# Anemia and iron supplement



## Guest (Nov 8, 2001)

Hello! I am new to this board and already am greatly encouraged by all the information to help me cope. I have been recently diagnosed with IBS and also with a very low iron count. I am mainly IBS-C and have tried many times to take iron. (Anemia is a consistent problem for me it seems) The forms I have taken either constipate me or give me D. Any suggestions as to what would work?Thanks so much.ColonQueen


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## jo-jo (Aug 19, 2001)

Iron constipates me also and I'm C to begin with. Can't they give you a shot for iron? A friend of mine gets her iron this way, maybe something to consider. good luck.


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## Alexandria (Nov 29, 2001)

I have the exact same problem as you and I was told to get the chelated iron supplements or one called Slow FE, the release the iron slower so cause less problems.


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## Healthbuddy (Apr 20, 2011)

Hey, I too had gone through similar problems a few months back. First, you must try to increase your intake of iron rich foods like dates and fig. I even took regular supplements of Jobelyn which increases the Red Blood Cells count significantly. Today, I’m leading a healthier life. You must try it too.


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## TVgirl (Sep 16, 2009)

ColonQueen said:


> Hello! I am new to this board and already am greatly encouraged by all the information to help me cope. I have been recently diagnosed with IBS and also with a very low iron count. I am mainly IBS-C and have tried many times to take iron. (Anemia is a consistent problem for me it seems) The forms I have taken either constipate me or give me D. Any suggestions as to what would work?Thanks so much.ColonQueen


Have you gone through investigations for your low iron ??


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## em_t (Jun 8, 2010)

Hi ColonQueen,I'm not sure where you're from but I know in the UK you can get a product called Spatone which is a gentle iron supplement that does not cause constipation. It is essentially iron rich water that you mix into fruit juice as vitamin C helps the absorption of iron. Although it has a much lower iron content than iron supplements it is in a more readily available form so less likely to cause side effects. If you can't get hold of Spatone there's also a product called Floradix Liquid Iron Formula which is supposed to be good also.


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## jinx50 (May 14, 2011)

A trick that works for me...instead of taking just iron supplements take a multimineral supplement which contains the proper amounts of calcium, vitamin D and magnesium, to go along with the iron. Magnesium can offset the constipating effect of the iron and calcium, magnesium by itself would cause diarea, the combination has helped me combat the IBS-A predominately C, with the alternating C & D I adjust the amounts I take to regulate the D&C. Maybe that can work for you also. Just a bit of advice though make sure the Magnesium is citrate rather than carbonate, mag carbonate is known for causing gas. I'm not sure about magnesium dioxide form which is most common it seems. I keep extra magnesium on hand, if I start feeling the least bit bloated or like constipation is coming on I take extra and it keeps me regular.Hope you find what works for you.


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## em_t (Jun 8, 2010)

I think its magnesium oxide you mean not dioxide - I found it worked just as well as magnesium citrate and was a lot less expensive.


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## criss (Feb 15, 2015)

Hello everybody,

This is such an wonderful forum that I decided to post my anemia story. I think I had anemia all my life: my hair was always falling, I was always waking up at 1pm on saturdays and sundays and I was basically always very tired. I was lucky that my company has a free doctor because we produce medical devices so he can run tests for free. There is a limited thing he can do but because of this I was able to run a lot of tests.

First of all:

I have IBS-C since 2 years ago but I think anemia for longer.

The doctor prscribed pills for me, 300mg iron a day. I took the pills for 6 months. My Ferritin test was 6 and the normal value is 100-200. After 6 months there was no improvement.

Thats when the doctor suggested iron shots directly in the blood. That was 2 years ago. I did 2 shots and in one month my Ferritin went from 7 to 200. My hair stopped falling instantly and people were not asking me if I have asthma after walking one floor up.2 years later my iron is down again. I am on paleo diet and I eat mostly red meat so I basically cant assimilate iron. That means I cant asimilate iron from pills either. The iron supplement shouldnt go through the degistive system because not only it doesnt work but it can make me more constipated.

The thrid way is blood transfusion and I think this is done in serious situations.

I think the best way for me is to do half of the iron shots every year.

I live in Switzerland and to buy the iron for the shots costs around 500 dollars but prices are high here. I had no side effects from the shots and I felt great after.

I will be doing my shots again in a month or 2 and I can post again which kind I will buy. There are 2 types of iron and I will write latter which kind I will use.

Basically I think for me the best is to have a yearly ferritin test and do the shot once a year with half the dosage and not wait untill I lose my hair and get tired again. I think this is a easy way to maintain the iron. I am sure in other countries the iron is much cheaper.


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