Iron/anemia questions

AKB090609 · August 2014

Have any of you had experience with anemia? I found out last week that I'm "severely animic" and I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger and taking iron because of the possible side effects. I have been attempting to add more iron rich foods to our diet, but am definitely feeling the symptoms of anemia and would like to feel like myself as soon as I can.

Do you have any tips that could help? Usually when I feel crummy my first change is to be more active/get outside and walk, but my stamina sucks right now.

hmp1 · August 2014

Are you still taking your prenatal vitamins? I would start with that if you can.

tinyhumantoe · August 2014

I took iron and didn't have any downsides. I felt so much better. Will you be eating a can of spinach with every meal? It would be hard to correct with food.

AKB090609 · August 2014

hmp1 said:

Are you still taking your prenatal vitamins? I would start with that if you can.

My prenatal does not contain iron.

AKB090609 · August 2014

tinyhumantoe said:

I took iron and didn't have any downsides. I felt so much better. Will you be eating a can of spinach with every meal? It would be hard to correct with food.

Does spinach still come in cans?

We've been eating a ton of broccoli and more red meat than usual.

MrsManny · August 2014

I was in a similar boat after having DS. They made me a little bit constipated, but I tried to increase my fiber and that helped a little. My dr always told me to take it with orange juice to help with absorption. I too felt much better after being on the iron for a bit.

TiffanyT85 · August 2014

I was anemic in high school. The supplements really helped me out, they were red. Vitamin C helps with absorption. I was never able to fix mine with food, my stores were too low.
I know they also make a liquid supplement, but I'm not sure what brand it is.
Good luck getting the iron in, you will feel tonnes better once you do!

PenelopePond · August 2014

I took supplements during/after both of my pregnancies. I had no side effects, and they really made me feel better.

watercolor5 · August 2014

I've also taken supplements. What side effects are you worried about? I agree that constipation is really the only one I've experienced, and easily fixable with fiber.

If your anemia is severe, I'd be surprised if diet alone will be enough to give your body the iron it needs.

smb+jab · August 2014

I took an iron supplement for the entire first year after DS was born as my blood work came back anemic and the slight amount in my prenatal vitamins wasn't enough (nor was diet correction).

I never had any side effects and i took them for a year plus. Is there a specific dosage you have to take? I was just taking one tablet; so not a huge dose but enough to make an impact on the anemia.

AKB090609 · August 2014

Okay, I'll try the supplement, they want me on 2 325 mg pills daily to start. I think I'm going to start at 1/2 or 1/4 dose and build up to a full dose to decrease side effects.

Flamingemu · August 2014

I never had side effects when on iron supplements. Granted, I took them after losing a lot of blood, so all my symptoms were masked.

I think you will be fine. Worse thing, you get a bit constipated.

AKB090609 · August 2014

PinkLily1234 said:

Avoid taking the supplement with any sort of dairy. Like PP said, OJ is great for helping absorption.

My girls both had a severe illness that destroyed their red blood cells and tanked their iron reserves this past winter. They were not able to tolerate iron supplements (no amount of fiber fixed the severe constipation for them) so we had to get creative with diet. You can sneak purred spinach into a lot of things without a huge impact on taste or texture. Liverwurst is fantastic for iron if you can stomach it. Raisins and chick peas are also surprisingly high in iron.

There is no real harm in trying the supplement, if you can tolerate it then it's an easy fix. The constipation reverses pretty quickly once you stop the supplements if it's a problem. FYI - the liquid supplement often turns your teeth black temporarily. Go the tablet route as an adult if you supplement!

Thanks for the advice, I didn't know about the dairy!

tinyhumantoe · August 2014

AKB090609 said:

tinyhumantoe said:

I took iron and didn't have any downsides. I felt so much better. Will you be eating a can of spinach with every meal? It would be hard to correct with food.

Does spinach still come in cans?

We've been eating a ton of broccoli and more red meat than usual.

Haha heck yah they make canned spinach

. One can is like eating ten spinach salads. I eat it for the iron but it's still not enough for severe anemia.

PenelopePond · August 2014

I forgot to mention, I was using the slow release iron tablets. My OB said they wouldn't upset my stomach as much. I never got an upset stomach, but that's the only kind I ever used.

Flamingemu · August 2014

PenelopePond said:

I forgot to mention, I was using the slow release iron tablets. My OB said they wouldn't upset my stomach as much. I never got an upset stomach, but that's the only kind I ever used.

Me too.

melody921 · August 2014

AKB090609 said:

tinyhumantoe said:

I took iron and didn't have any downsides. I felt so much better. Will you be eating a can of spinach with every meal? It would be hard to correct with food.

Does spinach still come in cans?

We've been eating a ton of broccoli and more red meat than usual.

LOL, all I can think of is Popeye.

misspunky · August 2014

Eat chili! We just learned about anemia in my ob class this week and the instructor said chili is the perfect food for anemia because it contains meat and beans.

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