What’s the big deal about iron deficiency?

• Iron deficiency can make you feel tired and weak.

• It can lead to anemia, or not enough red blood cells in your body. 

• Iron is necessary to make red blood cells. These cells carry oxygen throughout your body. Without enough oxygen, your organs, muscles and other tissues can’t function properly. You fatigue sooner. Your heart has to pump harder. Your brain doesn’t get as much oxygen as it prefers. You might get lightheaded and dizzy, feel short of breath or just plain tired and weak. 

• Iron deficiency can be a sign of much more serious underlying condition like an ulcer or cancer.  

The two main causes of iron deficiency in adults in our country are: 

• Blood loss, and 

• Not absorbing enough iron from the foods that we eat

Bleeding or Blood Loss

- Sometimes, the source of blood loss appears obvious, like in a woman with heavy menstrual bleeding or someone who just had a baby. Possibly a person has a known history of a bleeding ulcer. Maybe they’re donating blood too often. 

- In other cases, the source may not be as obvious. Chronic bleeding from the GI tract can present as black, tarry stools, or, if blood loss is slow, the stool may appear normal. 

- Our job as gastroenterologists is to rule out GI sources of blood loss as a cause of your iron deficiency. Potential GI sources could be a bleeding ulcer, an underlying colorectal malignancy or ulceration, inflammation in the small bowel, or another condition.   

Decreased absorption of iron from the diet

- If the GI tract isn’t functioning properly this can lead to iron deficiency. Conditions that can cause decreased iron absorption include: 

1. Celiac disease

2. Lactose intolerance

3. Autoimmune conditions

4. Stomach inflammation 

5. Gastric bypass surgery 

What are the symptoms of iron deficiency anemia?

Symptoms of iron deficiency may vary from person to person. If the deficiency is mild, you might not have any symptoms other than abnormal lab results. Common symptoms include:

1. Fatigue 

2. Weakness, feeling sluggish, lack of energy

3. Headache

4. Difficulty exercising 

5. Shortness of breath, especially with walking up the stairs or exerting yourself

6. Rapid or pounding heartbeat

7. Lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting

8. Brittle nails

9. Pale skin

10. Very white eyes

11. Sore tongue or mouth ulcers

12. Restless legs, worse at night

13. Craving unusual non-food items like clay or dirt

14. Craving ice

Iron deficiency anemia can be a symptom of certain types of cancer like colorectal cancer. ALL anemia should be evaluated promptly and aggressively by a trained medical professional like Dr. Sinha.