Poll: If you’ve been given ferrous fumarate in pregnancy, what is your dosage please?

[8rugby]

After my 28 week blood test I was put on 1x 210mg a day.

Now after my 36 week blood test, my Hb level is still not increasing, but I’ve been told to stick to one tablet a day “because they don’t recommend having two or three a day any more.”

This seems very odd to me as certainly on the box and patient information leaflet it says the dosage can be 1-3 tablets a day!

So, I am curious. What dose have you been given please? And what was your Hb level? Thank you!

The latest info is that it's better to take every other day, as the dose is too much to be absorbed and you get side effects
So every other day means less side effects - more compliance

That hasn’t been mentioned to me. Even for just one tablet a day? So by halving the small dose I’m already on my levels would be even worse.

(The irony is I don’t have any side effects - I go to the loo four times a day…)

Would love to hear what dosages others have been placed on.

Here (this links to the studies
I'm pretty sure the BNF has changed recently to 1 a day or every other day (added photo)
Basically the tablet is a huge dose and you only absorb a small amount so the remainder causes side effects and doesn't actually increase your levels at all, just means people stop taking them
So the person who prescribed it is aware of the latest info which is really good!
Take it with a vitamin c tablet

www.drgreene.com/decreasing-iron-supplements

1x 210mg only provides 65mg of elemental iron. The advice in pregnancy is that women should be treated with 100-200mg of elemental iron to correct IDA. One tablet really isn’t a huge dose. And clearly it’s not working for me. I’m confused why the NHS website and the leaflet inside the box say that the dosage should be 2-3 a day to treat anaemia if for some reason TPTB have decided pregnant women should only get one tablet a day.

Oh well. I guess I am destined to stay anaemic! I will try an advanced search to see if I can find out what dosages other pregnant women have been given.

Are you taking it with orange juice? It helps it absorb

It might also depend on how anaemic you are.
You might be borderline so they aren't too cornered.

You can only absorb 2-28% ish of the iron
The multiple dosing through the day is pointless as the first dose triggers some molecule (I'm not scientific) that decreases iron absorption so it actually makes it worse

I don't think the leaflets have been updated but it is current best practice and the best way to absorb by once a day or every other day

Are you taking it on an empty stomach with vitamin c and avoiding tea with it etc?

I'm on 210mg 3 x a week (so essentially every other day). My haemoglobin level is ok, its my ferritin that's completely tanked. Had bloods taken again 4 weeks after starting, but they only did haemoglobin not ferritin levels which is frustrating as hell, as its the ferritin really we need to see if going up. My haemoglobin has dropped slightly again though.