Floradix

[english-mummy]

So, in my last pregnancy I got very anemic, and had to have weeks off work because I couldn't function.
I then transferred to a midwife and she recommended the Floradix, iron supplement. I would take it twice a day with OJ and it was my miracle cure. It worked immediately, but if I forgot a dose I would know within a few hours. Amazing stuff.....but pretty expensive! I am trying to plan ahead this time around and started taking it again as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I am going to need many more bottles of the stuff over the coming months and was wondering whether anyone knew of a cheap supplier, preferably where I could get a few bottles in bulk? The best price I have found seems to be on Amazon $34 for 17floz

[HappyMommy2]

I also need and love floradix. But boy is it expensive.

Before I went to a midwife, I had an OB. And they gave me Slow-Fe ... which is an over-the-counter iron supplement. It is MUCH cheaper (like $6), and has the same effect: iron supplementation. It isn't a nice natural thing from the health food store, you just get it at CVS or your local drug store. And I ate a prune a day to offset the side effect of constipation that floradix doesn't have. Just wanted you to know that there are options, you don't have to be so tired and anemic!

Good luck mama!

[JosieAK]

There are other liquid chlorophyll options. Floradix just is one brand. I am not sure which ones are cheapest, but you could do some searches. Sorry I am not more helpful. I had the opposite problem. When my iron counts went UP instead of down at my second blood test, mid pregnancy, my midwife had me retest a little bit later to make sure my blood volume was actually increasing. I credit the iron levels to my Supermom vitamins which have Spirulina in them.

[littleteapot]

I took chlorophyll, nettles and floradix through the end of my last pregnancy to control severe anemia (as well as developing pre-e) and the results were amazing!
I bought a bottle of floradix a week ago and have been attempting to take it twice a day, but can usually only manage once. It makes me terribly sick to smell or taste.

[Tumble Bumbles]

What I do is prepare acidic foods in my cast iron pans. For example, you may simmer orange juice in it for several minutes, then chill and drink regularly. The iron leeches out of the cast iron and though it's elemental (non-heme) it's better absorbed by eating with vitamin C (such as orange juice, tomato sauce, etc). I also cook a lot in cast iron throughout my pregnancy (and otherwise) and haven't had an issue with low iron. You can google 'iron leeching from cast iron' or similar terms to get lots of good info.

It may be worth a shot, even to supplement with the floradix.

[jshannyn519]

I think I pay about $25 a bottle for my Floradix from my local (Fort Worth, TX) health food store. I have tried Slow-Fe and Hematinic and several other iron supplements in pill form. The only thing that seems to work for me is the Floradix twice a day with an emergen-C chaser. We also cook in cast iron as much as possible and I eat leafy greens and other iron-containing foods. The hardest part about pregnancy for me is that I am so turned off of meat that I can barely tolerate cooking it for my kids, much less eating it for myself. So I have to really search for alternate iron sources so I don't get too anemic.

[Mamatoabunch]

I am so w/ you on cost. So far this pregnancy I have been taking the Floradix tablets, but w/in the last two months I switched the similar equivalent of Mega Foods tablets. I will stick w/ those, but switch to the liquid if necessary. There are similar concoctions, just like Floradix, that are less expensive at one of my local natural groceries. I cannot recall the name now.

[accountclosed7]

Have any of you had problems with constipation while taking Floradix? Once I started taking it every day, I became extremely backed up and uncomfortable, despite drinking immense amounts of water. I need the iron, but not sure it's worth the intestinal pain!

[jshannyn519]

Originally Posted by MinimalistMommi 

Have any of you had problems with constipation while taking Floradix? Once I started taking it every day, I became extremely backed up and uncomfortable, despite drinking immense amounts of water. I need the iron, but not sure it's worth the intestinal pain!

I've never had issues with constipation while taking Floradix. Other iron supplements, in pill form, have absolutely caused constipation, but never the Floradix. How much fiber are you getting in your diet on a regular basis? Water is really important, but fiber is just as important.