Question about iron supplements

I have read that all twin pregnancies should be using supplemental iron in several different articles and books. I have been tested 2x so far and am not anywhere close to be anemic (I have never been in fact). I already drink 3 high protein shakes a day, take prenatals, calcium and expecta lipil. Has anyone else heard anything about needing iron when not anemic? I have some left that are still good from my last baby and have been taking one every other day to be on the safe side. I will ask my OB (if I remember...) at my next appt but I was hoping you girls could tell me what you take.

 

QUOTE(mstofko21 @ Jun 22 2008, 11:49 AM) [snapback]839599[/snapback]
I have read that all twin pregnancies should be using supplemental iron in several different articles and books. I have been tested 2x so far and am not anywhere close to be anemic (I have never been in fact). I already drink 3 high protein shakes a day, take prenatals, calcium and expecta lipil. Has anyone else heard anything about needing iron when not anemic? I have some left that are still good from my last baby and have been taking one every other day to be on the safe side. I will ask my OB (if I remember...) at my next appt but I was hoping you girls could tell me what you take.


Ask your OB.... I wouldn't take it until you need it unless the OB suggests it. If you are concerned, supplement your diet with iron rich foods like beef, spinach, peas. That is much healthier for you anyway

On the other side, I am anemic, and iron supplements aren't doing anything for me. It i hard for your body to absorb minerals and vitamins in non-food form, and apparantlhy that is true for me and iron.

 

MY OB has not mentioned it I assume because the CBC came back looking great. I just get so much different info from all the books etc. I never know what I should believe.

 

If your doctor isn't recommending it, I wouldn't take it. Hopefully at the next visit you can ask and he'll tell you if it's okay and you can tell him what you've been reading. My doctor put me on iron supplements from the start and I wasn't anemic before hand. ardon:

 

I was only put on iron supplements when it was discovered that I was anemic.

 

I wouldn't do iron supplements if your blood is doing fine anyway. My mil never needed iron supplements in pregnancy--too much iron can be a bad thing, too. OTOH, I had to up my level of iron twice before I finally stopped being anemic. Do what YOUR body needs.

 

I was put on extra iron, folic acid and calcium by the PERI at my first appointment as I was carrying twins!

 

I was on iron before I switched dr.s and this new one has taken me off. It was sort of silly for me not to realize that I didn't need it considering I had all the results with me of my labs and I'm a phlebotomist (blood drawer).
If your HCT (hematacrict or iron level) is high enough then all iron will do is make you more constipated, which is already hard to deal with in pregnancy!

Here is what I would do, ask to see if you can arrange to test your HTC, which is something that they can do with a little finger stick and a tiny glass tube. It takes about 3 minutes to get the results using a fingerstick. I'm not going to tell you the ranges that a Hct should be because it differs with pregnancy and the book I have includes men in the average and men have a higher Hct, but I'll tell you that mine was at 37% and that's alright.

Hope that helps! Sorry if its too much info.

I would do what pp said and eat foods higher in iron if you're still a little concerned.

 

Iron supplements cause constipation. I found that while I was not anemic; I still wanted to add iron so I ate "LIFE" cereal. It has an amazingly high iron content and is VERY good. It has tons of vitamins and minerals and I figure if you ate it once a day- you'd be set. I tried to eat one bowl every nite before bed.

No constipation!! And I think it was a good thing I heightened my iron cuz I lost a ton of blood and bounced back pretty quickly

 

Thanks for all of the good advice. I will try the life cereal!!

 

My OB only recommended it when my tests showed low iron...

 

My blood always came back normal so no iron supplements until I went in for the glucose test. They tested iron then and decided it was time for the supplements. I would ask your doctor. He may have a plan similar to mine for you.

 

The min. that we realize we have twins, my doctor said to take 2 prenatal a day, 1 expecta, 1 iron and 1 calcium.
But after taking the gulcose test, my iron was low and I have to take 2 iron a day. Though too much iron made me constipate so drink plenty of water. Fruits also helps me.

And at the same time, I'm trying to eat more beef, veggie, etc..

I had read a artical that you should not take your iron with calcium since calcium will take away your iron . So you should take it in a different time.