Is iron dangerous?

[CherriesInTheSnow]

I've recently found out I have developed pernicious anaemia and will be having B12 injections, however they have also prescribed iron tablets.

The thing is, each tablet is 210mg, and I've been told to take 3 per day, so that's 630mg of iron??!

The RDA for pregnant women is currently around 18mg per day, I've had a look at different country's RDAs and I can't find any that go ver 30mg for pregnant women.

The problem is I haven't been told anything, so I don't know if my iron is so ridiculously low they warrant this dose, but it sounds incredibly, ludicrously high - am I missing something here?

30mg per day for an average pregnant woman, not someone who has very low haemoglobin levels and who has very low iron stores.

Put your faith in the person with a medical degree who prescribed you the iron. Google is not your friend here.

I'm also on 210mg 3 times a day. I knew I had anaemia weeks before I had the blood tests as I felt so bad, but my consultant wouldn't do tests as I had "a good colour". I was so tire and could barely get out of bed or function. Since taking the tablets I feel slightly better. I'm going to trust the doctors as really don't fancy a transfusion if I can help it.

Hey I have auto immune Perniscious Anaemia which might not be exactly the same as you but my info might help... i was told to take 3 a day as anaemic people have absorbtion issues with iron therefore put as much in as you can in the hope that say you only get 1/5 of what you put in its still a decent amount.

Again as PP said in the nicest way possible (coming from someone who spent a long time being saved in hospital dying from PA) trust the specialists you are dealing with they would never do anything to harm you and take your medication! PA can be an incredibly dangerous illness if you do not follow their advice.

Iron and B12 are not harmful at all for you to take. Folic Acid is a controlled medicine so stick to the dose they give you for that and no more/less (provided you also have the folate deficiency anaemia).

I was concerned about this, I was taking normal pregnancy multivitamin tablets and felt exhausted so thought I might be anemic. When I spoke to my midwife, before getting the results of my blood test she said it was fine for me to take extra iron supplements as your body only absorbs what it needs and gets rid of the rest (hence why it can make your poo black). I hope this is right as I've been taking extra iron tablets

Hi OP, I'm currently 37 weeks pregnant and have been on iron for over 3 months now.

I was also prescribed 3x210mg a day but because of gastrointestinal related side effects I dropped down to two tablets a day.

However, on this dose my iron levels remained far too low so a month ago I increased back up to three tablets. I've had no side effects this time round, my iron levels improved dramatically and I feel so much better in myself.

Your prescription is fine but I would advise just taking two tablets for a week or so to get your body used to it and then introduce the third tablet.

I'm going to disagree with previous posters - sorry! I have iron overload (hemochromatosis). Far too many doctors don't understand the condition, don't know it exists and don't understand you can be anaemic and have hemochromatosis.

Aside from that though if you're not comfortable with what the doctor is saying (for whatever reason) ask questions, get a second opinion and never forget you are in control of your health.

Doctors are only as good as the information the patient can give them, you know your own body better than any doctor no matter how experienced or where their degree was from.

Your body can only absorb a tiny amount of the tablet that you are taking, that is why you are prescribed high amounts.

Or, Wannabe, the OP could take her prescribed dosage as directed by the qualified doctor with access to her full medical history and all test results etc.

OP if you are really worried please go back to your doctor and ask for an explaination of why you have been prescribed the tablets at that dosage, but for what it's worth it isn't an unusually high dose.

Look up the risks of low iron in terms of pregnancy and birth and then make your own informed choice as to whether they're risks you want to take.

I was told that if my iron levels weren't at a minimum of 112 by the time I hit 35 weeks I would have to have an intravenous infusion of iron direct into my blood stream - this was when I increased my dose up from two tablets a day to three tablets a day and now my iron levels are good enough that I don't need the infusion.

If you labour with low iron levels you are more likely to bleed following birth and need blood transfusions.

Like I said, rather than research normal iron doses spend some time researching the importance of correct iron levels during pregnancy and the risks that anaemia can present.

Or, Wannabe, the OP could take her prescribed dosage as directed by the qualified doctor with access to her full medical history and all test results etc.

Well that's me told

It's funny you picked on me who merely suggested she take two tablets for one week and then up it to a three tablets but you seem to have no problems with the poster who pretty much told her to ignore the doctor.

But anyway - I'm not going to argue with you

wannaBe
I don't really understand why you would advise OP to take under the prescribed dose while listing all the problems you had as a direct result of not taking your full prescribed dose?

I don't really understand why you would advise OP to take under the prescribed dose......

Blimey, I only advised she wean herself up to the third tablet over the course of a week, it's hardly like I said don't take three tablets at all is it?! Even my Midwife had told me that really the GP should have advised me to do that as going from no tablets a day to suddenly taking three tablets a day can be quite hard going.

dose while listing all the problems you had as a direct result of not taking your full prescribed dose?

I had my problems because I only took two tablets instead of three tablets for 2 months, not for just one week like I was talking about with the OP.

