Question O The Day: Iron Supplements vs. Regular Prenatal vs. My OBGYN

[dj tex]

ok ladies:

since i was diag. w/anemia ages ago, i take a prenatal PLUS an extra iron supplement. it all equals out to 200% RDA for iron. it made a HUGE diff in how i feel. if i skip the extra iron i start to get all short of breath and yucky.

BUT when i told her i was preggo and that i still planned to do the same vitamin routine she said: dont take anything besides your prenatal. no extra anything. uh....

BUT HERE IS THE RUB!

----->every prenatal contains different amounts of iron! the (free sample) one i got from HER last year had something like 500% RDA of iron in it!<----

so my gut sez keep taking the extra iron, cant hurt.

questions: CAN extra iron hurt and
WHO HERE IS TAKING MORE THAN 100% RDA OF IRON?

dishcuss. :nut

[flyingspaghettimama]

How many mg of Iron are you taking? Are you vegetarian or otherwise not eating much meat?

I take between 30-45 mg every day, vegetarian, have had a few run-ins in the past with our dear friend Mr. Anemia. If I skip for a few days, I feel horrible - short of breath, very very tired.

My prenatals (Thorne, recommended by many naturopaths) has 250% based on 45 mg per day, three capsules per day. I usually take two (30 mg). The RDA is 18 mg I think.

[melissa_honeybee]

I would call her and ask her exactly how much you need to take, since the amounts do vary.

I am taking a prenatal and Floradix, which is a liquid plant-based Iron supplement. Since it is plant based, whatever your body doesn't need is excreted. I do believe that other types can build up in your body and cause damage. There are a few types of iron. My prenatal is ferrous fumarate and my sup is ferrous gluconate.

Hopefully one of the more educated on the board can help you a bit more!!

When I had my glucose test, I was dianosed with mild anemia, and once I started taking the sup I stopped getting dizzzy and out of breath and fatigued!! All in all I'm taking about 200% of the RDA.

[vegetalien]

it IS possible to take too much iron through supplements but not from diet.

i hate to sound so pessimistic but doctors know NOTHING about nutrition. they aren't even required to take a single course in nutrition during medical school, so i would definitely take what they say with a grain of salt.

if i were you i would really focus on diet. don't eat iron-rich things (or take iron supplements) at the same time as something high in calcium (such as dairy) because the calcium blocks the absorption of the iron. but do take the iron with vitamin C, this doubles the rate of absorption.

you can get a natural iron supplement called floridix, which you're less likely to "overdose" on since it's not totally synthetic.

you could focus on upping your iron intake via the food you eat and take the supplement, say, twice a week instead of every day.

you can also get some blood work done regularly to see where you're at. i'm in canada so don't have much of a clue as to how much that would cost though. if you have insurance that would cover it, you may want to see a nutritionist.

good luck
rowan

[bluebottle]

i am taking about 300% rda of iron.

my normal vitamins had about 100% rda of iron in them, and i've taken them daily for about 2 years. finally my midwife tested my iron levels about a month ago (after months of complaining that i, for example, couldn't get up the three flights of stairs to my apartment without some breaks) and they were crazy low. anemia! i am taking about 300% per day now and feel fine.

i'm vegan but i don't know how much that had to do with it - i am careful about eating things like bran, always take the iron with vitamin C, etc etc. anyway..

good luck..

xoa

[dj tex]

wow what excellent replies, thank you ladies.

i am not a vegetarian....and supplement wise all in all i am taking about 40 mg of iron a day. 239% RDA.

the iron is "suitable for vegetarians" and is "iron bisglycinate"

my prenatal is 100% vegetarian but doesnt list the type of iron.

i read somewhere (hmm sounds reputable right?) that extra iron is just excreted---well, on second thought, i better do more research, since with no periods anymore how can it be excreted?

ok---thanks a bunch, talk to you all soon

deb :heartbeat


FROM I VILLAGE:

There are toxic levels of iron, but usually these levels would be hard for an adult to consume in a supplement.

The body can only absorb so much iron, but 18 milligrams of "elemental iron" is the recommendation.

This can be taken in through a variety of sources: in a diet that is the best absorbed and tolerated or, if you are low and need supplements, in the form of ferrous fumurate, ferrous gluconate or ferrous sulfate.

Your best source of iron is meat, especially red meat or liver. Turkey, chicken and fish are not as high but do contain iron. Egg yolks, green leafy vegetables, dark-red kidney beans, chickpeas and dried fruits are good sources, as are dried fruits. Fortified cereals such as Total or Product 19 should be eaten once or twice daily. Vitamin C can help absorption of iron.

If your supplement provides more than 18 milligrams of elemental iron, it is money down the drain.

[dj tex]

"Make sure you get 27mg of iron every day. Take an iron supplement (pill). It may be part of your prenatal vitamin. Start taking it at your first prenatal visit."

and this is from the US GOVERNMENT! touche!


and my prenatal only has 18----so i am doing the right thing!

[flyingspaghettimama]

Yes, did you find that from a recent website though? I thought I read that they recently lowered the recommended dosage, even for pregnant women - like in the past year or so...to the 18 mg...

I could be wrong. In fact, I frequently am! And the RDA is the minimum so you don't DIE or something, I think...it's not for optimum health in any case.

I think if you are taking your iron throughout the day, you don't excrete it as much? It's not like you're taking one pill, right? I take 2-3.

Ooops - here's the linkage...I swear I read that other "factoid" somewhere...
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/iron.asp#h4

[arismommy]

I too have been anemic forever and I'm a vegetarian.
With this pregnancy I have been taking my prenatal (178% RDA) along with Floridix.
The Floridix makes all the difference in the world (my levels are normail now and I feel soooo much better) and I feel totally safe taking it which is priceless! :wink