Can anyone recommend an iron supplement that won't cause constipation?
My iron is low so GP prescribed me 200mg Ferrus Sulphate. I'm supposed to be taking 3 a day but I can barely manage 1, my bowels do not agree at all! 🙈
I was looking at Floradix liquid iron however it contains b vitamins which I'm already taking (thank you SlowDragon for the recommendation previously) so I don't want to overdo it. I'm also using the BetterYou Vitamin D spray now too just to add.
I have heard from a low iron group on FB that the best type is ‘heme iron’. It’s from cows so it’s not vegan but if that is not a problem for you it will be worth trying - the absorption and tolerance is often much better. You have to order it online from America
I just use the Better You oral spray as it doesn’t go through the gut. I don’t know if it’s good but it’s more than I’d been doing. I don’t use it every day but it seems to give me a boost!
Of all the iron supplements that doctors can prescribe ferrous sulfate (one of the iron salts) is the cheapest - but is also the least well tolerated. I wonder how many people just give up on them. I couldn't tolerate them myself.
There are other iron salts other than ferrous sulfate. There is also ferrous fumarate 210mg, which are cheap, and are better tolerated than the sulfate. I used to tolerate it with food. And another one is ferrous gluconate which usually comes in 300mg tablets.
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
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Having said the above, I wouldn't go for iron salts at all because so many people absorb them poorly. If I was starting iron now for the first time I would buy the heme type as mentioned by Eeyore100 and CheekyPanda.
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Always remember that improving iron and ferritin (iron stores) levels is not usually a quick process. It can take many months. You also need to test an iron panel regularly (every three months would usually be safe) because pushing serum iron, ferritin, or transferrin saturation up above the range is not recommended at all. Iron at high levels is poisonous because the body can't get rid of the excess, and excess iron can get deposited in soft tissues.
Doctors are unlikely to offer an iron panel every three months (or ever in some cases). At most they will test ferritin. As a result people on this forum supplementing to raise their iron will do an iron panel with a finger-prick test done privately. If your absorption of iron is particularly poor then you might only need to test every six months - but you need to test at least once after three months to know that your absorption is poor.
thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...
medichecks.com/products/iro...
Note the discount code for 20% off "Jan20"
When there are no sales on there is a ThyroidUK 10% discount code on this link :
thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...
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If your iron still doesn't rise then another possibility is an iron infusion. Theoretically, the NHS should offer one when necessary, but few people get them.
It is possible to get them done privately. Search for "Iron clinic" - there are a few around England, I'm not sure about the rest of the UK.
This is just one example, in London :
Thank you for all the helpful info!
I had (half) an iron infusion a year ago after my massive pph during my emergency C-section - I say half because half way through my hand blew up to the size of a ball and left me permanently stained!
They sent me off with the same tablets the GP has prescribed to me now ('just incase' they said in the hospital before I left) but knowing the side effects I'd had during pregnancy I avoided taking them, and didn't know at the time if my iron was low or not.
The GP has said I need another FBC in 3 months anyway as my vitamin D, iron plus some others are low plus my thyroid levels need keeping an eye on in their opinion (more like I could do with medication now but they're waiting until I'm unable to function like a normal human until they do anything 🙄)
I can only take vegetarian supplements unfortunately so I'm not sure about this heme iron.
What about the spray mentioned above? Any good? I didn't realise spray supplements were even a thing until I came here!
Am I right in thinking pph = post-partum haemorrhage?
If I am then you need to know about this condition, just in case it has affected you :
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheeh...
Please note for future reference - you don't need a prescription to buy iron salts in the UK. They can be bought from pharmacies (only) without one.
Heme iron supplements can be bought online - prescriptions are not required.
Iron infusions are private - and I've never heard of anyone needing a referral from a GP to get one.
Oh, another thing. An FBC (Full Blood Count) will tell you nothing about your vitamin D levels. It will tell you if you are anaemic, based on your haemoglobin (a test included in the FBC). But people can be iron deficient without being anaemic. And iron deficiency should be repaired with or without anaemia.
An FBC (specifically MCV - Mean Cell Volume i.e. how big your red blood cells are on average) might tell you if you are short of iron and/or ferritin (iron stores), or short of B12 and/or folate. But if you are short of iron or ferritin AND B12 or folate the FBC might not be helpful.
Low MCV (small red blood cells) is indicative of low iron and/or ferritin.
High MCV (large red blood cells) is indicative of low B12 and/or folate.
If you are low in both iron and B12 what size are your red blood cells going to be? They might be "normal".
There are other issues with an FBC. For example if you have low B12 and low folate your blood cells will most likely be big. If you fix the low folate it will reduce the size of your red blood cells and thus hide any evidence of your low B12, which can be dangerous.
So, all in all, the FBC that doctor's love so much can be helpful for some things but for low nutrients it isn't that wonderful and iron/ferritin/B12/folate should be tested individually.
