Iron tablets and constipation

[westlondongirl]

Have just been prescribed iron tablets and been told they cause contipation. I already eat as much fibre and prunes as I can (I wasn't doing that well on that front anyway!). Is there anything over the counter that you can buy to help things along that is safe? Don't think I will have time to see the doctor before I go away for xmas.

Try Spatone instead. Same benefits but no constipation problems.

Second Spatone, brilliant stuff, and often on 3 for 2 at Boots! In my experience it isn't always on the shef so ask the assistant for it if you can't see it. It's sachets of mineral water which is rich in iron & you mix it with orange juice to drink.

You should take what you have been prescribed by your doc or midwife not use Spatone which is very low dose, can still cause constipation and won't fix any anaemia you may have which caused your doc to prescribe the iron tablets in the first place. Spatone doesn't even contain half the daily requirement of iron - it is no substitute for the additional iron that you need if you are anaemic.

To help with constipation either ask the doc for something, or get Fybogel over the counter or Fibrese. Eating lots of apples, oranges, clementines will also help. But please don't stop your prescribed medication.

I have been prescribed iron tablets, and I have been having constipation, to combat the constipation I have been taking lactulose also prescribed by my doc......

From the research I've done, it seems that the reason ferrous sulphate is prescribed over easier to absorb supplements such as spatone/floradix is simply cost. Ferrous sulphate is very cheap. It's also a very difficult form for your body to absorb (hence the high dose needed. Sadly high dose = high chance of side effects).

Spatone is not cheap. And it is absorbed at around 40% which is up to x4-x5 more than ferrous sulphate. Also side effects are much rarer.

Are you more likely to take a pill that makes you feel awful or a drink that doesn't, even IF it takes a little longer for your levels to rise (although anecdotally many women report a rapid rise in hb when bloods are repeated. Two weeks ago my hb was 10.4 (which was a fall of 1.5 points from two weeks prior) and I started taking spatone - I had blood taken today so it'll be interesting to see if it's stopped or even reversed the fall).

When I was pg and very anaemic (I have v.low ferritin levels as a rule) MW told me to take floradix instead of the prescribed ferrous sulphate- as Manda says they can only prescribe ferrous sulphate but in all 3 pg I've had have been advised to take either spatone or floradix.

I take a vitamin c tablet with every iron tablet - works for me

Westlondongirl Pleeeeeease don't listen to these non doctors who have merely done internet "research", have really no idea what they are talking about, and take what your doctor prescribed you.

Deal with the constipation with other means.

I ain't done 'internet ressearch', thankyou. I was advised to take the other supplements available by HCP who were looking after me.

To continue, I am looking at a packet of Spatone. It says, that one sachet contains 34% of the recommended daily intake of iron. So you would have to have 3 sachets a day (gets expensive!) just to get the same quantity as there is in a normal multivitamin tablet which provides 100% of your recommended daily allowance. Further each sachet only contains 5mg of iron - compare that with the strength of your prescribed iron tablets.

If you are anaemic you need to take MORE than the recommended daily allowance as you need your iron levels to be topped up, simply taking the RDA will merely put you in a status quo.

Please don't listen to people (who probably work for Spatone marketing department for all anyone on here knows) who seem to think they know more than the medical profession and recommend people to replace prescribed medication with over the counter junk.

Spatone is an expensive load of rubbish in my opinion.

I checked with doctor and midwife before using spatone in my pregnancies and both said it was fine. I used 2 sachets daily. I agree it's expensive (though often on 3 for 2 in boots) but it did the business for me with no side effects, love it! (as do LOADS of women on here, check the archives!)

I spoke to my consultant (well, technically one of the doctors under her) and again to my midwife today after I was prescribed ferrous sulphate. The midwife advised me today to keep taking the spatone - she's seen its positive effects first hand and I'm sure if it were clinically better for me to take the ferrous sulphate then she'd say so! I was told it's a cost issue at consultant level (I seem to remember him throwing out the figure £2) and then, yes, did some 'internet' research. Sure, there's a lot of crap out there on t'interwebs, but at the same time there's a lot of valuable information which enables one to made an informed decision.

