Really need your help regaring iron tablets - Thyroid UK

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Really need your help regaring iron tablets

fairyeyes profile image
21 Replies

I have very bad anaemia,so far had 2 iron infusions.I would like to know what is the nicest tablet with a high iron content,being taking a certain brand which i have been able to keep down,i usually vomit with some others.The one i have been taking i think is not very high in iron this is the brand and one i have been taking. amazon.co.uk/Floradix-Iron-... Need help asap as i need to get some more thank you all x

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fairyeyes
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21 Replies
Parbrook profile image
Parbrook

Spatone is very easy to take. It is iron-rich water and is easily digestible.

humanbean profile image
humanbean in reply to Parbrook

Yousurname, Spatone has very little iron in it. There are only 5mg iron per sachet. For someone who has needed two iron infusions I doubt that would be nearly enough.

For comparison, ferrous fumarate 210mg is commonly prescribed by doctors for anaemic patients. It has 69mg iron per pill. I was taking three a day when I was trying to raise my iron.

I realise that some formulations of iron may be better absorbed than others, and that Spatone may be well absorbed. But it simply isn't strong enough for people with very severe anaemia (in my non-medical opinion, just my personal experience of having stubborn anaemia).

fairyeyes, this is worth reading, and could be very helpful :

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

I should also mention that many people have difficulties with tolerating the higher strength ferrous fumarate tablets, so I'm not going to suggest it to you.

However, I would suggest going 100% gluten-free if you haven't already. I don't have coeliac disease but eliminating gluten nevertheless improved my iron absorption a lot. It might work for you, and it is worth a try for three months at least.

galathea profile image
galathea

spa tone sachets, apple flavour. Takes some time, as with any iron, but you can have more than 1 sachet a day. Cheapest place we found was Amazon.

Xx g

gabkad profile image
gabkad

fairyeyes, why do you have severe anemia?

phoenix23002 profile image
phoenix23002

I have a dear friend who is an RN (registered nurse) who has struggled for two years to get her iron levels up. Since taking this product, her iron levels have increased nicely. She also takes 2 - 3 tablespoons of black strap molasses each day. The hemaplex comes in a once per day package (30 tabs) or a 90 pack which is a 3 times per day product. She says she prefers the 3 per day formula because she can dose more or less depending on need/circumstance. It hasn't given her any problems (upset tummy etc).

amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c...

Lactoferrin is a wonderful product that somehow allows the body to hold onto and utilize our iron as well as boosting the immune system. Some folks have increased their iron numbers just using this product and no other iron supplement. Amazing product.

Coastwalker profile image
Coastwalker

Hubby and I both take ferrous fumarate, Hubby has no reaction, where as I get nauseaus within a minute without food or drink to hand

Maybe Hubby and I have different stomach acids ?

The trick I have learnt is to eat a few mouth fulls of food, pop in your iron pill/s eat another mouthful then have a drink to slosh it down further.

Familymatters profile image
Familymatters

Hi, I was anenemic too, with an HB of 8.2 and very symptomatic. The ferrous sulphate the GP gave only upset my stomach, so I stopped taking them at started on SPARTONE. This is a sachet of clear water loaded with iron from the Snowdonia mountains so is natural. I took two sachets a day spaced out and was carefull to take it away from any calcium in tea etc and I also added it to a little orange juice as vit c helps maximise the absorbtion of iron. By doing these two things ensured I got the most absorption possible. My HB was back up to 13 in a few weeks and without all the stomach problems that come with taking iron. I then just dropped to a maintainance dose. You can buy it from boots usually in the buy 2 for 3 offer which helps with price. It costs about £7.99 for 28 sachets but on offer works out at just over £5 a box. Don't be tempted to pay more for the apple flavour as it's not neccassary, because you will be adding it to a little orange juice anyway. Spartone has a website so read it for you self. It definitely helped me.

janiebell profile image
janiebell

My fertitin was at 45 which I know is adequate but I couldn't get it to budge on Spatone or Floradix even after taking it for nearly a year. It's now at 96 after taking Pure encapsulations Opti Ferin C for a few months. It's a hypoallergenic brand with a good rep and it's affordable!

fairyeyes profile image
fairyeyes

Great thank you all so very much,i dont ever want to feel as ill as i was a few months ago and i am trying so hard to get to good levels,still no where near what they should be but i am eating now a good diet with iron in at least once a day.For 6 months i was only eating shreded wheat,i should have clicked that was not normal but i do have tummy trouble so i thought i was just a little run down etc.I am going to try gluten free but i am waiting until my results are a little better as i am just starting to eat normally again.I am having another blood test next week.My first test showed my iron was minus 9,i had such bad symptoms even after my first infusion which did nothing but the second one helped.I orginally went to the gp because i had not slept for a while due to server all over body itching,like ants crawling under the skin,i thought i was starting the menopause as my shin was dry,i had brain fog really bad,was dizzy even when sitting had palpatations and was tired all the time.I had iron tablets from gp but they would make vomit and feel really ill.I was taking tabs before the iron trouble but could not have been enough so thats why i am trying so hard to get the most iron i can.Thank you again for all the suggestions,so much help when i need it xx

