Has anyone overcome iron deficiency without tablets

[JustAnotherDayWorkingAtHome]

DD17...exhausted headaches nausea

But I know she will end up co stops yes on tablets and having suffered with chronic constipation myself for years I dont want her to suffer with this.

Would spinach juice help daily? She had one made with ginger apple and spinach and liked it.

Constipation is not inevitable. Iron tablets other than bisglycinate(?) give me diarrhoea. I think sometimes you need to try different formulations if there are problems initially. Iron deficiency sucks and needs proper treatment.

The average 200mg dose of ferrous sulphate has only 65mg of elemental iron. That's why the maximum daily dose is 200mg x 3.

I’ve been on x3 ferrous fumarate tablets, 2 sachets of spatone and 10 ml feroglobin liquid for 10 months now and it’s just not working - I’ve been begging the gp to refer me for an iron infusion. My ferritin is 9 but haemoglobin was 113 so they said I don’t meet the criteria . My ferritin hasn’t gone up at all in that time and my periods are 10 days of flooding. No gynae appt till September. Sometimes you just can’t get the level up and it makes you feel horrendous I can’t function any more and my hairs falling out 😭

That’s so rubbish @Endoproblems - what a long wait for an appointment.

While you’re waiting, you might consider taking iron supplements less frequently. It’s more effective that way which is why NICE guidelines no longer recommend taking it three times a day. Every time you take high dose iron, your body produces a serum called hepcidin which blocks iron absorption. Hepcidin doesn’t drop back down for another 24 hours.

Really ? I had no idea ??? My gp told me to just take as much as I think makes me feel better on top of the prescription ferrous fumarate 🤦‍♀️ they basically shrugged and said nothing else they can do

It might be also worth checking with her that she's not constipated before she starts, I was going once a week as a teen before I started iron tablets thinking that was normal. At 17 it was something I wouldn't even admit i pooped and made sure no one knew I was in the bathroom doing it so when I started on iron tablets they thought I was constipated by them rather than my normal

My teenager had similar issues. His consultant gave us a handout for the best foods. He increased his meat intake and ate a portion of spinach a day, either with a meal or in a smoothie. He doesn't eat beans but I remember they were encouraged. Also nuts he'd throw nuts over spinach based salads.
He got there after a few weeks

Hope this helps

Please don't give spinach juice OP! It's so extremely high in oxalates that can cause problems. Not only that, but the oxalate blocks iron absorption.

Mussels are also very high in iron so if you can get hold of those, they're very good.

Seconding all the advice about frequency of supplements.

I took one 200mg ferrous sulphate, along with one 1000mg vitamin C tablet every 48hrs. Took it at 5am when I woke up and consumed nothing else until 7am. Then on with my day as normal.

Ferritin went from 16 to 71 in 3 months.

Focus on increasing vitamin c which helps with the absorption of iron.

My levels were dangerously low during pregnancy and as soon as I j creased my vit c they shot up!

Ideally eat something high in vitamin C along side iron rich foods. So oranges/juice, broccoli, strawberries, melon etc

I’ve been horribly anaemic since 2019 - horrendous periods don’t help .. my ferritin never goes above five but they refuse to give me an iron transfusion 😩.. ferrous sulphate gives me constipation and ferrous fumerate which I’m now in gives me upset stomach .. ughhh.. my gp advised taken on alternate days .. I’m trying to up my iron rich food intake but it goes against me that I’m vegetarian .. it’s not a given that it will cause constipation though and you can ask for a la price to be prescribed as well