Mothering › Forums › Archives › Pregnancy Archives › March 2008 › Can I boost my iron in a week???
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Can I boost my iron in a week???  

post #1 of 17
2/21/08 at 2:13pm
Thread Starter 
I changed providers at 34 weeks and my last provider DID NOT TELL ME that I had borderline anemia!! Actually, I didn't even know that they had tested me at all. Now I need to be tested again in a week to see if my iron is good enough to give birth at the birth center where I so want to be. I have a week before they test me again--can I boost it in a week? I'm taking the iron supplements (had been off them for a while) and having blackstrap molasses, eggs, vitamin C, beans all that stuff (I'm vegetarian.) Also, should I just eat some steaks or something? What can I do?
post #2 of 17
2/21/08 at 2:31pm
from what I've read it takes about 2 weeks. Im veggie too and non-heme iron(plant based) is the least absorbable so its a little tougher for us. If you are going to resort to eating meat chicken livers are the best source.
post #3 of 17
2/21/08 at 3:13pm
Maybe a children's iron supplement? I would think that those would be easier to absorb than some of the ones geared at adults.

And don't forget your dark leafy greens, and maybe some of those "green superfood" supplements that you can get at Whole Foods/health food stores.

Sadly I can't say whether or not a week would be enough time to get the levels up high enough. But if you're borderline, at least you're not deficient and have less to acquire.



Marieke
post #4 of 17
2/21/08 at 3:27pm
I have been taking floradix once a day trying to get my iron up. Not sure if its working, but I am not at dead tired as I was.
post #5 of 17
2/21/08 at 4:42pm
Sorry to be negative, but my midwife told me it'd take 3 weeks for my 'iron therapy' to start working. I was on Spatone for a while--that's iron-infused water, you mix it with orange juice--apparently quite good, but hellishly expensive. And now I'm on the cheap supermarket 'Iron and Vitamin C' tablets. I'm not veggie, but we don't eat a lot of meat so I've been trying to down more steaks, much to DH's delight. Remember that Vitamin C is important for absorption! Good luck. I had my bloods taken a few days ago to see if it was working, and my midwife's appointment today will probably let me know. They risk you out for a homebirth here if your iron levels aren't up to scratch--which annoys me, because it's only my ferritin which was down, my circulating iron was fine--so I'm pretty nervous! I was naughty and forgot to take the supplements on a few occasions.... regretting that now!

Even if your levels aren't as high as they'd like, you could always try pleading your case. How close to your due date are you? You could say 'I've started...', and hope they trust you!
post #6 of 17
2/22/08 at 12:41am
Another thing to try is cooking in a cast iron skillet if you have one. It boosts the iron of whatever you're cooking in it just a bit. I've been trying to get my iron up to par for over a month now, so I say give it everything you've got. I also endorse those good leafy greens. I'm not sure if it would be an option, but they've put me on Repliva as a supplement because I was so anemic (and I'm not veggie - go figure) which seems to have helped more than the floradix.
Good luck to you!!
post #7 of 17
2/22/08 at 1:03am
Not in your DDC but oysters are very high in iron. Good luck!
post #8 of 17
2/22/08 at 1:19am
Ina May Gaskin suggests that alfalfa capsules can boost iron levels very quickly, and Susun Weed suggests the same about yellow dock root decoction (which is basically a strong tea, steeped for 8 hours, then reduced over very low heat to half its original volume). I'm doing both. I have to say, the yellow dock business tastes like poo, but I'll try anything. Good luck, think positive, and I second the chicken liver (though, bleah!) and the cast-iron cookware.
post #9 of 17
2/22/08 at 1:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smokering View Post
Even if your levels aren't as high as they'd like, you could always try pleading your case. How close to your due date are you? You could say 'I've started...', and hope they trust you!
I would certainly try pleading the case by mentioning that the previous caregivers didn't see fit to mention that the OP was borderline anemic and that since that knowledge has come to the OP that everything is being done to correct the imbalance.

Did the original caregiver not mention it because she was lax, or because she didn't see it as a problem? If the latter at least that might also be something to mention as a "plus" in the pleading, being that it then obviously didn't worry the last caregiver.

Good luck though.


Marieke
post #10 of 17
2/22/08 at 3:04am
Oh, and dried fruit--sultanas and apricots and so on--are supposed to be high in iron too. Just remembered.
post #11 of 17
2/22/08 at 11:43am
Chicken livers? Yuckers! I gotta second the Floradix...I've been constipated (sorry TMI) so the Floradix has been my favorite way to up my iron. Cooking with a cast iron skillet is also an excellent idea, and one of my yummy faves is to bake a huge spinach artichoke dip in one:. Mmmmm. My mouth is watering. Do we have a recipe thread here on MDC?
post #12 of 17
2/22/08 at 6:20pm
Calcium inhibits iron absorption I believe... so don't mix dairy and iron sources in the same meal. Like others said, Vit C helps absorption... I've heard liver has a lot of Vit A - maybe too much for pregnancy? Or maybe that's just 1st tri... GOOD LUCK hope things work out
post #13 of 17
2/22/08 at 6:44pm
Another vote for Floradix -- followed with an orange juice chaser to help with absorbtion. That stuff works wonders. I went from a hematocrit of 19 -- yes, you read that right -- after a birth with an abrupted placenta, to a hematocrit in the low 30's by my postpartum checkup.
So if you are only borderline anemic, I think you have a good shot at getting on the other side of that border!
post #14 of 17
2/23/08 at 10:55am
Thread Starter 
Alright, sounds like Floradix is a good way to go. I'll try it (Even though it's so expensive. You ladies better be right! lol.) I am also not opposed to eating some meat. My friends in Italy eat horse when they are anemic in pregnancy, so I think I could handle some hamburger or something

I switched providers at 34 weeks so I don't know why the other providers didn't tell me about this potential danger. Like I said, I didn't even know they'd tested me!

I also heard that caffeine blocks absorbtion. With all this absorbtion blocking stuff, I'm amazed anyone gets iron in their diet. Does the milk in cereal negate all the iron that they fortify it with? Also, I'm drinking molasses in soymilk because soymilk doesn't have calcium like regular milk, or so I thought until I checked the label and it said "calcium enriched"--ahhh!!!

Okay. Enough rambling.
post #15 of 17
2/29/08 at 1:06pm
Thread Starter 
Good news! Heard from the midwife today and my iron levels are not just OK, they're GOOD!!!!!
post #16 of 17
2/29/08 at 1:12pm
I upped my iron intake with fortified shredded wheat when I was pg. It was the only source that sounded at all appetizing. I found that the off-brands had more iron.
post #17 of 17
2/29/08 at 2:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RosemaryS-F View Post
Good news! Heard from the midwife today and my iron levels are not just OK, they're GOOD!!!!!
Yay! Glad things worked out for you, mama
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: March 2008
This thread is locked  
Mothering › Forums › Archives › Pregnancy Archives › March 2008 › Can I boost my iron in a week???