Ferrous Sulphate 200mgs Iron Supplements Side Effects

[jenny876]

Hi, I took one 200mgs of Ferrous Sulphate (Accord) yesterday at 6pm - today I have been suffering with diarrhea, stomach pain and nausea. Has anyone else experienced this? Can anyone recommend a brand/type of iron supplement that doesnt cause these side effects, better still - any side effects at all?!

[Rollercoaster44]

Yes ive been on ferrous fumarate iron supplements on and off for 18 months now and had varying bowel issues and nausea etc. It does get better after 7-10 days if you can tolerate the effects that long. I always take mine with food now which helps alot with the nausea but does reduce absorption slightly.

[jenny876 in reply to Rollercoaster44]

Can I ask what dose you take? I might cut the tablet in half and it might be easier for me to take .

[Rollercoaster44 in reply to jenny876]

I was originally prescribed one 200mg f,sulphate tablet twice a day but after first blood test 6 weeks later they changed me to one 322mg ferrous fumarate tablet daily……they kept me on that for about 9 months…i then came off if for 3 months as although ferritin still low other bloods were over range…..but 3 months later was back on it again.

[Rollercoaster44 in reply to jenny876]

My hubbie is unable to take tablet iron supplements due to other liver and stomach issues. He has been using the Better You iron spray with no side effects at all. His ferritin is slowly improving but possibly at a slower rate than with tablets. Might possibly be an option.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

It is not unusual for ferrous sulphate to be poorly tolerated.

There are other options!

helvella - Iron Document

This is a summary of what I have read up and found out about iron supplements over the past few years. I am not in any way medically trained. You are strongly encouraged to check every detail before making any decisions for yourself.

helvella.blogspot.com/p/hel...

[Aurora12 in reply to helvella]

Thank You, Helvella - that's really helpful!

[mrskiki]

They gave me those in hospital, told me to take 3 tablets a day, for anaemia, else I would never have gone near the sulphate form, I got severe pains, constipation and nausea, stopped them and am fine on iron bisglycinate.

[humanbean]

Of all the iron supplements that the NHS prescribe ferrous sulfate is the roughest and least well tolerated.

I took ferrous fumarate 210mg, 1 tablet 3 times a day for a very long time (nearly two years) but even that I found quite rough. In the end I had to take my iron supplements with food. It was the only way I could get iron into me, and I desperately needed it. I took it at a lower dose than that (to maintain my ferritin at mid-range, rather than raise it further) for an even longer time.

For info on supplements see this reply to another member :

1) healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

2) healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

3) healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

I'd suggest paying attention to links 2 and 3 before link 1, because link 1 is getting rather old and new supplements come out from time to time.

[fiftyone]

I took iron tablets for a while and gradually my stomach hurt more and more. I stopped taking them and the pain went. My doctor has now prescribed Galfter Syrup, a rather sticky medicine which I take with with a separate drink of squeezed lemon juice for vitamin C. It seems better for my stomach but I've yet to have a blood test to see if my ferritin levels have improved. I am also seeing a haematologist soon. Also, beware, this sticky concoction can, I believe, turn your teeth black. I rinse straightaway aferwards and give my teeth a quick brush (no toothpaste) to make sure.

[fiftyone in reply to fiftyone]

Sorry, Galfer Syrup

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to fiftyone]

If you wish to link to this page on HealthUnlocked, copy the entire coloured text below and paste into a post or reply:

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[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to fiftyone]

Which contains:

What is in this medicine

The active ingredient per 5ml is:

Ferrous fumarate 140mg (equivalent to 45mg of elemental iron)

The other ingredients are:

Aluminium magnesium silicate, sodium parahydroxybenzoates (E219, E215, (sulfites), citric acid (E330), liquid maltitol (containing maltitol (E965) and sorbitol (E420)), chocolate flavour (milk, ethanol, propylene glycol (E1520), benzyl alcohol (E1519), sodium benzoate (E211)), peppermint flavour (propylene glycol (E1520), benzyl alcohol (E1519)) and purified water.

medicines.org.uk/emc/files/...

[fiftyone in reply to helvella]

This was prescribed by my doctor....because I am low in ferritin.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to fiftyone]

Yes, I understood that. (Though it does not say it is a Prescription-only medicine so might well be available over the counter.)

I just thought anyone interested in it would likely want to know the active ingredients and all the excipients.

[fiftyone in reply to helvella]

well I certainly didn't know all that...!!

