Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Flip

Original poster

Feeling worse on iron tablets

12 replies

PenguinTuxedo · 06/03/2015 18:26

I got diagnosed with anaemia on Monday, and therefore started taking iron tablets that night. I've been feeling sick since 6 weeks anyway, and am on metroclopromide. However, the sickness is getting worse daily. Today is a particularly bad day.
I'm sure it's the tablets that are making me feel worse. As my body gets used to them being in my system, will the sickness eventually wear off?

OP posts:

Fatty12 · 06/03/2015 18:38

Hello PenguinTuxedo

I'm 8+6 .. and it has been a month since I started taking iron tablets and your right they make you feel 100% worse. What I found was that eating them after a meal or a snack helped, as eating on empty stomach made me extremely sick. I know TMI but been constipated too, called doc for advise.. she said these are common side effects and towards the middle it'll get better as your body will be used to them. I still feel the same lol got just under a month to go with them - 2 month course. How long are you taking them for?

kimlo · 06/03/2015 18:45

Iron tablets made me sick in both my pregnancies.

With dd1 the liquid stuff was much better, but with dd2 that made no difference and I was still being very sick every time I took any. So I gave up and got some spatone from boots. I stopped being sick and my iron levels went up.

croon979 · 06/03/2015 18:55

Spatone is fab and much kinder on the body than iron tablets. I have been on Spatone for about a month and I can really noticed the difference

Original poster

PenguinTuxedo · 06/03/2015 18:56

I'm to take them for a month, then have a blood test to see if I need iron infusions or whatever it's called, in hospital.
Do I ask my Dr for spatone?

OP posts:

kimlo · 06/03/2015 19:03

I dont think you can get it on prescription, I bought it from boots.

MrsCosmopilite · 06/03/2015 19:06

I had to have a blood transfusion post- EMCS and had a row with the ward sister because she wanted to put me on iron tablets. I cannot take them, they make me ill. Didn't help that she checked my notes and decided that as I'm vegetarian, I must be anaemic. I am not anaemic.

In the end, she gave me the liquid stuff which was fine - Floridax. I got that on prescription. I asked about SpaTone but they won't prescribe that, so you need to get that in Boots/Superdrug.

WhereIsMyFurryHat · 06/03/2015 19:26

Spatone is brilliant. I used it to raise my iron levels in my last pregnancy and it was very effective. I just bought it myself and took it twice a day. Floradix is also supposed to be very good.

The iron tablets are just horrible and make Lots of people feel crap.

Skiptonlass · 06/03/2015 19:34

A tip as well... Avoid drinking tea at the same time of day you take your iron - it hinders absorption.
The tablets make a lot of folk sick - they're hard on the stomach. Liquid preps are much better, and take it in the evening with food (if you can keep it down)

Thelovecats · 06/03/2015 20:06

There are different variants of iron tablets- ask if they could swap the kind you're on and see if another is kinder on your system. In the meantime you could try taking them slightly less often (every other day instead of every day for example) My doctor advised this when I was struggling with them. Also take them with orange juice to boost absorption (if you can stomach it) and boost dietary iron too.

Original poster

PenguinTuxedo · 08/03/2015 20:17

Thank you very much for all the advice everyone.
I've been taking the tablets in the evening, and started taking them with orange juice yesterday.
I've had another really, really bad day today. Just feel so, so sick and utterly exhausted. I think I will phone the Drs tomorrow to discuss maybe a liquid version, and see if they think it is worth me trying Spatone instead.
It's just so hard cos I want the tablets to work so badly, cos I'm off work atm with sickness and exhaustion cos I just can't stay awake for more than a few hours at a time.
I also have a consultant appointment on Tuesday too, so might discuss it with them then.
Thanks again everyone.

OP posts:

Sillysausage2 · 08/03/2015 20:38

Definitely swap to spatone. I can take anything and nothing ever makes me sick, I took galfer on my last pregnancy no problems but this time it was making me so sick.
I have so much more energy and feel better since I started it

WaxOnWaxOff · 08/03/2015 20:43

spatone is great for maintaining iron levels once they're where they should be, but if you're diagnosed anaemic then spatone won't touch it.

there are other prescription iron liquid supplements though, worth a visit back to your gp to ask about alternatives.

Flip