Question for those taking iron supplements...

[Joker]

How strict are you with eating before and after taking it? The information that came with the prescription, and all I find online, says 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal. Dd, 14, has to take two a day and I'm not sure how she's going to manage the morning dose around school. She wakes at 6:15am and leaves for school at 7:15am. Even if she takes it as soon as she wakes up, she would need to eat breakfast about 30-45 minutes later to leave on time. Should that be okay?

 

I can't find anything that says how far apart they should be taken either. The bottle just says twice daily and I'm assuming it needs to be morning and night.

[Jenn121]

I take ferrous gluconate daily. I take 3 pills and I take them all at night. I would not do that with ferrous sulfate, which is the most common iron supplement, due to constipation issues. I do not have digestion problems and I do not believe I have an exceptionally strong stomach or anything like that. I take the ferrous gluconate becasue I do not absorb ferrous sulfate. At the beginning of my last pregnancy I was taking ferrous sulfate and my iron was at 8.

 

 

[Joker]

I take ferrous gluconate daily. I take 3 pills and I take them all at night. I would not do that with ferrous sulfate, which is the most common iron supplement, due to constipation issues. I do not have digestion problems and I do not believe I have an exceptionally strong stomach or anything like that. I take the ferrous gluconate becasue I do not absorb ferrous sulfate. At the beginning of my last pregnancy I was taking ferrous sulfate and my iron was at 8.

 

She's been prescribed the ferrous gluconate so maybe she could just do both in the evening. I'll look into that and call the dr. Monday.

[sbgrace]

If you do ferrous bis-glycinate you can eat grains and meats around it without impacting absorption. That's why it's used for fortifying foods. It's also non-constipating. She would still need to avoid dairy, soy, nuts, bright red fruits/veggies, and egg. I had mine when I woke (with vitamin C), then had breakfast with oatmeal, chicken sausage, and orange juice. Other days I take mine before bed, and it is easier to avoid food that way. Iron isn't absorbed as well in large doses, but I do combine mine anyway.

[shukriyya]

I have two I take though not at the same time. One is ferrous gluconate in liquid form and that needs to be taken 30 mins before a meal. The other is food based S. cerevisiae and can be taken any time.

[melmichigan]

If you do ferrous bis-glycinate you can eat grains and meats around it without impacting absorption. That's why it's used for fortifying foods. It's also non-constipating. She would still need to avoid dairy, soy, nuts, bright red fruits/veggies, and egg. I had mine when I woke (with vitamin C), then had breakfast with oatmeal, chicken sausage, and orange juice. Other days I take mine before bed, and it is easier to avoid food that way. Iron isn't absorbed as well in large doses, but I do combine mine anyway.

New York Medical College released a lengthy paper referencing multiple studies of Ferrochel.  One conclusion was that with bis-glycinate iron absorption appears to be regulated by serum ferritin. So you may be getting more than you think. ;)

 

I used to take ferrous gluconate and switched to bis-glycinate.  

[JFSinIL]

H'mmmm, I was told to take a slow-release iron supplement for a month, post-surgery, and the only slow release available was the sulfate version. Should I take a different iron? Does it matter?