How long do iron tablets take to work?

[FlightofFancy]

Have got some iron tablets for mild anaemia (9.6?) - but hard to tell if they're making a difference as have 2 month old baby, so tiredness is business-as-usual. Think I feel less wiped out, but not sure - have been taking them for a week now - is this the tablets or just luck?!

It took 2.5 weeks for them to have any effect on me. I still don't feel great but nowhere near as bad as I felt before I started taking them.

It takes your body a few weeks (IIRC) to replace all your red blood cells, but it's replacing a proportion of them every day. So... you might start to feel an effect quite early, as even a small number of "better" red cells from having enough iron will start to help, but you won't get the full effect till all the low-iron ones have been replaced IYSWIM? I can't recall how many weeks it is, but I'm sure it's weeks rather than either days or months.

thanks guys - so a little longer probably before they kick in, but not long!

I had them just after DS was born as I'd lost a lot of blood, although not quite enough to need a transfusion, and kept fainting. The effect was almost instant, and I very quickly went from being lightheaded to normal.

It took about a week for them to cause diarrhoea though. I know they make most people constipated but they had the opposite effect on me, which isn't great when your pelvic floor is shot to bits!!

You might find that taking Iron in liquid form is easier to absorb (also doesnt give you constipation).
This is excellent
www.chemistdirect.co.uk/floradix-liquid-iron-formula_1_37646.html

I'm on iron tablets at the moment (am 38 wks pg). Have been advised to take them with orange juice as vitamin C helps the body absorb iron. Have also been told to avoid tea/coffee/milk as much as possible, so have replaced that first cup of tea of the day with a big glass of oj!

Saw mw about 2 weeks after taking the tablets and she said then that there was little point in doing a blood test as there was unlikely to be any significant change.

Nothing prepared me for the black poo though!

Hello I have recently been told that I have low iron of 12ug\L whatever that means what is a normal reading I also have symptoms of dizziness , racing heart and fatigued could these be symptoms