Anemia is a condition in which you don't have enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your tissues. Signs and symptoms vary depending on the cause of your anemia, but may include: fatigue, pale skin, fast or irregular heartbeat, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, cold hands & feet, headaches, and cognitive problems.
The most common hematological abnormality in systemic lupus is anemia and is recognized by any of the following tests: the hematocrit, the hemoglobin concentration in blood, or the red blood cell count. About half of the patients with active lupus are anemic. The severity of the anemia is usually proportional to the activity level of a person's lupus. Fatigue suffered by many patients with active lupus, can be attributed in part to anemia.
In a person with lupus, anemia may be caused by chronic inflammation, prolonged uremia, iron deficiency, or hemolytic anemia. Prolonged inflammation hinders the production of red blood cells by the bone marrow, the tissue hidden within bones that produces blood cells. Iron, which is essential for the production of hemoglobin, is not produced normally during inflammation and accumulates unused amounts in the marrow tissue. Therefore, treatment with iron is useless in anemia due to inflammation; only alleviation of the inflammatory condition restores normal red blood cell production.
Prolonged uremia is due to impaired kidney function and may also cause anemia in persons with lupus. This can be treated with angrogens (male hormones) or erythropoietin. Occasionally, severe forms of anemia induced by chronic uremia require blood transfusions.
Iron deficiency is due to loss of blood from the body. Women with heavy or frequent menstrual periods may become iron deficient. Drugs used in the treatment of lupus, such as aspirin and Prednisone, can irritate the stomach and cause internal bleeding. In some cases, the leakage of blood from the stomach causes the stools to turn black. If this occurs, immediately contact your doctor. In other cases the blood loss can be unapparent and detectable only by special examination of the stool (the guaiac test). Any anemic patient should have a test for blood loss from the stomach or intestines, since the source of bleeding requires identification and treatment. In this case treatment with iron tablets rapidly corrects iron-deficient anemia.
The kidneys are especially vulnerable for people with lupus. Varying degrees of inflammation caused by the disease can result in lupus nephritis and even kidney failure.
Lupus nephritis is the medical term for kidney disease that occurs in SLE patients. With this disease, the tiny filters in the kidneys are damaged resulting in a loss of kidney function. This may lead to fluid retention with weight gain and swelling, called edema. Puffiness in the legs, ankles and/or fingers is often the first complaint of lupus nephritis patients. Other than edema, there are very few signs or symptoms. Lupus nephritis does not produce pain in the abdomen or back, or burning during urination.
It’s important to be aware that not all kidney problems in lupus patients are caused by lupus nephritis. Urinary tract infections occur frequently in lupus patients and require antibiotic treatment.
Similarly, medications used for treating lupus may produce signs of kidney disease that could be confused with lupus nephritis. For example, salicylate compounds, like aspirin, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen, are commonly used by lupus patients and can cause loss of kidney function or fluid retention. These problems usually fade when the medications are discontinued.
Despite appropriate medical treatment, some patients with lupus nephritis will develop chronic kidney disease that could lead to renal failure. End stage renal disease caused by lupus can be treated with dialysis or a kidney transplant.
For me I was misdiagnosed for years. It began as a teenager in high school when I was told it was just an iron deficiency and was put on iron supplement ( remember Geritol? ), yet my periods were normal and I took a multivitamin with iron in it every day since I was twelve.
Years later I would still be diagnosed with anemia even though I would have the most severe symptoms (see chart above). Yet it wasn’t until just last year when my Lupus was diagnosed that it was determined my anemia was caused by chronic inflammation. Meaning all those iron supplements I took were a waste of time and money! The final diagnosis of treatment I was given was to relieve the inflammation (with a diet rich in amino acids) and in turn my anemia would go back to normal.
Today I take a woman’s multi vitamin/mineral that has 50% of the RDA of iron in it and eat (or juice) a good amount of greens high in iron and amino acids. Why still take the iron supplement? Because we all need it (women that is, men over the age of 18 rarely do). So the next time someone tells you your anemic, ask what kind of anemia do I have? How do you know that? What caused it? How can I reverse it? Without knowing the details of your health you will never be able to heal your body correctly.
