RA and Anemia | Arthritis Information
I have suffered with chronic RA induced Anemia for years . Its is just getting worse despite the amount of Iron I am taking . It causes chronic fatigue .
The normal haemoglobin level for a woman is 11.5g/dl and mine is now at 4.
I have an appointment to see the haemotologist next month. All my other blood tests have come back normal again which is a good thing.
Does anyone else have this problem?
Hi Mrs Pin, yes I do. My iron levels were at 4, and my bone marrow stores (ferritin) were 18 and they should be above 90. My Dr said she was surprised I could get out of bed, very anaemic and when I had tests done (swallowed a camera and it takes photos while insde your body) it showed that I could not absorb it naturally, so I now have to have iron infusions about 2 to 6 monthly. The specialist said all the meds I have taken have wrecked my ability to absorb nutrients especially iron. It certainly does cause fatigue but it is really awful fatigue, I can usually tell when my stores are low. Good luck, hope you don't need the infusions, they take up a whole day for me due to adverse reaction when we speed up the infusion process, pretty usual for me! Regards Janie.Thanks for the reply Janie. They have mentioned an infusion again. It could be a case of the non absorbtion of iron in pill form. Yukk!!
Yes this fatigue is different from my RA fatigue. I am battling to even lift my head up, my breathing is difficult too. I got into the car yesterday after shoping, hubby was driving. By the time we left the car park I was asleep and slept all the way home. I have done this on a few occasions. Its quite scary.
Thanks again and im sorry you have got it too .
No worries Pin, the description of how you feel is exactly what I experience, its very hard to explain it to people isn't it? The effort of lifting your head off the pillow is one of my awful symptoms or just answering the phone can be overwhelming when you are that fatigued.
I reckon you are not absorbing it in pill form, my dr says there is no point me taking tablets or eating iron rich products as my body will not absorb it in the traditional way. I am sorry you have it too, it is just another complication of our RA to annoy us and makes this disease a control freak. All the best, from Janie.
Edited as I forgot to mention how yawning is absolutely abnormally intrusive in all conversations when this fatigued, I find it so embarrassing and they are not able to be stifled as they are so constant!!!!
janiefx12009-07-09 03:12:04Hahaha...Janie , my yawning is a standing joke in our house. I have TMJ so the yawning is a problem with my jaw cracking but I have devised a way to yawn without it hurting...My face looks as if its having a party...hehe
Now thats funny Pin!!!LolPinny, my MIL had this and it was recommended she take folic acid. Now, I know there are also issues with this, so make sure and ask before you take it! I had this issue when I was younger, but it took care of itself after awhile. I hope you get something worked out soon... additional fatigue with RA is horrible!
the best thing to help anemia of chronic disease is to get the chronic disease under control which I know you are trying to doI also have RA induced anemia...my last HGB was 9.2. It seems to hover between 9 and 10, and I sure do feel fatigued when it gets down into the 9's. My RD isn't too concerned, he just says it part of the chronic disease process.Bump
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