My general practitioner determined that I'm anemic and prescribed ferrous sulfate 3 times a day to get my iron levels back up. I took it for about 3 days and it almost killed me. My stomach got really crampy and gurglely (is that a word) and I was miserable/exhausted most of the weekend. I stopped taking it and my symptoms seem to have gone away. It may be worth noting that I think I'm either just getting over or still have a bit of pouchitis.

I called my doc today and they suggested taking half a tab twice a day instead. I'm very wary to get back on the meds that made me so miserable. I saw a couple other posts about trying ferrous gluconate? Is that over the counter or will it require a prescription? Any other suggestions?

Did you take the ferrous sulfate with food? It can upset your tummy. I know when I have taken it in the past, I had to take it with food.

If you are getting sick from the sulfur based iron pill your doctor should try the gluconate or another type of iron pill,there are other iron pills out there, if a iron pill will not work then iron infusions could be recomended. The above case was true for me, the gluconate worked for me. I saw a hematologists for my anemia problem. No perscription needed for the gluconate when I got it. I no longer have to take any iron pills.

Kwad rider,
What part of Ct. are you from? I use to live in Groton near New London along time ago.

I've had good experiences with ferrous gluconate. Another poucher on this board highly recommended a ferrous glycinate form. I currently take an amino acid chelate form (iron is bound to one or more amino acids). Ferrous glycinate is similar in that it is bound to an amino acid. Supposedly ferrous glycinate is very highly absorbed, and it likely will not upset your stomach.

Hi, I suffer from chronic anemia too. Go the the health food store and get either vitaflor (liguid) or blood builder (pill). These are whole food nutrients and should not give you any problems.
Susan

Yes I always took it with food. I didn't always take it with Vitamin C like they recommended, but it's hard to find OJ everytime. As miserable as it made me I'll see if I can't find some ferrous gluconate. Is it possible to overdose on iron? You body doesn't pass it if I remember right so can't it build up?

Hi, Scott. I take iron everyday and I get mine from Whole Foods. It says "Easy on Stomach" on the bottle. I think they make a lot of versions like this, so maybe look for something like that. It doesn't bother me at all.

Yes, you can overdose on iron, but not typically in the way that you may think (however, classic overdose is possible if you take large amounts and can be life threatening). Your body will only absorb so much each day and this is enhanced when you are anemic, but when you are taking iron supplements in higher quantities than the RDA, it is important to have your hemoglobin/hematocrit checked on a periodic basis, so you can stop taking it once your levels are normal. The reason is that you can accumulate too much iron, causing liver damage.

In addition to taking your iron supplements with vitamin C, it is also important to avoid calcium supplements and/or calcium rich foods when you take it. If you don't take it with dietary sources of vitamin C, you can just take it with a vitamin C tablet. The vitamin C enhances absorption, and calcium blocks it by binding with the iron.

Jan

My primary care doc already scheduled hemoglobin/hematocrit checked again in a month. Now it makes more sense

Are you saying that when you're anemic your body will absorb more iron than it would normally, or the reverse?

I had a lot of trouble taking iron as well. My dr. prescribed niferate (I believe that is the name). It is known for being very gently on stomach. I had no problem at all with it. Ask your dr. for a prescription.

I ended up picking up some ferrous gluconate at Walgreens and even that seems to be semi-hard on my stomach. We'll see, I'm gonna give it another day.

Yes, when you have iron deficiency, your body will absorb more iron than it would if you were not. But, not all iron is absorbed equally. Iron that is in the heme state, such as is found in meat, is more bioavailable than that which is found in plants (nonheme). But, all that really means is that you need more nonheme iron to be equivalent to heme iron.

One way to help with the GI effects (other than trying different formulations) is to take smaller doses initially and gradually increase to the maximum therapeutic dose. Plus, more frequent lower doses are better than fewer higher doses.

Here's a link with most all the information you will need on the topic:
http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/iron.asp

Jan

Ive never been able to take over the counter (or any pill form) of iron...it really sets me off. During my last 5 years with UC I had to go in once a week for iron infusions at a hematologist just to keep my levels above anemic (along with Procrit or Aeronesp).

Since my op however, Ive only been back a couple times and my numbers are WAY up.

May want to ask your doc if this might be something youd want to try to get your levels up?

Good Luck!

Bill