RE: Son is Iron deficient

Hello I've been experiencing the same symptoms your son is having for years and never thought any of it.Except that in the last two weeks of January I started having weird heart beats and will gasp for air. At night I'll be awakened by a pain in my chest and again gasping for air. I started panicking and thought it was a heart attack. I immediately went to my physician the next day and I told him about this. He said when was the last time my blood was checked since I looked like "ghost". He's like has no one told you that you look really pale. I'm like yes, but thought it was "normal". Well long story short my results came in and I had a hemoglobin of 6.6 and my doctor was surprised I was even walking. I was prescribed iron pills, but made me sick ( nauseous and upset stomach). So he just told me the best was to get a blood transfusion, which I did and now regret since my mind only keeps thinking what if I got a disease or HIV etc, but if I didn't have one I could go into cardiac arrest because I was starting to suffer from arrhythmias. Now my anxiety is over the roof. Talk with your physician and see what's the best solution

When iron is lacking, haemoglobin cannot be produced, and the red blood cells are unable to deliver adequate oxygen to the tissues of the body. There are number of reasons for low RBC count like trauma, iron deficiency, bone marrow disorders such as leukaemia, multiple myeloma, myelodysplasia, or lymphoma or other cancers that spread to the marrow or other chronic conditions. Sometimes, haemolytic anaemia caused by autoimmunity or defects in the red cell itself can cause RBC destruction. Other defects could be a haemoglobinopathy (e.g., sickle cell anaemia), thalassemia, an abnormality in the RBC membrane (e.g., hereditary spherocytosis), or enzyme defect (e.g., G6PD deficiency). Even kidney disease can lead to decreased production of erythropoietin, a hormone produced by the kidneys that stimulates RBC production by the bone marrow.

I would strongly recommend taking second opinion if no proper explanation or cause is given to your son’s deteriorating condition.

                                                                                                 

 

​=12.0ptIf he is not reaching adequate HB levels in spite of medications, then his body may be unable to absorb iron properly, the bone marrow may be unable to produce haemoglobin in spite of adequate iron consumption, there may be chronic blood loss due to a bleeding ulcer, and so on. If there is some underlying problem that is causing this condition, then it needs to be addressed. Improving your diet will certainly help, but if there is some other cause then dietary measures may not be enough.

Thank-you for replying Chris. I just wish that we could find an answer since the Dr. doesn't seem to have one. I did speak with a nutrionist that suggested  there is a possibility his body uses it up faster than he produces it. But again the cause is not clear. He ddin't have an issue until he was dxed with Kawasaki. Thank-you so much again.