Could iron tablets be making me poorly??

[Biskitteef]

I suffer with chronic anaemia (lowest point was a ferritin of 3). They always prescribed me iron tablets which I’d take sparingly but often forget and sometimes just gave up on.

Then my hair started falling out so I decided to take the newly prescribed iron tablets more seriously, religiously taking them every single night.

Now - these ones are a different brand (still ferrous fumerate but the box looks very different). Then have an awful weird taste, with the old ones I got a slight metallic taste from them but these have a strong weird chemical taste to them.

For the past few weeks I have suffered with a constantly bloated stomach, wind and mild abdominal pain. Everytime I eat, my stomach bloats up and starts hurting. Could it be the iron tablets causing this?? I have a dr appointment next Friday but tempted to stop taking them until the appointment?

Though I am no expert - just a person who has been anaemic! Wondering whether anyone else got v anxious while anaemic, I had to stand up on a tram once before my levels had returned to normal and I thought I would have a panic attack because I needed to sit down and couldn't. I am a public transport veteran, never normally bugs me to be stood up at all - and I had my husband with me! Such a uniquely awful feeling.

They can cause constipation. Get them changed.

Also, maybe increase your fibre so you dont get constipated.

I used to take Spatone but it wasn't enough to make my iron levels high enough to give blood, so I think it's too gentle too.

I take soluble iron (gluconate) tablets in a glass of water but I have been wondering if they have been irritating my GI system as well. I don't take them every day.

I know this isn’t an option for everyone, but I paid for an iron infusion when my ferritin was in the low teens. Whacked it up to over 200 and I’ve not needed to supplement again now in about 2 years.

It's been fine and solved the problem. I have always had a gynaecologist do it though as I don't trust the GP!

Common reaction to iron supplements. I was recommended to take Floradix Liquid Iron Formula, which I could tolerate just fine.

It’s worth noting that the ferrous fumarate amount is not the elemental iron amount. The iron in 215mg ferrous fumarate is apparently around 70mg of elemental iron. The active iron advance is elemental iron, so at 25mg still too low for OP or yourself but not as much lower as I originally thought. The betteryou mouth spray is elemental iron as well, but that’s any even lower dose still, but both claim to be better absorbed than other iron supplements (don’t know if that’s really the case or not).