Does anyone use ‘Active Iron’ in UK?

[Dires]

I searched for ferrous bisglycinate on Amazon UK which came up with Active Iron 25mg. I’ve now received it and found it contains ferrous sulfate 25mg!

Now I don’t know if this is the right product or dose. Can anyone help?

[wendersgame]

Hi Dires, I was the same as you searching for ferrous bigyclinate and found Active Iron as a product. I started taking it, not realising it was ferrous sulphate, but... it eorkd wonderfully for me. I've been taking it daily for about 8 months now and I've noticed a massive change to my RLS.

Compared to other iron products, it'd only a small amount of iron, but there's meant to be something in the formulation that makes it easier to absorb. I was taking other supplements before and found adherence was the hardest part as they'd cause havoc with my digestion, but Active Iron doesn't.

I think you should give it a shot. It's bot the wonder pill, as I still get RLS sometimes (like the last few weeks I've had trouble) but it has 100% for me made a massive difference, and easy more than Galfer or Ferrograd C ever did (the ones I tried before).

I say give it a whirl. I take it in the morning an hour before food and coffee to give it thr best shot at being absorbed. I take nothing with it (supplements wise), but take it with orange juice if I have it.

Try it as it might help. It has been a lifeline for me as my ferritin is low.

[wendersgame]

Oh and make sure it's the Active Iron Advance and not the one for women or anything else. The Advance on has the most iron and nothing else in it.

They will send you a free sample if you request on the website and they've 3 for 2 on their website at the mo.

[Hidden in reply to wendersgame]

supposedly ferrous bisglycinate is the most bioavailable.

[wendersgame in reply to Hidden]

it's just hard to get here, it's frustrating and as Dires said... you google it and stuff with ferrous sulphate pops up!

[Hidden in reply to wendersgame]

Try to ignore it and go for the gold standard which is ferrous bisglycinate. And in terms of the different dosages, with the ferrous bisglycinate, close counts. There is no magical number. 18mg, 20mg, 25, 28. It really doesn’t matter that much. 18mg is 100% of the RDA (recommended daily allowance for iron) yet I’ve always purchased 25mg capsules, since the good old days of health food stores (and that’s all I see on Amazon these days are the 25mg ones) and one capsule seemed just the perfect amount for me for about a decade now. Since I had Covid last year, two is the perfect amount - which is 50mg. Experiment on what is perfect for you.

[Dires in reply to wendersgame]

Thank you. Are you taking the 25mg?

The problem seems to be that the doses of iron recommended on the forum are not the same in the UK. It seems that the 25mg of ferrous bisglycinate, advised on the forum, is only available as 20mg in the UK. It can only be obtained by ordering from a US site and waiting several weeks for delivery ( plus the delivery cost).

It appears that this has been a problem with drugs on Amazon UK where the advertised dose 25mg, has been delivered as 20mg due to more strict drug labelling controls in UK.

It’s very confusing and frustrating when trying to find these recommended doses and especially as they do not seem to be on our GP prescribing formulary.

I do have the 25mg of Active Iron but I have no real idea if the dose is correct? It’s quite expensive if you need to double up the dose.

[wendersgame]

Hi Dires,

So I take just the 25mg of the Active Iron Advanced and find that really helped me quite quickly with my RLS (but then I know for sure my ferritin is low - so that's a huge factor for me with my RLS). I gave blood a while back and my RLS came crashing in immediately, so I started on the Active Iron while desperately trying something new.

I've never doubled it up and to be honest, I'd be nervous to because I'd worry about the side effects on my digestive system.

I used to take Ferrograd C which is 325mg of ferrous sulfate and I used to find my stomach couldn't tolerate it well so I'd have to take it every other day, and every few days sometimes, and then I wasn't being consistent so it wasn't working. The Active Iron Advance is just the 25mg but it works so much better. I was completely sceptical but it has really helped me.

I'd stick to just one dose of it, and see how you get on - it is (as you say) expensive to be doubling up, but I also would be concerned about doing that without talking to my Dr first, and also for my poor digestive system.

I get my bloods done to check my ferritin and after a few months on the active iron I've got my highest ferritin levels yet, so I'm hopeful this might be my long term answer!

I say give the 1 tablet a go and see how you get on. I wasn't able to find the ferrous biglysinate anywhere either, so this has been what I've used instead.

Have you been taking the Active Iron for long? or have you started taking it at all yet?

