I had a follow- up appointment with the surgeon to discuss the results from my scope. Everything is normal- no lesions, cancer or colitis. Phewf!
He agreed with what I was thinking, that the low iron is probably due to poor absorption. He thinks there may be an imbalance in my gut flora. He suggested a few things to try. Basically trial-and-error now to figure out what is happening and what will help. He did suggest possibly seeing a gastroenterologist, if things are not improving. Sigh. So basically no definitive answers. Frustrating.