Iron tablets giving me horrendous constipation post-CS - what's best to take?

[lurcherlover]

Help please. I had dd by CS 6 days ago and have been put on iron tablets post-surgery, for two weeks. Bug dear god the constipation! My guts are really cramping with it - the pain is worse than the wound. I'm taking lactulose but it's not really doing much. Is there anything better I can buy or get on prescription? I'm breastfeeding. I'm obviously doing the prune juice, dried apricots, drinking lots of water, tinned peaches etc as well...

You need liquid iron. Hang on a sec...

What dose are you on? My midwife let me drop my dose after I got anal fissures from the constipation!

Spatone or floradix.

Spatone is good. Might be worth a try.
You can get it from Boots.

Used spatone after my csection and it was great.

Eat lots of seaweed, the highest iron concentration (plus all the fiber) and ditch the tablets?? (Highly unqualified advice so proceed with caution!!) but that worked for me after loosing 3 pints of blood after my emcs 2 years ago. Good luck.

I took ferroglobin, I had a 1500ml PP) and MWs were happy that this was enough to replenish my iron levels.

I'm on ferrous fumurate for anaemia pre c-section and I was told that spatone was not as strong as the iron tablets. I'm on 210mg twice a day and haven't had any constipation taking fybogel alongside it (34 weeks pregnant- i'm normally constipated without the added iron). Tastes better than lactulose too x

omg i had this too. not what you need after having a baby. i too took the lacrolose thing and it didnt work. i finally gave in and popped a torpedo surpository and within a few hours at least i passed what felt like avtennis ball. it was auful. you may get piles too its because ur bowels shut down during surgery. i was taking 3 iron tabs as well as codine as a painkiller given to me by the hospital. nobody told me it would cause consipation only through mumsnet did i realise its normal.

'Told' by my midwife, sorry that wasn't clear

I will ask mw about spatone, thanks. I'm on ferrous sulphate tablets, 400mg a day. Is fybogel ok with breastfeeding? If so I'll give that a go.

Spatone 14 day pack is on offer 3 for 2 offer at Tesco.

You'll save £5 on Boots price.

The ingredient in fybogel is not absorbed by the body so it is safe to use in pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding. The suppository idea might be a good starting point if 'things' have built up. Fybogel will be a good for keeping you um, regular HTH x

My sister took iron "beadlets" after her c section and she doesn't remember having any issues with them at all. Not sure what the difference is between these and tablets but apparently they absorb better :)

Of course, ask your doc first - I'm not a fountain of knowledge about such things.

www.onlinevitamins.co.uk/products/iron-491/galens-choice-iron-complex-29mg-60-beadlets-468.aspx

And, congratulations on your beautiful baby DD!

What are you taking pain relief wise? Codine can also cause constipation.

That's true Viva, had forgotten about that. Poor you OP, I have everything crossed that you'll be back on your feet soon x

I'm only taking a bit of ibruprofen now viva. Tbh I only need that for my crampy guts, not for the CS!!

Would very much second MyBelovedMonster who said Spatone or Floradix. The liquids are much more bio available (and absorbable) than the prescription iron tablets without any of the constipation issues.

I recently took 4+ Spatone a day short term for bad anaemia with no ill effects.

As far as I am aware they are not available on prescription so don't necessarily expect midwives or GPs to put you onto them.

Ibuprofen can cause crampy guts. It can cause constipation as well.

If you need to take it for analgesia take it with food. If you're not needing it for analgesia stop taking it.

If you're on ferrous sulphate you could ask your gp to change to ferrous fumerate instead as you might tolerate that better.

You could maybe try sennakot as that's a stimulant laxative. Lactulose acts differently by increasing the water content of your stool which softens it and also acts slightly as a stimulant.

Floradix also has added B vitamins (and other things I can't remember) which probably won't hurt post birth. It does taste a bit like fermented honey though

Or am I mixing that up with another iron syrup.. Feroglobin - sorry.

mybeloved Sounds like Ferroglobin to me

Try asking for ferrous fumarate. I had to take iron for 6 weeks post emcs. Take with orange juice as helps the body to absorb it better. Do be careful and speak to your gp before switching to spatone etc though as there is alot less iron and it may not be enough depending on how low your levels are. Hope you feel better soon OP

Spatone was great for me. It may be slightly lower dose, but is more easily absorbed by the body, so same effect. Don't drink tea near to taking iron as the tannin inhibits absorption too. Congratulations on your new baby, hope you can take it easy for a while!

For constipation:

Fibogel (limited use)

30g fibre (soluble and insoluble mixed) per day, fruit and veg and 6-8 glasses of water on top of your usual cups of tea (fibre needs water or it just goes hard and sticky)

movicol (should be ok if bf but may have to consult mw or doctor) 2 days of this has sorted me out good and proper! This has been the best thing I have tried to date.

glycerin suppositories for any 'hard plug' of faeces at the bottom end, and to ease passage.

I have been advised that 2 kiwi fruit per day will sort most problems