I'm not the person to ask about spray supplements. I don't use them.
One thing I do know is that spraying iron supplements into the mouth can stain teeth black. This isn't necessarily a problem with spray supplements for other nutrients.
I have just been reading about a company that has all food grown supplements. Their Iron plus has good reviews from people who always had problems with normal iron supplements. wildnutrition.com I know nothing about them but it may be worth a look.
I think you'll find quite a number of their products are yeast based. Something like they grow a vat of yeast and tip in the iron, etc. Then drying it and packing.
The picture of a globe artichoke (I think) only provides viewers with a feel-good image.
And the citrus pulp doesn't say "organic citrus pulp". I'm sure they'd make a song and dance about it if it were. So might be relatively high in chemical residues.
And I would not call a yeast product like this food grown, though the yeast will be edible, it is not the image they are trying to project.
I know of an iron and B12 specialist if you need one. You can consult in person or online.
Iron tablets are better absorbed taken at lower doses every other day. Many recommend Solgar gentle iron 20mg as it's easy in the gut. My sister is hypo and took those nasty prescribed ones for years to no avail.
I've been mixing in some Iron Bisglycinate "Ferrochel" which is easy on the stomach and Vegan but haven't retested yet to see if it works as well as the Three Arrows
Floradix is extremely low in iron so won't raise levels.
Floradix is extremely low in iron so won't raise levels.
Sheep or cows liver. High in iron plus Co factors like copper and retinal. Much more bioavailable and the natural cure for anemia having won a Nobel peace prize for it. Iron basically rusts in us causing oxidative stress so having it with the co factors it was designed to have will get it to the correct place not in your flesh.Vit d can also cause calcium in organs and flesh instead of bones. I would skip it and take sunlight,rosemary,honey instead.
Oh and lots of great b12 in it too.
There are few iron supplements that contain iron as a metal.
In all others it is very misleading to suggest that it "rusts".
Can you reference any sources which show that iron taken in typical supplement quantities as haem or ferritin causes oxidative stress?
Sunlight isn't a helpful option in the UK for some time yet. If the need cannot wait until, say, at least April, then sunlight is not viable.
Consuming large quantities of liver can result in an excessive intake of preformed vitamin A so care is required.
I was replying to the post not to you. I wonder how we survived millions of years without the synthetic stuff.
Enjoy your spinach lol.
I have the role of moderator.
Part of that is to ensure that, to the best of my ability, posts are in accordance with the forum's guidelines.
That includes referencing claims which are not obvious or simply personal experience.
If that requires me to reply directly to you, REGARDLESS where you are posting or to whom, then I shall do so.
Was it the sheep or the cows that won the Nobel peace prize for providing humans with the natural cure for anemia?
I suspect ox /cow liver. Sheep's liver has a higher ratio of copper but I like that-the taste is better too.
I suspect you are confusing Pernicious Anaemia and Iron Deficiency Anaemia (or one of the many other forms of anaemia).
Have included the quotes below because they might be of interest to some.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1934
Among his other interests were leucaemia, disorders of the lymphatic tissues and polycythaemia, but his most important contributions to knowledge were made in his studies of anaemia. His name will always be associated with the therapy of pernicious anaemia, in which he first became interested in 1914, but it was not until later that he, like William P. Murphy, became impressed by the work of George Hoyt Whipple on the treatment of experimental forms of anaemia in dogs, and in 1926 he and Murphy described the effective treatment of pernicious anaemia by means of liver. For this work he and Murphy and Whipple were awarded, in 1934, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Subsequently, Minot, in collaboration with Edwin J. Cohn, extended this work by showing the efficacy of certain fractions of liver substance and he demonstrated the value of reticulocyte reactions in the evaluation of therapeutic procedures. He also added to knowledge of gastro-intestinal functions and of iron therapy for anaemia, and to knowledge of other aspects of this group of diseases.
nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...
After his appointment at the Hooper Foundation, Whipple continued his work with bile fistulas, and soon found that a better understanding of the production of haemoglobin was needed if the metabolism of bile pigments was to be understood. In collaboration with C. W. Hooper and Mrs. Robscheit-Robbins, he did experiments on short-term anaemia in dogs due to loss of blood, and further work was done on this subject and on diets consisting of liver in relation to the regeneration of blood. In Rochester, however, he decided to use anaemias due to blood loss which were uniformly sustained and were long maintained, and to study the effects on these of various factors in diets added to the rations. This work showed that the most effective addition to the diets was raw liver itself. For this work on the therapeutic value of liver in the treatment of pernicious anaemia he was awarded, together with George R. Minot and William P. Murphy, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1934.
nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...
