TMI Need help controlling 'symptoms' of iron supplements.

[SparklingNarwhal]

This has been an ongoing issue since Nov 12. Found out I was anemic at 28 weeks and was prescribed iron tablets (ferrius sulphate) which gave me diarrhea pretty rapidly within days of starting them and it was pretty draining, felt weak and tired.

Midwife suggested spatone instead. I was doing okay on them but I keep getting diarrhea every week or so regardless, especially when I tried to up my dose, it was almost an instant reaction.
Now I'm 37 weeks, iron has gone up a little but not enough and I've had another attack over Christmas. So I've gone to the doctor to rule out infection since each attack starts the same, eggy burps followed by diarrhea between 6 to 12 hours later. And when I'm not ill my movements are hard and once or twice in the week.
Doc thinks it's actually constipation, and the diarrhea is my bodies reaction to clearly the way. She did prescribe gaviscon back in Nov but I'm not sure it actually doing anything, I still get attacks and still poorly managed.
She stressed I continue to get my iron up but when I asked with how I manage the symptoms she more or less told me to be what feels right ..

I'll be honest, I'm stubbed. I've figured out how to get an iron rich diet to help, been drinking all kinds of herbal teas to help with digestion. Tried the brat diet when an attack occurs which I feel always sets me back again with iron since if I don't the attack lasts such longer. This current attacks is 5 days long. I feel like I'm losing ground and advise is pretty thin on the ground too... I've even mentioned it to the midwives and antenatal clinic and just got 'take the iron' advise but no help with how to manage the Ibs like symptoms.

At the moment, now I'm on maternity leave, I'm thinking of just lumping it, taking the iron, eating iron rich while glued to the loo.

Has anyone else suffered with this? And how have you coped? My biggest concern is how this could effect the pregnancy? Will the baby get enough nutritious? Will the it send me into labour early due to the loss of water or the muscle cramping? Baby is moving fine but still ... I've been asking for help for weeks and still feel felt in the dark.

Are you taking it on a full stomach? How is your caffeine consumption? I've been having awful gas and ibs symptoms taking ferrous sulphate but the symptoms are better on a full stomach with less caffeine.
I feel your pain though. Not enjoying taking them at all.

I've been taking it with food and cut all caffeine drinks (except green tea to help with the eggy burps/bad guy bacteria) even cut out a ton of dairy from my diet to stop the IBS like symptoms and increase absorption.
Still suffering an attack now but I'm ditching the brat diet, I don't have time for the low nutrition option. Plus it seemed to only pacify the problem and not deal with it.

Ask the GP o change your iron tablets to a different type. I was like this after having my eldest. The ones the hospital prescribed really upset my stomach. I went to the GP and they gave me a different type which were much better.

I was given ferrous fumerate instead of ferrous sulphate as apparently that is more gentle on the gut. (I.e less chance of constipation) but I didnt have IBS as well, just low iron in pregnancy

Yeah, I'm just this upset even just on spatone ...
Floradix does the same. My gut just doesn't like iron, even in its lowest forms. This is kinda why I feel like I've hit rock bottom. No iron supplement seems to ease the IBS like symptoms. The iron is the root of the cause but I can't do anything about it, I need to take it even in the lower dose despite the fact that even that cause me some grieve. I just don't know how to lessen the symptoms when I feel like I've tried everything. Taking it with food, no dairy, no caffeine, no greasy good, no refined sugar, all the herbal teas (peppermint, camomile, green, ginger) bio live yogurts, bananas, cinnamon, porridge, chicken broths (I've gotten pretty sick of those now XD) gaviscon after every meal, the list goes on. I'm sure there's other stuff I've done that I can't remember to list.
I've been awake at night at 2am searching the net for remedies when I can't sleep due to the gurgling and eggy burps keeping awake. It's been driving me around the bend

I was on ferrous sulphate after the birth.

You shouldn’t take it earlier than an hour after consuming dairy/caffeine and you shouldn’t take it for 2 hours afterwards.

Taking it with a glass of orange juice helps the body absorb it and I found it helped the tummy issues.

Ah yes, I have coupled my iron with vit c, as I have with my iron good plan too. But problems persist :/

Currently now researching how IBS sufferers manage in general to see if I can unlock a method of coping with the side effects of iron without IBS medication (since I actually don't have IBS, it's just thatball iron supplements causes me to have symptoms similar to it)

Wondering is rotating soluble and insoluble fiber would work. So, soluble during an attack and insoluble during a iron build up phase (when I get brief constipation bouts)