Recently had a blood test and showed low Iron, Dr put me on Iron Tablets, and also suggested some diet advice, will have a blood test again later, and if no improvement have an Iron infusion (anybody had this?). Have had a Colonoscopy and also Pill Cam all ok there.
Iron Deficiency?
- Thread starter kburra
- Start date
Bellbird
-Oceania-South Pacific
- Location
- New Zealand
A lot of sea food has iron
Seafood for High Iron
Mollusks contain higher levels of iron than other types of seafood. A 3-ounce serving of the following satisfies 75 to 150 percent of a man’s daily requirement for iron and at least a third of a woman's needs:- clams
- oysters
- octopus
- mussels
- cuttlefish (a relative of squid)
Seren
Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult
- Location
- Lancashire, UK
@kburra sorry to hear you're having problems with low iron.
I have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroid) which causes iron deficiency anaemia because my body can't absorb iron from food. Iron tablets never worked for me - couldn't absorb the iron from those either! So for several years now I've been having infusions every 12 weeks at a small local clinic. They insert the needle into my vein, hang the bag, and monitor me closely for the first 10 minutes as apparently if you're going to have a reaction to whatever they're giving you, that's when it's likely to happen. I've never had any kind of reaction and they usually leave me to it with a cup of tea, biscuits and a magazine whilst they see to other patients or just do paperwork. The infusion used to take a good 4 hours but the one I had in April was a new product (can't remember the name just now but will check) and it took only 30 minutes!
I know how very tired I get when I'm due for my infusion, and the difference it makes when I've had it, so am grateful for them. When I had the very first one though, some years back, my levels were so low it didn't make any difference at all and I had to have 4 over the year before I even felt human again, but once I settled into a regular routine it has made a difference for me.
Hopefully the pills will work for you but if you do need an infusion it's very straightforward and nothing to worry about. I hope you feel better soon.
I have an underactive thyroid (hypothyroid) which causes iron deficiency anaemia because my body can't absorb iron from food. Iron tablets never worked for me - couldn't absorb the iron from those either! So for several years now I've been having infusions every 12 weeks at a small local clinic. They insert the needle into my vein, hang the bag, and monitor me closely for the first 10 minutes as apparently if you're going to have a reaction to whatever they're giving you, that's when it's likely to happen. I've never had any kind of reaction and they usually leave me to it with a cup of tea, biscuits and a magazine whilst they see to other patients or just do paperwork. The infusion used to take a good 4 hours but the one I had in April was a new product (can't remember the name just now but will check) and it took only 30 minutes!
I know how very tired I get when I'm due for my infusion, and the difference it makes when I've had it, so am grateful for them. When I had the very first one though, some years back, my levels were so low it didn't make any difference at all and I had to have 4 over the year before I even felt human again, but once I settled into a regular routine it has made a difference for me.
Hopefully the pills will work for you but if you do need an infusion it's very straightforward and nothing to worry about. I hope you feel better soon.
Thanks so much for all that information really helpful for me, and appreciate your kind words, thanks again and much appreciated.
Remy
Well-known Member
- Location
- California, USA
Cast iron skillet?
I'm sorry about that. Did the doctor state why they thought you were so low. I pay no attention to my iron intake but have never heard it was low when I had blood work done. Guess it's OK then.
I'm sorry about that. Did the doctor state why they thought you were so low. I pay no attention to my iron intake but have never heard it was low when I had blood work done. Guess it's OK then.
Alligatorob
SF VIP
I had low iron a couple of years ago. I have always been a regular blood donor and one day I was rejected by red cross due to low iron. Tried a bunch of stuff diet, iron pills, etc nothing seemed to work, but then it just went away. I had lost a lot of weight, intentionally dieting, the doctor in the end said that might have been the reason... Red Cross is happy to take my blood again.
Hopefully yours will go the same, and do eat high iron foods, I think that is better for you than the supplements. As @Bellbird says seafood can be a good source.
Oris Borloff
Member
I've had that before and to an extent on and off until now. In my case it isn't just isolated low iron, but other associated things like corpuscular size and hemoglobin, which can be an indicator of anemia. Has your doctor said anything else about your associated lab work?
@kburra,
I'm sure you were told to take vitamin c with your supplement, as food or supplement and what foods to avoid when taking it for best absorption. Coffee comes to mind, I think it was not to take it within an hour of having coffee.
I was put on a course of 65 mg Fe with Vitamin C , for 30 or 60 days. Sorry, don't remember off hand. My doctor was concerned it was because of my vegan diet. Also with the other markers he thought I should be consulted by a hematologist/ oncologist. I knew that nothing was wrong with me, but because of a family history of blood disease I didn't mind having it checked out. Nothing wrong with me. I'm just naturally on the low end of things. Most of the troublesome markers were still low, but the Fe was up. I do get enough iron in my regular food and being cardiac patient supplementing with iron has some risks.
One thing I can tell you is that I keep all my lab work and associated records and I was able to show even prior to my diet change my blood work wasn't very different. This is one thing that has been exceptionally useful with the medical people I've come into contact. I can show them facts and numbers. In my wife's case it played a significant role in her treatment for type 2. We are lucky we have Doctors that when presented with facts are willing to adjust based on those facts. Not all doctors are quacks, but often they will follow the standard treatment plans because that's what they see has the best outcomes.
Best of luck.
@kburra,
I'm sure you were told to take vitamin c with your supplement, as food or supplement and what foods to avoid when taking it for best absorption. Coffee comes to mind, I think it was not to take it within an hour of having coffee.
I was put on a course of 65 mg Fe with Vitamin C , for 30 or 60 days. Sorry, don't remember off hand. My doctor was concerned it was because of my vegan diet. Also with the other markers he thought I should be consulted by a hematologist/ oncologist. I knew that nothing was wrong with me, but because of a family history of blood disease I didn't mind having it checked out. Nothing wrong with me. I'm just naturally on the low end of things. Most of the troublesome markers were still low, but the Fe was up. I do get enough iron in my regular food and being cardiac patient supplementing with iron has some risks.
One thing I can tell you is that I keep all my lab work and associated records and I was able to show even prior to my diet change my blood work wasn't very different. This is one thing that has been exceptionally useful with the medical people I've come into contact. I can show them facts and numbers. In my wife's case it played a significant role in her treatment for type 2. We are lucky we have Doctors that when presented with facts are willing to adjust based on those facts. Not all doctors are quacks, but often they will follow the standard treatment plans because that's what they see has the best outcomes.
Best of luck.
JustDave
Well-known Member
I've come up short of iron on blood tests a couple of times, usually it involved just a small change in diet, like eating cereal for breakfast, which is fortified with iron. That seemed to do it, but as we get older we seem to get more prone to iron deficiency, and iron pills can get it back up in a hurry. Also, one thing that surprised me was that strawberries are loaded with iron. Not many calories, either.