Anemia and possibly ceoliac

Dairy intolerance is an easy test to do.

You mention your diet isnt great? What has your diet consisted of pre trying to introduce veg and fruit?

Bluetit1802 said:

Yes! It must be something other than her HB count. Maybe iron? RDW count?

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Quite possibly RDW but I think Ferritin might be as likely as Ferritin is a good marker of iron stores and has a considerably wider range.

sjm1308 said:

I was told it was just a blood test I needed for diagnosis will I need these further tests then?

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I was diagnosed as coeliac last summer after my blood tests showed low iron levels. First my GP sent me for another blood test (she said this was something to do with seeing if I had some kind of antigen in my blood which is a good indicator of coeliac). That blood test came back positive, so after that I had to have an endoscopy (camera down the throat - yes its as horrible as you'd imagine!!) & that showed that my intestinal villi were damaged so I was diagnosed coeliac & have been gluten free ever since.

I never really had any symptoms, so it came totally out of the blue for me. The only thing I ever really noticed was tiredness (but just figured that was normal life, LOL!) But after just a couple of months being gluten free I had so much more energy, it made me realize just how drained I'd been before!

sjm1308 said:

I think mainly the anemia as I don't have heavy periods and eat meat so she is thinking I'm not absorbing the nutrients is what I'm taking from it anyway. I also suffer from depression, aches and pains, fatigue, toilet troubles and uncomfortable after eating certain foods. I think there is a long list of symptoms though. Thanks for your help and hope you find a resolve also

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You need to ask for a test to see if you are absorbing iron in the gut. I don’t, so was put on iron injections, in the bottom! Not pleasant but it does raise levels quickly. I was told a good average was 10-12 so if yours is 13 it should be ok. My problem turned out to be beta thalassemia which means my body destroys the b strand in my hemoglobin, but it took a long time to diagnose

Many People do not know that to uptake iron one needs to have vitamin C in the same meals so along with the beef a squeece of lemon will make the body uptake much more Iron from the meat. / or tablets or vegs like parsley

stacyb said:

That blood test came back positive, so after that I had to have an endoscopy (camera down the throat - yes its as horrible as you'd imagine!!) & that showed that my intestinal villi were damaged so I was diagnosed coeliac & have been gluten free ever since.

I never really had any symptoms, so it came totally out of the blue for me. The only thing I ever really noticed was tiredness (but just figured that was normal life, LOL!) But after just a couple of months being gluten free I had so much more energy, it made me realize just how drained I'd been before!

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What you describe are the intestinal changes due to "gluten sensitive enteropathy" AKA celiac disease. As I said before, "celiac" is a term that gets thrown around a lot in forums. But what you had/have is the real deal like my niece has. It causes malabsorbtion of numerous things, especially fats and fat soluble vitamins. Eventually will cause weight loss, muscle loss/wasting, looking/being malnourished. All correctable completely when gluten free. Sure, others wannabe gluten free and claim to feel better, blah blah. But people like you actually have the disease involving the small intestine's response to gluten in the diet.

TheBigNewt said:

Sure, others wannabe gluten free and claim to feel better, blah blah.

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Could you please be a bit clearer? What is it to claim to feel better, blah blah?

Totto said:

Could you please be a bit clearer? What is it to claim to feel better, blah blah?

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So, you decide to go gluten free, or go dairy free, or go vegan, or peanut butter free, whatever. And after that you feel better, ya got more energy, ya sleep like a baby. Blah blah blah. But it's not the same as having the disease, cause then you eat gluten and you get sick. Real sick if enough time goes on. You can maybe die from it. It's different.

If your going to be tested for coeliacs please don’t stop eating the foods containing gluten as this will lead to a false result. I know this as have been a diagnosed coeliac for over 10 yrs now.

Re the anemia a good iron supplement and b12 will help in improve this

TheBigNewt said:

So, you decide to go gluten free, or go dairy free, or go vegan, or peanut butter free, whatever. And after that you feel better, ya got more energy, ya sleep like a baby. Blah blah blah. But it's not the same as having the disease, cause then you eat gluten and you get sick. Real sick if enough time goes on. You can maybe die from it. It's different.

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So if someone who is not coeliac goes glutenfree and recovers from pain or tiredness or psoriasis or something else blah-like, what is it they experience? Blah-relief?

I don't know if you have any experience of things like psoriasis but from those who suffer from it I have understood they prefer to be free from symptoms, if they can choose. Even if it's a blah blah freedom.

Psoriasis is usually a nasty skin condition, big red flaky plaques, and associated joint inflammation accompanies it sometimes. It's many times treated with some expensive and serious medications, not some gluten free diet. It's different than "pain and tiredness" you refer to. Wanna hear about some food/nutrition miracle foods and supplements? Watch Dr. Phil. There's more blenders full of healthy blue and green stuff on that show than you can shake a stick at. Blah blah blah!