Anemia, or blood deficiency, means that the amount of red blood cells in the blood is too low. After George Whipple showed that the formation of blood cells among dogs was stimulated by a diet rich in liver, in 1926 William Murphy and George Minot adapted this finding for people with the serious illness of pernicious anemia. If patients ate abundant amounts of liver daily, their condition improved. This also shed light on the cause of pernicious anemia, a shortage of a substance that later proved to be vitamin B12, which is found in liver.
A few weeks ago many were raving about Three Arrows haem/heme iron and how it raises ferritin quite quickly. Because I liked the idea that it’s a bovine spleen product and can be taken at the same time as his other supplements, I bought it for my husband, whose ferritin is as low as it can be without falling out of range. The site recommends dosing by weight so he takes three, split breakfast, lunch and dinner, which amounts to 60mg. He’s due an iron panel soon so we’ll see if there’s any change for the better
If you look on the absolutely insane website the maker tells her story. Be prepared for an arduous read
You might find some interest in reading my notes on iron:
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...
This it was a very informative read! I've learnt lots on here since I joined, thank you 😊
I'm in the process of updating that - keeps happening, I think about a document and then go and re-read it. And notice all the gaps and mistakes!
Should be done in a few days.
I am thinking that your copper and minerals could be low. Did they test you for copper? Although I know it is not a very actuate test. It has helped several members of my family's low iron. Once they started on copper it bought their iron up naturally. Some used copper supplements and some used organic black strap molasses. Which is such a natural form with other minerals. Good as long as you don't have diabetes. Also taking vitamin C with iron supplements helped a good deal. Taking plenty of magnesium whilst you are on iron, helps the toilet situation.
I’m also trying to raise my ferritin. Experience so far – GP’s ferrous fumarate, fine for 2 months then started tearing up my stomach. No iron for 10 days to heal wrecked stomach. Yesterday I tried 1 tablet 65mg elemental iron Vitron-C. Ordered this at great cost from the US, it’s called carbonyl iron. Result was a full day of rotten vomity garlic burps mixed with what I’d imagine it tastes like if you were to lick a magnet repeatedly ☹ Plus bloating so bad I had to wear PJ bottoms all day as even leggings were too tight around my waist.
Will wait a few days to recover from this failed experiment and then try bysglycinate ferrrochel. I also have some iron patches from PatchAid. No idea if they work but will use them while stomach heals again.
In the past I’ve tried Floridix and Better You iron spray, both turned my teeth brown and required a trip to the dentist to scrape off the stains and did nothing to raise my ferritin as the dose is way too low. Might be good once your levels are up and you only need maintenance.
I too don’t want to take haem iron but will have to consider if all of the non-haem plant irons fail, last resort though. I was considering an infusion, but the idea of a possible brown stained arm is not very appealing. I’m sorry this happened to you, that’s awful and I could understand why you would not risk it again ☹
I think it is a case of trying different types to see what suits you but it’s important to have a regular iron panel to check you are not taking too much yet enough to actually raise your levels.
Oh gosh sounds like you've really struggled to get your levels up, what a shame about your teeth turning brown too! Tea does that already for me so I'd rather not make them worse 😅
Oh you don't know the half of it, is,the iron infusion. I'd just lost 4 litres of blood having spent 5 days in hospital before I had my 4th baby, the midwife did a bodge job with my cannula in the first place so my entire forearm and hand were bruised like crazy and soo sore. I was high as a kite on all the pain relief so I hadn't realised my hand was blowing up from the infusion before it really started to hurt 🙈
Safe to say I'm scarred for life, mentally and physically from the whole ordeal.
You poor thing, quite terrifying that a medical professional could do so much harm☹️ I hope you find a supplement that suits you and you can start improving your levels. Just to let you know, I’ve had the iron patches on the last 2 days and so far no side effects or skin reaction.
Hi, rather than take an iron supplement as such I now take a liver supplement and it works brilliantly. - it's bovine organic liver capsules from grass fed cows and so is obviously an amazing but gentle source of iron ! Just something you might want to consider .... 👍😊
I good idea and very good for you. I also eat tinned mackerel, prawns, plus my daily nuts and dried apricots.
I know that many people hate fish but I love it.
I can’t take the tablets dr gave me I also tried the liquid iron but also had bad reaction. I discovered gentle iron by solgar (iron bisglycinate) very large capsules but surprisingly easy to swollow. 2 weeks now and honestly can say absolutely no side effects or constipation at all, in fact I think they may be helping me become more regular as I haven’t had to take my bisicodal quite so often-that the dr gave me to help with constipation. I’ve Noticed a difference in my energy levels I really can’t recommend these enough. I wish you well
Just to warn you to go careful and not buy slow release or sustained release iron. I did this recently and it seems that it really upset my absorption of thyroid hormones.
Wow, was not expecting so many responses 😅 I didn't realise iron was a controversial subject!
To be honest I'm as confused as ever! No idea where to start or what to try - I cannot take anything that isn't vegetarian/vegan.
Thank you for all your replies, I need to read through it all properly when I get the chance.
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