Hello

I have recently been "sort of diagnosed with celiac" (it will be months and months until I can see a GI and both my GP and myself have decided that I can't stay eating wheat until then.

Right now I have low iron and menorrhagia. My doctor would like me to take iron supplements however they are making me feel worse (big D and such). Can it better on it's own? I eating more meat and trying to eat as much green leafy veggies as I can. They say that Vitamin K a fat soluble vitamin aids in helping with this problem.

Have any others had success in returning to regular iron levels without supplements?

When I started the gluten-free diet I had chronic diarrhea for six months and was unable to tolerate any supplements at all. They would give me dreadful stomach cramps and D for six months into the gluten-free diet, and I still had to be careful for several months after that.

Taking oral supplements at the stage you're at is likely useless and a waste of money, since you can't absorb them anyway.

So, you're left with two options. If you want to feel better quickly and have more energy, getting iron injections for a few weeks would be a good idea (that is what I would do). Otherwise, you will just have to wait for your villi to heal enough to absorb iron from your diet. It will be a long time for your ferretin to go up to an acceptable level that way, and to be at an optimal level would likely take over a year (more like two).

I would look into iron shots or Iron IV's. I have had Iron IV's--it's the only way I can get enough iron to keep my levels within normal range. My Dr told me I'd have to take about half of a bottle of iron to get the amount in just one IV.

I dont know if it would help you or not, but when I was pregnant and couldnt tolerate prenatal vitamins, my midwife put me on yellowdock capsules. its an herb which doesnt contain iron, but helps you absorb iron.