So I am on Naproxen, Metho' and now Lefluemen blah blah blah ;).
My Hemoglobin levels have been going down the past few months ( I am now anemic again) and now they just did an iron study and my ferritin storage is low.
All my Rheumy says is "have your family Dr. check your B12". However I did have it done and it's fine?!?!?
Anyone else have anemia issues as side effects of the drugs or disease? And what did you do? My Rheumy says NOT to take supplements, as it won't help.
I am not okay to just "live anemic" on top of all the med fatigue and know long term being anemic is not good for me!??!?
Did they do any liver tests?? ferritin as you know is primarily found in the liver (and spleen) You are taking a ton of meds that effect the liver......
BUT the other reason ferritin can be low is because of ACTIVE INFALAMATION (in fact some docs commonly test ferritin levels to measure inflamation levels. It could be your meds, but not because they are causing it but rather because they aren't controlling the inflammation
So I guess the bigger question is how is your PsA doing, is it time for an upgrade (so to speak) in meds???.
I think it's referred to as anemia of chronic disease. I tend to be on the line, often slightly anemic. I've had blood work done to rule out any specific problem. You can and should talk to your doctor about what can be done to improve your situation, especially if you are having symptoms of anemia.
tntlamb yes my routine blood work (liver, kidney, RBC) is done once a month- is that what you are referring to? Yes my PSA is not well, so she said to give the leuflemonide and the metho' 4 months to see if the combo works... doubt it since the combo of sulphasalzine and methotrexate STILL had me taking naproxen to stay "pain free".
As for the Anemia of Chronic disease- I have looked a bit into it- however I believe in that case the ferritin storage levels are actually normal!?!?!?
But I will look into it more.... thanks you guys! Always great to know when you throw out a question it doesn't disappear into the abyss ;)
I think the reason he brought up the B12 levels was to make sure you didn’t have pernicious anemia which is anemia related to vitamin B12. I went through the gauntlet of blood tests myself in the beginning stages of my PsA diagnosis. I’ve been low on ferritin often. I just try to eat as well as I can, but Im sure it doesn’t help the fatigue!
My hemoglobin has been dropping constantly as well, before I started any drug, I've been on Mtx for 6 weeks, had my first blood test last week since being on mtx, so waiting for results to see if hemp is going back up. So the low hemp is definitely from the inflammation, not the drugs, for me anyway.
I had to work on this issue quite a bit with my primary care provider. I was always on the edge of anemia, or anemic, and always exhausted and having other symptoms of anemia. My vitamin D was also very low. So now I take a daily B6, B12, D3, and iron supplement. The numbers have gotten better, I haven't slipped into the anemia range in the 8 months since I started. My primary is thrilled we were able to find something to help my chronic fatigue and almost-anemia.
I know how you feel. I deal with bouts of anemia as well. Of course I
I am not sure whether its caused by PSA or the gastric bypass I had several years ago. When I have pain I am certainly not interested in eating, so maybe PSA does have something to do with it. My advice is to keep an eye on your symptoms you could be in big trouble if your hemoglobin drops to low.