Iron supplements and the aftermath

At my last appointment, my Dr. said my bloodwork was coming back slightly anemic (33% when I should be at 35%--don't *really* know what that means). I had been taking a gentle form of iron that was not messing with my system too much but apparently that wasn't enough to bring the levels up to where he wanted them.

My Dr. put me on Ferrous Sulfate instead and ever since I started taking it, I'm a mess. I mean, constipated, slightly nauseous, uncomfortable, etc. It's really terrible. I am religious about eating All-Bran for breakfast, only buying high fiber bread, tons of water, fruit, my OB also suggested adding in prunes which I did, nothing is working! I am very tempted to just stop taking it and going back to my old routine, anemia be damned. (but that's probably not too smart).

Has anyone else had this problem and/or a solution?? Maybe there's another brand of iron that will be effective in bringing up my levels but not wrack my system in quite this way? Any thoughts are appreciated!!

 

Hi - Iron supplementation is known to cause these side effects; however, I feel confident that you can find an effective brand that is easier on your system. I'm sure someone here will have a recommendation. Also, you can call or email a homeopathic pharmacy, e.g., the Santa Monica Homeopathic Pharmacy for a consultation and recommendation. I buy all of my vitamins at the SMHP or online after consulting with them based on a recommendation from my doctor who constantly reiterates that not all vitamins are created equally. Good luck!

 

If you are only slightly anemic, as I usually am, I would try first to raise my iron level with food as your body absorbs it better. I ate red meat and didn't have dairy with it, instead try to eat it with Vitamin C which helps your body absorb it. It takes 6 weeks to raise your level so don't bother testing until then. You can also try a stool softener, - most docs think Miralax is ok for pregnant women. I found that Whole Foods Seeduction bread for breakfast was my best friend!

 

Consider using iron citrate or glycinate, which are less constipating forms of iron. Take them away from food, and with a glass of orange juice.

 

I was only slightly anemic (although I have no idea how my numbers compared to yours) and my doctor didn't really treat it - just had me take non-binding iron supplements. Could you ask him if you could take miralax with it? Constipation is no joke - besides the obvious extreme discomfort, you can develop hemheroids. I would definitely not ignore this problem - good luck! Laura

 

http://www.florahealth.com/flora/home/Canada/Products/R4771.htm

That one. That is the only way to go with iron supplements!!! It does not have ANY side effects whatsoever. It brought me back up from extremely anemic to perfectly normal after a major blood loss after my 3rd child was born, and it kept me normal with my duo. It doesn't taste bad, no constipation, no nausea - I can't believe its not recommended more often!!!!


I do agree tho to try to get as much in your diet as you can - dried fruits are really good for starts! Definitely with Vitamin C - and NOT with dairy products - it completely reduces absorption! A big glass of OJ when you eat anything high in iron works awesome.

 

My Iron got low enough that I have to take 2 iron tabs a day. My hemoglobin level is low and I haven't been able to get it back up to good levels. I thought that I had it sorted out with diet and the pills but it wasn't enough and I have had to up the number of pills and change things up. Hopefully I have it good now I get it tested again next week. Don't ignore the problem though because your babies will suffer in the long run. My Doc says that you need to keep your iron up because the babies get all the iron they need for the first few days of life from the mother and if your iron is low then theirs will be too and it can cause other problems. The other thing is that my morning sickness was horrible until I got the iron levels normalized. When the levels start to go lower again I get more and more worn out and start to feel sick. Hemorrhoids are definitely a problem so keep playing with your daily regimen until you get it sorted out. They are annoying but worth it for my boyz.

Oh yeah, get some baby wipes and start using them when you have a bowel movement. This has helped a ton with some of my issues. Take it easy on the toilet and don't try to rush things.

Daily I do the following:

2 iron pills (I take one in the morning and one at night with a glass of orange juice and no food for at least an hour before or 2 hours after. Don't get the OJ that is fortified with calcium because the calcium prevents the iron from absorbing into your body)
Multi vitamins
Folic acid

1/2 serving of miralax in the evening (I up it to a full serving if I start having problems)

One banana
One pear
One orange

I eat as much red meat as possible

 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions (esp. Naturallybaby & ChaoticMum-I'm happy for alternatives How much do you take?). It's been tough because I have been eating tons of red meat, spinach, etc. to try to get iron through my diet but apparently it's not working. Truthfully, I have been mildly anemic practically my whole life so I'm not totally surprised.
And I appreciate the suggestion of taking with OJ--I actually knew that dairy (or specifically, calcium) blocks the absorption so you're not supposed to take it with dairy or even at the same time as the multi because of the calcium levels but hadn't heard the thing about taking it with citrus.
Thanks for your help!

 

I was major anemic......I ate all the the "right" foods and still had to take iron tabs. The doctor told me to take them in the AM, without any other supplement. He said that the multi-vit actually reduced the absorption of the iron.

Anyway I ended up with all your issues and started taking stool softeners in the evening before bed. That did the trick.

 

There are directions on the bottle - I take 10ml twice daily. Its not so much the citrus as the Vitamin C - Iron is absorbed more efficiently in the presence of VitC.

 

I would highly suggest the stool softner (I used miralax) because if you can avoid getting hemroids-that would be good! Good luck! I hope they get your iron level up.