Iron supplements

[Pluto46]

Just thought I'd list up the various iron supplements I'm currently ingesting (or injesting, since we may be being taken for a ride).

In the morning I take a multivitamin pill (Norwegian made), which includes 15mg of iron(II) fumarate (ferrous fumarate).

Then there's the latest addition, also an iron fumarate preparation coupled with vit C to ease absorption. 14 mg. I've been chewing these in the afternoons, but may move to a couple of hours before bed. The brain apparently absorbs iron better at night.

The the final one, which I found in a local health food shop, is called amino iron (aminoJern in Norwegian). It contains 25 mg iron bound together with two amino acids which aid its passage across the gut membrane (it's 'smuggled' into the blood stream). The actual compound is called Ferrochel, and is manufactured by Albion Laboratories Inc in the US. It's a chelate in other words.

What's a chelate? A compound containing a ligand (typically organic) bonded to a central metal atom at two or more points.

What's a ligand? In coordination chemistry, a ligand[help 1] is an ion or molecule (functional group) that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex.

Thanks Wikipedia for the info, though not being a chemist I'm not much the wiser.

So, at the mo I'm swallowing 54 mg of iron every day, nearly 4 times the recommended dose.

Have I noticed any difference regarding rls symptoms? No. But then I've only been on the last two supplements for a little over a week.

Will they be making a movie of me called Iron Man IV? Very possibly.

[Graham3196]

The latest expert opinion is that you might need to raise your iron ferritin to about 300 to help. Some people are helped at lower levels and you might or might not be one of them.

The expert says that if your current iron level is less than 100 you have not much chance of getting to 300 in a reasonable time by taking oral iron. What is your current Ferritin level?

For oral iron there seems to be agreement that iron diglycinate is the best form of iron because it is less likely to cause stomach problems and might be able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier better than other forms of iron

You probably should be asking your doctor to arrange an iron infusion provided he checks you out and finds no reason why an iron infusion might be bad in your particular case. An iron infusion might take 12 weeks or even more to overcome the RLS symptoms. You might need more than one infusion to get the level up. If it works then you might need regular iron infusions. Three months or twelve months or more. Some people apparently only need one and their body can maintain it or oral iron will keep it up.

[LotteM]

Chris, here’s the link to the latest overview of iron and rls and how to raise iron. IRLSSG publication. Just the abstract. If ypu want, I have access to the full paper. Pm me if you want that and we can arrange that I can send it to you.

I just printed the paper out, because my current approach has become slightly less effective (including a few quite bad nights) and I suspect my iron levels have dropped, not having taken iron supplements for more than 6 months. I always have to use ‘force’ with my gp to get te tests I need. The full paper neatly lists the options and requirements etc. But then, my gp doesn’t read English so well, as she told me a while ago. Ahrggggg..... But then there is the wuick-and-dirty google translate!

[DicCarlson]

You can also access Ferrous bisglycinate from a patch available on Amazon or from PatchMD. This bypasses the gastro tract completely. Also blood tests need to follow protocols - you can read it in the new article linked today. sleep-journal.com/article/S...