Anemia and iron...

I asked this to the Yahoo CRF group and the Yahoo Anemia group with little to no response...maybe someone here might at least have SOME thought, right or wrong...

Regarding treating mild anemia...

I've read many posts that say to include iron along with the vitamin-b supplements. And I've read many that say iron supplements are not necessary...and could be potentially detrimental.

So which gets the majority vote?

It seems to make sense to me that the anemia afflicting most of our CRF kitties is not due to iron defiency or iron absorption. I mean...cat foods have enough iron, right? And CRF doesn't interfere with the small intestines ability to absorb iron, right? CRF doesn't interfere with the bodies ability to recycle iron in the body, right?

Or wrong? Does CRF impact the bodies ability to utilize iron in the production of red blood cells?

Which is it? Are those that say additional iron is unnecessary correct? If they're not right, lets hear it!

Cuz as usual when it comes to my kitty's CRF, I am confused!

-JW

The kidneys are involved in stimulating red blood cell production in the bone marrow. When the kidneys are not functioning at 100%, RBC production is reduced. You can administer a drug called erythropoeitin (sp?) to stimulate RBC production. Ask your vet about it- from what I remember it is quite expensive.

Originally Posted by Dr. Doolittle

The kidneys are involved in stimulating red blood cell production in the bone marrow. When the kidneys are not functioning at 100%, RBC production is reduced. You can administer a drug called erythropoeitin (sp?) to stimulate RBC production. Ask your vet about it- from what I remember it is quite expensive.

Click to expand...

My kitty is not THAT anemic yet...and Epogen is not appropriate at this point. But vitamin b and perhaps iron can improve or at least slow down anemic conditions.

However, I'm wondering if supplementing iron is worthwile in a CRF kitty...

My point was...

If RBC production is being reduced by a lack of stimulating hormone Then supplementing iron would be of no benefit.

Originally Posted by Dr. Doolittle

My point was...

If RBC production is being reduced by a lack of stimulating hormone Then supplementing iron would be of no benefit.

Click to expand...

Well, see...that's EXACTLY what my original question is curious about. Anemia in CRF is no doubt caused by failing kidney's...which start producing less and less of erythropoeitin, and thus your bone marrow starts producing less and less red blood cells.

However, the patient evidence on forums and support lists is OVERWHELMING. Supplementing vitamin b + iron in anemic CRF kitties improves and/or stabilizes the anemic condition (at least while it is quite mild and before it requires Epogen). Even in kitties with advanced anemia, there's some evidence that they do better when the Epogen treatment is concurrent with supplemental vitamin b + iron.

The crux the my question is whether iron is really necessary. Some say absolutely...some say usually not (depends on the CRF kitty). Those that say iron is usually not necessary go on to cite research papers that have gone so far as to say iron supplementation can actually be detrimental in some cases.