Iron deficiency anemia and supplements not helping

[partgypsy]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G7QLSG/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Have them throw everything at it, before you give up the fact that it may be iron deficiency anemia.
My husband had it due to bleeding, and needed a) blood transfusion (2), and b) feosol carbonyol iron, say 2-3 pills a day, not taken with meals if you can handle it. We also cook with iron skillets. He will have to be on the iron pills for the rest of his life, unless he gets surgery to correct the bleeding (tmi). Another pill supplement that is great is called "blood builder".

It takes a long time for the counts to go up. Anyways hope that it is iron deficiency anemia, the alternatives are usually a lot worse!
I also had iron deficiency anemia (to the extent they told me I had a 10% chance there was something else wrong with me aka blood cancer) but again, I had to take mega doses for basically a year to get them up, though they did respond as soon I started taking iron.

Oops I see the great news! I'm glad you are finally responding. But just to let you know you may need to keep an eye on it from now on.
Though I am done with children I am on oral contraceptives, because my periods are very heavy otherwise and decided not to be on this merry go round if I didn't have to.

 

[partgypsy]

Sounds like you are having a nightmare

I am always having my iron monitored due to a blood clotting disorder - Von Willibrands Disease. I have a lack of Factor 8 which means i am a bleeder. I don't clot very well so any cut will bleed excessively & periods are a nightmare that i take medication to stop after 4 days. Whilst everyone here is different & some people take strong medications etc, what I would like to offer is simple changes to diet, which have really helped balance me out when I get very low & need ferritin injections. My specialist taught me these little things many moons ago.

No caffeine 45 minutes before a meal or an hour after, as it prevents iron absorption.
Eat a medium/rare steak twice a week. As bloody as you can stand.
Drink fresh, not from concentrate orange juice as you eat. The vitamin C promotes the absorption of iron.
Absolutely loads of green leafy vegetable such a kale, spinach, broccoli.
Snack on a mixture of nuts & seeds.

Unless I am very low, the Dr always let's me have 2 weeks of diet 'adjustments' before testing again, and usually it has significantly helped & result in less medication.

Good luck!

I ditto Alex as well, all those things really help.

 

[ksinger]

Sounds like you are having a nightmare

I am always having my iron monitored due to a blood clotting disorder - Von Willibrands Disease. I have a lack of Factor 8 which means i am a bleeder. I don't clot very well so any cut will bleed excessively & periods are a nightmare that i take medication to stop after 4 days. Whilst everyone here is different & some people take strong medications etc, what I would like to offer is simple changes to diet, which have really helped balance me out when I get very low & need ferritin injections. My specialist taught me these little things many moons ago.

No caffeine 45 minutes before a meal or an hour after, as it prevents iron absorption.
Eat a medium/rare steak twice a week. As bloody as you can stand.
Drink fresh, not from concentrate orange juice as you eat. The vitamin C promotes the absorption of iron.
Absolutely loads of green leafy vegetable such a kale, spinach, broccoli.
Snack on a mixture of nuts & seeds.

Unless I am very low, the Dr always let's me have 2 weeks of diet 'adjustments' before testing again, and usually it has significantly helped & result in less medication.

Good luck!

I ditto Alex as well, all those things really help.

To which I would add...there is some evidence that proton pump inhibitors, because they reduce stomach acidity, can also be a factor in reducing absorption, especially of the plant sources of iron, which are very sensitive to that acid level. Heme iron, not so much.

I am anemic too, although nowhere near the numbers of some here. I float around between 9.7 and 10, probably because I'm not entirely great at supplementing as often as I should. That said, since I AM on the antacids, I'm not a huge fan of beef, and plant sources like leafy greens are notoriously difficult to absorb from on a person's best day (although I do eat them often because I love them), I take Proferrin since it is a heme source and has WAY fewer side effects than the ferrous -ates, which I really cannot tolerate.