My iron levels are very low - can i take some iron su... - NRAS

NRAS

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My iron levels are very low - can i take some iron supplements to boost me up a bit.

7 Replies

The docs said they would monitor it for a few weeks. But i am tired and i have the shops to go to i can't wait a few weeks.

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7 Replies
Beth58 profile image
Beth58

Hi Mads, try not to worry to much, my iron dropped very low and my doc rang me to go see him. He put me on iron tablets which, I stopped taking them after 10 days because I felt so ill with them and sooo constipated, when I next had my bloods done my iron level was up to 14 the highest it's EVER been. But 2yr later I'm still having problems with constipation and no matter what I try it doesn't make any difference.

So my advice is what until the retest and if it's still low then take iron supplements. For now try changing your diet to include iron rich food, see below;

Hope this helps

Beth x

Foods that are a good source of iron include:

liver

lean red meats, including beef, pork, lamb

seafood, such as oysters, clams, tuna, salmon, and shrimp, etc.

beans, including kidney, lima, navy, black, pinto, soy beans, and lentils

iron fortified whole grains, including cereals, breads, rice, and pasta

greens, including collard greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach, and turnip greens

tofu

vegetables, including broccoli, swiss chard, asparagus, parsley, watercress, brussel sprouts

chicken and turkey

LavendarLady profile image
LavendarLady

Low iron levels can cause tiredness but so can a number of other things as well e.g. underactive thyroid, not absorbing B12 through food. Suggest you have a word with your GP to make sure they have ruled out anything else.

LavendarLady x

Iron needs Vitamin C to make it work properly. So you could improve your diet like Beth suggested and make sure you include some fresh fruit or veg. Dried apricots have iron in and they are high fibre.

It could be something else making you tired like Lavender Lady says, eg folic acid or B12. Or just plain RA fatigue.

Hope you feel better soon.

Gina_K profile image
Gina_K

Fibrogel drink in morning and evening great for constipation. Also, Iron in liquid form much easier to take.

B12 very important for absorbtion of iron. I never heard about vit C being necessary but I guess no harm too.

I can't take any codeine as causes terrible sluggishness. ugh can't believe I'm typing this. :)

Gina.

thank you all - i have been eating my greens and fish since i heard (don't eat red or white meat). My diet has been so bad of late, just don't feel like eating at all particularly in the morning so i have to eat properly when i do eat. Going to check out that B12, my physio mentioned that some time back, apparently a lack of that can cause joint pain.

Judi profile image
Judi

Hi all. Thought I would mention something on this topic which is more to do with the constipation which I have seen mentioned on here. (Not a nice subject but it happens to us all at some time or other, RA or no RA).

I read recently somewhere a natural remedy tried by someone with RA. Having tried it myself I confirm that it does work for me:

Try a combination of dried prunes and dried apricots (as used in cakes etc.). The person's advice was 4 of each, each day. (As when not taking Tramadol you could almost set your watch by me ....... I decided to only eat 3 of each the first time). Well, after several visits to the bathroom that night I decided to eat only 2 of each in the future which worked better for me.

As an added bonus I believe that dried appricots also contain vitamin C.

Judi xxxx

in reply to Judi

thanks judi - good natural recipe, better than another dose of pills

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