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Part 2:
 
I give blood off and on.  At times I've been lower than the ferritin standard.  Although I've felt fine, I finally asked a nurse, what gives and then explained the issue.  She said that women are often lower in iron then men.  She called it natural.  Although I've only missed the cut off by a point or two.  She wasn't concerned.  She just said that this time I had low iron.

I think what I'm saying is that I'm not sure how much you should be worrying.  Why don't you check and see if there is an average for women and go from there.
*****
Ask your doctor to dig a little deeper on the blood tests. I was apparently anemic for years, based on how long I was chewing ice, which is an indicator. Took iron, even more when pregnant, to no avail.  After being gluten free for six months, I was still feeling like crud. Doctor took more blood tests, and found out I was folic acid deficient anemic, not iron deficient. She put me on rx strength folic acid and in about one week I stopped chewing ice! I also added B12 supplements, which help with folic acid absorption (or vice verse?) but now have normal blood tests!!! No longer anemic! Give it a try. 
*****I truely feel for you. I am no doctor by any means and speak only from my Personal experience and observance of other family members. As with anything, each individuals body is different. And I do believe the longer celiac goes undiagnosed,the longer ir takes to heal. I figured out that I had celiac when I was 29. Immediately going gf, which was MUCH more difficult at that time due to a lack of labeling laws. Even though I continued to progressively feel better, I knew that healing takes a very long time. 4 years later I was trying to have a baby and continued to have multiple miscarriages etc. (Here was a lot to come for me and in the end i now have 2 beautiful children. I also had iron issues. Now, it has been almost 13 years and I still wonder if those little tips of villi struggle. In retrospect, I feel confident in saying that I believe it took me a good 7 years to reach a healthy healing point. I don't know if you need a test to tell you how
 you feel. You are doint the right things and healing your body. I guess if you need to take iron to keep it up, iin perspective, this is minor compared to where you were. There are those who deal with far greater challenges in their lives than we. You will be fine, you are doing great and caring for you. Be patient with your body. You might evaluate if you truly are being and living gf- not touching or being around others with gluten. Even a crumb can get you. 13 years ago distilled vinigar was a no-no in our world, now it is alledgedly acceptable. However, in our family we react to it immediately. Might be worth your time to do something like that just to ensure nothing is damaging you. Especially if it is in your home you could get it. And, it could just be taking a while. It'll get better. Just hang in there.
*****
I don't know if this will help but here is my story: I have been on the gf diet for 2 going on my third year.  I have never been anemic before diagnosis and my iron was fine 6 months into the diet.  At my last physical in the spring, I did show slight anemia.  So I went on Feosol for two months and had digestive symptoms like before I went GF.  I switched to Slow Fe over the summer but they still bothered me.  Finally in September  I wasn't anemic but my ferritin was still very low.  My level was 3 at the beginning of summer.  I don't like to take the iron supplements either so I'm trying to eat more meat, etc.  I think the diet can be low in iron since I made my own bread and the cereals I ate were not iron fortified.  This summer I did buy more iron enriched gf breads and cereals.  So I think that has helped.  My doctor wants me to continue the iron but I'm not going to. I hope to get back on just a vitamin with iron.  I will get my level
 checked in
March again.  I hope it stays up.  Also I suppose I could have more problems since I'm in my early 40's and my monthly flow is the heaviest that it has ever been.  It is frustrating since I never had this trouble before going on the diet.  So I feel it is the diet and the fact that I went off my vitamin with iron for quite a while when I started.
*****
Please consider reading my book "Get the Iron Edge" it is available in
e-book form for $5.95 at www.ironedge.info.
*****
Read up on it at StoptheThyroidMadness.com.  Low iron is a lot of times because of being
low thyroid, despite normal blood tests. 
*****
 You're quite right that menstruation could be a contributing factor. More elusive, but also relevant, is the considerable possibility that a celiac gut, even healed, is not the same as a never-inflammed gut. I do not believe there is any definitive scientific evidence, at least not yet. However, a couple of years ago when I told Peter Green (one of the leading celiac guys, and, lucky for me, my gastro) that I suspected that despite evidence of complete gut healing (new endoscopy done by him plus a capsule endoscopy, consistently good blood tests over the years, and happy adherence to the gf diet), my gut was still not quite right. I asked if he thought it possible that a healed celiac gut could still have some malabsorption problems. He said "yes." He also said that no one knows why. Things may have changed since that conversation, but then again, maybe not.
*****I had a ferritin of 0 and a hemoglobin of 7.5. My understanding is that
when the body's iron stores get that low, your ferritin number, it may
take many years to rebuild those stores. If you're not absorbing enough,
the body releases iron into the blood. You may need a different
formulation as it's very difficult to absorb iron in pill form. Also
take vitamin C with it as it helps absorption. I've read that you should
not take or eat calcium at the same time as that may also interfere. I'm
not sure about that one but who knows. 

My doctor told me I could be on iron for many years, possibly my entire
life. I am currently having a difficult time taking the iron. I was just
diagnosed celiac at the age of 55. I needed to have anemia, probably for
15yrs, bone loss and elevated liver enzymes before any MD would listen
to me....including my brother and sister-in-law, both MDs, who told me I
was crazy when I brought up the subject of possibly having a
malabsorption syndrome. At any rate, I now get horrible metal-mouth when
I take any iron....new since my small colon is healing I guess it's
getting thru and I taste it.  You might want to see a hematologist.
*****

According to my gastroenterologist anemia is the number one red flag of CD.
My ferritin was 4, which means I had practically no stored iron in my body and it does take some time to rebuild with an iron supplement. It is now 68.
I was anemic for ten years and it did not reverse in spite of my internist prescribing massive doses of iron, only after I went gluten-free.
*****
I had the same trouble absorbing iron after going completely GF. A smart doctor finally told me that it was the type of iron I was taking. I started to take FERGON its ferrous gluconate , and take it in the middle of your meal.Eat food, take the pill and then continue eating. No problems. It has helped alot!
*****
I have a similar problem, and my doctor is sending me to a hematologist to see why I'm not absorbing iron.  I keep blacking out and fainting, for no reason at all.  I'm also not absorbing much of the Cortef that I'm taking.  I've had my stomach and intestines scoped, and they are fine.  I'll let you know what I find out when I see the new doctor.
*****
I don't know any answers- just wanted to say, Same here- even after six years GF, I still have low ferritin. I now eat red meat and cook with iron skillets. Need to be re-checked, now that I am officially post-menopause (hoping that will help).
PS- I think my other food allergies contributed to malabsorption- I still had inflammation until I gave up dairy and other foods that I am allergic to (found out via blood test).
Frustrating!
*****


      

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