Guest guest Posted September 11, 2002 Report Share Posted September 11, 2002 Good morning! I was anemic during my first pregnancy. Ugh. It was awful! I began cooking foods in cast iron skillets and eating iron-rich foods. I also included vitamin c with the iron foods to increase absorption and tried avoiding calcium when eating iron foods. Calcium can decrease the absorption rate of iron. White Wave used to make a prepackaged sloppy joe that had 100% of the rda of iron and their seitan used to have 110% of it. I haven't been able to find that in a long time though. Good luck. I hope you feel better soon. Lucy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 11, 2002 Report Share Posted September 11, 2002 I too had anemia and am glad that I didn't take iron before having my blood thorough tested. It was discovered that I had a severe B-12 deficiency - I had been a vegan for 7 years and a vegetarian for 22 years - and that deficiency attributed to my anemia. - " Linda Evans " <veganlinda Tuesday, September 10, 2002 9:55 AM Re: low iron and anemia > Carmen, > > First, when I was vegetarian I was often anemic. My > doctors unfortunately always blew it off and even when > I took iron I still showed signs of anemia. When I > went vegan over seven years ago I never suffered from > anemia again. Since my doctors were pretty lame and I > didn't push it I will never know for sure why going > vegan changed things. > > Second, doctors tend to advice iron supplements and > blame vegetarianism on anemia...this is very scary > since anemia can be a sign of more serious problems > (not to scare you, but it sounds like you know this > since you are taking in a stool sample). I would have > a complete blood work up, etc. to look for other > things. My mother's cancer went undetected for who > knows how long because her doctor kept blaming her > anemia and lack of energy on her vegetarian diet. By > the time they found the cancer (when she was in for an > misdiagnosed gallbladder surgery) it was too late and > she died a month later. If you are feeling tired, > etc. take your health into your own hands...see > another doctor, read medical books, etc. to help find > the source of the problem. Sometimes taking > supplements can just mask the underlying issue. > > That said, I would take an honest look at your diet > and see if you are eating a balanced varied diet. > Sometimes we get into ruts and don't eat a lot of > different foods. I would try eating vitamin C-rich > fruits and vegetables since C helps with absorption. > Dairy products inhibit iron absorption per 'Heathly > Eating for Life for Women' by PCRM. This book also > suggests these blood tests: > > 1. Serum ferritin (normal values are 12-200 mcg/l) > 2. Serum iron and total iron binding capacity (TIBC). > When the serum iron measurement is divided by TIBC, > the result should be 16 to 50 percent for women and 16 > to 62 percent for men. > > Results below these norms indicate too little iron. > If the result suggests iron deficiency, your doctor > may request an additional test called a red cell > protoporhyrin test for confirmation. A result higher > than 70 mcg/dl of red blood cells suggests > insufficient iron. To diagnose iron deficiency, at > least two of these three values (serum ferritin, serum > iron/TBC, or red cell protoporhyrin) should be > abnormal. > > It sounds like you've already had the test, but some > doctors do a hemoglobin test that is said to be less > accurate than the ones above. > > Good luck! I hope you feel better soon!!!! > > Linda > > > > - We Remember > 9-11: A tribute to the more than 3,000 lives lost > http://dir.remember./tribute > > > > For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to http://www.vrg.org/family. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 12, 2002 Report Share Posted September 12, 2002 For what it's worth, my Mom is the biggest non-vegetarian (she loves her meat), and she has always been on the border of being anemic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 14, 2002 Report Share Posted September 14, 2002 Carmen, Sending healthing thoughts your way! Please let us know how things end up. I hope you feel better soon. It can be so tough to do things when you lack the energy. Good luck! Linda PS Love your signature. News - Today's headlines http://news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 16, 2002 Report Share Posted September 16, 2002 >Sending healthing thoughts your way! Please let us >know how things end up. I hope you feel better soon. >It can be so tough to do things when you lack the >energy. Good luck! Linda, thanks for your note! I go back in on Wednesday