I had my surgery 5 years ago (July 2010) and have maintained a weight loss of about 100 lbs with a re-gain of about 10-15 pounds, mostly due to poor eating habits.

I have developed microcytic anemia and the doctors have not found a reason for it. Often this can be a sign of a bleed somewhere in the GI tract but I have had a number of tests (upper endoscopy, colonoscopy and MR enterography and all have come back negative.

I have read some material on the internet that indicates that anemia can be a side effect of the sleeve surgery.

Just wondering if anyone else out there has encountered this problem.

Thanks,

Brian

Being female makes me more prone to anemia than most men; however, I was a little anemic so the doctor just had me take Iron pills for a while. I have developed a constant low potassium level. I ended up in the hospital due to excessive coldness and severe fatigue. My potassium was extremely low, I had developed blood clots in both lungs and pneumonia in the left lung 3 months post op. Go figure, pre-sleeve I had zero medical problems and no pills to take, just a BMI well over 40. Now I take extra Vitamin D, Iron, Potassium and anticoagulants.

Yes. In 3 years, I've had 2 sets of iron infusions. Chronic problem.

Still comparatively early out, but yes - we're in the "add an extra iron supplement" stage of trying to resolve it now.

Well, I had the same problem several years ago long before I had surgery. Chronic anemia that would not respond to Iron by IV at all. My level was down to 4.

I had the colonoscopy to check for bleeding and then an endoscopy to check for issues. The biopsy showed that I had Celiac disease. My ONLY symptom was anemia that would not respond to treatment. I had nothing else.

Turns out that I have the gene for Celiac disease and it seems to have turned on when I had a major surgery. The gastro said that is common if you have the gene. Major surgery or pregnancy in women typically can make the gene switch itself on.

You might want to get a biopsy for Celiac and see if that turns out to be the problem.

I am. I tried the all in one iron infed last week. I was allergic. So i am on to plan b, which is 2-5 sessions. My stores are 2-4 and i need to be about a 50. Soon I will start my new sessions of treatment.

Yes my mom had the lap band in 2007 she has keep the weight off but now she needs iron transfusion every month because as a result of constantly vomiting she is anemic now

Brian,

I'm in the same boat... At my 3 year checkup, my tests showed pretty severe anemia. My nut said taking enough iron supplements to correct it would make me very constipated, and my surgeon referred me to a hematologist.

My hematologist looked at my labs and told me point blank he's never seen a more textbook case of anemia. Then he started grilling the 3 med school students about what each number on my labs meant. Essentially, my bone marrow can't get the iron it needs to make normal, full-sized red blood cells, so it's frantically pumping out a bunch of tiny ones that don't do much good.

He thinks the root cause is my weight loss surgery. My stomach no longer has the surface area to produce the necessary stuff (forgot) to help absorb the iron from my food later on in the digestive system.

I've had two iron infusions in the past week, and I go back for labs in a month to see what effect it had. Then we keep checking it & refill as necessary.

P.S. Iron infusions are hella expensive - about $1k each, so consider that when choosing an insurance plan.