Low iron

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AlicePalace

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Hi I am wondering if anyone else has had low iron and had to take iron tablets. I have been on mine for a couple of weeks but I don't feel any better yet I was wondering how long it takes for them to work?
 
Yeah I have low iron, tablets didn’t work for me though. Are you taking them with vitamin c?
 
No the doctor didn't say about that just prescribed the iron tablets.
 
AlicePalace said:
No the doctor didn't say about that just prescribed the iron tablets.
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You must take them with vitamin c to help you absorb them. Have you read the leaflet in the box? It should explain.
 
AlicePalace said:
Hi I am wondering if anyone else has had low iron and had to take iron tablets. I have been on mine for a couple of weeks but I don't feel any better yet I was wondering how long it takes for them to work?
Click to expand...
I don't take them but I'm a midwife and low iron is common in pregnancy so I'm used to telling people about them!
Iron tablets are a fairly slow way to increase iron. I usually repeat the blood test 3 weeks after the women I work with start taking them to see if they're working.
They're best taken in the morning with your meal and, yes, with a source of vitamin C as this helps you to absorb the iron better and also helps to avoid constipation, which can be a side effect of iron tablets.
 
It can take a while to bring your iron levels up with the tablets which is why they’re usually prescribed for around 6 weeks. They’re also grim so sympathies. And yes take them with orange juice or some other source of vitamin c and avoiding tea (I think it’s just tea not coffee from memory) for an hour or so when taking.


It depends on how low your iron (and ferritin) levels are. I’ve had to have both iron infusions and blood transfusions in the past but they’re obviously expensive so only get offered if you’re very low. I had to fight for an iron infusion one time so it can depend a bit on which GP you see as to what they think the appropriateness of an infusion is but the hospital doctor should assess your results in consultation with your GP and advise too so if you’re still feeling really rough it may be worth going back to the GP. I can see my blood test results on the NHS or patient access apps and there’s info online about how low is dangerous etc which may help to inform how hard you push. Even with an iron infusion it takes weeks to feel better though as you need to process it for the body to use it. A blood transfusion makes an immediate difference but if you were low enough to need that they would have been panicking about your levels already.

It’s also important to know why you’re low so you can make sure you’re not having health issues like a bleeding gut. Mine was caused by heavy periods but they also did endoscopies etc to check rule out other issues when it happened multiple times.
 
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