It Went DOWN!?!

[firespiritmelody]

So today started out lovely. We got up early and headed out to a park for pregnancy/family photo shoot. Spent a few hours outside, enjoying the warm breeze and beautiful gardens at the park. Got lots of great pictures and had a really good time.

Unfortunetly, on the way home, I got a call from my MW - my iron levals actually went DOWN. And they're really worried about it. She sent my charts off to a perinatologist and is ordering a more detailed screen of my blood. It's been steadily going down since we started - It was a 9 in January, then 8 in April. It was 7.8 two weeks ago and tuesdays test showed a 7.4.

I've been taking the stupid floredex, eating red meat and beans like they're going out of style, trying to eat/drink other high iron foods etc. I really don't get it.

My MW is thinking we're probably going to need to do iron injections or something like that... but she's waiting to hear back from the perinatologist first before we do anything else.

If we can get it up about 2 points, all will be fine. Problem is, I lost my mucus plug tonight and my contractions have picked up. There still pretty spaced out (as in I'm not in labor right now) but probably getting pretty close. If I go now, I have no choice but to deliver at a hospital. The risk of hemorage is really high and they'll want to have blood on hand incase I need a transfusion.

I'm so frustrated right now. I FEEL FINE. But even I'm baffeled as to what would be causing it to go DOWN. And it's really really low. I'm really bummed.

Any body have any suggestions? Anything would be much appreciated...

[lorelei]

Eat or drink something with vit C in it when you're eating your iron rich foods, it will aid in absorption. Avoid eating/drinking things with calcium at that time, as calcium will block absorption of iron. If you're drinking a ton of cow's milk or other dairy it could explain why your iron levels are dropping. Also, antacids can hinder absorption.

Maybe try getting some smoothies with kale or some other dark leafy greens in? Have a spoonful or two of blackstrap molasses.
Can you eat liver?

Celiac disease can cause iron deficiency anemia, could you have that?

Personally, I'm always a bit anemic, even without being pregnant. I've never had anyone make a fuss, but I'm usually closer to 9 than 7. My mw called me after a blood test to tell me it was at 10, and she was concerned but I was like- Wow!? really? Yay! lol

I'm no Dr, but have never heard of them needing to give transfusions because they're worried of an increased risk of hemorrhage because the patient is anemic? Platelets are what clot your blood, not hemoglobin.
I've been looking online to see if I can find anything about in regards to anemic increasing the risk of hemorrhage, but have yet to find anything. (links, anyone?) I'm kind of dorky so now I am really interested in finding out more about that. I'll ask my mom in the morning, she's a nurse- maybe she'll have some idea.

According to Wiki, a pregnant woman loses about 2 mg of iron daily, so you need to ingest at least that amount each day. I'd try for 3-4 mg or more and then back it down a bit if you get... er.. bound up by it. Also, you lose like 500 mg per pregnancy, so if your stores in your marrow are still down from your last pregnancy or menstruating, then it's reasonable that your body might still be getting more anemic even with the supplements.

What a sucky situation to be in, I hope you can get your levels up quickly, and that you can avoid the hospital. Hugs and good ferrous vibes your way, mama! :

[veganf]

Oh dear! Crossing my fingers for you that you can find something to help!!

[Spark]

I'm sorry I don't have much knowledge or experience with this. Just wanted to offer you a Let the points go UP!

[so_blessed]

[catnap70]

Everything lorelei said. I have been borderline anemic off and on through out my life, but haven't had issues while pg. The molasses and being careful not to combine calcium foods with iron foods is what usually does it for me. Hugs to you mama!

[julesinottawa]

I don't have any advice but just wanted to offer my sympathy that you have to go through these worries. I hope they are able to figure something out for you and your baby to be as healthy as possible.

[prairieo]

Oh, crap. My message just disappeared. Here it goes again. Yellowdock root is super high in the very kind of iron that your body eats. It's about 85% absorbable by the body as opposed to about 7% with spinach, even after you eat it with vitamin C. It's because of the way that iron needs to be converted to be useful to the human body.

There's a recipe for yellowdock decoction in Susun Weed's "Herbs for the Childbearing Year" but I know it by heart...I have always used it for my pregnancies. If I were you, I would go straight to the herb store or health food store and buy 3 ounces, which is a good amount.

You take the herb and make an infusion: about 3 cups of water for every ounce of root. (Boil the water, then pour over the root, let sit for a few hours. If you are really freaked out, which it sounds like you are, maybe reserve some of the infusion and just start drinking it right away, a cup or two. The decoction should really sit for several hours to get all of the good stuff out of the herb, so you might want to make one ounce really fast so you have it and let the other two ounces sit in the water longer. Anyways, once the root is done steeping, you strain it out, and squeeze it to get all the extra juice out. Then put it into a pan and turn the heat on very low. You just want it to steam, not bubble at all. You keep it on this steaming thing until the liquid is about 1/4 of what you started with. Then add some honey and brandy to taste (yellowdock is kindof yukky tasting, but I've actually made peace with it) and put it in the fridge.

The regular dose is about 1 T twice a day, but I would load on 2-3 T twice a day for the next several days. You can't really harm yourself by taking too much...you just pee out what your body can't process.

I hope you try this. It works like a charm!

Good luck!

[lorelei]

Originally Posted by prairieo

Yellowdock root is super high in the very kind of iron that your body eats. It's about 85% absorbable by the body as opposed to about 7% with spinach, even after you eat it with vitamin C. It's because of the way that iron needs to be converted to be useful to the human body.

There's a recipe for yellowdock decoction in Susun Weed's "Herbs for the Childbearing Year" but I know it by heart...I have always used it for my pregnancies. If I were you, I would go straight to the herb store or health food store and buy 3 ounces, which is a good amount.