I completely agree OP should be on the three tablets - I can't see where I said otherwise? All I said was that maybe she could give herself a week of weaning on to the three tablets to potentially avoid the side effects I initially had.

I cross posted with the other posted who was explaining about her experience with haemochromatosis, but at least she suggested seeing a different doctor.

I just think it's very irresponsabile to suggest to someone that they shouldn't take a medication they have been prescribed to take.

I just think it's very irresponsabile to suggest to someone that they shouldn't take a medication they have been prescribed to take.

Please quote me where I have told her she shouldn't take her medication?

If you think me advising she start off on two tablets a day and then after a week introduce the third tablet is equal to me telling her not to take the medication at all then that's your interpretation to make.

Hi all,

Thanks for the responses :) And sorry if this post was a bit controversial, I'm just quite anxious due to how I've been feeling over the last few weeks. To the poster who suggest I look up affects of low iron on pregnancy - this has been a constant source of anxiety for me and I've felt a little bit let down because nothing has been explained to me, just prescriptions given, and I've never ever had anaemia before so to find out I have an autoimmune version as well as low iron was surprising and also made me feel quite guilty.

I did write that post after only receiving the prescription today, and after a very long day so was feeling really crap - I have pretty bad SPD as well. I took 2 of the tablets yesterday, a good 8 hours apart and with food but was so nauseous I felt sick to the point of vomiting which is very unlike me.

Anyway, your posts have reassured me that this is a normal dose given, and also I'm going to talk to my midwife on tomorrow at my next appointment, and to arrange my B12 injections. Thanks all for the advice and reassurance

Hey OP not sure if you got worried about autoimmune from my post?

Not all PA is Autoimmune so you don't need to worry about that being a factor as a lot of doctors use PA as a diagnosis for B12 and Iron deficiency anaemia as opposed to the full Autoimmune disease.

They will be looking at your ferritin levels - your iron stores- and noticing they're low. The normal level is over 70, up to around 200ish. Many people are around 20-50 and function fine, some don't though (I don't).

I was taking that amount daily to get my iron level up - it was really hard for me but I've since found I have to stop having milk to get it up, and I can quite quickly if I avoid milk. It can take a few weeks or months of that much to get it from say 20 to around 100. We don't actually absorb much. (Best with vit c on empty stomach).

Someone with heamachromatosis will have ferritin levels of near or over 200 without even trying to get their iron up (its in my family). They'd have known if this was an issue from the ferritin test.

It's what's called a loading dose basically. Same happens with vit d if you're deficient.

Just ring the gp receptionist and ask for your results. You are allowed a print out. Might be worth it in case you need this again in the future.

I wouldn't stop having dairy during pregnancy though as it's a good source of iodine which is needed for you baby. Though pregnacare vitamins have the correct dose in it.

confused, I think mine is auto immune as after my initial bloods I was asked to come and do another test for Intrinsic Factor antibodies, was told this was positive and now need injections? But I wish someone would speak to me, I had my MW appointment today but when I asked her about my blood test her answer was basically to make a GP appointment as she only dealt with stuff that involved the babies, so no answers again today.

I have my first B12 injection tomorrow so hoping someone will know then, but maybe not as it is a nurse I think. My midwife also had no idea that PA might be why I'm feeling so run down and suggested I might be coming down with something, so I just feel like people are getting the impression I'm paranoid or making a fuss over nothing, when really I'm struggling to get through the days working full time with a toddler and don't think I should be struggling so much :(

And thanks for the info tacky that's really interesting, yes makes perfect sense as I am also vitamin D deficient and didn't bat an eyelid at the huge weekly doses they have me on, probably because I've felt no side effects whereas the iron made me vomit

Can't believe I'm so deficient in all these things, this pregnancy only comes 18 months after the last one and I had no problems with anything then, no anti body tests needed, no deficiencies, no blood sugar problems, nothing. And this time despite eating the same diet and taking the same prenatal vitamins I'm having all these deficiencies

@CherriesInTheSnow I have a b12 deficiency, in my experience health care professionals are bloody clueless about it.

There is a group on Facebook called Pernicious Anaemia/B12 Deficiency - Support Group

I have found them a huge help. The one thing I do know is that gas and air is a massive no no, and that you have to be very careful if you are considering breast feeding.

I felt like a new woman once I started my treatment.

Its ok OP as PP said Perniscious Anaemia isn't taken seriously. Personally i feel like its because doctors like to lump people with a B12 deficiency and put them into the catagory of having an autoimmune disease which is simply not true. So when you say I have PA its a concern they just brush you off however it is very serious and should be taken as such!

I've had PA for well over 5 years and it almost killed me to the extent that I had so little blood doctors warned my mum that I had Leukaemia... i have quite a large amount of knowledge on it so feel free to ask me anything you like!

Also in regards to what PP said My consultant is happy for me to have Gas and Air provided my B12 stores are at a normal level from injections when i give birth, the same applies for Breastfeeding.