AIBU - aversion to iron tablets

[oddlycurious]

GP has said I need to be taking the ones prescribed that are 210mg twice a day.

In my 30s and been anaemic all my life, post partum, my iron started getting really low around a year and a half ago.

But the thought of the tablets just make me sick, I try so hard to take them but taking them out the packet make me gag. Used to take the coated ones and actually be sick after them but now its the noncoated tablets and I feel the same.

Diet is good, not a lot of red meat but lots of veg and fruit and chicken. I feel fine generally but know my low iron is affecting my body in other ways.

Any advice please?? The ones available on the market that are easier to take are only around 20MG. I need a much higher dosage.

Also, don't tell me to suck it up. Nothing nice to say then don't say it. Thank you.

Do all tablets make you gag, or just these?

I HATED them. Felt sick to my stomach. Why are they so revolting?

No recommendations, just solidarity.

Can you send us more about why you have such a strong reaction to them before even swallowing them? It sounds odd.

@Shablam literally just these 😭 I dunno if its a more anxiety thing because the old tablets made me physically sick. But I get all geared up to take them then I literally gag as soon as I take it out the packet. Distinct smell to them too.

Could you crush them finely and stir them into a drink?

I'm in a similar boat, I hate taking iron tablets (although I do feel much better for it). I don't physically tolerate the tablets well (if I take 210 mg 2-3 times a day as previously prescribed I get awful stomach ache and digestive issues), so the GP suggested taking just once a day as it would be more tolerable and is still very effective at that dose.

Could you try "hiding" the tablet by placing it into a mouthful of food at 'end of chew' so that you don't taste it? I find the iron taste makes me gag, but if it's hidden it's fine. Orange juice is also a good 'disguise' and will help with absorption.

I think there is iron syrup that is prescribed for children? Or is an iron infusion a possibility? I had severe iron deficient anaemia and my dr sent me for an infusion. It took about a month but my iron levels returned to normal levels. Perhaps discuss with your dr that you are having severe anxiety symptoms around taking the tablets and see what they suggest?

I take mine with OJ, which helps to mask, and hold my nose. Does that help? I feel your pain - I used to be unable to swallow pills, then my period cramps amped up to an 11 in pain terms and now i figure i could swallow a codeine-covered horse 🤣

Iron syrup does exist, I've been prescribed it (less irritating to digestive system), but oh my goodness, I really struggled with the taste and felt sick before I'd even taken it (heck, it's been years and I still feel sick at the thought)! OP, if taste is the issue, I wouldn't bother looking into the syrup as an option!

Get some iron bisglycinate. It has excellent bioavailability and it's much gentler on the digestive system. I'm a midwife and it's what we recommend to all patients with low ferritin in the clinic where I work.

I take spatone which is much more pleasant. Be sure to buy the apple flavour and not original.

Spatone mixed in orange juice is the best way to get iron into you. My midwife recommended it to me.
https://www.boots.com/sitesearch?searchTerm=spatone%20iron

I’d ask the GP for the liquid instead. It’s much better tolerated. I struggled with the tablets initially but it settled down. Spatone is fine if you’re a bit anaemic but nowhere near strong enough for most people with anaemia.
have you ever have the low iron investigated? Endoscopy for example?

Can you take 10 of the ones you can take?

Liquid Floradix or the Floradix tablets ( they slide right down, and the coating is quite tasty).

You’d probably have to take it 2 or 3 times a day

I was the same the made me gag as I cannot swallow tablets, I have to chew them which made my teeth black, had terrible acid and I stopped taking them. I ended up going to the walk in centre with a swollen arm, but was kept in and cross matched for 2 units of blood !
In the end I had iron transfusions which was so much easier. Speak to your GP

OP is not wrong, they are just rank🤢

Iron tablets are rank.

Could you try taking it with a smoothie or milkshake so it's easy to swallow as there's a more prominent texture overtaking it?

Have you tried gentle iron? Though I've only seen it in 20mg so you would need ten a day to match the prescribed amount!

I'm ok with iron but the well woman multivitamins used to make me extremely nauseous and a thread on here said it was the minerals and is not uncommon.

I'm exactly the same. I thought it was just me. I don't take them at all now, I would rather be anaemic than have the constant nausea that iron tablets cause.

I can tolerate Spa tone sometimes. Even that feels like it builds up after a while and starts to make me feel sick.

Can you request iron infusions? I never have, but a family member had them for a while.

21 x 20mg day not 10 since the OP is prescribed 210mg twice a day. Put them in a spoon of yoghurt OP to hide them out of sight and they’ll slide down.

Definitely spatone. Mixed with fresh apple juice.

I had the same thing about 2 years ago. I asked a female GP to explore other options. I started birth control pill for six months. It was awful and I hated it. Then, I researched and started a whole foods plant based diet (literally just fruit, vegetables, starches and legumes/pulses). My ferritin levels after a few months were better despite eating no red meat, which is what everyone tells you to eat! Then, I started tranexamic acid during my periods, and for the first time in almost 20 years I have two normal repeat iron/full blood count tests. Plus my cholesterol went down.

@RedSnail I missed that. Couldn't be doing with that! I think for some people though even if they get it down it will still make them feel sick or even be sick.

If you can tolerate a low dose, take that. It is better than nothing.

I read about a study a few years ago (I think it was a German study) that showed a lower dose, taken 3 x per week was more effective at raising levels, than a high dose every day.

I have tried to improve my diet, as the PP has. DH bought me an Anaemia cook book.