Iron

ChristinaAnneW

Hello ladies, I hope everyone had a nice weekend! I searched and didn't see anything on this so I thought I would see what everyone thinks or is doing themselves.

I have been on prenate mini vitamins (18mg iron a day.) the past few weeks I have been having two packets of cream of wheat for
Breakfast and probably two bowls of cereal as a snack throughout the day.

After taking a closer look I am worried I have gone way above what I should for my daily intake of iron. It seems the cream of wheat alone has about 16 mg. between the prenatal and breakfast I am
over the recommended 27mg. Tomorrow I'm going to cut out the cream of wheat but I feel like I'm running out of options!

Has anyone had any iron related conversations with their dr?

failuretofly

I hadnt  thought of this until you brought it up, but I am probably in the same boat as you. Have you had your iron levels tested? I did some quick research and came up with this link:

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/

Further down you read it is highly unlikely that you will overdose to the point of becoming problematic from diet and a small supplement and it suggests a daily maximum of 45mg/day for adult pregnant women, so you should probably be fine. 

ChristinaAnneW

Thanks for sharing the link. I know I often find something to worry myself, I just get upset when I thought I was doing something to help!

beckerlaine

You should take at least 27mg daily, a little over is no where near enough to cause iron toxicity or any need to cause concern. Your body just won't absorb the extra iron. Most pregnant women are concerned with anemia from not enough iron. Enjoy your cream of wheat!! Kinda made me crave some!

beckerlaine

Also wanted to add my prenatal alone has 28mg of iron (156% daily value) and I know I'm getting even more iron in my diet. Almost impossible not to.

l4rk

You should be up for more routine blood work soon that will check your iron. But also, calcium inhibits iron absorption, so you probably aren't getting as much as you think you are.

willashbaby

Yes about the calcium, I need tums almost around the clock and I've had to make sure not to take them a few hours before or after my vitamins so as to avoid interference with the iron. Makes for a few miserable hours

ChristinaAnneW

The calcium thing is really interesting. I have a dairy allergy so part of my reasoning for the cream of wheat was the added calcium. I'm wondering if the calcium counteracts the iron in it.

What do you girls usually have for breakfast/lunches? I'm needing some new ideas, I'm getting a little
cereal-ed out.

l4rk

ChristinaAnneW said:

The calcium thing is really interesting. I have a dairy allergy so part of my reasoning for the cream of wheat was the added calcium. I'm wondering if the calcium counteracts the iron in it.

What do you girls usually have for breakfast/lunches? I'm needing some new ideas, I'm getting a little
cereal-ed out.

I have the opposite issue--Im on supplements for iron deficiency anemia. So I try to avoid dairy, but still fail pretty hard. (My midwives said taking it with calcium was better than forgetting, which was happening...)

Anyway, egg sandwiches are my fave breakfast! They are fast, easy and delicious.

ChrissyD1203

So I can't take prenatals because of my heart block, but the doctors aren't sure why the vitamins are affecting my heart (or which vitamins), so I've under my doctor's direction slowly been introducing vitamins back in one at a time (although based on my blood work all my vitamin levels were perfect as it was). Anyway, we started first with folic acid --- no problem. This week was iron-- I got so sick to my stomach, was running in and out of the bathroom all day. I read online that iron overdose can cause diarrhea, so I stopped the iron until I go back to the doctor this week.

kfreeman2008

I take well over 100mg a day for my SEVERE anemia. I didn't eat red meat for the first 20 years of my life and it seems to have had a lasting effect....I just absorb very little iron. I just didn't like it...basically my dad (he cooked and my mom cleaned) grew up on a dairy farm and always made beef. I just hated it.

I would talk to your doc next time you see him. I think they do another iron test with the glucose test, but I could be wrong. They recommend a little bit higher amount of iron when pregnant so you and baby(ies) get enough. It never hurts to ask.