Low iron and supplementation - Page 2

[myk]

to increase absorption of iron, take it with an acidic food or drink, ideally something like juice with vitamin C. taking it in the morning with a breakfast rich in iron (preferably heme iron) helps too, according to my reading..

taking your calcium/D/magnesium supplement at night is a good idea, that way the calcium and iron don't interfere with each other, and the magnesium will help with the constipation issues. also helps with sleep, magnesium helps you relax.

i was prescribed a prenatal vitamin that has separate pills for morning and night - the morning pill has 35mg iron but no calcium, the night pill has calcium and no iron. it's called PregVit. i seem to tolerate it better than other prenatal vitamins but i haven't been able to take it consistently enough since i've been sick.. so now i'm anemic and need more iron than that :(

[HRJ]

I need to take the calcium twice since I'm dairy free - trying to get 1000mg and you are only supposed to take 500 mg at at time.  So I am thinking calcium in the morning, iron between meals and calcium again at bed?

[gemasita]

Trying to take 3 doses of iron a day (plus a prenatal with calcium in it and an additional cal/mag supplement at night) is REALLY hard, I'm finding.  I'm also trying to EAT more calcium so trying not to take the iron before or after that too.  I don't know if I should just try taking all the iron in one dose?  My midwife said to spread it out but it's just REALLY hard to juggle all of this!

[HawaiianBlesing]

I was very anemic pre-pregnancy and could never figure out why.  After enlisting the help of a nutritionist I found out that I had an absorption problem.  My intestines weren't absorbing nutrients from my food or the iron from them either.

I stopped all iron supplementation and drastically changed my diet.  My iron levels returned to normal. 

I just found out that I'm pregnant 4wks 3 days and am currently taking a prenatal which does contain iron (he said too much).

The long of the short of it is that when I start to feel fatigued (pre-pregnancy) it usually meant my iron stores were getting low so I would up my iron rich foods.

Some of the most iron rich foods are: (in 100g eaten)

Dulce 150 mg

Kelp 100 mg

Rice bran 19.4

Wheat bran 14.9

Pumpkin and squash seeds 11.2

Sesame seeds 10.5

The ones he highlighted for me were Dulce, Kelp, Pumpkin seeds, Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, dried chickpea, dried lentils, parsley, dried peaches, apricots, & prunes, wild rice, cashews, brazilnuts, hazelnut, Jerusalem artichokes, English walnut

Just to name a few

Take iron supplements with Vitamin C rich foods to help absorption

Good luck in keeping your iron levels up....I hate feeling tired and fatigued.

[fancyoats]

at my 30 week mw visit, she tested my hemoglobin levels, and they were 11 which is borderline anemic -- normal for pg women is between 12 and 16, i believe.  anyway, she told me to get "chelated iron" which i found at whole foods.  apparently, the iron is bound to an amino acid that makes it easier to absorb and gentler on the digestive system.  i take it in the morning on an empty stomach, and wash it down with a quart of water + a packet of emergen-c, sometimes a few clemetines.  i wait about an hour to eat anything else.  i have had great results, my hemoglobin was up a whole point just at the next visit, 2 weeks later.  i try not to do any dairy until late afternoon/evening, and i switched to taking my prenatal at nighttime. 

[HRJ]

How much iron did you take, and did you take it all at once.  I am taking an iron that is 3 pills a day - trying to figure out if I should take it all at once in the morning.  the script my OB gave me was for 90 mg all in one pill.  how many hrs do you have to wait inbetween calcium and iron?  If I take calcium 2x a day and iron 3x a day, I don't see how I can do it! 
 

Originally Posted by fancyoats 

at my 30 week mw visit, she tested my hemoglobin levels, and they were 11 which is borderline anemic -- normal for pg women is between 12 and 16, i believe.  anyway, she told me to get "chelated iron" which i found at whole foods.  apparently, the iron is bound to an amino acid that makes it easier to absorb and gentler on the digestive system.  i take it in the morning on an empty stomach, and wash it down with a quart of water + a packet of emergen-c, sometimes a few clemetines.  i wait about an hour to eat anything else.  i have had great results, my hemoglobin was up a whole point just at the next visit, 2 weeks later.  i try not to do any dairy until late afternoon/evening, and i switched to taking my prenatal at nighttime. 

[myk]

i'm struggling with this too.. when do you take the iron? the calcium? how far apart do they need to be? how long is it going to take before i start to feel better??

[HRJ]

Okay, I talked to my nutritionist today.  She said to do my prenatal (that doesn't have calcium in it) and 1 iron in the morning, calcium w/ lunch, 2 iron pills (double up) at dinner, and calcium RIGHT before bed.  She thought that was enough time in between each that they wouldn't interfere.