Iron supplements and stomach issues

[OrangeBlossomsinthesun]

Hi

I have been given three months of ferrous sulphate 80mg for low iron reserves and mild anaemia.

I am not too constipated but have bloating and painful wind (and, omg the smell). Feel really uncomforatble with the gas (sometimes vaguely nauseous too).

I have read that there are better absorbable versions of iron that don't cause the same issues, what amount of iron should I be looking for.

I had a phone appointment with the doctor this morning and he said I could have iron cspsules three times a week instead of every day and to take them with milk but I havent been to pick them up yet, so not sure if they are different or just ferrous sulphate less often.

I am NOT IN IN THE UK by the way, but can order most things on Amazon.

They're more effective taken every other day, much kinder to the stomach too. Take with vitamin C, no dairy for an hour either side as it inhibits absorption.

Thanks. I went to the pharmacy but they didn't have them in stock and neither did their two suppliers and so cant order so I will have to check again in a couple of days.

I am asked to take them from time to time but prefer not to. I drink orange juice or
tomato juice with a meal, as this massively increases iron absorption, and I don’t drink tea or coffee 3 hours either side of a meal, as this massively depletes your iron stores.

It gives me painful awful wind too OP.
I am on ferrous sulphate 305mg capsules once daily as my iron is staying stubbornly very low - between 5 and 12 when it has to be over 30 at a minimum and at 70 to stop things like iron deficiency hair loss.
Just posting in solidarity.

Yes more effective every other day.
I have found Spatone to be far more effective though. If I need to get it up I take x2 a day with vit c and follow the other instructions on the box

The pills really wrecked my stomach and it took a while to recover

Floradix liquid (I bought it from Amazon France) has worked well for me

I increased my ferritin recently from 12 to 49 over 4 months without taking supplements (the highest it had been for years but I am
post-meno). I took them for a few days at the start but I just can’t do it(!) - the wind is horrific. So I ate iron-rich food paring it w vit c rich food. I don’t even eat red meat much to my GP’s horror ‘typed - does not eat red meat’. She said I had to take ferrous fumerate, but i obv didn’t…

Ferrous fumerate is kinder apparently, my GP swapped me from FS. I take mine in the evening before bed.

I agree, these are the current recommendations - try taking a tablet every other day.
You can try with ferrous fumarate or ferrous glycinate - sometimes different salts will be better tolerated - just make sure that the amount of elemental iron in each kind of tablet is approximately equivalent.

I am currently on ferrous fumarate tablets but I'm lucky as none of the tablets upset my stomach or give me constipation. All of them give me gas, however.
I find simeticone tablets help with that.

There is no way my ferritin would go up without supplementation. I am not yet menopausal and I seem to absorb iron pretty poorly. If there are no significant improvements in my levels in two months - three months after I started supplementing due to ferritin level of 9 - I will consider an iron infusion (I am also not in the UK and could get it without an issue).

I have also heard that you only need to take iron supplements every other day. I take Vitabiotics soluble tablets (called ferro fizz, or something) which don’t seem to give me any stomach issues. I think they have vitamin c added. You can dissolve them in water for a drink or suck them like sweets 😁

I am struggling with what I think could be the after effects of taking very strong iron tablets for a couple of weeks! I stopped them about a month ago but I swear my digestive system hasn't been the same since. How long did it take you to recover? X

I also had issues with iron supplements, but Floradix is perfectly fine. It also contains viamin C for better absorption.

Another vote for Spatone. Never had any problems and I use it for when I'm feeling fatigued and weak.

I was just thinking the same thing! Determined to get my levels up, started taking ferrous sulphate every other day - bloaty, painful IBS and constipation kicked in so I stopped - weeks later, my gut is still out of whack! And I don't want to take probiotics or anything else to try and make it better because that's just adding complication...

I'd asked the pharmacist for ferrous fumarate too, and only realised she'd given me the wrong ones after I'd opened the blister pack, grr...

The pharmacy didn´t have what he prescribed but the suppliers didn´t have any either so they can´t order it. I have stopped taking the ferrous sulhate altogether because it´s only mild anaemia and my iron reserves are borderline. I only know because I had a medical at work that included blood work.
The bloating and wind was so unpleasant I´d rather be slightly anaemic! I have been having vit C any time I eat meat and then I will think about taking the iron maybe every other day.

Ferrous glycinate is the most absorbable. I used to use a supplement called blood builder which kept my just about functioning, but it’s not available in the uk anymore :( currently waiting for an infusion. But the glycinate form I could tolerate with zero stomach issues.

