Low Iron

[Meredith]

Just got finished with Rituxan. Had my first blood tests and it showed no inflamation! Only problem - why iron count is low. Has anyone else had this with Weg?

[Psyborg]

Mine does seem to run low now. Before it was never an issue, not sure if it is medication related or possibly not enough iron in my diet.

[pwc51]

Mine has gone low on a couple of occasions - I have had Cyclophosphamide and Rituximab but it seems to me that it is the mtx that causes the decline. During the treatments it seems the iron recovers and then declines again as I go onto the maintenance medication.

[pberggren1]

I am going to get my iron checked soon. I have a feeling that the rtx will knock it down a bit.

[Sangye]

Phil, rtx shouldn't affect your iron. The B cells don't carry hemoglobin.

My hemoglobin levels always ran low until the rtx first started working. I believe my lungs were chronically inflamed and bleeding at a very low level all that time.

[pberggren1]

Phil, rtx shouldn't affect your iron. The B cells don't carry hemoglobin.

My hemoglobin levels always ran low until the rtx first started working. I believe my lungs were chronically inflamed and bleeding at a very low level all that time.

That is what I thought as well. So the hemoglobin carries oxygen? I had just heard of a few people who have been on rtx and their iron was low. My hemo is about 130 right now.

[Meredith]

Sangye were you able to tell that your lungs were bleeding? I show no signs anywhere. I am still on cytoxan. I hope he will back off of this now that the Rituxan has worked.

[Sangye]

That is what I thought as well. So the hemoglobin carries oxygen? I had just heard of a few people who have been on rtx and their iron was low.

That's probably because they need to be on rtx--ie, active Wegs is causing bleeding/ blood loss somewhere.

[Sangye]

Sangye were you able to tell that your lungs were bleeding? I show no signs anywhere. I am still on cytoxan. I hope he will back off of this now that the Rituxan has worked.

When I was dx'ed my lungs had been hemorrhaging for 3 months. I had a small, dry cough--nothing you'd ever be concerned about. A couple times a day I'd cough up a speck of blood (1/4 pea size). But I was profoundly anemic, pale, weak and extremely short of breath.

In 2009 my lungs hemorrhaged again. My hemoglobin had started dropping but was just barely below normal. I was only somewhat short of breath, and was very weak and fatigued. After a couple months like that I suddenly started coughing up a lot of blood-- about 1/4 cup at a time.

These were major hemorrhages. But the whole time from 2006 (dx) to late 2009 (1st rtx) my hemoglobin was never in normal range. Everyone chalked it up to chronic disease anemia which is a reasonable guess. But once I had rtx and it began working-- ba-da bing, normal hemoglobin. This is how I know my lungs were inflamed and at least slightly bleeding the whole time I was on Cellcept.

I've watched my labs and for me if the hemoglobin starts dropping below normal range I know my lungs are bleeding. It's not necessarily true for everyone-- there are a lot of factors that can cause that.

[Meredith]

Thank you. Haven't had any blood in my cought yet.