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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Can Fatigue, Appetite Loss And Swelling In The Ankles Be Treated?

my mom is age 73 and recently has been told she has iron poor blood, anemic,heart valve leakage and swelling in ankle & feet. also she is always tired all the time, occasional diarreha, nausea and she hardly has any appetite. she is on iron pills for iron poor blood but that is not helping.her primary doctor is not helping& heart not very helpful. i would like some suggestions on how to help her.
Fri, 29 Dec 2017
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hello,
First of all the iron can cause some nausea so talk to her doctor about suggestions that may reduce that problem. The swelling of the ankles and fatigue may be from heart failure due to the valve disease. The cardiologist would be the best person to manage the medications for this but she needs to be on a very strict no salt (not just no added salt but no canned foods, no processed foods and no salty snacks).
Also you need to know why she is anemic. Does she have colon disease. If she has not had one, she needs a colonoscopy. The most common cause for iron deficiency in the elderly is colon polyps.
Regards
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How Can Fatigue, Appetite Loss And Swelling In The Ankles Be Treated?

Hello, First of all the iron can cause some nausea so talk to her doctor about suggestions that may reduce that problem. The swelling of the ankles and fatigue may be from heart failure due to the valve disease. The cardiologist would be the best person to manage the medications for this but she needs to be on a very strict no salt (not just no added salt but no canned foods, no processed foods and no salty snacks). Also you need to know why she is anemic. Does she have colon disease. If she has not had one, she needs a colonoscopy. The most common cause for iron deficiency in the elderly is colon polyps. Regards