Iron tablets

[babs67]

Is it safe to take low iron tablets with b12 injections for pernicious anemia

[clivealive Forum Support]

Hi babs67 well I certainly do (1 – Iron Ferrous Fumarate 210mg) every day and have done for more years than I can remember and I have B12 injections every three weeks.

Is your iron level low? How about your Folate?

I am not a medically trained person but I've had Pernicious Anaemia (a form of B12 deficiency) for more than 46 years.

I wish you well.

[babs67 in reply to clivealive]

Thank you for your reply not sure if iron levels low but feel I need a pick me up dount feel I need to bother my doctor will try and month on iron tablets

[Foggyme Administrator in reply to babs67]

Hi babs67.

Whilst iron is safe to take with B12 injections, the real issue is whether it's actually needed or not...and iron supplements should only be taken under direct medical supervision ( clivealive will have, at some stage, determined with his GP that that dose of iron is what he needs to maintain healthy iron levels - and it would be much to high a dose for someone who does not have iron deficiency anaemia or low iron levels).

This is because taking supplements that are not needed or over-supplementing with iron can cause something called iron overload, which is a dangerouous and potentially long-term issue (iron con lodge in the organs etc. and once there...😖.

So...as you don't know whether you iron levels are low or not, seriously suggest you go to your doctor and ask to have your ferritin levels tested first (one of the markers of iron deficiency anaemia), or (preferably) a full iron panel (gives more information about iron status in the body).

Your GP will prescribe the right dose of iron for your needs, if required - and will re-test (after three / four months) and determine if iron is needed only term - and at what dose.

At the same time, they can also consider whether there might be another reason why you feel the need for a 'pick-me-up' 😉. Might be nothing at all to do with iron, and something else entirely 😉😖😀. (For instance, those with B12 deficient often suffer from absorption problems and suffer other deficiencies - folate, vitamin D and magnesium being other culprits - iron is also one (but not the only one). So perhaps your GP can test folate and vitamin D (some do magnesium, but not many).

Also worth noting if you have just started B12 injections - if Macrocytic Anaemia (large red blood cells) are present before treatment commences, then potassium levels can drop significantly when treatment starts - so your GP may like to test your potassium levels too.

Any of the above deficiencies can make you feel quite ill, so might be that you need something else other than iron to give you that 'pick-up' you need.

Sure your GP would rather see you than you take the potential risk of you overloading on iron...or not being as well as you could be because something else is missed.

Good luck. Hope you find some answers and begin to feel better very soon.

👍

[babs67 in reply to Foggyme]

Thank you for that information 👍

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to babs67]

Sorry, I should have been more specific about my iron intake which has been prescribed by my doctors since the mid 1970s due to gastric surgery in 1959.

I was only trying to make the point that it is possible to take iron and B12 together and did ask whether you knew your iron and Folate levels.

[babs67 in reply to clivealive]

Not a problem no worries I will not be taking iron tablets unless my GP says thank you for trying to be helpful.

[Miss-guineapig in reply to Foggyme]

...just to add to this post. I had iron initially but blood fine now, and my GP doesn't want me to take iron routinely, but folic acid yes. She said if I take iron supplement and she did a blood test, my iron would look fine. She said if I was losing blood from anywhere the test would not show that and she may miss something. She just wants to do a blood test every 6 months for iron levels, which I thought was a fair comment.

[RJGFiona in reply to clivealive]

Hi clivealive, I have read your posts which are very informative. I know you have lived with this condition along time, can I ask you are you from the Uk? Only because you are so knowledgeable about results, where here in the UK we are just told the minimum and made to feel a troublemaker if you ask about exact results. Thanks

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to RJGFiona]

"It's only a vitamin for goodness sake" is sadly the attitude of many in the medical profession. I was eventually diagnosed with P.A in 1972 and for the next nearly 40 years I never knew anyone else who had it and none of the endless succession of nurses who gave me my B12 injections or doctors (whom I saw infrequently for other reasons) ever asked me how I was getting on or coping.

Down through the years I noticed a return of some neurological symptoms in the run up to my next injection and used to "slip in" an occasional early appointment until in 2010 a nurse "caught me out" (quite rightly) refused to give me the injection and reported me to my doctor. My "one size fits all" GP categorically refused to vary my prescription saying that the symptoms couldn't be the P.A. because I was having the injections.

That's when I joined the P.A. Society and posted on their then forum "Am I the only person in the world to feel the need of more frequent B12 injections?" to discover that there are many hundreds if not thousands of "us" out there.

I have been fortunate in persuading my now doctor to allow me to have more frequent injections and yes I am in the U.K.

If you have 87 minutes to spare you may enjoy watching the video below which follows the harrowing struggle of a nurse in America trying to "educate" her bosses.

youtube.com/watch?v=OvMxJ6G...(Not working as expected?)

[Miss-guineapig in reply to RJGFiona]

Yes, I struggle to get exact results, they tent to say they are below normal, normal or above normal, no expansion or explanation