Low iron, ADHD symptoms, and sleep problems

[Gena]

Oh Gena, that's awful. We've done one blood draw that wasn't sedated, and now Jason freaks if he even hears the word blood. Would EMLA cream help at all, or is it too far beyond that for it to even make a dent?

As for the Floravitol, we haven't been dealing with it for long, so I don't know a lot about it, but from what I understand, the way it's formulated lets much more of it actually get absorbed, and that's why the levels are lower. I showed DS's ped that, and a chewable form, and she said to go with the Floravitol, and to only do it 3 times a week (he's also on a multi with iron). We haven't re-checked yet, so I don't know how well it's working, but she tends to know her stuff when it comes to supplements.

One other thought- have you ever tried one of those pill swallowing cups?

Are you using Floravitol to correct an iron deficency?

I'm comparing the amount of elemental iron, regardless of the formulation. The Floravitol has 10mg of elemental iron per serving, while DS needs 70 mg of elemental iron a day. It would be hard to give him that much Floravitol.

I might try one of those pill swallowing cups. DS has a lot of oral motor issues, do I'm not sure how well it will work, but we can try. Thanks for the suggestion.

EMLA helps for things like stitches, but it doesn't help for blood draws. It's not an issue of pain. He objects to the whole procedure.

[Gena]

Do you have any articles about the absorption of Floravitol vs other forms of iron? Are you suggesting that DS might not really need 70mg of elemental iron if it's given in a different form?

Trying to research the different forms of iron supplements is so confusing. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept of "low iron stores, but not anemia".

[mytwosons]

I don't have a link, but the regular dosage of florvital (floradix, the GF option) got my levels back up after I couldn't take the higher dose prescribed. It was so much gentler on my system.

[JTsMom]

Gena, I'm trying to remember exactly what I read where, but it's kind of a blur. I remember searching here and seeing a bunch of threads mentioning Floradix, so I could have read something in one of those, or maybe it was something I saw in an Amazon review, or on their site, or maybe a combo of a couple of those.

This was the thread I started, but there's not a ton of info in it:
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/sho...highlight=iron

I think that the idea was that if you absorb more of the iron, vs most of it running right through you, you wouldn't need as high of a dose, but I don't have any hard research to back that up with. I know it didn't make much sense to me at the time either b/c I did the math, and the amount I was going to have to give him to equal the 65 mg of additional iron 3x/week that the ped had rec'd was crazy. But yes, it is to correct a deficiency. IIRC, both his stores, and actual levels were low.

[JTsMom]

"Floravital and Floradix Herbal Iron Extracts have the highest rate of iron absorption at 25%, compared to the average absorption rate of iron tablets at 2-10%."

This is from their site, but I don't see a citation or anything to back it up.
http://www.floravital.com/

[JTsMom]

Just combing through a couple of old threads (search Floradix) seeing what I could find. Here's one with a few different users who might be good to check with:
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/sho...light=floradix

I think I probably just kept seeing that it worked for a lot of people with pregnancy-related anemia, so I went for it.

brittone2 mentioned using it in one of those threads, and she always knows her stuff, so she might be able to point you in the right direction.

[Gena]

Lori-

Thanks for all the info. DS has been doing a lot better taking the prescription iron in his OJ these past couple of days, so we're going to stick with that for now. I'm going keep all the info on the Floravital though, in case we run into problems down the line.

Has iron supplementation had any effect on your son's symptoms?

[Tondi G]

Lori-

Thanks for all the info. DS has been doing a lot better taking the prescription iron in his OJ these past couple of days, so we're going to stick with that for now. I'm going keep all the info on the Floravital though, in case we run into problems down the line.

Has iron supplementation had any effect on your son's symptoms?

Just make sure he doesn't get constipated! Iron supplements can be awful in that dept.

[JTsMom]

Lori-

Thanks for all the info. DS has been doing a lot better taking the prescription iron in his OJ these past couple of days, so we're going to stick with that for now. I'm going keep all the info on the Floravital though, in case we run into problems down the line.

Has iron supplementation had any effect on your son's symptoms?

That's great Gena! I can imagine that having low iron levels has to make you feel terrible. Unfortunately, I haven't notice any real improvement with Jason behavior-wise. He looks better to me- he was starting to look a little pale and sickly to me, and that has gone away.

We started a few new supplements as well- a new probiotic, and 5-HTP. I swear, every time we start something new, things seem to get worse instead of better. I'm supposed to gradually increase the 5-HTP and see if that helps, but I'm not holding my breath. The newest thing seems to be an increase in anxiety. I'm hoping it's temporary, but if not, I'm probably going to start medicating for that. He's also getting really emotional about everything, almost in an OCD-like way.