AIBU - aversion to iron tablets

This is exactly what I was thinking.

I never knew there were different irons. Can anyone explain the differences?

Ferrous gluconate, Ferrous sulphate, Ferrous fumerate, Ferric Maltol, and Iron bisglycinate have all been suggested on this thread alone, thats five!

Current NICE guidance is iron once daily (taking it more than once a day actually blocks iron absorption and increases the side effects, especially stomach / bowels) it can be taken every other day if it causes too many stomach/ bowel side effects.

Comparing products is tricky, there are different iron salts, ferrous sulfate/ gluconate/ fumerate etc and many more. It's recommended that you take about 65mg of elemental iron dailyif you are anaemic... that is about the amount of iron in one ferrous sulfate 200mg tablet or one ferrous fumarate 210mg tablet etc... Iron is very toxic in over dose so please don't take more than prescribed

I wish people would rtft and stop recommending spatone. Do you expect the OP to take 42 sachets, twice a day?

Nope, not anaemic and of course not suggesting these as an alternative to a prescribed high dose of iron.

They are, however, a good alternative to the Spatone and Floradix etc. mentioned upthread, both of which contain less iron than these, as a maintenance dose once iron stores are replenished for someone who doesn’t tolerate iron supplements well.

I take ferrous gluconate 300mg 3 times per week. It’s 1 tablet, and it’s a coated one, about the size of a smartie. No taste to it that I’ve noticed.

Ferrous sulphate and fumerate both made me constipated, this has been fine. It was prescribed, but I buy over the counter as it’s cheaper than prescription cost.
Im not due a blood test just yet but I do feel better so I’m hopeful that it’s working.

Three to four sachets of Spatone a day for a year raised my ferritin from 17 to 80. I couldn't take the iron tablets either, so just used the Spatone and orange juice.

It was a bit expensive though, but worth it as there were no side effects.

This. 💯

People really need to be careful about what they’re recommending. If you have diagnosed anaemia none of the lower strength over the counter iron supplements are strong enough. Untreated anaemia can kill you, it’s very serious. It’s very important people take the correct level of medication.

Are you anaemic?
these only contain 10mg iron whereas the OP has been prescribed 2 x 210mg a day.
are you seriously suggesting she takes 42 of these tablets per day?!

https://www.wildnutrition.com/products/food-grown-iron-plus

I can’t tolerate iron in supplements such as Well Woman but have been taking these for a while now and find them to be really good. No nausea whatsoever. I haven’t had a repeat iron test recently but judging by the reviews, others have had good results.

I might have a discount code - if you’re interested I’ll check and post.

Ask for Ferric Maltol, they don't smell and are much gentler on the stomach, they have a higher absorbency too. They are capsules.

As for mixing them with other liquids, as pp said, some are not suitable, as they will block iron absorption (like caffeine). Other food that blocks it are all dairy-based foods/drinks. It is better to leave at least an hour between the tablets and those foods/drinks.
Otherwise you'll take them but the iron won't be absorbed properly.
Usually the manufacturer will add this on an instruction leaflet with the product or on their website.

Syrups or drops often have a lot of artificial flavour or scent added to mask the iron smell. The combination of both is not very nice; it might be better to find another kind of tablet.

The prescribed amount is very high, so I think you should request an iron infusion, to get your levels up, then you shouldn't need to take such a high amount to maintain.

These tablets are 50mg (a higher dose than the usual 20mg) but you'd still need to take several per day: https://www.gandgvitamins.com/iron-50mg.html

How about the Better You spray?

Spatone doesn't keep my iron levels up at a decent rate at all, unfortunately.

I couldn't tolerate iron tablets when pregnant. Someone recommended Sytron liquid which was fine. It looks and tastes a bit like cough mixture.

I fine ferrous sulphate completely tasteless, so it’s fine for me. I take 2x 200mg.

Like PPs have said, an iron infusion was a game changer for me. I hadn’t realised how bad I felt until I was topped up, so now the iron I take is just to maintain levels. Deff ask about it if you haven’t already.

My DH has capsules.

I take Ferrograd for low ferritin levels. They are prescription dose.
Taking them in the morning made me retch but now I take after dinner at night along with a high dose vitamin C tablet and a probiotic and that's actually been completely fine.

No advice but I find this thread so interesting. I take ferrous sulphate and they are tasteless and odourless to me.

I hope you find a solution OP.

I was anaemic pretty much from starting my periods until my late 20s. Gynae investigations for heavy periods The 300mg a day I was prescribed did nothing besides give me constipation.

Diagnosed as coeliac at 28, stopped eating gluten, I've never been anaemic again.

I’ve had these - they were called Jectofen. But that was 20 years ago so may be called something else now. Generally they don’t like to give you these now - they’re actually really painful and cause a lot of bruising.

Some people do just have anaemia with no cause. My whole family do. I don’t even have periods (been on mini pill for years and years) and still anaemic. My Mum, Gran and dd have it. We are all on iron tablets permanently, life long. 210mg ferrous fumerate daily. We’ve all had lots of tests. I do have Addisons and lupus but this isn’t causing the anaemia. They think it’s just a weird genetic thing perhaps. When I was pregnant with both my children I had to have daily iron injections!

Anyway - what I was going to say was if you’re been prescribed iron tablets please do not take something like Spatone instead! The levels are not comparable and no where near the same amount of iron as ferrous fumerate or sulphate! They’re for people with mild iron deficiency. If you don’t take the prescribed iron tablets you can cause yourself serious long term issues. Really annoys me when people recommend things like spatone to those with diagnosed anaemia!

I've just taken my iron tablet. 🤢 they are awful. Just the smell...

I've had to reduce mine to every other day otherwise the constipation is unmanageable.

Needs must but you have my sympathy!

I believe that you can get liquid iron but also iron injections (not sure what there called) My mother had them but didn't find them pleasant.
Check with your surgery, why struggle if you don't have to.