# Extreme Anemia



## Helena (May 10, 2002)

Have been dealing with anemia for ovrster a year now. Actually hapretty normal now with days of being still very, very exhausted. First was given the usual iron tablets and after a few month requested to be sent to a doctor that deals with blood disorders.Have had 6 IV infusing over a 4 month period and even though my blood work is much improving ..but not where it should be or stay.. Too much iron this way could cause liver problems..so caution with this. Thought this was an odd thing for me to get since I cook only with cast iron..enjoy eating liver and fresh veggies etc. But..so...has anyone dealt with this illness and any ideas for me..


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## Helena (May 10, 2002)

Posted this same question a while back and got some good advice..but things are going as well as I would like..Took a lot of your advice and hope it has helped but haven't seen much more improvement. Thanks again..just asking again...


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## COSunflower (Dec 4, 2006)

About 10 years ago I was plagued with anemia because of my rheumatoid arthritis. I read that raisens are iron rich and I like them so every evening I would (and still do several times weekly) eat about 1/4 c. of them for a "dessert" after dinner while watching tv. It totally cured the anemia and I haven't had it since. I still eat my raisens faithfully!!!!


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## Lilith (Dec 29, 2012)

I am constantly anemic. It will never go away. For whatever reason, my body just does not assimilate Iron properly. The normal person will absorb both types of Iron - heme Iron and non-heme Iron. Heme Iron comes primarily from animal based sources, the other from primarily plant based sources. The normal body can absorb 15% - 30% of the iron contained in meat, but only 2% - 20% of the Iron contained in plants. 
When you eat foods containing high levels of Vitamin C with your red meats and liver, it helps the Iron stay suspended for better absorption in your digestive system. But, they have to be present in the digestive tract at the same time for it to work. So, eat an orange with your liver and onions! 
Anything containing tannic acid like coffee, legumes, whole grains, and tea significantly reduces the amount of Iron you can absorb from your foods. 
It is a balancing act. Too much whole grains means not enough Iron, but you pass foods easy enough. To much red meat and not enough grains with a fair amount of oranges means plenty of Iron but difficulty in the John.


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## BlackFeather (Jun 17, 2014)

Make sure you get enough B12. It is required for getting Iron out of the marrow into the blood. Having had the last 2 feet of my small intestine removed, I must make sure I get enough because that is where it is mostly absorbed from, else my hemoglobin level will be low. They do have sub-lingual tablets that worked for me so I didn't have to get shots.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Protein is important also. I used to drink shakes made of milk, eggs, and a banana.

After a while it went away: I don't now why!


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## ldc (Oct 11, 2006)

Post #5 is important; often iron deficiency anemia is partially caused by a lack of absorbtion of B-12 in food. That's why B12 supplementation with either a liquid or soluble pill form (sublingual) is so important. Many people's stomach acid destroys tablet B12. This happened to me.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

You could also have internal bleeding.


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## Jokarva (Jan 17, 2010)

Have they not figured out what's causing your anemia? It doesn't do much good to keep pumping you full of iron if they don't fix what's causing you to need so much of it.


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## spacecase0 (Jul 12, 2012)

reading others posts, amazing info that I did not know, 
I can notice the iron in cast iron pans in a day or 2 of using them, 
but my issue is to much iron so I had to quit using my cast iron pans


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## Helena (May 10, 2002)

I really need to get myself out of the dumps over this problem. Taking B12 and orange juice is something I have..heard before See doctor again next week and will see how my blood work looks this time. Has improved...but..just don't still have energy like I would like to be again. gets very depress sing..thanks for all you ideas...again.


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## anahatalotus (Oct 25, 2012)

*hug* hang in there. Hopefully your doc will have some answers for you soon.


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## ArkyMack (Nov 15, 2013)

You might ask your Doc about B12 shots. I've had several different blood issues over the years. As I got older, my system didn't absorb even the sublingual drops as it should. My Doc was bound and determined that I should have my spleen taken out for one problem, and I fought him tooth and nail. He said 'sometimes' B12 shots would help, that we'd try that first. Ha. I still have my spleen. 
So we hit it hard with twice weekly shots, then twice a month, then monthly. Now ALL my levels are right where they should be.
I will say that I refused to go to the office for every shot, as we lived waaaay out in the country then. So they taught me to give myself shots. No biggie. Any time I feel like whining about doing it, I remember what I did feel like, and am grateful that one little shot a month now, makes all the difference in the world.


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

Helena, has your doctor given you a reason for your anemia?

I went looking at Science Daily in their health and medicine section. I didn't not realize that millions of Americans have anemia for different reasons. 

One study that was cited was research on how acetate, ingredient of vinegar, affects anemia in a positive way. I wonder if all those endorsements of folks over 50 taking vinegar and honey as a health aid were partly because of this effect. 

I plan to get my iron levels checked in the next couple of months to see where I stand. In the meantime, I guess a spinach salad with vinegar, oil and sunflower seeds can't hurt.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

They sometimes use cupric sulfate in severe anemia that ferrous sulphate doesn't help. They can also give iron shots. Some people just don't absorb the ferrous sulphate too well.


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## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

Sorry, if this has been discussed to death but I just came on to find neti pot info & opened this thread.

My neighbor/friend was so anemic they almost put her in for transfusions...said long ago she was & had B12 shots but for some reason this doc didn't want to start w/that. 

So to make a long story even longer, they found out she has an autoimmune disease that attacks her stomach lining & she doesn't absorb iron as she should. I'm forgetting what its called, maybe just 'autoimmune gastroenteritis'. 
You can look it up, it may be rare & possible a few docs don't think of that.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

https://labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/anemia/


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## Woolieface (Feb 17, 2015)

Good old fashioned red meat might be the best thing invented for iron and b12 combo. I used to take a b12 supplement that was yeast source, and though it helped for a time, the effects didn't seem to last the way animal sourced b12 does.


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## FarmerKat (Jul 3, 2014)

Have not dealt with severe anemia like this but my son was found to be anemic about 2 years ago. Our pediatrician also found that he could not absorb some type of sugar (the test did not provide any further detail). We eliminated most sugars but the biggest kicker was dairy (we already switched to goat milk at the time but he had hard time digesting that as well). Once I started reading about lactose intolerance, we found out that it often goes hand in hand with anemia. Consuming the dairy was preventing his body from absorbing iron. He was on an iron supplement (Floradix) for a year and with time his digestive system healed from the damage caused by dairy (eliminating dairy also resolved other health issues he was dealing with). 

I am not saying dairy is causing your anemia but it could be some other food intolerance that is affecting your ability to absorb iron.


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## MaxBlast (Dec 17, 2012)

5 years ago I had lead poison.. and it blocked my absorption of D3 and B12.. I was at the bottom of the scale.. 

Take Methyl-B12.. under the tongue.. to avoid stomach acid that destroys B12.. No shots needed.. 5,000 units.. daily or a few times a week.. 

Folate..(NOT artificial Folic Acid) deficiency can cause anemia.. I just searched it and found it is true.. Some have a bad gene and can not process folate.. MethylPro Folate found online solves the problem.. you can get tested.. it takes weeks to notice a difference however.. 

Biotin is also essential. a B vitamin.. 

Search Anemia + natural treatments.. and Anemia + nutritional deficiencies. Answers are on the internet.. just find them.. this way. It is easy and you will have better results than via a MD.


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