My doctor told me I should take 1-2 iron pills a day to see if it helps my fatigue. I didn't realize there are different types and doses. Many years ago I was told to avoid iron because it caused stomach aches. It's been so long I don't remember.
Any suggestions to a safe kind to take?
Iron supplements
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Hi Deb,
Saw your previous iron scores. They were very similiar to mine when I started supplementing with iron and made lifestyle changes to get more iron. I'll address my experiences with supplements here and I'll bump up my prior iron thread and update the lifestyle changes I implemented so you can look at that too.
My iron scores (ferritin) were 16 with a high end of 252. Had pcp order the labs in Feb 2012 as the boyfriend had already diagnosed me with low iron. Saw GI doc #2 a week or so later, GI doc had access to my lab results on the computer. GI doc and training doc both pronounced my scores as "normal." I even mentioned my boyfriend thougth I had low iron and I had heavy fatigue but the GI doc #2 and training doc both reconfirmed "normal." To save $60.00 I never had pcp interpret the labs. Big mistake. Nov 2012 I was at pcp for something else, we looked at my labs as I had questions on my b scores and then he was like your iron is seriously low. I actually don't know what my scores were in November but think they were probably lower than 16 as I was having problems moving around the house after 7:00 pm at night. PCP was big on cooking in cast iron (more on that on next thread). I decided on my own I would supplement as I had suffered for months.
I tried two liquid irons and 2 or 3 metallic irons all taken with a meal. All seemed to have the name "gentle iron." somewhere in the title. They pretty much acted like laxatives.
Then I found two different supplements that I was able to tolerate. Vitamin Shoppe has something called Rainbow LIght Certified Organics Plant Source Iron. It is made of 100% curry leaves. I had no gurgling, no gi distress and no problems taking it. The problem with a plant source iron is that it is "non heme" i.e. not from an animal and it is less absorbed than animal source iron. To boost absorption of non heme iron you need
to take it with a food containing vitamin c. Does not have to becitrus....something like tomato sauce or even when eating a potato would work. It says it is 100% of your daily value but again the question is how much is absorbed. I took one a day but it was gentle enough probably 2 or 3 could be taken a day along with a vitamin c food. Price on this product was $6.00 or $8.00 per 50 supplements.
The other thing I took was a heme (animal based) iron supplement I stumbled upon Proferrin ES on the web. It is a heme iron supplement that is "centrifuged cows blood." www.proferrin.com and you can read about it. CVS was able to order it in for me in one day. I think the price was approx $70.00 or $90.00 for 90 tablets from CVS. I just remember it being pricey. I walked in to order it from the pharmacist. I found if you call around everyone says they can't get it but if you are face to face they can get it. Heme iron is much better absorbed by our bodies. The problem is in addition to the centrifuged cows blood the capsules also have yellow dye #5, blue dye #2 and about 10 other things you can check out on the web. I found I could only tolerate it if I took it in the middle of a largerish mid day meal. I got gurgling when I took it at breakfast and then I got gurgling when I took it in the evening. I only took the one tablet a day at lunchtime as that was all I could barely tolerate. One tablet is 67% of daily value. Instructions say to take up to 3 tablets a day. I was scared to take more than 1 due to the gurgling I got in morning and evening. A cheaper and good alternative to this supplement would be to eat liver twice a week. (I didn't know how to cook liver so never went there.)
Anyways, started working on my iron Nov 7th and did blood work mid March and my score was up to 46. I definitely feel better at the 46 level!
I also did lifestyle changes that were pretty significant and will post on those in a day or so.
Hope this helps, Brandy
Saw your previous iron scores. They were very similiar to mine when I started supplementing with iron and made lifestyle changes to get more iron. I'll address my experiences with supplements here and I'll bump up my prior iron thread and update the lifestyle changes I implemented so you can look at that too.
My iron scores (ferritin) were 16 with a high end of 252. Had pcp order the labs in Feb 2012 as the boyfriend had already diagnosed me with low iron. Saw GI doc #2 a week or so later, GI doc had access to my lab results on the computer. GI doc and training doc both pronounced my scores as "normal." I even mentioned my boyfriend thougth I had low iron and I had heavy fatigue but the GI doc #2 and training doc both reconfirmed "normal." To save $60.00 I never had pcp interpret the labs. Big mistake. Nov 2012 I was at pcp for something else, we looked at my labs as I had questions on my b scores and then he was like your iron is seriously low. I actually don't know what my scores were in November but think they were probably lower than 16 as I was having problems moving around the house after 7:00 pm at night. PCP was big on cooking in cast iron (more on that on next thread). I decided on my own I would supplement as I had suffered for months.
I tried two liquid irons and 2 or 3 metallic irons all taken with a meal. All seemed to have the name "gentle iron." somewhere in the title. They pretty much acted like laxatives.
Then I found two different supplements that I was able to tolerate. Vitamin Shoppe has something called Rainbow LIght Certified Organics Plant Source Iron. It is made of 100% curry leaves. I had no gurgling, no gi distress and no problems taking it. The problem with a plant source iron is that it is "non heme" i.e. not from an animal and it is less absorbed than animal source iron. To boost absorption of non heme iron you need
to take it with a food containing vitamin c. Does not have to becitrus....something like tomato sauce or even when eating a potato would work. It says it is 100% of your daily value but again the question is how much is absorbed. I took one a day but it was gentle enough probably 2 or 3 could be taken a day along with a vitamin c food. Price on this product was $6.00 or $8.00 per 50 supplements.