[jenny876 in reply to helvella]

The Ferrous Sulphate 200mgs by Accord that I have contains:

spray dried liquid glucose, stearic acid, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose (101) (E460), lactose granules containing lactose, maize starch, pregelatinised maize starch, purified talc (E553), acacia (E414), gelatin, sucrose, titanium dioxide (E171) and yellow carnauba wax!

[Gummybearx]

My daughter has had to start taking iron tablets as she is anaemic, sadly following me. Anyway she has been told to take it every other day and it works better for absorption and to take with orange juice as the vit c helps. She has always suffered with tummy upsets with orange juice, but researched that taking it in the evening is meant to help. 2 weeks in and she seems to be doing ok. I also take mine in the evening as I take my Levo in the morning and have found it works better. I have followed her in taking every other for a week so will see how it goes.

[jenny876 in reply to Gummybearx]

Can I ask what brand and dose it is?

[Gummybearx in reply to jenny876]

The brand is FerroEss and the dose is 210 mg

[DiNL]

I am taking heme iron tablets and my ferretin is rising. No side effects!

[jenny876]

Which brand /dose are you using?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

I encourage everyone to put in Yellow Card reports for all adverse reactions/side effects from medicines.

I might be wrong, but it seems to me that very few tolerate ferrous sulphate well. Most are better on ferrous fumarate or ferrous bisglycinate - or a haem/heme source. If everyone who has issues with ferrous sulphate actually did a report, they might eventually realise that other options are better tolerated - and not necessarily more expensive.

🟨 Making Yellow Card Reports 🟨

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to helvella]

Just to note that a quick check suggests ferrous gluconate (£1.02 for 28 * 300mg tablets) is actually slightly cheaper even than ferrous sulphate (£1.51 for 28 * 200mg tablets)! But we hardly ever see it mentioned.

Does anyone have experience of taking ferrous gluconate and, especially, of how it compares against other ferrous products?

[jenny876 in reply to helvella]

The Accord ferrous sulphate 200mgs for 28 tablets cost me £2 at a pharmacy.

[Sparklingsunshine in reply to helvella]

Just replied, I used Gluconate as I found it much gentler, I think its got less iron in than the other two so may be slower at raising ferritin. I couldnt tolerate Ferrous Sulphate at all.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Sparklingsunshine]

Indeed, the elemental iron content does vary.

But the amount that can be absorbed will not be 100% directly related to the elemental iron content.

And the iron you can take does a better job than the iron you throw away (or only taken occasionally) because you cannot tolerate it!

Elemental iron content of a few ferrous medicines

[KBird01]

I take Solgar gentle iron and have had no problems, even on an empty stomach. I have reacted quite badly to funerate and sulphate versions in the past, so would advise giving this a go. I take double the dose every other day.

[jenny876]

What dose do you take?

[Sparklingsunshine]

I spent much of my life on iron tablets as my ferritin pre menopause was always dire. Looking back at my old GP records one time it was 6 on a range of 30-150. Sulphate is the worst in my experience. I found Ferrous Fumarate easier to tolerate.

I found Ferrous Gluconate much better. I think its got less iron in than the others but its much gentler. Not sure if its still available on the NHS though.

[Mellymoos]

Hi i can empathise with you as i am exactly the same. I tried taking them on alternate days with food as i guess its better than not taking them at all. I also take vitamin c to help with absorption uptake. In addition to this a multi vitamin with iron. Not had blood results yet. Good luckX

[j9j8j7]

I couldn't tolerate any of the prescription iron tablets or even over the counter gentle iron tablets. But I haven't had any side effects from Three Arrows Heme iron. My iron levels went from 25% below range to 25% into range with just one bottle. Heme iron is much better absorbed, has fewer side effects and you can take it with most other foods (standard non-heme iron is impaired by TONS of things: tea, coffee, wine, dairy, soya, wholegrains, egg yolks, quite a few fruits, the list goes on and on.

[mohster]

Iron suppliment can cause stomach irritation and ulcers I know as I ended up with 5. So the fact your suffering gi probs should be checked out. I can't take iron suppliment anymore because of this so keep my iron levels high by taking macca and eating lots of read meat.

[Eddie83]

If you can afford it, I would recommend you use a chelated iron supplement. My recollection is that I took ferrous bisglycinate during the period where I knew I was iron deficient. The chelated form caused absolutely no unpleasant side effects. Ferrous sulfate, on the other hand, has a bad rep.