Anyone taking a separate iron supplement?

kiwi625

My OB really stressed that I need to be taking iron at my last appointment, but I just bought a new (and large!) bottle of PNVs right before I saw her. I forgot to ask her for suggestions, so I thought I would see if anyone here takes a separate iron supplement. I've had my fair share of constipation, so I'm not looking forward to this...

Anyone have an iron supplement they recommend? Thanks! 

Edited due to proofreading fail. Gah.  

KissyFishyLips

Was it because you're anemic or just to make sure you're getting the full daily allowance?  Later on in pregnancy, you'll have an anemia test most likely (in the 20-30 week range, can't remember when exactly).  Lots of women are put on iron supplements at that point. I ended up testing anemic last time around during that test and went on CVS's store-brand iron supplement. It didn't cause me constipation or nausea, luckily.

This time around, I'm initially not anemic, so I'm not sure if I'll have to go on it again later or not. 

kiwi625

KissyFishyLips:

Was it because you're anemic or just to make sure you're getting the full daily allowance?  Later on in pregnancy, you'll have an anemia test most likely (in the 20-30 week range, can't remember when exactly).  Lots of women are put on iron supplements at that point. I ended up testing anemic last time around during that test and went on CVS's store-brand iron supplement. It didn't cause me constipation or nausea, luckily.

This time around, I'm initially not anemic, so I'm not sure if I'll have to go on it again later or not. 

I'm assuming it was to make sure I'm getting the recommended amount. She's the kind of OB who is assuming I will have some kind of complication (in a very proactive, not "chicken little" kind of way) since I'm carrying more than one. (Which I love her for.)

kiwi625

Bump burp 

Embracetheday

I'd ask your OB directly how much she wants you taking.  In my last pregnancy I was anemic (found out at 28 weeks) and took a regular iron supplement in addition to my PNV.  The OB told me the specific # of milligrams I was required to take to account for the anemia.

This time, I wasn't anemic at the first appointment and specially asked the OB if I should take extra iron as a precaution.  She said no, not to take too much iron unless it was absolutely necessary.  She said they test at the first and mid appointment (28ish weeks).  So, I would try to get more specifics from your OB, because mine mentioned that too much iron isn't good (for reasons other than constipation, too). 

kiwi625

Embracetheday:

 So, I would try to get more specifics from your OB, because mine mentioned that too much iron isn't good (for reasons other than constipation, too). 

Very true.

Thank you both! 

vflemming

My OB told me to get on a iron supplement as well. I asked her and the pharmacist what was the best one to take through out my whole pregnancy and they both recommended Slow FE its a slow release iron supplement. I take one every night before I go to bed. I really recommend this iron supplement!

eaglet2012

my doctor told me i had to take an iron supplement. something about making sure the "counts in my blood" are where they need to be. he said without the supplement, my counts would be close to where they should be, but not quite there.

i haven't noticed a real difference in my BMs, though, and only take them twice a week before breakfast.

Fluffy1919

There are always alternatives to the supplement if you really just don't want to take another pill. Eat fortified cereal or more red meat, cook with a cast iron skillet, ect. The doctor probably just want to make sure you're getting enough so that you don't get dizzy or anemic. 

Fluffy1919

boo for slow internet and double posts

writerinNYC

I was anemic before pregnancy so I'm on an iron supplement in addition to my prenatal. I may have to up my dose after they retest me in the third tri (according to my OB).

kiwi625

A&B September 17:

vflemming:

My OB told me to get on a iron supplement as well. I asked her and the pharmacist what was the best one to take through out my whole pregnancy and they both recommended Slow FE its a slow release iron supplement. I take one every night before I go to bed. I really recommend this iron supplement!

I would strongly NOT recommend Slow Fe or any iron supplement that is enteric coated or slow release.  They are easier on your stomach but only b/c they are not well absorbed and if you aren't absorbing them, then what's the point?  Prior to getting pregnant, I took Slow Fe for 3 months and my ferritin level only went up by 3 points.  My doctor then told me that it is really common for people not to really absorb enteric coated or slow release iron and that I should try something else.  I switched iron supplements and my # went up 18 points (over doubled) in 1 month.  I use and highly recommend Blood Builder by Megafoods.  It's safe during pregnancy/breastfeeding and I've had NO stomach issues.  You aren't supposed to take your iron pill within 2 hours of taking a calcium supplement or eating calcium rich food or drinking coffee/caffiene.  For best absoprtion, you should take it on an empty stomach with OJ b/c Vit C aids in absorption.  HTH! 

 

Here's a couple of sites that discuss iron absorption/treatment...

https://www.uptodate.com/contents/patient-information-anemia-caused-by-low-iron   specifically see the anemia treatment section

https://www.anemia.org/professionals/feature-articles/content.php?contentid=306&sectionid=15    look under factors that affect absorption

You can google for more info.  I used to have several actual research articles that discussed more about poor absorption of enteric coated/slow release iron but lost them when my computer crashed a few months ago. 

Very interesting. I was gravitating towards Slow Fe even before I posted this, because I assumed it would cause fewer GI issues. Thank you for the info. 

I guess I will call my OBs office. I just really hate to do that. I wish there was an email address associated with each OBs nurse, so I could just email non-urgent questions like this. 

KarenRN2014

I wanted to leave a response on here to let you know a couple of things.  I'm a nurse with many years of practice in the areas of women's health, specifically in OB.  First, your pharmacist is going to be the expert of drugs before the doctor...that is who the doctor calls if they have questions.  Second, any ".com" website is NOT considered to be reputable information. That is not research, that is opinion.  Allow me to give some facts about iron and quickly address some serious misinformation on here.  

Iron is one of those supplements that your body is super picky about.  If you don't get enough, your body doesn't like it, if you get too much, your body has a tendency to reject it and you poop it right out.  The reason that kids can overdose and die on iron poisoning is because the amount they get at once is staggering...so for the purposes of this discussion, we are going to address regular doses of iron.

Slow release iron is much higher in milligrams than a regular iron supplement..there is a reason for this, the slow release of iron INCREASES the absorption rate overall in a 24 hour period, because your body is not getting a "jolt" that it cannot process.  The best way to take iron is on an empty stomach with a glass of orange juice.  This enhances absorption dramatically for ANY supplement that contains iron.  The coating is easy on the stomach which is a key element for anyone that has GI issues.  

I went to both of the websites listed, and neither one of them had a link to solid, verifiable research that specifically STATED that slow-release iron was poorly absorbed.  It was an opinion of whoever wrote the articles, whose credentials were not listed either.  Even if they had credentials, they still have to show proof.

Just be careful ladies when you review information listed on websites, as 90% of it is not reliable.  If you find something that is .gov or .org, your chances are better. Anyone with $20 can get a .com website and post anything they want on it.  

I can tell you from reviewing hundreds of labs that I have seen tons of pregnant women 100% correct their anemic condition from slow release iron alone because they didn't like iron-rich foods and couldn't tolerate other substances.  So the fact that it doesn't work is a massive myth.  

KarenRN2014

Yes, but what you may not know is that if you Google slow release iron and pregnancy, this thread shows up in one of the first five hits on Google.  I posted the information because people do search threads for more information.  

I will say that the reception on this board hasn't exactly been warm and fuzzy.