Anemia and iron supplements

[daisydotandgertie]

My doctor has prescribed a selection of medicines to deal with recent long lasting, heavy bleeding.

One of them is an iron supplement and he's prescribed 200mg three times a day. It seems a mammoth dose to me - and one which is causing chaos in my insides .

It's causing indigestion, the runs and nausea. Should I keep going with the prescribed dose or is the dose so massive I could skip a few and still be OK?

Could try knocking it down to twice a day ; very common for that to happen. Some preparations are better tolerate than others - Ferrous sulphate is particularly known for causing gastro upset.

You don't have to have a prescription for iron. it's available over the counter.

The above poster is right in saying that Sulphate is the one that causes the most trouble.

Go to the pharmacist with the bottle of pills and ask if there is another perparation you can try at the same dose. I'd also knock it down to 2 per day.

Iam on terrous sulphate twice a day and am having the same issues, I can't imagine taking it three times. In fact on days when I am doing anything in the evening I just take one as the side effects are too much. My friend just suggested I do as CaptainSqidBones and A1980 have said and look into other forms, I am seeing the doctor thurs to ask for a different type. Meanwhile I am taking andrews salts and ibs remedies to try and reduce the gastro symptoms.

It is ferrous sulphate - used2b hw long have you been on it?

My doc rang me today because he'd just got the results back from my blood tests and I have a hemoglobin level of 8.1. Apparently this is very low. He said he expected that I've been feeling very bad indeed. And that he knew I said I'd had a very heavy period which had gone on for 32 days, but that he hadn't realised quite how heavy I meant it was .

Still, it was pretty good of him to ring me so quickly with the results. I did mention the sulphate wasn't proving easy to take, but he didn't offer an alternative.

I have to see him again within a week or so, so I'll ask him again.

Ask for ferrous gluconate - but to be honest with that haemdoglobin need to do something asap about the periods. That is incredibly low really and will make you fell awful

Or Ferrous Fumarate. That isn't as bad as sulphate

I'm really hoping the period was a one off. I got an odd bfp - half a line, instead of a whole one - and after that had about 2 weeks worth of spotting, then nothing for 2 weeks and then awful long, heavy bleeding.

The blood test was taken about 3 days after I'd started the mammoth iron dose too - so I suspect it might have been lower than that to start with. And you're right. I have felt bloody awful .

I am so relieved there's a reason for it though - and one that should be easily fixed. It would have been awful to feel so low and for the test to come back normal . That really would have worried me.

I have been on it at least a month now but tbh haven't managed to take it every day due to the side effects. had a thread about t a whe back because I had had such bad cramping in the night then went dizzy and fell over trying to run to the bathroom! Kwym about feeling relieved, Ikept doing pregnancy tests as adnt felt so awful since the early, morning sickness days. I hope you feel better soon.

Oh also meant to add that mine was I think caused by me bleeding for almost three months most of the time after having a coil fitted and getting infections. I am vegetarian (or was) and hadnt been eating well so I have been making myself eat a bit of red meat now to try and urry things along a bit as don't think that helped me much.