have gastritis or Crohn's thatvis undiagnosed. Even without bleeding, you can have anemia associated with chronic disease. Do you take a PPI (proton pump inhibitor)? Taking these drugs long term can lead to B-12 malabsorption and anemia.
Jan
Jan
B12-deficiency anemia doesn't look anything like iron-deficiency anemia (though it can get confusing when they coexist). I sure hope the doc knows how to tell the difference!
Good point Scott! I was mainly trying to emphasize that this may not be j-pouch related at all and that treatments for other disorders can also cause systemic issues. We tend to think practically everything is caused by pouch dysfunction once we have it, but we are not immune to other issues either. But, if the pouch consistently looks good, there is something else going on.
Iron deficiency anemia is extremely common in the general population, particularly as we get older.
Jan
Iron deficiency anemia is extremely common in the general population, particularly as we get older.
Jan