# Help ! Iron tablets are messing me up !



## Tracey Heynes (Nov 5, 2001)

Can anyone help?Things had been going swimmingly until just lately - I'd even been offering tips to other people as the supplements and medication I'd been taking had made a great difference.I felt so good.However,I'd been feeling very tired and the Doc says I'm low in iron.He prescribed a slow release iron supplement for 3 months.A week after I started taking the tablets I noticed I didn't "go" every day anymore.OK I thought ,stay calm.But I can see the problem is gradually getting worse.I know iron tablets can cause C. but I can't stop taking them as I do need the iron.What I want to know is,what it actually is that the iron DOES to have this effect.Then I might be able to do something to counterbalance it.PLEASE don't suggest Metamucil or similar drinks - they make me feel so bloated and horrible.I don't want to ring my doctor as I'm always contacting him and I get the feeling he's getting fed up with me - after all he must have loads of patients with far more serious problems(or maybe ones that are easier to treat? ! )Ibsed


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## wishicouldgo (Jul 2, 1999)

Call your doc! That's what he is there for. My husband is a doc and they're used to it. Who cares if he's fed up? It's your life and you're having a hard time! That's what he's paid for. He can probably prescribe iron that is easier on the GI tract, that is what my doc did. There are also other forms of iron you can get at a healthfood store that don't cause C.


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## Rose (Mar 25, 1999)

My suggestion would be to counteract the constipating factor of the iron with magnesium supplements.Hi Wish,How are you doing. How far along are you now?


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## Tracey Heynes (Nov 5, 2001)

Dear Wishicouldgo and Rose,Many thanks for taking the trouble to reply.Yes Rose...I am already taking magnesium and have been for quite some time,one reason perhaps why things HAD been going so well before the iron.Wish..I would like to know the names of iron supplements that don't cause C.if you or anyone else knows any(I'm going to the UK at Xmas and could buy some maybe)I've actually stopped my iron supplements from the Doc. - too distressed by increasing bloating and C.accompanied by the flaring up of a long-standing skin irritation that also disturbs my sleep.The skin problem often seems to worsen when I get very bloated-but that could of course be simply a stress response.Thanks again for your replies - any additional info.gratefully received!!


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## Tracey Heynes (Nov 5, 2001)

PLEASE wishicouldgo,please can you tell me the names of these iron supplements that won't cause C.My doctor prescribed another one over the phone.When I collected it at the chemist's I looked first at the leaflet inside and it said it can cause C.( as well as D,and a host of other things)When I explained my dilemma to the assistant she treated me like I was some kind of idiot expecting to take iron supplements without a C.side effect.I didn't take the tablets in the end.I need to get back to my doc.and be able to say "Look doc.here's the name of so and so product that won't cause C. Can I have this one?"Please help someone.I need the iron but I don't need the C.and all the misery that goes along with it.I'm not taking any iron at the moment and my bowels are so much better.BUT I DO NEED to take some supplements!Anyone out there besides Wishicould go who can help me?


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## harmonize (Sep 10, 2001)

Iron deficiency is a common problem with ibs. Because I've 2 bowel resections, and have lost much absorptive area in the gut, I, too, need to take iron. In contrast to you I tend to get D from taking it, along with severe cramping. My Dr. has put me on iron injections which I can tolerate just fine. I also get B-12 injections every 2 weeks. Spinach and liver are 2 very good sources of iron as well as raisins if you can tolerate them.I can tolerate a bit at a time. Since I've learned how to eat to eliminate the symptoms of the disease I am doing great!


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## Tracey Heynes (Nov 5, 2001)

Dear Harmonize,Really appreciate you replying to my desperate message so quickly.Iron injections sound interesting tho.my doc.says supplements are my only option(I think he sees my iron deficiency as not that serious - apparently I'm just a little low although personally I wonder as I'm always so tired and lacking energy.Of course this could be due to so many things)Interestingly,spinach - that well-known aid to constipation seems to have the opposite effect on me!!As for liver-ugh!I have hated it since childhood,but maybe I should give it a go.Any suggestions from anyone else will be VERY gratefully received.


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## silver (Dec 21, 1999)

Are you taking it with food? it might be the slow release thats the problem. When I have to take iron supplement I always take 1000 mg of vitamin C with it as it helps to absorb it better and I take mine with food. It does cause a bit more C but see if you can get the "ferrous gluconate" I think thats what its called. Here in Canada we can buy it OTC if we ask the pharmacist, a doctor's prescription will cost more. Hope that helps.


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## Tracey Heynes (Nov 5, 2001)

Dear Silver,Thank you so much for your suggestion.Will investigate! Ibsed


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## babydoc_au (Jan 26, 2000)

Ferrous fumarate is non-constipating iron. It is suitable for vegeterians, as unlike most other iron supps. it is not derived from liver extract.


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## Tracey Heynes (Nov 5, 2001)

Dear Babydoc,Many thanks for your reply.Do you have a brand name for this product?It would make it easier for me to track it down!!Thanks in advance. Ibsed


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