Iron Pills
Replies
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My iron levels seemingly have no impact on my tiredness.0
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Theoldguy1 wrote: »Oddly enough, I've been deemed anemic based on bloodwork. Had a colonscopy and endoscopy and no signs of bleeding. Also had a pill camera test and still found no bleed. Thing is I display none of the symptoms. I'm never fatigued, always high energy, sleep well and strong in the gym on every exercise. Again odd. I am taking an iron supplement and seem to be doing fine with it.
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I had similar situation. I was told I couldn't donate blood when they checked iron level at the test site. The tech suggested seeing doctor. Had the same tests other than the pill camera.
I did seem to notice some more energy after I got on the supplement. I've been able to donate blood with no issues.
Ironically, my electrolytes were also off. My doc said to add a little iodized salt to my food. I avoid sodium due to high blood pressure concerns and my doc’s advice based on family history (everyone has hbp), but she said I overdid it. 🤪
I go through at least a liter of Gatorade Zero a day siting at my WFH job so electrolytes seem good.. Go to the gym but not hot enough around hear to be really sweating yet.1 -
I have been anemic for years. About 20 years ago I had to have an emergency blood infusion, 2 bags, because my blood count was so low. After a few test I was told I had hemoglobin C disease. It usually does not effect people. Yay me! Not really. Doctor recommended iron pills. Going good for a while and then it happened again a few years later. I was told I would need a bone marrow biopsy if it did not improve the next appointment. Never look anything up on the internet. I was freaked out until my appointment and all was good.
I was always anemic at my yearly doctor appointments. My monthly had gotten heavier when I hit my 40's. I would take a few steps after sitting and be out of breath. I could feel my heartbeat and hear it in my ears. I was always tired and in pain and could not keep up a workout routine. I told my nurse that I would go for a walk/jog and she said I should not have been doing that. I could have fainted
2 years ago I pointed out to my doctor that my lower abdominal was hard. We chalked it up as stool. This pass year I pointed out that it was still hard, She checked it and sent me for an ultrasound asap. The fibroids we were suppose to keep an eye on had grown to 9 cm and filled my entire uterus. This was causing the low iron as well. I decided to have just my uterus removed but had to have 8 iron infusions ($$$$$) to get my iron up and then was not able to have the surgery because of covid.
The iron infusions helped and I do feel better. I take my iron pills faithfully and eat better and hope that menopauses hit this year at 50. Overall I feel good.8 -
HereWeGoAgain1978 wrote: »Recent blood work showed I'm anemic, so I've been taking Feosol Complete iron tablets. I've been taking them about a week, and I can honestly say I feel more tired since I started taking them. Has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks,
Beth
Husband similar like you. His body doesn't absorb iron. His blood work showed no absorption. He ended up doing daily injections for a few months, then down to a few a month, now one or two every 6-ish months. they hurt, not gonna lie. My thoughts are to keep track of this and your blood work, and ask about injections if you don't see improvement in a timely manner.
(eta: he also had infusions in the beginning of this injection treatment)
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My PCP has been monitoring my low iron for a couple of years and I was trying to make difference without taking iron supplements. Anyhow, at on point I tried a supplement which triggered extreme constipation and as someone who had bad a hemrroidectomy the previous year, that was not an option.
Anyhow, when I returned to MFP to loose weight in september I decided I would also try and make a better effort at including iron in my diet. I customized two parameters in my MFP diary. I think I gave up sugar and sodium and added iron and fiber, which I cared about. I began making sure I reached my dietary iron daily. In January, at my annual physical, my iron level was normal for the first time in years.
Yay!
For others worried about constipation and iron pills, I never have this issue with iron bisglycinate. I also take my iron with buffered powdered vitamin C to bowel tolerance.
Last year after months of unending menstrual bleeding my iron was so low I ended up in the ER for a *blood transfusion.* I felt better within days, but unfortunately my primary doctor over-prescribed ferrous gluconate, and I ended up in urgent care with the worst pain of my life. She'd prescribed three pills per day and when I got to the hematologist he said one pill, every other day. >.<
*Iron transfusions* work much more slowly than the *blood transfusion* - I'd notice weeks after infusions that I had more energy.
A note on getting iron from food - if you see a crazy high iron value, for example 70% RDA iron from one serving of cereal like Wheaties, that food is *fortified* (aka *supplemented*) and IMO you'd be better off taking a high quality (and gentle) supplement rather than whatever cheap form the manufacturer is dumping in.4 -
HereWeGoAgain1978 wrote: »Recent blood work showed I'm anemic, so I've been taking Feosol Complete iron tablets. I've been taking them about a week, and I can honestly say I feel more tired since I started taking them. Has anyone else experienced this?
Thanks,
Beth
Are you fine with other foods that contain Yellow 6 and Red 40? A small amount of people do have reactions to them.
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kshama2001 wrote: »My PCP has been monitoring my low iron for a couple of years and I was trying to make difference without taking iron supplements. Anyhow, at on point I tried a supplement which triggered extreme constipation and as someone who had bad a hemrroidectomy the previous year, that was not an option.
Anyhow, when I returned to MFP to loose weight in september I decided I would also try and make a better effort at including iron in my diet. I customized two parameters in my MFP diary. I think I gave up sugar and sodium and added iron and fiber, which I cared about. I began making sure I reached my dietary iron daily. In January, at my annual physical, my iron level was normal for the first time in years.
Yay!
For others worried about constipation and iron pills, I never have this issue with iron bisglycinate. I also take my iron with buffered powdered vitamin C to bowel tolerance.
Last year after months of unending menstrual bleeding my iron was so low I ended up in the ER for a *blood transfusion.* I felt better within days, but unfortunately my primary doctor over-prescribed ferrous gluconate, and I ended up in urgent care with the worst pain of my life. She'd prescribed three pills per day and when I got to the hematologist he said one pill, every other day. >.<
*Iron transfusions* work much more slowly than the *blood transfusion* - I'd notice weeks after infusions that I had more energy.
A note on getting iron from food - if you see a crazy high iron value, for example 70% RDA iron from one serving of cereal like Wheaties, that food is *fortified* (aka *supplemented*) and IMO you'd be better off taking a high quality (and gentle) supplement rather than whatever cheap form the manufacturer is dumping in.
@kshama2001 I'm going to keep that advice in mind.1 -
Assuming the CAUSE of your anaemia/ iron deficiency has been investigated...
Iron tablets are weird. It’s a bit like weight loss - more isn’t always better. Most people who prescribe iron do it in far too big amounts.
200mg three times a day is the “standard” prescription.
This is waaaay more than the body can handle and it actually causes blockage of the iron absorption systems.
100mg ALTERNATE days is actually more effective.
Seems bonkers, but true.
If your Hb hasn’t improved after 4-6 weeks on iron tablets, you may need injectable iron
Yours,
A UK based doctor with an interest in the area.6 -
If your ferritin is low then it might take up to 2 months to get into a normal range again, assuming you take 1-2 high dose pills the right way, with some kind of vitamin C for absorption. It's not a quick fix. Your body also needs to create new red blood cells, which takes time.
Several posts have mentioned taking with vitamin C.
You can get iron and vitamin C combination tablets ( FerrogradC) so this happens automatically rather than needing to have orange juice or anything.1
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