Can an iron supplement make you nauseous? When you have finally gotten over MS that is...

[OhForASilentNight]

Was just starting to feel human if a little knackered when MW got bloods back and said i needed iron supp. Only taken it last two days but feeling pretty grim for a few hours afterwards. Is it all in my head?

Made me feel nauseous too. I ended up taking Spatone which seemed to help the iron levels and didn't make me feel awful.

Nope, I presume you've been prescribed ferrous sulphate (prob 200mg)? Twice per day?

The problem with the tablets you get from the Dr/midwife is that it's in a form that pretty difficult for most people to digest and absorb. THis leads to nausea and constipation (or diarrhea).

If any reason you would rather perserve with the tablets than buy a more natural, easily absorbed (and therefore less, if any side effects) supplement such as Spatone www.boots.com/en/Spatone-Iron-Sachets-28_4933/ or Floradix www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=512&prodid=519 then I would suggest you reduce the amount you take until you are tolerating it better when you can start to increase. Also, ingest some form of vitamin c at the same time (orane juice or even a suppement pill) as this increases absorption. Avoid tannin (tea) and milk when you take the iron as it inhibits absorption. Also, although it's best to take the supplement on an empty stomach this can make it harder to tolerate, so perhaps take with food too.

THe 'kinder' supplemets are definitely the way to go if you can afford it, but it's not impossible to work with the ferrous sulphate if needs be. Good luck getting your levels up - I'm anemic too!

Oh, thank you! Me thinks i'll be giving Spatone a try...