Can anyone recommend a iron supplement that is gentle on the stomach and doesn't make you constipated, but is also a decent dose?
I'm on ferrous sulfate from the doctor having lost a lot of blood in a c section 9 weeks ago, and my levels are still not great (33 ug/l, range 13-150), so I need a good dose, but I can't cope with these hard stools any more!!
I know there's the likes of floradix but I think this is quite a low dose...
Would be glad of any advice 
Hi Molly.
I take Holland and Barrett Gentle Iron 20mg. It’s Ferrous Bisglycinate which I’ve found to be very gentle on my stomach. I was taking 2 a day to get my iron levels up and now just take a maintenance dose of 1 which keeps my iron levels at optimal.
Worth testing regularly once you start taking iron to see how quickly your iron levels will increase as too much iron can be harmful.
All the best and hope you recover quickly from the c-section.
Thank you TiredPanda that's very helpful, and good to know it worked to raise your levels too 🙂
That's good to know in case I can't get hold of Terra Nova, Easy Iron in future.
Hey there :
My answer was Gentle Iron by Solgar - and it would seem there is more than one product using Gentle in it's name :
But as already posted Ferrous Bisglycinate is the base element rather than other iron supplement brands that can be more than harsh on sensitive stomachs.
You might also like to consider eating liver once a week ?
I now maintain my ferritin at around 100, where I seem to feel at my best, by cooking down one tub a week of Asda frozen chicken livers which are very clean and mild to the taste. Once defrosted flash fry in a little olive oil and then whizz down into a pate and keep in the fridge mixing with a dollop of Hellmans if it looks a little too dry and a spoonful a day helps this medicine go down very easily.
Thanks pennyannie, that's v.helpful !
Yes, I get chicken livers sometimes - also makes a good risotto - I'll try the pate - sounds simple
Solgar Gentle Iron is great , as recommended above .But it might help your tummy a great deal, if you take a good quality High Dose Vitamin C Capsule daily too .
They worked well for me .
Good Luck
M🌹
Thanks Madge. I already take 1000mg vitamin C so think the answer is to change to a different type of iron. Many thanks
I heard somewhere that the vit C helps the body absorb iron (also magnesium) - hence orange juice with breakfast. I don't drink juices often, cost and acid on teeth so the vit C and zinc tabs work for me.
For any iron supplement, no matter what its active ingredient it is, it is important to know how much pure iron the supplement contains.
As a general rule of thumb the more pure iron a supplement contains the fewer people tolerate it.
Some examples :
Ferrous fumarate has an iron content of approx 33%, and a 100mg pill would contain 33mg of pure iron.
Ferrous sulfate/sulphate has an iron content of approx 20%, and a 100mg pill would contain 20mg pure iron
Ferrous gluconate has an iron content of approx 12%, and a 100mg pill would contain 12mg pure iron.
Source for the above : ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/%...
Iron (or ferrous) bisglycinate chelate has an iron content of approx 17%.
Source for the above : walrus.com/questions/elemen...
You might find this reply I wrote to a member on the subject of iron supplements of interest - ignore the stuff on pregnancy at the beginning of the reply :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
And you might come across suggestions that people should only take iron every other day. I wrote a thread about this :
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Thank you human bean, that is very informative and helpful
Floradix isn't great if you have MTHFR (most people with thyroid issues do) because it has the cheap pyridoxine instead of P5P for B6 and the cheap form of B12 instead of methylated B12. I use Thorne Iron Bisglycinate. It works so well that my ferritin went from 19 up to 200 and I had to stop taking it for awhile. Not a bad problem to have after trying to raise it for a long time!
Thanks luna1390, yes ive always thought floradix isn't much use and that confirms why! Very interested to hear your experience of taking Thorne too - sounds like it would be worth a try!
I don't work for the company and thought we were not allowed to advertise but I do find this supplement to be very good - It's 'Easy Iron 20mg - complex' 100% vegan and is NON-constipating. Made by Terra Nova and just one per day. I can vouch for the fact that it is indeed non-constipating.
Dillongirl
There is no problem with discussing supplements and mentioning brand names or recommending certain ones.
What is not allowed to be discussed on the forum are individual doctors and where to source prescription only medication without prescription.
Thanks Dillongirl 😁
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