Omg these iron tablets are making me feel worse yuck!!!!

[alilou151]

I have low blood pressure & something low in my blood count erm not sure what he said now!! but it 4 instead of between 10-12, think its anemia not sure though, anyway these iron tablets are making my belly churn & rush to the loo all the time & sorry tmi but its BLACK when I go...yuck! how long will this last? hope its me just getting used to the tablets cos if I dont take them i just faint, dunno whats worse

 

[Scooby12345]

ask for iron liquid instead of tablets, i found that much better on the tummy.

 

[snapex]

Had to take Iron tablets 2 through out my pregnacy as i'm anemic. I stupidly didn't take them for as long as i should and ended up have to get 6 b12 injections over the space of 2 weeks. They hurt like hell and my arm is still tender nearly a year on.
My advice to you is even though they make you feel sick and need to use the loo a lot or not so much as they make you backed up take them. You wouldn't be put on them if you didn't need them and last thing you want is to put on the injections. Trust me.

The colour is a normal thing but if your worried as the doctors about it.

How long have you been taking them if you dont mind me asking?
After a week or two of me taking them i did feel a lot better and in my own personal experiance the sickness went after a while.

hope you feel better though

 

[Tasha]

Is it your hemaglobin that is 4 hun? If so that makes you really anaemic, maybe an iron infusion or blood transfusion would be better?

Liquid iron is kinder on the tummy, until you can get that, try to take the iron with a vitamin c drink like orange juice it will heelp your body absorb it

 

[aussiemum]

you should also take vitamin c tablets as this will help your body absorb the iron.

 

[Sherri81]

I'm not sure what your levels are exactly, but I just found out my Ferriten Iron levels are only at a 6 (or were 5 weeks ago, they estimate I am closer to 3 now), but they said these levels are supposed to be somewhere between 20-120 in non pregnant adult women. So they did classify me as severly iron difficient anemic, and I have to take iron tabs 3 times a day. I haven't had issues with mine yet, and I always have a dodgy stomach, so you would think I would be in the bathroom within minutes. Talk to your pharmacist about different iron preperations. Mine know that I have IBS, so they went right away to some Ferrous Glutamate stuff, a small, green, tablet. They said it is known to be easier on the stomach than regular preparations. It only cost $4, and like I said, no problems yet. I reccommend you talk to your pharmacist.

 

[bluebaby]

Is it your hemaglobin that is 4 hun? If so that makes you really anaemic, maybe an iron infusion or blood transfusion would be better?

Liquid iron is kinder on the tummy, until you can get that, try to take the iron with a vitamin c drink like orange juice it will heelp your body absorb it

Your right hun, my haemaglobin level before I was pregnant was at just under 3 and I was severely ill, so not sure if thats what the OP means?

I must say that the iron tablets are hard to take and they aren't great for your tummy or going to the toilet. They will make you feel better though so stick in there

 

[cammy]

I have this too, its disturbing, but apparently perfectly normal. Try take vitamin c with it, it reduces the side effects

 

[gembag]

I had exactly the same, the iron tablets for my ferritin levels made me constipated and then when I did go it was black (sorry TMI!) I stuck with the tablets for a month but it didn't get any better for me unfortunately.

After some advice on here I bought some Spatone (natural iron water) from Boots (you can get it at Holland & Barrett too - its buy one get another half price there at the moment) You take it with fresh orange juice to help absorb the iron. I take two sachets a day and feel so much better for it - my energy levels are higher and bowel movements are back to normal (YAAAAAY!!!!) My ferritin levels have increased loads - I can't recommend Spatone highly enough, give it a go for a month and see if it makes a difference - I'm going to continue taking it after giving birth too as I was anaemic before pregnancy too. Good luck with it

 

[girlmonkey31]

Hi, I take spatone again for the same reason as you and i found iron tablets too harsh. The midwife gives me spatone on prescription, they dont do it initially as i think it costs more than cheap iron tablets but its 100% better!

