Spatone for anemia?

[Curlypop]

Hello.
I'm 30 weeks and just been diagnosed with anemia. I've been given iron tablets but after my last baby I had to take them and they really hurt my stomach and it made it reallllly difficult to poo!
Am I ok taking two spatones a day? Has anyone done this/is doing this and noticed it's helped?
Thanks!

I’d always use spatone over iron tablets. Iron tablets are poorly absorbed and have horrible side effects. I’ve felt sick with the spatone twice a day but feel so much better. I mix with Tropicana.

My MW laughed and roller her eyes when I told her I was using spatone during my pregnancy. She said it is of very little benefit unless you are already at a good level of iron. I upped my intake of kiwis, large oranges, black pudding, red meat etc. I used Galfer C iron tablets too to get enough.

Just to add: Be careful of having too much fruit/juice if you are at risk of developing gestational diabetes

If you’re actually anaemic I don’t think spatone has enough iron to make a big difference.
At 30 weeks you need to be trying to get your iron up pretty quickly before you give birth.

I just can't face the iron tablets! Will continue with spatone and up my spinach, red meat intake too. Glad to know it's safe though.
I have both in a glass of orange in the morning so hopefully one glass won't cause GD. I've already had the test for it and was ok and I am not redoing that test, it's cruel!

If you are anemic there's no way enough iron in Spatone to make you better again.

Take it from someone who gets anemic with every pregnancy and every 3 months when not pregnant (horrendous periods) and tries everything going.

There physically is not enough iron in spatone like there is in the tablets.

My level was 114 is that bad or just borderline does anyone know?

It’s borderline.

Hi I took pregnacare and 2 spatones throughout my pregnancy and didn't suffer from anaemia at all.you could try ferrous bisglycinate, it's very gentle and won't affect yourr stomach.

It's borderline but your ferritin levels might be very low (this is what has happened to me this pregnancy).

114 isn’t too low, I’m 32 weeks and mine was 89 a few weeks ago.
Spatone is pretty useless for actual anaemia though.

I took spatone in my first pregnancy from 3 months onwards and was still anaemic at 30 weeks and needed iron tablets.

Highly recommend Floradix I will be starting these soon this time.

Floradix is great but not for actually treating anaemia.

My doctor told me I could keep taking it alongside the iron they gave me as the iron in it isn’t high enough to cause issues alongside the tablets they gave.

89, you must have felt horrific.

There’s some info on page 6 about absorption
activhealth.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Spatone_healthcare_booklet1.pdf
On the flip side to what pp has said about treating anaemia with spatone it’s the only thing that’s got my levels (96) to raise

Yes TheDayMyButtWentPsycho 😔. It was frustrating as I have had low iron in all my pregnancies. It was 107 at 10 weeks but in my area they’ll only treat below 105 🙄. I then had to wait until 28 weeks for a repeat test, by which point it was 89!

I'm another "Spatone didn't touch it", I'm afraid. Plus it tastes awful!

I felt much better after a while on the actual prescribed tablets.

Hope you feel better soon!

That's ridiculous SoyDora!

I get anemic when I'm pregnant or not. But when I'm pregnant it doesn't have to go very low at all before I get symptoms.
For example mine was only 11.3 (so, borderline) but my ferritin levels were almost non-existent.
I was breathless, faint, kept getting pins and needles in my mouth. It was what I considered a 'dramatic response' to something mild. I don't have those symptoms when I'm pregnant.

When it got down to 10.5 I was full on pass-out fainting on the floor.

There's no way I could work.

The fact that they allowed yours to get so low is very much worth complaining about.

*when I'm not pregnant

Agreed, apparently if I wasn’t pregnant they’d have treated when it dropped below 12 but as I was pregnant it had to get to 10.5, which seems ridiculous to me. Especially as I had such low iron in my last pregnancy (only picked up when I went to visit a friend in hospital and a midwife took one look at me and said ‘you’re anaemic, you need a blood test’!

I get symptomatic at borderline levels too.

My bloods when first tested were 138, at 26 weeks they were 105 and I had a week off work as I was just about on the floor. I was dizzy, breathless and felt like I was going to pass out.

I got my HB from 96 to 120 using Spatone and an iron rich diet along with foods known to aid absorption. I was diagnosed with anaemia at 31 weeks and had a repeat at 38 weeks which showed the increase. However I would be wary of relying on them alone because I believe they aren't that effective for everyone. And I was very conscientious in making my diet iron rich/friendly as possible as well.

Oh and I took 3 spatone a day

Thanks all. I've upped my spinach and red meat too and see how we go.

Lentils are good apparently. They also help with the side effects of iron...