Anemia is a condition in which you don't have enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your tissues. Signs and symptoms vary depending on the cause of your anemia, but may include: fatigue, pale skin, fast or irregular heartbeat, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, cold hands & feet, headaches, and cognitive problems.
The most common hematological abnormality in systemic lupus is anemia and is recognized by any of the following tests: the hematocrit, the hemoglobin concentration in blood, or the red blood cell count. About half of the patients with active lupus are anemic. The severity of the anemia is usually proportional to the activity level of a person's lupus. Fatigue suffered by many patients with active lupus, can be attributed in part to anemia.
In a person with lupus, anemia may be caused by chronic inflammation, prolonged uremia, iron deficiency, or hemolytic anemia. Prolonged inflammation hinders the production of red blood cells by the bone marrow, the tissue hidden within bones that produces blood cells. Iron, which is essential for the production of hemoglobin, is not produced normally during inflammation and accumulates unused amounts in the marrow tissue. Therefore, treatment with iron is useless in anemia due to inflammation; only alleviation of the inflammatory condition restores normal red blood cell production.
Prolonged uremia is due to impaired kidney function and may also cause anemia in persons with lupus. This can be treated with angrogens (male hormones) or erythropoietin. Occasionally, severe forms of anemia induced by chronic uremia require blood transfusions.
Iron deficiency is due to loss of blood from the body. Women with heavy or frequent menstrual periods may become iron deficient. Drugs used in the treatment of lupus, such as aspirin and Prednisone, can irritate the stomach and cause internal bleeding. In some cases, the leakage of blood from the stomach causes the stools to turn black. If this occurs, immediately contact your doctor. In other cases the blood loss can be unapparent and detectable only by special examination of the stool (the guaiac test). Any anemic patient should have a test for blood loss from the stomach or intestines, since the source of bleeding requires identification and treatment. In this case treatment with iron tablets rapidly corrects iron-deficient anemia.
The kidneys are especially vulnerable for people with lupus. Varying degrees of inflammation caused by the disease can result in lupus nephritis and even kidney failure.
Lupus nephritis is the medical term for kidney disease that occurs in SLE patients. With this disease, the tiny filters in the kidneys are damaged resulting in a loss of kidney function. This may lead to fluid retention with weight gain and swelling, called edema. Puffiness in the legs, ankles and/or fingers is often the first complaint of lupus nephritis patients. Other than edema, there are very few signs or symptoms. Lupus nephritis does not produce pain in the abdomen or back, or burning during urination.
It’s important to be aware that not all kidney problems in lupus patients are caused by lupus nephritis. Urinary tract infections occur frequently in lupus patients and require antibiotic treatment.
Similarly, medications used for treating lupus may produce signs of kidney disease that could be confused with lupus nephritis. For example, salicylate compounds, like aspirin, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen, are commonly used by lupus patients and can cause loss of kidney function or fluid retention. These problems usually fade when the medications are discontinued.
Despite appropriate medical treatment, some patients with lupus nephritis will develop chronic kidney disease that could lead to renal failure. End stage renal disease caused by lupus can be treated with dialysis or a kidney transplant.
For me I was misdiagnosed for years. It began as a teenager in high school when I was told it was just an iron deficiency and was put on iron supplement ( remember Geritol? ), yet my periods were normal and I took a multivitamin with iron in it every day since I was twelve.
Years later I would still be diagnosed with anemia even though I would have the most severe symptoms (see chart above). Yet it wasn’t until just last year when my Lupus was diagnosed that it was determined my anemia was caused by chronic inflammation. Meaning all those iron supplements I took were a waste of time and money! The final diagnosis of treatment I was given was to relieve the inflammation (with a diet rich in amino acids) and in turn my anemia would go back to normal.
Today I take a woman’s multi vitamin/mineral that has 50% of the RDA of iron in it and eat (or juice) a good amount of greens high in iron and amino acids. Why still take the iron supplement? Because we all need it (women that is, men over the age of 18 rarely do). So the next time someone tells you your anemic, ask what kind of anemia do I have? How do you know that? What caused it? How can I reverse it? Without knowing the details of your health you will never be able to heal your body correctly.