low iron levels in 2 yr old

[nycmom18]

we just found out that my ds has a 10.9 hemoglobin and a 32 hemo(something else . so he is low on both ends. i have just started to do my research and i am extremely OVERWHELMED!

i told the doc i did not want to do a prescription iro, and wanted to try with food etc. she said fine and wants to check his levels again in 1 month.

after reading the list of iron rich foods, inhibitors etc. i feel at a loss as to what i should feed my son.

please help!!!

[writteninkursive]

My DD had the exact same thing happen when she had just turned 2 years old. We couldn't figure out why - her older sister doesn't eat any meat and has HIGH iron levels, and this one eats tons of meat and has low iron! The mainstream ped we were using at the time got all in a tizzy over it and freaked us out.
So I started digging, researching, and family history and found that my mom has a near identical health history as my DD is having. She always had low iron and had constipation problems, just like my DD.
It's not that she wasn't getting enough iron in diet (a lot of kids who have low iron ARE getting enough iron). What we ended up concluding was that iron levels are NOT a one-size-fits-all diagnosis. Some people have naturally lower iron levels, and others have naturally higher ones. It's pretty normal in people to have a range, just adults aren't routinely tested for iron unless something is wrong or there is a medical issue, so people aren't usually very sure about their iron levels.
We switched to a holistic ped, who did heavy metals tests and some other testing to make sure it wasn't a problem and we found that she was perfectly healthy, but has a really high metabolism (she's also our tiniest baby, never seems to gain weight, but eats a ton). He put her on organic toddler vitamins and sent us on our way.
I wouldn't get too freaked out at this point. Mainstream docs tend to have a view that everyone should have the same levels of everything, but that's just not realistically how bodies work. Kids inherit all kinds of different things from parents and grandparents. If the low iron doesn't seem to be affecting your DS (if he's not tired all the time or having diarrhea), I would discuss with the doc that you don't feel it's as big of a problem as she thinks it is (and switch docs if you need to, since some docs get pretty belligerent when their "orders" aren't followed).
Good luck to you!

[nycmom18]

thank you for your response, it put my mind to ease a bit more i will talk to the doc and mention how he doesnt really have any symptoms right now, and still see what i can do on my own for him. but its nice to know that this may be his normal...

[sbgrace]

Iron rich food that won't inhibit absorption: red meat, livers.

Do vitamin C with grains (all meals really) to reduce phytates effect on iron absorption.

Iron rich foods that also inhibit iron and vitamin C will not help: eggs (huge inhibition), beans, prunes, raisins, greens (including spinach, other greens), seeds/nuts, I may be forgetting some.

Other things that inhibit: dairy, soy/other beans, eggs (again, white and yolk-major), bright red fruits like grapes, prunes, etc. and their juices, all of the above list.

It is almost impossible to correct iron deficiency anemia in a child with foods. Sometimes people will suggest cast iron. That is a supplement too (inorganic iron in this case).

I'd do ferrous bisglycinate (also sometimes called ferrochel) along with vitamin C and get him corrected as fast as you can. What I did instead was waste time trying and failing to raise my son's level with foods. I wish I could go back and make a different choice for him. Solgar Gentle iron is ferrous bisglycinate. I used the powder. Kirkman labs sells a hypoallergenic iron biomax series I think that is bis-glycinate and we've used that too. It's also capsule. I dump it on pears, put pears on top, and some vitamin C and give it that way. There is a liquid form. I've not used it.

Do it first thing in the morning or last things before bed with nothing from the lists above to inhibit at least three hours on both sides. We do our dose with breakfast.

This form is absorbed at least 3 x's better than other forms of supplemental iron. It also doesn't have the side effects (GI for example) that less well absorbed forms have. This, and it's safety, is why it is used to fortify foods.

I don't want to be a downer because I know you're stressed out but anemia/low iron has proven effects on children. You want this corrected. I would not be ok with a low iron. Some kids don't absorb well (my son is one) for various reasons but that doesn't mean it's ok to be low in my opinion.

My son was low for way, way too long and I regret that now.

[nycmom18]

sooo...i emailed our old doc from last year and she said his iron last year at his 1 yr visit was 11.1 and now its 10.9. however she said that in their office they consider 10.5 to be the lowest where she would still just recommend iron through the diet instead of supplementing to start of with.

this obviously made me feel better, but at the same time, now even more confused! i've got 2 doctors telling me different things??

another thing im very confused about is that when they did a cbc it did not include stored iron levels, and from what i've read your hemo can be low, but your stored can be full and if its full then you aren't able to absorb/use your intaking iron?? i just dont feel comfortable not knowing these numbers and supplementing. so i am going to try diet for a couple of months and recheck levels then. and i will hopefully have a wonderful update at that point!

sbgrace: when your child was tested low for iron, did they know the stored levels and were you seeing signs/symptoms of low iron? because im not seeing any signs of low iron except many dark circles under eyes and its just not making much sense to me. just curious

[sbgrace]

Originally Posted by nycmom18

sooo...i emailed our old doc from last year and she said his iron last year at his 1 yr visit was 11.1 and now its 10.9. however she said that in their office they consider 10.5 to be the lowest where she would still just recommend iron through the diet instead of supplementing to start of with.

this obviously made me feel better, but at the same time, now even more confused! i've got 2 doctors telling me different things??

another thing im very confused about is that when they did a cbc it did not include stored iron levels, and from what i've read your hemo can be low, but your stored can be full and if its full then you aren't able to absorb/use your intaking iron?? i just dont feel comfortable not knowing these numbers and supplementing. so i am going to try diet for a couple of months and recheck levels then. and i will hopefully have a wonderful update at that point!

sbgrace: when your child was tested low for iron, did they know the stored levels and were you seeing signs/symptoms of low iron? because im not seeing any signs of low iron except many dark circles under eyes and its just not making much sense to me. just curious

Low iron is often asymptomatic in kids. That's why they do routine screening. I did see chewing behaviors in my son but he's unique in that I think.

Are you talking about ferritin levels? That is a very important number. It's important though because your ferritin will drop before you become anemic. It would be unusual (and generally temporary/say with an illness and the body is trying to keep iron away from bacteria for example) for a person to have adequate ferritin/iron stores and yet be anemic or pre-anemic. I think it would be wiser to ask to have his ferritin checked (do all the iron numbers) so that you know what you're dealing with. I suspect it's going to be low and if it is I would supplement. I didn't...I kept trying with food and I really regret that now.