Of course, some women tolerate the ferrous sulphate just fine nd you may be one of them... you could always give them a go with a view to changing if they don't work out?

My doctor offered to prescribe Spatone to me and actually recommended I didnt take the iron tablets. So did my midwife. They mentioned what the others have here, that the side effects are high because the tablets are so cheap. No one mentioned spatone to me the first time around and I wish they had.

I had iron levels of 11 which rose to 13 on the spatone with no side effects. I had to get them up because I was booked for a homebirth but was desperate to avoid the misery of the ferrous sulphate tablets that I remembered from my first pregnancy.

Oh and I didnt do any 'internet research', not do I work for spatone. I listened to my HCP.

Have contacted my doctor and asked for some form of iron that will make me less constipated and some lactulose. Will I ever go again?!!

I was prescribed some pretty heavy duty iron tablets after my c section in August. Frankly the pain was worse than any pain from the c section and I stopped taking them after ooh two days. Not just any ordinary constipation let me assure you... My pregnancy sanatogen doesn't seem to have the same effect, but the New Mother ones did bizarrely although they seem to have the same formulation and amount of ferrous sulphate.

Spatone all the way- take in orange juice to increase the uptake of iron. (vit C does this) Boots often have a 3 for 2 offer on all vit and mineral supplements which includes spatone. You can get it delivered btw if you order through the website, which is nice as it's quite heavy.

btw bigpreggybelly- when I told the hospital midwives that I was stopping the iron tablets they'd prescribed (and bearing in mind my Hb level was barely 8 at that time and they were considering a transfusion) they were entirely unsurprised and did not in any way try to stop me. They did recommend spatone instead, as did many hcp during my pregnancy, but as someone else said earlier, it's too expensive to prescribe (about £7.50 a box vs peanuts for ferrous sulphate).

bigpreggybelly- perhaps if you had spent the first 4 days after your crash c section doubled over in pain and wondering if you'd ever again open your bowels, you wouldn't be dismissing so lightly people's problems with ferrous sulphate. Just feel glad that you don't (apparently) have a problem with it; many people do.

Duchesse - there is no need to be so rude. I was not dismissing so lightly people's problems with ferrous sulphate. What I am dismissing is people like you who think you know more than the medical profession and think that it is sensible advice to someone to stop taking prescribed medication and switch to something else. Who are you to say that?? Are you a doctor or a midwife?? You don't know what circumstances the OP's health status is in.

The OP wanted advice on relieving constipation, not changing her medication. There are lots of things for constipation, but no one has suggested anything.

I didn't realise I was going to walk into a battle field when I opened this thread, the one I read when reseaching the same question a few months ago just had competing votes for Spatone and Floradix. I took spatone and withiin a couple of days I noticed a HUGE increase in my energy and not feeling weak and tired by early evening. Iron levels had also risen to much higher level when I re did a bloodtest a month later. I told doc that I 'd switched he didn't seem bothered as long as it had the desired effect. It worked for me and I also had terrible side affects from the iron originally prescribed. Sadly I don't think the medical profession always know best and could cite many examples where my own research has helped me far more than the advice of my GP. No one on here is pretending to be a doctor, we are sharing our experiences, it's up to the OP what she chooses what she chooses to do.
With my first pg (during which I had no issue with iron levels, so it wasn't due to Ferrous sulphate) I was terribly constipated and my doc prescibed one of those fibre rich sachet dinks you mix with water, it had no effect, and my diet was already very rich in fibre anyway. The homoeopathic remedy Nux Vomica worked for me (I can't remember the potency I took but it was prescribed to me by a registered homoeopath). I took it every moning and every night and within a couple of days I was going regularly again every morning. Not advising anyone to believe in homeopathy or reject advice of their doctor, just shaing my experience

I've had some terrific results both with constipation and increasing iron levels by adding three kiwifruit a day to my diet. It's a kind of 'kill two birds with one stone' situation because the enzymes and fibre in kiwi make them a natural, gentle laxative and the high Vitamin C content means I'm absorbing more iron from both food and supplements. One after each meal and bingo.... regular as clockwork

I'd also highly recommend massively increasing your fluid intake. Warm fluids such as plain old tea work best for me.

Very best of luck!!