Amazon Link
I've been trying these Iron Bisglycinate after seeing them recommended on here

I have to have high supplements for bariatric supplementation and Im meant to take 100mg of iron

I started off with some all in one supplements but becuase they contained ferros sulphate I worked out that they were really upsetting my stomach

So I use the Solgar bisglycinate but am only taking 40mg because otherwise I'd be taking 5 tablets of them. I will see at my next blood tests whether 40mg is enough for me a day.

But I do have terrible wind, its a real problem and uncomfortable.

Does anyone know if its different depending on the time of day you take them?

I take mine in the morning

@EmmaAmeliasMum

Sorry - iirc it did take a while. I've been listening to Zoe podcasts about gut stuff and it can take a few months for things to settle / recover after antibiotics. So I think it's similar.

I had to cut out a number of foods - onions, garlic, milk, spag bol, dark chicken meat bizarrely. Now know some if it was histamine related. Others were FODMAPs. I was loosing weight terribly due to over active bowels for ages thanks to the iron even after I stopped. Had scans to rule more worrying things out. This was about 7 yrs ago.

However I could drink milk again first, within a few weeks. I suppose I had continued eating yogurt and cheese. Slowly increased the milk. (That was probably lactose issues.)

I can eat everything now except chicken (can eat skinless breast) but I'm not eating much meat. It's taken me a number of years though. Perimenopause perhaps didn't help. I've been increasing gut biome via loads of different plants and fermented foods. And slowly introducing the other things like onion and spag Bol.

I wouldn't take pro biotics; I'd just do the wide variety of plants and things like dried herbs, spices, yogurt, coffee, saukraut etc. 70% chocolate counts! I've also noticed my gut is best for me if I'm eating oats daily.

Solgar bisglycinate - I tried that and even that it caused issues in me. Worth a shot though.

@WarriorN thanks so much for this- who knew iron could mess you up so much! Interesting comparison with the effects of antibiotics on the gut.

I've had some awful symptoms - constipation, pain, bloating and gas. Even some blood present which was thankfully minimal and short-lived. Other symptoms still present but perhaps more manageable than a few weeks ago. I think I was supplementing for about 3/4 weeks before I stopped. Wish I'd made the connection sooner and stopped earlier! I've stopped taking them 6 weeks ago now though and still not right.

I've stocked up on a few of the foods you've mentioned and will look into it all further so thanks.

I've had a FIT test and a calprotectin test as I was also concerned about more serious issues (still am - thanks health anxiety). I do think with the timing of it all though, the iron is the most likely culprit.

Sorry you've struggled too - but I've taken a lot of comfort from your post that it IS possible to take such a long time to recover and more importantly that recovery is possible at all!

Just to update on this thread in case its helpful, I am now taking my iron at night instead of the morning. I have to take very high strength calcium throughout the day and need to jiggle my regime as I cant take the iron near/within 2 hours of the calcium, so now I take my magnesium in the morning and iron at night. So far, I think I might have noticed a decrease in the amount of bloating and gas in the day. Time will tell when Im back at work next week, sitting down for most of the day doesnt help.

Some of the herbal liquid iron tonics or the capsules made by the tonic companies are far kinder on the stomach. Try Floradix capsules or Feroglobin capsules instead of ones prescribed. As PP have said, Vit C with them helps absorption.

I had a phone appointment with the doctor this morning and he said I could have iron capsules three times a week instead of every day and to take them with milk

I’m very surprised your doctor told you to take the tablets with milk. I’ve read in several places, including here, to avoid dairy at the same time as the tablets.

As other posters have said, taking them with orange juice or other sources of vitamin C helps the iron to be absorbed.

Spatone with Vit C https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/page/D3FF6272-4E9B-45CF-937E-91F4551AF6B3/?encoding=UTF8&store_ref=SB_A0825559LYHBDOT29LJI-A00165603DV6IR31MMDP8&pd_rd_plhdr=t&aaxitk=2bbec9ba86df8eb38270cca323fcc121&hsa_cr_id=0&lp_asins=B004S1Q0V0%2CB077JX6Q3M%2CB077K4949D&lp_query=spatone&lp_slot=auto-sparkle-hsa-tetris&ref=sbx_be_s_sparkle_sccd_ls&pd_rd_w=DzcDH&content-id=amzn1.sym.25f7c301-a223-4ff8-91c9-accfeab9fda8%3Aamzn1.sym.25f7c301-a223-4ff8-91c9-accfeab9fda8&pf_rd_p=25f7c301-a223-4ff8-91c9-accfeab9fda8&pf_rd_r=5XD5AVNTJH3GASBMS0ZW&pd_rd_wg=u2Hm6&pd_rd_r=5ba0f954-b437-4eb2-97e1-2138ea2355ed