low iron count after giving birth

[Carolyn]

has anyone suffered from this?

iron was fine whilst pregnant.
lost a lot of blood in labour during forceps delivery.
had an iron count of seven? had to be over 10 to be acceptable??
had two units of blood in a transfusion. brought level up to 8 point something. and now on 2 iron tablets a day.

am going to have a blood test to check what the level is next week..(6 weeks after the transfusion).i just feel crap. not tired necessarily, my lo sleeps well at night (touch wood!) just bleughhhh and emotions ALL over the place.

wondered if this has happened to anyone else?

 

[Carolyn]

i guess not

 

[luckyme225]

Mine was fine during pregnancy but I bled for almost 8 weeks after birth so my count got pretty low. I had little red dots all up and down my arms and bruises all over my legs. It's much better now to the point where I just take prenatal vitamins daily. I hope you feel better soon!!!

 

[Carolyn]

Mine was fine during pregnancy but I bled for almost 8 weeks after birth so my count got pretty low. I had little red dots all up and down my arms and bruises all over my legs. It's much better now to the point where I just take prenatal vitamins daily. I hope you feel better soon!!!

did you feel lethargic?

 

[xJG30]

I had low blood count after birth which left me anaemic.. i'm having to take iron tablets 3 times a day and I've gotta go back to the docts for blood tests in a month

 

[Carolyn]

I had low blood count after birth which left me anaemic.. i'm having to take iron tablets 3 times a day and I've gotta go back to the docts for blood tests in a month

how do you feel, gem lou?

i don't know whether it's a body or mind thing that i'm having...

really hoping that the low iron is contributing to my sluggish self...

i feel like doing loads,but never do any of it? i'm not tired, in the sense that i don;t need a nap or owt...

 

[luckyme225]

I still feel sluggish most days, I get my blood checked again tomorrow.

 

[Charlotte-j]

i had low iron levels after i had her.
during pregnancy the highest it went was 8.4 :-/
and after she wa born i went down to 4.2
so had to have 4units of blood, which they had to put in quick which was really uncomfortable
and now on 3tablets a day

 

[Carolyn]

i had low iron levels after i had her.
during pregnancy the highest it went was 8.4 :-/
and after she wa born i went down to 4.2
so had to have 4units of blood, which they had to put in quick which was really uncomfortable
and now on 3tablets a day

that's low...how do you feel though, mentally and physically?

 

[Charlotte-j]

i feel fine now, better than i did before. but have some days where i feel like crap and dont have much energy to do anything

mentally - i have the biggest phobia of needles now, but other than that im pratically the same as before

 

[leedsforever]

mine was low... and I had iron tablets during pregnancy too!! But doc advised not to continue taking them cos I was constipated and iron tablets really dont help that!! I feel very lethargic but think its just due to being a new mum too!!

 

[Carolyn]

mine was low... and I had iron tablets during pregnancy too!! But doc advised not to continue taking them cos I was constipated and iron tablets really dont help that!! I feel very lethargic but think its just due to being a new mum too!!

i tihought that kerry, about being a new mum, but i expected it to be better by now

 

[Whisper]

has anyone suffered from this?

iron was fine whilst pregnant.
lost a lot of blood in labour during forceps delivery.
had an iron count of seven? had to be over 10 to be acceptable??
had two units of blood in a transfusion. brought level up to 8 point something. and now on 2 iron tablets a day.

am going to have a blood test to check what the level is next week..(6 weeks after the transfusion).i just feel crap. not tired necessarily, my lo sleeps well at night (touch wood!) just bleughhhh and emotions ALL over the place.

wondered if this has happened to anyone else?

I had low iron during my entire pregnancy and also lost alot of blood during delivery, my iron count went down to 6 i think, like you i had to have 2units of blood.

I was prescribed iron tablets which i did take for a few weeks but they were making me nauseous (sp?) and giving me an upset tummy so i stopped taking them.

I know how you feel with the lethargy (sp?) i too have days when i feel like doing so much but actually achieve nothing and its hard to pinpoint whether its down to being a new mum or low iron?
I feel tired but not tired for sleep just no energy, but as the days and weeks progress i am slowly feeling a little better each day.

If i go out and am walking around for too long then i get dizzy and lightheaded and will need to sit down. Especially in the supermarket but that could be down to the lighting?

I know that if i was more strict with myself and change my diet, eating more iron enriched foods then i will feel better. Have you thought about adjusting your diet? or do you already eat a lot of iron foods?

A couple of tips with the iron tablets if you didn't already know, but try and take with something containing vitamin C (orange/apple juice etc) and avoid taking with dairy or caffeine an hour either side of taking the tablet. Both those things lessen the amount your body will absorb.

hope you start feeling better soon hun.

x

 

[Carolyn]

thanks, didn't know about the dairy and iron tablets!!! i think the diet will get better, we've moved from freezer fodder that oh was 'cookin' to me cooking fresh now, so we'll see if that helps...

what did they do for you about aftercare...i'm due another blood test a=then i'm not sure what they'll do... i'm guessing the words 'monitoring you' will come into it...and then i'll have to live with it. it's just have to go back to school real soon, probably before xmas and i just can't imagine how i'm going to cope...