Side effects of oral iron tablets

Hi Alice

Im from Derbyshire too !

I too struggled with iron tablets, I couldnt find any form of iron that my pouch would tolerate and in the end my gastro arranged for me to have an iron infusion. Are you still under a consultant at your local hospital that you could speak to about trying to get an infusion arranged ?

take Care

MM

I had iron infusions also. I am trying iron tablets right now and have bad left sided stomach pain so I am sure the iron is causing the pain. I also had green stool all day yesterday and have read iron can cause this. I am seeing GI tomorrow to discuss this and can report back any options he offers.

Hi Monkeyme, it's nice to meet a local poucher!!

I am still under both my surgeon and bowel nurse at the moment so will get in touch and see if an infusion is an option for me. It sounds like a great way round these unplesant side effects

Thanks

Alice

Hi Jeane

Sorry to hear you are struggling as well, my output is also green think your right in saying that's a common side effect. Any information you get tomorrow will be greatly appreciated, I hope you get on ok

Thanks

Alice

Iron slows me DOWN. Ugh. Started taking Flintstones Complete vitamins recently, and ended up in MiSERY. Could not go. An enema or two, half a dose of MOM, and an all day liquid diet set me back on track. What a pain!

Found in the past I tolerated ferrous glycinate better, though. But no way can I take ferrous sulfate.

started iron supplements recently actually but have not noticed any reaction from pouch..color of waste green at one point but not now..color not anything to worry about..

I went back on the iron pills in January...the obvious side effects for me are the black/greenish stools, the cramping, more difficulty with my output and Soooo much gas....yikes, it is a wind machine in there...might try to counteract it with probiotics to see if that helps calm things down...for now I need the energy too much to care about the bad side effects...if it is a choice between constant exhaustion or the rest, I prefer my energy level...oh, the price that we pay for better health!
Sharon

I couldn't tolerate ferrous sulfate. Ferrous glycinate worked ok for me, though. You might want to try a different one, see if it's less bothersome?

I take ferrous fumerate and have for going on 8 years now. I haven't noticed any significant side effects, other than a temporary blackening of the stool a few hours after taking the supplements. (If the iron is actually slowing me down, I'll count that on the plus side! At any rate, I've never felt constipated because of it.). I generally take my iron right before bed, as suggested to me by the pharmacist. In the morning, I usually have very dark brown to black stools for the first few BMs, though the colour can be affected depending on what else I've been eating and/or how much iron I take (my hemoglobin fluctuates so I have to adjust my iron accordingly).

As others have said, don't freak out of your stool ranges from very dark green to black, if you're on iron supplements. This is normal.

What is a standard iron dose for us jpouchers who are anemic? I am waiting fur a response from my GI.

Oral iron does nothing for me. I just don't absorb it and I've tried all kinds. I have to go for periodic iron infusions and they help a great deal.

Hi. Jumping on this post since my daughter is anemic and her iron stores are low. GI prescribed Ferrous sulfate which she started with one pill yesterday and was is pain about 10 hours later. Her primary wanted her to try and take these pills 3 times a day for a few weeks and then reduce it over the next few months and get retested in July.
I've been doing a search here and there are so many suggestions for supplements.

She cooks in a cast iron pan as often as she can.

My daughter CAN NOT do the IV infusions anymore since she had a severe reaction (anaphylaxis) to ferrahame IV push. The other IV infusions (that take over an hour and 5 infusions total) gave her terrible joint pain and made her feel like she had the flu.

Any suggestions? Thanks you.

I just did research on this today. Look online. She can try and add iron rich foods and veggies with vitamin C at the same time to increase absorption. I made a list of a bunch of iron rich foods today as I constantly struggle with low iron. Can she tolerate broccoli, kale , spinach, clams, scallops, red meat, turkey, oatmeal as some suggestions. Have her take vitamin C (even oj) with iron rich foods and avoid calcium when eating iron rich foods.

Iron is better absorbed on an empty stomach, but it's better tolerated when taken with food. Try it with food before abandoning it altogether, and try different kinds of iron.

Vitron-C is a mixture of iron and Vitamin C, to improve absorption, and works well if you tolerate it.

I just saw my doc and we talked about my low iron. The oral stuff is so rough on my stomach so I really don't take it as often as I should. He told me not to worry about the oral stuff and just come in for the infusions.