What does Iron do for the body?I have been diagnosed with a underactive thryoid and also being anemic.?

Question

I have been on Levoxyl for the past few weeks, and I have to take 325mg of Iron pills everyday. The Levoxyl I have to take everyday for the rest of my life. I have gotten very constipated from the Iron pills, and I drink a full glass of water everyday but doesn't seem to help it. My medicaiton requires a full glass of water when taking the Levoxyl. I know Iron is important for the body, but what does it mean exactly?I am a 23/f and weigh 98 pounds. I have always been small. I was diadnosed with being anemic when I was pregant in 2003. So I have always had low iron every since then and probably before that. If anyone has experience in this sort of situation please let me know what to do and help me understand more about it. Thanks!!!

Answer 1

Hi Mustang. Whew - that is a lot of iron. It appears your doctor(s) has not looked for the underyling condition that is causing all of your problems (anemia, low thyroid, low weight, etc.)

A very common condition that is rarely diagnosed by medical doctors could cause ALL of your conditions. The condition is called Celiac Disease (CD). CD occurs in about one in every 100 people, yet in the U.S. is only diagnosed in one in 3500 people. This means, 97% of the people with this common disorder never get properly diagnosed!

The MOST COMMON presenting symptom of CD is 'unexplained fatigue'. CD can lead to anemia, thyroid problems and a host of other dsyfunctions that produce fatigue. This condition damages the lining of the small intestine. This leads to malabsorption of nutrients (e.g. iron and other vitamins and minerals) and hyperabsorption of unwanted things (e.g. toxins). It can cause a very wide variety of symptoms or cause no symptoms at all! Anemia, thyroid problems, and weight loss (or inability to gain weight) are very common.

CD is an autoimmune disease that is caused by an allergic reaction to the proteins in wheat, rye and barley. These proteins are called glutens and gliadins. The only treatment is avoidance of foods containing gluten and gliadin. The fact that this common condition is only treatable by diet (there is NO effective drug therapy) may explain why most medical doctors are so clueless about it.

With your medical situation, CD MUST BE RULED OUT. Ask your doctor for a referral to a specialist in this disorder. Do NOT let your doctor ''test you" or talk you out of this. Unless your doctor has already tested you for CD (very unlikely), he/she is incompetent to be discussing/evaluating this issue.

Best wishes and good luck.

P.S. you may need to educate yourself and your doctor on this common condition. You can find a complete series of medical reviews on this disease in the April supplement of the medical journal "Gastroenterology" at their website. You may need to print these out and give them to your doctor.

Answer 2

Thyroid hormone controls metabolism in the body. People who have "underactive" thyroid glands have slower heart beats, less appetite, usually constipation, skin and hair changes, complain of fatigue, etc. Levoxyl will bring your metabolism back to normal. You may lose some weight, be more active, maybe even have a few loose stools (except for the iron). There are different types of anemia but since they are giving you iron replacement therapy, I assume that you have iron deficinecy anemia. Your red blood cells are pale and small and cannot carry much oxygen. Iron will be incorporated into the new red blood cells you make so that they can carry more oxygen and you should feel better when that happens. Iron supplements will cause constipation. Luckily, most people will adapt to this. And most people take it for a limited time. Do you have heavy periods? That may aggravate your anemia. Do you eat a balanced diet with veggies and such? Maybe you're not getting enough vitamins and nutrients from your diet.

Answer 3

Iron is mostly used for hemoglobin in the blood. It carries oxygen and is why the blood is red. There is also a similar compound myoglobin found in muscles to store some more oxygen.