Prairieo,
Thank you! I'm gonna go get some yellowdock root and try it out.

[prairieo]

I forgot to mention that it takes up to an hour to steam down, but you should watch it...it can all dry up fast if you're not careful...in that case, it's not ruined! You can just add a little more water and make sure it's nice and thick.

[firespiritmelody]

s Thanks everyone for your support. It means a lot to me.

I've been trying to avoid dairy as much as possible, which is really hard for me because I'm a milk and cheese kind of girl. And I've been dowing orange juice as much as possible, especially with meals to help with the absorption.

I bought some spinach to add to smoothies etc a couple of days ago but haven't had a chance to do that yet but I think I'll have hubby make me one for lunch today.

And thank you prairieo for the yellowdock info. It sounds lovely : ) but probably like it'll help so I'll defenetly give that a try too. There's not much to loose at this point so anything is worth a try.

I should be hearing back from my MW and the peri this afternoon, so I'll keep you all posted with what I hear. I'm trying really hard to stap positive and remember that everything that is supposed to happen, will and that it will all be fine no matter what.

FWIW I was told that most MW's are much more flexible with iron levals compared to MD's. I guess a lot of MD's really want you to be up between 13 and 15 where most MW's are comfortable (especially if it's normal for you) to be at 9 or 10. Mine would be fine if mine was around 8 (of course, preferable higher...) but whats really concerning her is that its stedily going down even though I'm taking the supplements and all that. It's just not making sence...

so frustrating!

[prairieo]

free, just try to think about raising your iron level one point, then. That's doable! And again, the reason it's so hard to raise your iron level with spinach or even suppliments is because the form of the iron is so difficult to convert.

I'm with you...everything is going to be o.k.

keep us posted

[Kidzaplenty]

[red_trillium]

i'm sort of in the same boat, although my hgb level is at a 10 right now. the people at the hospital have been threatening me with iv iron infusions if it didn't come up from last check(it was 10.1 several months ago). anyway, it went down a bit even with all the suppliments i've been taking. i take gentle iron suppliments along with yellow dock root and alfalfa right now.

it was so discouraging to see then number go down, not up at this last check. i know your case is more extreme, but i can kinda feel your pain there.

since some of my other tests came back not so bad, and i'm borderline what they will "allow" they're not going to do the iv with me. so i'm going to be trying harder to raise my levels up to there standards on my own for the next few weeks. i'm glad your midwife is being more tollerable of the situation.

but, from looking it up and researching it a bit, the iv infusion doesn't sound like it would be too bad of a procedure, if it's really needed. i guess they hook you up for several hours and just put iron in your blood. there didn't seem to be any negative side effects(other than being a big pitb).

they say that some people can't absorb iron from the gut as easily as others. it sounds like you're doing all the right things! i'm sorry it's not working out the way you would like it to. it's so frustrating to be dissapointed in our bodies ability to do something. ugh.

[doularosemary]

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. My level was down to 10.3 at 32 weeks and they really want you to have at least 11 for a homebirth here. I had been taking Floradix but it wasn't keeping it up enough. So my mw put me on a Yellowdock tincture that I buy at the healthfood store. I take 1 dropperfull 3x a day. I put it in water or juice because straight is too yucky. I take some sort of vitamin C at the same time. I've also been eating liverwurst, sardines, or other iron rich meats everyday.

In two weeks my levels went up to 10.7 and my midwife said this alone was not going to prevent my homebirth. Phew!

BTW I have a little bit of an issue with this whole thing because physiologically your levels should go down because of your increasing blood volume. Here's some information on it:

http://www.gentlebirth.org/archives/...on.html#Anemia

I wish you the best birth possible wherever you have to have your baby!

Rosemary

[hempmama]

Hey, are you cooking in a cast iron pot, too? That really helps. I'm sorry about this, but amazed you feel fine! I'm anemic, too, but even when I'm at 10ish I feel like I've been drugged, I'm so sluggish.

I've seen that gentle birth article, and I think it's a bit off. The blood volume increases come in spurts, and normally your iron level dips, and then recovers. It's one thing to be a little low, as the iron level recovers, but 7 is really, really low. Even if my care provider didn't want blood on hand *I* would if I was giving birth at that level.

[not_telling]

I think I've actually heard that while Vitamin C does increase iron absorption, you should avoid Orange Juice...something about something in the juice getting in the way of good absorption. Sorry I can't be more specific. Anyone hear this before? I can't even recall the source - I'll have to start looking through all my many books.

[firespiritmelody]

I really appreciate all of your support mamas. It's been a frustrating day.

None of my local HFS's have loose yellow dock root, but I did pick up some freeze dried capsuls and will start those tonight. My MW also got me a perscription for a supplement with iron, vit c and a stool softener all combined together. I'm not really looking forward to taking that one, but the floradex and diet aren't working and I'm having some major issues with the idea of having to have this baby at the hospital just becasue I'm anemic. So, at this point I'm willing to do just about anything to avoid that.

I have a wonderful mw and my doula is great too (she's been to over 1000 births and is amazing) and I know that if I have to have this baby at the hospital, it will be as close to a HB as possible, but I'm still really frustrated and dissappointed right now.

I lost a lot of mucus last night and this morning and I've been having the period like back ach for a few hours. This should make me happy as it's signs that my baby is gearing up to come join us. And instead I'm feeling anxious and bewildered. Its so frustrating.

Please keep your suggestions coming! The reminder to use a cast iron pot is a great idea, my husband saw one at costco for $30 today, so I think we might go pick it up Thanks again guys!

[witchygrrl]

Nettle tea is also good for iron, as it has that and VitC, as well vitK, which helps the blood clot better.

[prairieo]

AmyC, here's the thread. hope it helps.