Q: I am a 44 years old woman who had a kidney transplant and am taking Minipress 2.5 mg daily for the last 10 years. Now for the last few days, I pass stools within an hour of having a meal due to, which my body is not absorbing iron. My haemoglobin is 8.5, but other parameters like vitamin C, B12, folic acid levels are normal. Please advise.

A:This symptom is called gastro-colic reflex, which means the stomach increases colonic activity. To slow this down you can take Probanthin 15 mg three times a day (1/2 hr before your main meals). The two main causes of low iron levels are poor absorption or increased iron loss. To investigate that you need to see a gastroenterologist, to examine you for occult gastro-intestinal (GI) bleeding and to exclude malabsorption, in particular celiac disease.