topic Re: Adding iron..... in Wellness

Adding iron.....

Mom2Dogs — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 14:28:40 GMT

My niece has been told by her doctor she should take a good multivitamin with iron, she is anemic. They are trying this route before he puts her on meds. She asked me for advice...the one thing I did tell her is to cook with cast iron but I was no help in the vitamin with iron, any suggestions? thanks.

Re: Adding iron.....

wagirl — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 14:36:24 GMT

Foods high in iron include fortified cereals, beef, shellfish, dried fruit, beans, lentils, dark leafy greens, dark chocolate, quinoa, mushrooms, and squash seeds. Just to name a few. I put dark leafy greens in my a.m. smoothies like, spinch, kale, collards, beet greens---and add a coupe fruits, you can't taste the greens at all. but of course a supplement is easier. find a good brand like Andrew Lessman. Our friend google will help and then those that post here will also give you some ideas.

Re: Adding iron.....

candys mine — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 14:38:51 GMT

Dark green leafy veg. Like Spinach. young Beet Greens are tastey. try to eat some Vit C with Iron foods. A salad with dark green leafys and some orange slices or melon slices, some legumes. and whatever all else she wants to add in for veggies.

There are LOTS of sources of iron as well as meat. Explore!

Re: Adding iron.....

Still Raining — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 14:41:36 GMT

If she starts a food diary it will also be useful for the treatment plan. Does she know how much she has been eating?

Re: Adding iron.....

Mom2Dogs — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 14:46:07 GMT

@Still Raining

@candys mine

@wagirl

Thanks for the replies, she has crohns and so has to be careful with her diet...right now she has no active disease but the anemia is an issue.

I will tell her about the food diary if she has a flare she will know what to eliminate.

Re: Adding iron.....

wagirl — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 14:48:40 GMT

@Mom2Dogs ---oh then she will need to be extra careful--my mom had horrible crohns disease that she suffered with for years. Not sure she was as careful as she should have been. but that was 30 some years. Hopefully there are better ways to help.

Re: Adding iron.....

spiderw — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 15:02:10 GMT

Recently my sister was diagnosed with anemia, not mild but serious. Her primary doctor referred hrer to a gastro doctor. He put her on iron pills and they definitely helped her , she is no longer anemic. Of course there are foods which are mentioned in this post which are good iron sources also.

Re: Adding iron.....

noodleann — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 15:16:14 GMT

Vitron-C works for me. No stomach issues.

Re: Adding iron.....

ALRATIBA — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 15:24:19 GMT

I'm surprised her doctor didn't recommend an OTC vitamin.

Re: Adding iron.....

Love my grandkids — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 15:29:47 GMT

@Mom2Dogs 2 years ago I was anemic as a result of chemo. My oncologist put me on a regimen of ferrous sulfate (OTC iron, not prescription) AND Vitamin C. The C is needed as it helps the iron work better.

She can also go online for a list of foods that will help her.

Re: Adding iron.....

hckynut — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 15:33:50 GMT

@Mom2Dogs

Did her doctor tell her what was the cause of her Anemia, and what are her Hemoglobin numbers?

hckynut 🏒

Re: Adding iron.....

femmebot — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 15:36:19 GMT

Iron supplements can be constipating. I use the Bloodbuilder supplement from Amazon. My iron deficiency came from too many Red Cross blood donations in a row, when I barely met the minimum threshold for the iron requirement.

Re: Adding iron.....

Mom2Dogs — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 15:44:21 GMT

@hckynut I don't know, but I will ask her!

Re: Adding iron.....

Kachina624 — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 15:54:36 GMT

I have an on-going anemia problema and also control it with an OTC iron supplement. I'm good as long as I keep taking my iron pill daily. I'm not sure a vitamin pill would supply enough to alleviate the problem.

Re: Adding iron.....

Mom2Dogs — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 16:08:08 GMT

@Kachina624 I don't take a lot of stock in vitamins, but that's me....she asked about multi vitamins and Iron...I think she was wondering if there was one capsule she could take....I have not had a conversation with her, she just messaged me...we need to actually 'talk' so I can get the whole picture.

Re: Adding iron.....

RedTop — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 16:09:04 GMT

I experienced low iron levels after both knee replacements.

I love liver, as well as many other iron enriched foods, so with OTC iron supplements 2x a week, my levels were back in normal range in a few weeks.

I totally agree that iron supplements are very binding, so I would caution your niece to gradually add, but not overload her system with iron. Too much iron is not good either.

Re: Adding iron.....

jackthebear — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 16:14:17 GMT

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
My niece has been told by her doctor she should take a good multivitamin with iron, she is anemic. They are trying this route before he puts her on meds. She asked me for advice...the one thing I did tell her is to cook with cast iron but I was no help in the vitamin with iron, any suggestions? thanks.

why isn't she asking her Doc for this info and failing that pushing for other advice, not from laypeople however well-meaning.

Re: Adding iron.....

Sooner — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 16:25:15 GMT

@ALRATIBA wrote:
I'm surprised her doctor didn't recommend an OTC vitamin.

@momtodogs

@ALRATIBA Maybe she should call the office and ask for a visit with a registered dietician. We did that a long time ago and it was so helpful. She really changed our thinking about food! Doc should be able to get it paid for by insurance.

It was a very good thing for us.

Re: Adding iron.....

GCR18 — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 16:41:41 GMT

I'd call the Dr. on Monday and ask for a recommendation. I wouldn't fool around with anemia. I had it when I was getting chemo and it made me so dizzy. I assume the Dr is recommending a pill because it would take too long to fix by just eating. But that doesn't mean she shouldn't add foods high in iron to her diet.

Re: Adding iron.....

Mom2Dogs — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 17:09:22 GMT

@jackthebear I think she got her info from her electronic chart, she has an appointment first part of September.