iron deficiency

[mosaicmama]

Does anyone know if breastfeeding contributes to iron deficiency? I am nursing my 21mo dd and am iron deficient. I am not one of the lucky ones to pause her menstration either. I have been having heavy periods since she was 3mo. It seems that I would be loosing iron while nursing, but can't find any info about it. Does any one know?

[SEEPAE]

are you asking if nursing depletes your already low iron count?

just want to clarify...

[DaryLLL]

I am anemic right now (from anti-coagulants I took b/c of a pulmonary embolism, which made my periods very heavy, just FYI), but I was also anemic after my 2nd birth, as was my dd.

From the research I did, I found that menstruating women need more iron than post-menopausal women or all men. I think we all know this.

Lactating moms (non-menstruating) need more iron than men but less than pg or menstruating women. I can't find the particular page with the exact requirements right now, but I did find this (which seesm to have a couple inaccuracies, but may help a little ):

http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/3156/anemia.htm

Since you are lactating and heavily menstruating, it stands to reason that you would need extra iron. Lactating women need to give iron into their breastmilk, but a heavy period would make you lose more.

I am taking ferrous fumurate (250% RDA) and find I tolerate it well. I also take a green drink a couple times a day (Nature's Sunshine Liquid Chlorophyll made from alfalfa) and 500 mg of Vit C a day, to help me absorb iron.

Ferrous sulfate makes me unbearably constipated.

I also heard, for some women, being low iron can make periods heavier and then lead to even lower iron. Ironic.

[mosaicmama]

I will find out soon if or how defecient I am. I have taken iron supps before, and they are terribly constipating. You say that this different kind is easier to tolerate? Do you get the same amound of iron, just in a different form? I will be glad to find out if this is what is going on with me, cause I feel like crap all the time. Dizzy, tired, headaches. It almost always seems to hit me midday. Is that true with anyone else? Thanks for the advice.

[DaryLLL]

Yes, these are all common symptoms of anemia, as is being short of breath (me) and having pale inner lower eyelids. Definitely get a complete blood count done before you start to take more than a 25% RDA of iron in supplement form. Taking too much iron if you don't need it can be dangerous.

Normal iron saturation is 12-17 grams per deciliter. I am at only 9.

If you just google "anemia symptoms" you will see all this info.

Example:

http://www.anemia.com/do/dotalk.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...4.htm#symptoms

One other weird symptom i have is pica, a craving to eat a non-food substance. In my case, ice. Since I have started taking large doses of iron, I have had less craving for ice.

Yes, the info I found said ferrous fumurate is easier to absorb than f sulfate. Look in several drugstores and health food stores and see all the different kinds of iron preparations there are. I am thrilled that I am not constipated this time. My hemotologist and PCP did not tell me about the different kinds of iron. I had to figure it out for myself.

[shelley4]

i'm also anemic.. it all started for me during my last pregnancy.. instead of throwing up alot, i lost all appetite for food.. i swear, i didn't want to eat *anything* again, EVER! so anyways, that depleted my iron stores pretty quick.
apparently, there's two types of anemia.. one where your blood levels are low in iron, and one where your body's stores of iron are low. first, your blood levels drop, then you have to take from your iron stores. if you're dipping into your body's stores, then that's a problem!

my mw had me on ferrous fumerate (says it's also easier absorbed), but i found that it gave me stomach cramps. my health food store has a liquid form of iron, it was easier on my tummy. also, the herb Yellow Dock is high in iron, i take it in capsule form, and it never upsets my tummy. another thing to remember is to not take your iron supplement at the same time as calcium rich food.. calcium inhibits the absorption on iron. a little Vit. C will help it be absorbed.

[Shirada]

I just have one thing to say: Floradix liquid iron supplement. It is food based and doesn't constipate. I am taking it now in my last trimester and did the same last pregnancy. My mw recommended it and it tastes okay too.