Iron Supplements

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Lucyr

Lucyr

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Has anyone taken iron supplements and any experiences on whether they affected your blood sugars and how long till you felt any difference generally if they helped?

I have some blood tests every 3-4 months to keep an eye on my high white blood cell count (full blood count, a smear that looks at the type/appearance of cells and describes them, and an iron test (iron not the usual ferritin).

In September my iron was 15, and in November it was 7, with a normal range of 11-25. I wasn’t anaemic though.

I’ve been taking a multivitamin with iron and vitamin c in every morning for months, but appears it’s not enough. I’ve also been having it right with breakfast/coffee and it seems caffeine and milk both make you absorb less iron.

I’m going to start taking an iron supplement in January, 210mg ferrous fumarate twice a day. Any experiences with this?

Looking online it needs to be taken on an empty stomach with vitamin c and without caffeine or dairy for a while either side. So guess that’s morning coffee out. I’ll also try and eat more in my diet.
 
Lucyr said:
Has anyone taken iron supplements and any experiences on whether they affected your blood sugars and how long till you felt any difference generally if they helped?

I have some blood tests every 3-4 months to keep an eye on my high white blood cell count (full blood count, a smear that looks at the type/appearance of cells and describes them, and an iron test (iron not the usual ferritin).

In September my iron was 15, and in November it was 7, with a normal range of 11-25. I wasn’t anaemic though.

I’ve been taking a multivitamin with iron and vitamin c in every morning for months, but appears it’s not enough. I’ve also been having it right with breakfast/coffee and it seems caffeine and milk both make you absorb less iron.

I’m going to start taking an iron supplement in January, 210mg ferrous fumarate twice a day. Any experiences with this?

Looking online it needs to be taken on an empty stomach with vitamin c and without caffeine or dairy for a while either side. So guess that’s morning coffee out. I’ll also try and eat more in my diet.
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My OH had them for a while and they did make his stools very dark (TMI) which apparently is normal.
 
TBH any time I’ve been on them I take them with fruit juice and then have coffee after breakfast. It’s not ideal but at least I take them. And yes be prepared for black stools. They may also give you an upset stomach. Spatone is gentler and I usually use that in a double dose if my numbers are marginal rather than tablets. The important thing is to know what your numbers are low though. Mine was low because of excess bleeding with my periods which needed sorting out. Iron tablets are grim. Expect to take them for about 6 weeks. I can’t speak about blood sugars though.
 
Thebearcametoo said:
TBH any time I’ve been on them I take them with fruit juice and then have coffee after breakfast. It’s not ideal but at least I take them. And yes be prepared for black stools. They may also give you an upset stomach. Spatone is gentler and I usually use that in a double dose if my numbers are marginal rather than tablets. The important thing is to know what your numbers are low though. Mine was low because of excess bleeding with my periods which needed sorting out. Iron tablets are grim. Expect to take them for about 6 weeks. I can’t speak about blood sugars though.
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The spatone looks like it contains way less iron so I’ll go with the prescribed one.

I’ve no idea why my iron levels are low now when they were fine last time. We discussed the possible causes but none seemed to apply so they said take the iron pills for 3 months then recheck levels
 
Lucyr said:
The spatone looks like it contains way less iron so I’ll go with the prescribed one.

I’ve no idea why my iron levels are low now when they were fine last time. We discussed the possible causes but none seemed to apply so they said take the iron pills for 3 months then recheck levels
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Yes it’s a lot less but more bio available (allegedly) but it sounds like your levels need the tablets anyway. I hope the problem goes away.
 
Yes, iron and calcium compete for the same receptors for absorption, so it may also be a good idea to think about your meals in general for a bit and e.g. not add cheese to iron rich meals. I can't remember if you're vegetarian, in which case that may be more important as vegetable iron is less bioavailable than animal iron (and generally you have to eat more of most vegetarian iron-rich foods to get the same amount of iron than in meat.)

I do find it interesting that eating kosher means avoiding having milk and meat in the same meal, as along with the stated purpose of not risking eating baby with its own mum's milk it also aids with absorption of both iron and calcium.
 
42istheanswer said:
Yes, iron and calcium compete for the same receptors for absorption, so it may also be a good idea to think about your meals in general for a bit and e.g. not add cheese to iron rich meals. I can't remember if you're vegetarian, in which case that may be more important as vegetable iron is less bioavailable than animal iron (and generally you have to eat more of most vegetarian iron-rich foods to get the same amount of iron than in meat.)

I do find it interesting that eating kosher means avoiding having milk and meat in the same meal, as along with the stated purpose of not risking eating baby with its own mum's milk it also aids with absorption of both iron and calcium.
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I’m not vegetarian at the moment, have been previously so i still do prefer the vegetarian version of some foods eg sausages. I don’t really use milk/cream in meals other than sometimes some cheese on top of a meal or milk in porridge so it’s probably just the cheese on mince based meals to watch
 
I have been on iron capsules and now liquid iron to try to absorb better for 20 years ish. I have not observed anything to suggest it impacts blood sugars. It can be harsh on digestion and I have been on ferrous fumerate for years as this is the best for digestion.
I have low ferritin (stored iron) and inspite of high doses of iron for years the ferritin reading is still low. No doctor who has looked at it with me has been able to explain it and I have never read any reason why ferritin would be low when taking iron supplements etc
 
curlygirl said:
I have been on iron capsules and now liquid iron to try to absorb better for 20 years ish. I have not observed anything to suggest it impacts blood sugars. It can be harsh on digestion and I have been on ferrous fumerate for years as this is the best for digestion.
I have low ferritin (stored iron) and inspite of high doses of iron for years the ferritin reading is still low. No doctor who has looked at it with me has been able to explain it and I have never read any reason why ferritin would be low when taking iron supplements etc
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The doctor said to me there are only three reasons for iron deficiency: you’re either not taking in enough iron (diet / supplements), youre not absorbing the iron (E.g. coeliac can stop you absorbing it) or you’re losing the iron (periods, stomach problems causing bleeding etc).

I’ve been taking an over the counter feroglobin for this week until I get the ferrous fumerate tablets, and not noticed a blood sugar impact but have felt less hungry / more full than usual.
 
I have been told those things too and heavy bleeding each month definately is a factor now. I was told to take vitamin c at same time as iron supplement to help absorbtion. The iron supplements have made it so that the iron levels are in normal most times, but the ferritin does not increase. It just appears my body does not store iron much so even putting high doses in, it does not get to normal levels...
 
As I mentioned I started taking feroglobin from the supermarket as i won’t get the prescription iron until next week. It says it contains 17mg iron (as fumarate) so I’ve been taking 2 a day. If it’s comparable to the prescription one then it’s a lot less than the 210mg twice a day I’ll have of that.

The effect on my appetite though is amazing and so useful. It’s been much easier to restart the dieting with appetite and cravings being so much reduced. It does contain other things so not yet sure if it’s the iron or other ingredients doing that. Still no negative side effects so far at all. I’ve been having an effervescent vitamin c tablet each day with it.
 
The only time I had iron tablets was when I was pregnant many years ago, the side effect was constipation and dark stools when I did go.
 
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