Stormx profile image
Stormx

fairyeyes

I have the same problems, my iron at the moment is 40, not low enough to get the injections! tried the GP ferrous who ever and ferritin whom ever both made me constipated which was not good as I wasn't able to go to the toilet at that time!!!! :(

I too have problems sleeping, walking, talking and breathing lol, I am a zombie walking! I am currently taking hemaplex to see if its helping who knows though, my hair was coming out of everywhere, even my nose!!!!!! I tried spate, floradix! and nothing helped me! fingers crossed and all the best, Iron good to take with orange juice

fairyeyes profile image
fairyeyes in reply to Stormx

I drink lots of orange as i dont drink hot drinks so not a problem,i also find my tunny tolerates the tabs more after around half an hour from eating my main meal.Have you told your gp how bad you feel?My second infusion was great i noticed within 5 days the difference

.

Stormx profile image
Stormx in reply to fairyeyes

yep I told her and she said its not low enough they only give it to people that I think that had transfusion i think, but basically I am not low enough. you have to be dieing to get any help.

what was your levels?

fairyeyes profile image
fairyeyes in reply to Stormx

minus 9,due to go back next week,so fingers crossed its the same not lower as i can do much more,my blood cells are also very tiny and they had gotten slightly bigger.

Bodil333 profile image
Bodil333

I find it a bit worrying that fruit juice features so highly here. It affects blood sugar and inflammation. You get your best iron from red meat with vegetables (vitamin C). You also need B6 in order to absorb iron. Thiamine, folate and B12 are also good with it. Nutri/Metagenics Hemagenics is the best on the market in my mind.

fairyeyes profile image
fairyeyes

I do have red meat at least once a day,my other vits such as b12 folic acid etc are all good.I have to say i was so so happily surprised my folic acid was good as i had a baby with spina bifida(still born) and was then in the trails for what is now known as folic acid,i went on to have a baby with very very mild spina bifida who is now 100% healthy and then a 3rd child who is 100% healthy,so i know folic acid works.I have learnt one thing that never assume you know what you think you know your body can surprise you in both a good way and bad way.I am doing so much to keep my iron levels up.I took a tab today that has 65 mg of iron and i kept it down ,yeah go me lol will take another later today.This group is such a great source of real life info thank you all again and to the admins for a great group x

Polaris profile image
Polaris in reply to fairyeyes

Reading through your posts and symptoms, (thyroid, anaemia, digestive problems etc.) fairyeyes, I wonder whether the root of the problem is B12 def.

Many researchers believe leaky gut or intestinal permeability is the ground zero for autoimmune disease. Four of us in the family have Hashimoto's - often linked with PA/B12 deficiency - and two have B12 deficiency.

What many doctors consider normal results for B12 are not normal as serum blood tests are unreliable and do not measure whether B12 is being absorbed into tissues. All the latest research and guidelines advise treating symptoms without delay as there is no gold standard test.

Here are some more links you may not have seen:

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

youtu.be/BvEizypoyO0

mandy-white profile image
mandy-white

I have tried 3 different Iron tablets from my GP but all of them make me feel really sick, and upset my stomach. He never suggested injections so couldn't have been that bad. Doesn't the injections give you side effects like tablets ?

fairyeyes profile image
fairyeyes in reply to mandy-white

I had 2 infusions,the first did not do anything at all for my levels,they were worse ,had a tummy upset and felt tired after but that was it,the second infusion was a different type,no side effects and i felt a difference within 5 days.I dont know about injections,i was offered them but decided to have the infusions,sorry i cant help you. xAlway take your tablets on a full stomach with orange juice,i take mine with in 10 mins of eating,The ones the gp gave me made me vomit with in around 10 to 20 minutes no matter when i took them,so again i thinks its trail and error,I still cannot believe how ill i was i so never want to get that ill again,took a good 6 months to get back on track and i am hoping to keep getting better.

mandy-white profile image
mandy-white in reply to fairyeyes

Thankyou for replying. Can I be really thick and ask what is an infusion? I thought that meant an injection. sorry im not thick every day lol xx

fairyeyes profile image
fairyeyes in reply to mandy-white

Injection is put in to a muscle usually in the arm and an infusion is a bag of iron given through a drip in the arm.Your not thick hun x

cc120 profile image
cc120

I agree with humanbean, ferrous fumerate is what I took to increase iron.

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