for blood work to see if my iron levels are back up or if I should take iron supplements. Has anyone here ever had a colonoscopy? Last week I posted about my anemia and that I would be taking in a stool sample. Well I saw streaks of blood and the stool tested positive for it. I am 38 and the doctor said the 95 per cent of the time it is due to hemmaroids and fissures, but due to my history of health anxiety he is referring me for a colonoscopy. I am just wondering if anyone here has had any experience with this. Trying not to panic... Carmen US citizen in Thalwil (Zurich), Switzerland SAHM of Sam almost 7 & Aleksander 3 ml@h=US English, ML=Swiss & High German " Tolerance is withstanding people on our terms. Acceptance is embracing people on their terms. " -unknown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 17, 2002 Report Share Posted September 17, 2002 On Mon, 16 Sep 2002, Carmen Crenshaw-Hovey wrote: > Has anyone here ever had a colonoscopy? > > Last week I posted about my anemia and that I would be taking in a stool > sample. Well I saw streaks of blood and the stool tested positive for it. > I am 38 and the doctor said the 95 per cent of the time it is due to hemmaroids > and fissures, but due to my history of health anxiety he is referring me > for a colonoscopy. I am just wondering if anyone here has had any experience > with this. > > Trying not to panic... I haven't personally had one, but my father did a couple of years ago. He was very scared before the procedure, but afterward he said it wasn't really that bad -- not fun, but not bad. It didn't hurt him at all. He said the anticipation was worse than the procedure itself. ---- Patricia Bullington-McGuire <patricia President, The Arlington Cooperative Organization The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the purely hypothetical. They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each nonexisted in an entirely different way ... -- Stanislaw Lem, " Cyberiad " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 20, 2002 Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 --- Carmen Crenshaw-Hovey <crenhov4 wrote: >> Has anyone here ever had a colonoscopy? > > Last week I posted about my anemia and that I would > be taking in a stool > sample. Well I saw streaks of blood and the stool > tested positive for it. > I am 38 and the doctor said the 95 per cent of the > time it is due to hemmaroids > and fissures, but due to my history of health > anxiety he is referring me > for a colonoscopy. I am just wondering if anyone > here has had any experience > with this. > > Trying not to panic... > i haven't had one, but my ex-husband had one, and he lived through it they had to drug him up quite a bit, so i had to take him to the appt since he couldn't drive home. it didn't take very long, however, and he wasn't too traumatized by it at all... i know it probably doesn't help much that i can't speak from experience, but i hope perhaps it will help ease your mind a bit.... cherrie New DSL Internet Access from SBC & http://sbc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 21, 2002 Report Share Posted September 21, 2002 >they had to drug him up quite a bit, so i had to take >him to the appt since he couldn't drive home. it >didn't take very long, however, and he wasn't too >traumatized by it at all... Cherrie- Thanks for your note. My date has been set for Thursday afternoon October 1st. I am a nervous wreck about this - expecially when I hear stories of 25 year olds with colon cancer... It's good to hear that the procedure itself isn't so bad and that I will be sedated for it. I just can't imagine going through it without sedation, and I know some people do! Carmen US citizen in Thalwil (Zurich), Switzerland SAHM of Sam almost 7 & Aleksander 3 ml@h=US English, ML=Swiss & High German " Tolerance is withstanding people on our terms. Acceptance is embracing people on their terms. " -unknown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2002 Report Share Posted September 22, 2002 --- Carmen Crenshaw-Hovey <crenhov4 wrote: > Thanks for your note. My date has been set for > Thursday afternoon October > 1st. I am a nervous wreck about this - expecially > when I hear stories of > 25 year olds with colon cancer... > > It's good to hear that the procedure itself isn't so > bad and that I will > be sedated for it. I just can't imagine going > through it without sedation, > and I know some people do! Good luck, Carmen! I'm sure you will do just fine!!!! *hugs* cherrie New DSL Internet Access from SBC & http://sbc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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