Blood Test Results

[Anna1982]

Hiya

well I got my gtt tests back and theyre fine thankfully

but my irons low, so Im guessing this explains the dizzyness like some of you ladies suggested?

Ive got to call the doctors today to see if the hospital has faxed through what I need to take.

are iron tabletsd a long term thing?

anna

 

[ni2ki]

Ive been on them since 24 weeks, makes you utterly constipated so take with orange juice if poss x

 

[Laura2919]

I was prescribed iron tablets and after 4 weeks I stopped taking them. I couldnt go to the loo and I had the worst tummy ache in the world. I ate lots of greens and water like I was told to but nothing at all.
They like multiple mums to take them because when it comes to delivery you wont lose as much blood.

 

[lizziedripping]

Hi - you take them as long as you need, if your hb comes up you can stop. I was on them for the duration, and my hb didn't improve, but didn't get any worse.

Iron levels need to come up, because at birth if you do heamhorrhage, your body is more likely to withstand the loss. For example, a normal hb in a pregnant lady is 12. Mine had dropped to 10 by 28wks, and come back up to 11 by my section date. I lost 3-4 pints which took my blood down to 6.8 - had my blood had a starting hb of 8 because I hadn't taken iron supplements, I would have gone down to dangerous levels after the bleed - much harder to physically tolerate.

So it isn't that iron tablets stop the risk of bleeding, but they help to maximise your hb levels in case you do have significant blood loss Hope that ramble made sense?

x

 

[Anna1982]

mine are at 10 right now,
ive got the docs this afternoon to get the tablets

what kind of foods should i eat for more iron (i have a citrus allergy though)

 

[TwoBumps]

Try spatone hun. You can't get it on prescription, but when I was prescribed iron tablets my consultant told me to have spatone instead if I could as the absorption rate is much better than the tablets and it doesn't make you as constipated. Its a fluid, so you just mix it with a glass of orange juice (or some other fluid if you have a citrus allergy) and drink it as fast as you can as it tastes a bit funny! It's not cheap, but it is definitely worth it x