The other thing I took was a heme (animal based) iron supplement I stumbled upon Proferrin ES on the web. It is a heme iron supplement that is "centrifuged cows blood." www.proferrin.com and you can read about it. CVS was able to order it in for me in one day. I think the price was approx $70.00 or $90.00 for 90 tablets from CVS. I just remember it being pricey. I walked in to order it from the pharmacist. I found if you call around everyone says they can't get it but if you are face to face they can get it. Heme iron is much better absorbed by our bodies. The problem is in addition to the centrifuged cows blood the capsules also have yellow dye #5, blue dye #2 and about 10 other things you can check out on the web. I found I could only tolerate it if I took it in the middle of a largerish mid day meal. I got gurgling when I took it at breakfast and then I got gurgling when I took it in the evening. I only took the one tablet a day at lunchtime as that was all I could barely tolerate. One tablet is 67% of daily value. Instructions say to take up to 3 tablets a day. I was scared to take more than 1 due to the gurgling I got in morning and evening. A cheaper and good alternative to this supplement would be to eat liver twice a week. (I didn't know how to cook liver so never went there.)
Anyways, started working on my iron Nov 7th and did blood work mid March and my score was up to 46. I definitely feel better at the 46 level!
I also did lifestyle changes that were pretty significant and will post on those in a day or so.
Hope this helps, Brandy
Low iron and thyroid issues can go hand in hand. Low iron can affect the conversion of T4 to T3. http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/ferritin/
Thanks Brandy, all I can say is WOW. Although, I can relate to your experiences. I was going to run out a get an iron supplement to start ASAP but in the back of my mind all I can think of is the progress I've made and I don't want to go back to WD because of something in the supplement.
I won't eat liver- just can't do it. I bought some spinach to at least make an effort but have also avoided all leafy veggies since I joined this forum. I'm hoping well cooked will not cause an issue. I have molasses in the cupboard but I can't remember what I read about its use. sigh. a tablespoon a day to help with the absorption maybe? Will have to go back and look. I was concerned about the difference between the recommended black strap and the unsulphured kind I have. I did some reading last night so I was pleasantly surprised that I understood what you were talking about related to the heme/non-heme sources. All good info. Thank you!
I am beyond tired and becoming unable to function. It sparks an anger in me because I know it's not right. I've started skipping meals when it's just me at home because I'm too tired to cook. I know that is the worst thing to do and am making an effort to stop before it becomes a habit. The past couple of weeks have been like a roller coaster because of all the ups and downs. I will have short bursts of energy but then it will be gone just like flipping a light switch. That is bad when it happens while in the middle of cutting grass (I have the old fashioned reel lawn mower) or while out in public at the store. Whatever I'm doing comes to an end. It's like having all the life sucked out of me.
I'm supposed to wait for the referral to go through and the endo will call me. I plan to call his office in the morning to at least secure an appointment date. I'm worried it may take months to get in. Realistically, it all takes time so I need to be patient.
I won't eat liver- just can't do it. I bought some spinach to at least make an effort but have also avoided all leafy veggies since I joined this forum. I'm hoping well cooked will not cause an issue. I have molasses in the cupboard but I can't remember what I read about its use. sigh. a tablespoon a day to help with the absorption maybe? Will have to go back and look. I was concerned about the difference between the recommended black strap and the unsulphured kind I have. I did some reading last night so I was pleasantly surprised that I understood what you were talking about related to the heme/non-heme sources. All good info. Thank you!
I am beyond tired and becoming unable to function. It sparks an anger in me because I know it's not right. I've started skipping meals when it's just me at home because I'm too tired to cook. I know that is the worst thing to do and am making an effort to stop before it becomes a habit. The past couple of weeks have been like a roller coaster because of all the ups and downs. I will have short bursts of energy but then it will be gone just like flipping a light switch. That is bad when it happens while in the middle of cutting grass (I have the old fashioned reel lawn mower) or while out in public at the store. Whatever I'm doing comes to an end. It's like having all the life sucked out of me.
I'm supposed to wait for the referral to go through and the endo will call me. I plan to call his office in the morning to at least secure an appointment date. I'm worried it may take months to get in. Realistically, it all takes time so I need to be patient.
Hi Deb,
The funny thing was when all this hit I was too weak to go to the vitamin store so I bought one of the metallic irons from Frieda---it only cost something like $3.00 but I paid a $20.00 overnight fee. The Frieda people must have thought I was crazy. I have a Vitamin Shoppe like 4 miles from my house but I was too weak to deal with things.
Within two weeks of starting my iron managment program (love Gabe's term) I had much improved mental clarity and a lot less anger issues.
If your appointment is kind of far out perhaps you can ask to be put on a cancellation list. Also perhaps call every 10 days to check on cancellations. I find it helps to get the schedulers name and kind of suck up. (Sorry about the term but you know what I mean.)
I'm going to find my other thread so look for that for lifestyle changes I adopted as part of my iron management plan.
It does get better and pretty quickly too. Brandy
The funny thing was when all this hit I was too weak to go to the vitamin store so I bought one of the metallic irons from Frieda---it only cost something like $3.00 but I paid a $20.00 overnight fee. The Frieda people must have thought I was crazy. I have a Vitamin Shoppe like 4 miles from my house but I was too weak to deal with things.
Within two weeks of starting my iron managment program (love Gabe's term) I had much improved mental clarity and a lot less anger issues.
If your appointment is kind of far out perhaps you can ask to be put on a cancellation list. Also perhaps call every 10 days to check on cancellations. I find it helps to get the schedulers name and kind of suck up. (Sorry about the term but you know what I mean.)
I'm going to find my other thread so look for that for lifestyle changes I adopted as part of my iron management plan.
It does get better and pretty quickly too. Brandy
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