Low iron

[TwoBees]

Is there a pregnancy BP? Because this post should go in it. I just got a call from the nurse saying that my hemoglobin is a little low and the doctor wants me to take an iron supplement. Seriously? The Rx prenatal I am taking already has so much that I've had constipation problems from the start. And now they want me to take MORE iron? I think I'll go have a steak for lunch.

:32::banghead:

And because I was so surprised about that, I forgot to ask about the results of my 1 hour glucose test!! (According to my online lab results, I'm fine, but I wanted a doctor's "sign off")

Wonderful morning.

Sigh.

ETA: I just needed to vent. I've been having a bad month.

[123LuckyMom]

Ugh! I'm sorry! I had to take an iron supplement during pregnancy, and the one that I took was vegetarian and non-constipating. They had it in our local food coop, but not in the regular grocery store. Enjoy your steak!

[kit]

This happened to me too! And they told me to take it separately from calcium, because apparently the calcium interferes with the ability to absorb iron??? I ended up eating boatloads of spinach, and not sure if it's related, but spinach ended up being the baby's favorite food for awhile when starting solids, ha!

[scrooks]

I had to take an iron supplement with ds2. The constipation sucks! I'm sorry you are dealing with this!

[KLD313]

I had to take a supplement, too. I took Floradix, no constipation.

[bostonsmama]

I feel like I'm a hair's breadth away from a blood transfusion they're pressuring me so badly to get my iron intake up! My doctor said iron supplements are poorly absorbed by the body, and that food would be a much better way to get it "up." Today I started pounding the cashews (excellent source), almond butter, chia seeds (6% RDA per tbsp), spinach, kale, kidney beans (pintos, too-10% per half cup) and acai berries (which are surprisingly rich in iron). I also eat red meat from time to time, but the veggies also pack other health benefits. Today I "dried" a whole batch of kale chips and ate the entire thing. It only has about a tsp of oil and a pinch of salt, so it's otherwise healthy and packed with iron. Also, cow's milk and its dairy products have zero iron, but almond and coconut milk at least have a small percentage of your RDA (2% vs 0%) per cup. I'm doing what I can as a rescue effort. No wonder I'm so tired!!

[megs4413]

like PP mentioned, supplements won't go as far in terms of absorption as diet changes will. This is because our bodies more readily absorb some kinds of iron than others. Iron that comes from red meat is best absorbed, generally. So, I'd have that steak. In fact, my hematologist leveled with me once and said I'd be better off eating raisins and red meat than continuing to slave away on the supp's. I ended up having two iron infusions. (i made the mistake of giving up red meat as a teen and dug myself a really terrible anemia whole without knowing it)

If I were you, I'd keep taking your prenatal and then add in the iron-rich foods to make up some more ground. The body can only store/bind *up to* 4 mg of iron a day, so super-dosing doesn't really help in terms of storing more, it just makes up for poor absorption. maximize your intake through food and a supplement, then make sure you maximize your body's potential for absorption by pairing the supp's/food with something high in vitamin C.

This is a good little tip article from Dr. Sears about it:
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/pregnancy-childbirth/pregnancy-concerns/nutrition/4-tips-maximize-iron-absorption-food

[Nemesia]

I had to take a supplement, too. I took Floradix, no constipation.

Floridix is awesome!