 

[alilou151]

I had exactly the same, the iron tablets for my ferritin levels made me constipated and then when I did go it was black (sorry TMI!) I stuck with the tablets for a month but it didn't get any better for me unfortunately.

After some advice on here I bought some Spatone (natural iron water) from Boots (you can get it at Holland & Barrett too - its buy one get another half price there at the moment) You take it with fresh orange juice to help absorb the iron. I take two sachets a day and feel so much better for it - my energy levels are higher and bowel movements are back to normal (YAAAAAY!!!!) My ferritin levels have increased loads - I can't recommend Spatone highly enough, give it a go for a month and see if it makes a difference - I'm going to continue taking it after giving birth too as I was anaemic before pregnancy too. Good luck with it

Ooooo I'm going shopping today so I will pick some of this up it sounds good & hope it stops me feeling

 

[Tasha]

Is it your hemaglobin that is 4 hun? If so that makes you really anaemic, maybe an iron infusion or blood transfusion would be better?

Liquid iron is kinder on the tummy, until you can get that, try to take the iron with a vitamin c drink like orange juice it will heelp your body absorb it

Your right hun, my haemaglobin level before I was pregnant was at just under 3 and I was severely ill, so not sure if thats what the OP means?

I must say that the iron tablets are hard to take and they aren't great for your tummy or going to the toilet. They will make you feel better though so stick in there

Yea, I have had my hb at 3 in Feb 2009 and 4 in July 2010, it is really unpleasant, mine was a gradual thing where I couldnt walk as far or manage stairs, dizzy, out of breath, lots of things. In Feb 09 I had 6ish pints of blood transfused and then July 10 1 litre. They are fully expecting to need to give me an infusion at some point, so we shall see.

Hows your anaemia now?

 

[bluebaby]

Is it your hemaglobin that is 4 hun? If so that makes you really anaemic, maybe an iron infusion or blood transfusion would be better?

Liquid iron is kinder on the tummy, until you can get that, try to take the iron with a vitamin c drink like orange juice it will heelp your body absorb it

Your right hun, my haemaglobin level before I was pregnant was at just under 3 and I was severely ill, so not sure if thats what the OP means?

I must say that the iron tablets are hard to take and they aren't great for your tummy or going to the toilet. They will make you feel better though so stick in there

Yea, I have had my hb at 3 in Feb 2009 and 4 in July 2010, it is really unpleasant, mine was a gradual thing where I couldnt walk as far or manage stairs, dizzy, out of breath, lots of things. In Feb 09 I had 6ish pints of blood transfused and then July 10 1 litre. They are fully expecting to need to give me an infusion at some point, so we shall see.

Hows your anaemia now?

Its not too bad now, its sitting at about 8 which is great for me but think I will be on iron tablets for the rest of my life. It was a gradual thing for me too, i was going to the doctors on and off for about a year with breathlessness, dizzy spells, fainting, total fatigue, lack of apetite and weight loss but the doctors said there was nothing wrong apart from stress. One day I couldn't get out of bed so went back to the doctors and this time they took blood. I had a fone call from the hospital the same day saying I had to come in urgently. My level was 2/3, I was so ill if it had been undetected for another week I would have died from a heart attack. Because of the strain in my heart I now have a heart murmur and I was in hospital for about 2 weeks to recover and then another month on bed rest at home. Like you they recommended a blood transfusion for me but I declinded (don't know why now but it the time I seemed to have reasons) so they had to put me on a special diet for a couple of months with iron tablets 6 times a day.

Sorry for the life story tasha

 

[Chrissy7411]

I take the iron tablets too, but that has not happened to me! They've been a pretty good help, before I could barely walk without getting hot flashes and the room would get blury and Id feel like I wass gonna faint! It was horrible!

 

[Babynumber1]

Bloody hell there are some stories here esp BLUEBABY.I had blood tests and my results came back as low feritin levels and might be aneimic so iv had to go in for another blood test.So i`m waiting now to hear.
I get very tired,light headed ,dizzy spells and headache`s so i think i prob need iron tables xx