Iron Deficiency Anemia

knottief9db519741a08ee7

Hello everyone! I am 28 weeks pregnant. Had an appointment yesterday and got a CBC done. They said my hemoglobin was low, mine was 11.4 (normal for them they said is 11.9). So mine was just slightly low, and said I’m a tad bit anemic, and to recommend me start taking over the counter iron supplements. They didn’t give me a recommended dosage so not sure how many mg I should be taking. I know iron can cause GI upset (nausea, constipation, etc) and I’m worried about that.

For those who have similar issue, how many mg are you taking daily? And what brand seems to help?

My prenatal already has 27 mg of iron, I don’t want to get one that is too much and cause my issues since my levels were just a little low.

Thank you!!

sbial

My results came back very anemia so I was prescribed iron pills, and yes they do mess with your stomach. I have been countering it with smoothies that I add chia seed to (they have a mild laxative effect). 

Taking iron with vitamin C helps too. It helps you absorb it. 

deinedinah

I take 150mg of Ferapro (but I live in Canada so not sure if that’s available in the US). I’ve had to take iron for many years and have found that this is the only one that doesn’t mess with my stomach. Since getting pregnant it hasn’t been a problem continuing to take this.

Some tips to aid absorption:
-like mentioned above vitamin c helps absorption 
-try and take it at a time of day when you aren’t having food with a lot calcium or caffeine 
-take it at a different time of day from magnesium (if you are taking magnesium)
-try and supplement by also eating high iron foods which are often easier to absorb iron from
-some iron supplement are actually easier to absorb if you take them every other day (which can also help with stomach issues) so maybe talk to your doctor to see if they have a specific recommendation