ANAEMIC ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! What's better SPATONE or FLORADIX?

[HeinzSight]

I can't take iron tablets because of raging IBS. Blood tests keep coming back as anaemic, have been taking Spatone but still anaemic.

HELP! I'm SOOOOOOOOO tired.

[moaningminnie2020]

AAArh I avoided iron tablets for the same reason, I've got an unused, in date, box of floradix tablets you can have if you like?

[moaningminnie2020]

And are you having iron rich foods, vit c with meals eg orange juice, and no tea at meals as it hinders absorption...all the usual boring stuff

[CatIsSleepy]

i hated floradix...
are you taking 2 sachets spatone a day?

[blondieminx]

My friend was put on iron tablets with her first, and with her second bubba took floradix all the way through and managed to avoid them. Think Floradix also comes as a syrup. As Minnie says don't have tea within an hour of taking an iron supplement/your meals as it stops you absorbing it properly. Good luck!

[HeinzSight]

Is Floradix as 'tummy kind' as Spatone?

I'm currently munching on dried apricots, making watercress soup, have bought (and tried munching) dried figs (yuk) am drinking de-caf tea (only 1 cup a day), taking Spatone with Orange juice.

Yes, I'm taking 2 Spatone sachets.

What else can I do?

I'm coming up to 37 weeks and am just utterly exhausted . Have a toddler to run around after too, although my two older children are being brilliant helping out!!

[HeinzSight]

bump

[GinaFordAteMyBaby]

I thought floradix was a bit horrible. Your hb levels will be lower anyway as your blood volume has increased so you might just be exhausted because you're heavily pregnant rather than through aneamia! Not that that's very helpful I realise.

[e3chick]

Is there any harm in taking floradix as well? Try that at a different time of day? And/or go up to 3 x spatone per day.

I seem to remember hearing that eating within 2 hours of taking the spatone might hinder absorption too - I try to take mine mid morning or 4pm, but it is difficult to find a time when I haven't eaten within the previous 2 hours.

What is your Hb level? I read on MN that if it goes seriously low there was some sort of treatment they gave - not a transfusion but it was a one-off treatment that got people's iron levels up immediately. Maybe someone else could add more on this???? I wouldn't really know what to search on if I was searching MN.

It is very hard to make a difference in the Hb level in the third trimester as the baby is taking so much now, so depending on how low you are the best you could hope for at this stage would be for it to level off and not drop anymore.

As well as all the usual things that you probably know about, ovaltine has a bit of iron in...2mg I think, so it might not do any harm to have a cup of that at night too??

[GinaFordAteMyBaby]

But I think it is supposed to be gentle on the stomach, or at least prevent constipation due to its high absorption rate so I'd say you have nothing to lose by giving it a go at this stage.

[pretoria]

You can get iron injections, but they are apparently very painful. Will also depend on how low your Hb level is.