[Dires in reply to wendersgame]

I’ve taken one dose ( last night). My Ferritin level is 50 so under the recommended 75-100. I have just stopped taking Omeprazole so I too am concerned about the effects on my stomach. I’m really struggling with my sleep but resisting starting Gabapentin until I REALLY have to .

I’m not expecting immediate relief from the iron though. I have now ordered Gentle Iron 20 mg but not sure if that dose is enough?

[wendersgame in reply to Dires]

I read before that Omeperazole can negatively affect RLS (I know I've some pain killers with it in and it definitely affects my sleep if I have to take them)

[Dires in reply to wendersgame]

Yes, I’ve taken it for 6 years ( medical advice) but now just about stopped it myself and using Gaviscon Advance. It hasn’t made any difference to my RLS though as yet.

[Dires in reply to wendersgame]

Sue also suggested that I would need to take 3 Active Iron to get the appropriate dose!

[wendersgame in reply to Dires]

wow I'd be worried I'd never go to the toilet properly again if I took 3 😆

[Dires in reply to wendersgame]

I emailed the Active Iron company earlier. They tell me there is 68mg of elemental iron in the 25mg tablet. So that is equivalent to 325mg of ferrous sulfate. So I’d stick to one tablet.

[wendersgame]

I just replied in the other thread too - saying this...

interestingly I just found this product available in the UK and Ireland - it calls it 'iron' biglycinate... It's made by Nutri Advanced (I use their magnesium powder) - it says 28mg of Iron biglycinate - I wonder is this any good....

nutriadvanced.ie/ferrodyn.h...

[Dires in reply to wendersgame]

Hi again,

Sue did advise me not to take iron with added vitamins which this has 🤦‍♀️

[wendersgame in reply to Dires]

ah ok thanks for that - good point!

[SueJohnson in reply to wendersgame]

iron bisglycinate is the same thing as gentle iron.

[wendersgame in reply to SueJohnson]

thanks Sue !

[SueJohnson in reply to wendersgame]

That would be more than you would need.

[Munroist]

In the UK iron bisglycinate is readily available from Holland and Barrett in 20mg tablets, called “Gentle Iron”, the recommended dose is 1 a day. I’ve used these for over a year and my ferritin has gone up from 70 ish to 170µg/L and there have been no side effects I’m aware of. Unfortunately, I don’t get the immediate benefit that some people experience, but I feel that the severity of my RLS has reduced as the ferritin level has gone up and while I still wake at night it’s less frequently and for shorter periods

[wendersgame in reply to Munroist]

that's fantastic that your Iron has gone up so much using it - my highest ferritin was my latest one which was (I think!) 83. Prior to that it's highest has been 78 and lowest at 24. I fluctuate with it depending how consistent I am with my iron. I must look into the Gentle Iron - I take the Active Iron and it has helped hugely but I'm always on the look out for the miracle cure to take it away completely! Not that this necessarily will!

Out of interest, how long did it take to get from 70-170 with your ferritin.

[Munroist in reply to wendersgame]

I’m not sure exactly but about 18 months to go from 75 through 145 to 171. My GP surgery has at least been supportive with giving me blood tests so I can tell if it’s working. I take it at night, 2 doses every other night with some vitamin c and two hours away from food. There are mixed views on whether nightly or alternating nights is best but I suspect it doesn’t make a huge amount of difference.

[Dires in reply to Munroist]

So are you taking two tablets, 40mg on alternate nights?

[Munroist in reply to Dires]

Yes. At one point it was recommended to alternate to reduce the effect of hebcidin in restricting iron absorption from the gut but there are now mixed views on whether it makes any difference.

[Dires in reply to Munroist]

Yes, which is why intravenous iron is recommended by some

[SueJohnson in reply to Munroist]

One can take it every night but it needs to be 24 hours apart since when you take iron, the body responds by releasing hepcidin a peptide hormone which prevents you from absorbing any more iron for up to 24 hours. Since it is hard to take it at exactly the same time, the usual recommendation is every other night. If one has very low iron I usually recommend every night.

[wendersgame in reply to SueJohnson]

wow, something else i had no idea happened... generally I take mine at the same time every day, but it's all such science eh!

[Dires in reply to Munroist]

Thank you Munroist.

[DicCarlson]

FYI - Ferrous Bisglycinate Chelate is a patented formula - so, any product using it is the same formulation. The company was called Albion but has recently been purchased by Balchem...

balchem.com/human-nutrition...