If you took iron tablets......

[MustHaveaVeryShortMemory]

The ones from the Dr. I would like to know...

How long it took before your iron levels went up?

How much did they go up by?

Did you suffer from side effects?

TIA

I have been taking them from 18 wks as I started having frequent palpitations and dizziness. I started feeling better after nearly 2 wks, I also started eating more red meat followed by a citrus fruit and I also tried not to drink coffee or tea straight after my meals as they stop iron absorption.
I was terrified about becoming constipated so I started eating 4 or 5 dried figs or prunes every morning and this did def help! I haven't had my iron levels checked again as I now feel fine.

Can I recommend Floradix ? Took it both times and made a huge difference in iron levels, tasted more than ok and had no constipation side effects.

tokentotty: I have been taking floradix for 4 days. Wondering if this will do the job on its own or if I should take the stuff from the Dr as well. How quickly did it work for you? Midwife is reluctant to do homebirth if iron levels are below 10.5 so getting desperate.

M78: So you had no side effects from the tablets, this is reassuring as I've heard awful stories about them.

I took them after the birth of DS1. I don't know how effective they were because they gave me such bad constipation I stopped after a couple of days and switched to Spatone (liquid supplements)

I am using Spatone during this pg. Although I have not been diagnosed with having low iron levels, I noticed an improvement in energy levels withing 3 days of taking it.

same as meemar - my iron level was 8 at 32 weeks. spatone was marvellous. felt better almost straight away, no side effects and it brought my iron levels up within a week or two. and i had my home birth!

If you have been prescribed them you should take the pills. Spatone and floridix have about 20mg compared to 200mg. They can stave off iron deficiencies but can't really compensate for them. I found taking the tablets totally changed my life - i felt like a new person. i didn't get too constipated...can't remember how long it took but maybe 3 days

mololoko: How many sachets did you take a day? Can you remember what your iron level came up to?

When not pregnant mine went from 6 to 15 over three months.

The side effects were much less prounounced when not pregnant though. I just pooed like a cow rather than smelling and bloating like one as well!

I had really bad costipation from taking iron tablets, so took spatone instead (2 sachets a day), which I found really made a difference.

hazeyjane: do you remember how fast they worked?

I am taking Spatone (same as floradix, pretty much) in a glass of orange juice, and it has helped my energy levels no end.

Oh sorry did not see - same as hazyjane - i noticed a marked difference in about 3 days, not instant, but steadily more energy.

Hawkmoth - 6!!! You must have felt terrible...

Yup! From tiredness to palpitations to PARANOIA! The psychological symptoms were the worst, I was low on Folic Acid too, which made it worse. I remember one morning just staring at the pattern on my shower curtain for 20 minutes trying to figure it out!

Oh and terrible hair loss! That's what made me finally twig! It was a relief because I thought I was having a stress-related breakdown!

Oddly enough, my iron's very stable now I'm pregnant!

Musthave, they started working in 2 or 3 days

i started pregaday a week ago - they've given me diarrhoea but i will persist.....

yes It is better to increase iron with tablets and with your diet IMO, I was dreadfully anaemic after dd's birth and we treated it at home , ate lots broccolli, red meat etc etc and choc. coated raisins
didnt get constipated as ate extra fruit and tonnes of veg.
it only took about 4 days to have a sensible iron level in my blood, and Im sure my poo went a bit green? (sorry too much info)

mine was 6 after birth. they wanted me to have a transfusion but refused . felt very dizzy and weak but was much better out of hospital back at home.

Got my iron tablets a couple of weeks ago - it took 3 days then I felt like I had so much more energy. Black poo though....

Thanks everyone.