So, after three weeks of dizziness, feeling tired all the time, and having to make an active effort to decypher what is written down everywhere (computer screen, books...) WHILE SOBBER, I finally went to the doctor. I must have looked like one of twilights character, 'cause his first answer was to prescribe iron and magnesium. Well, it's not easy for me to tell you this, but I spent like 3 weeks bleeding (which is not normal, but there was a cause, you know, it was just a pill's side effect, so don't waste your time telling me "go to the x", 'cause I'm not going until my next check, last one went fine, thank you) I knew that to lose blood is not good rolle, and I was expecting to feel crap, but not this crap, you know... And after giving my body two weeks to recover, the damned body is still not quick enough to heal itself... It's annoying... Everytime I make a blood check, I'm 100% ok. My wounds heal in a second. I just can't understand why this time the body failed to react normally... Can't be that bad, I mean, it's not as if I got shot or something... Ok, long story short, the croaker gave me this rx, sent me to spend 3 or 4 days at home, and after measuring my blood pressure he had a funny reaction... He looked surprised, but rushed to tell me "oh, all great, all great, don't worry" (... Well, hopefully... :rolle: ) I asked him specifically about the numbers, he said something like 100-17 ... Don't know, it sounds too high to me... The rx is too expensive for me right now, so I've got this cheap set of tablets that gives you 100% of your daily iron needs (14mg), and taking two everyday. Same as with the magnesium. I tried to find out the amount of iron that you got from the damned tablets, but it seems it's not exactly iron, but something called Iron (II) glycine sulphate. I'm going to ask at the pharmacy about the correspondency with "normal iron" (the kind of iron derivate I'm taking from the tablets), so I won't get iron poisoning, but feel free to tell me if you know... I've been eating only lentils, and tonight I had to eat a dish full of pork's liver. I was about to throw up, I just can't stand the :***: stuff : The smell, how it tastes... I'm not vegan, but I think this was the first time I ate the disgusting thing in like 15 years or so... And I'm going to have more tomorrow, and the next day... And for the weekend it's going to be chicken's hearts and other disgusting stuff that I won't mention here... Have you suffered the same? How do you get back your iron without making every meal a torture? And how long does it takes? Can I make it quicker, or am I risking iron poisoning?
I'd recommend you to check on the internet food with high iron levels so you can eat something you'd like. On the other hand those meat things have more than just iron that help your blood, like huge amount of proteins so maybe that's why your doctor told u to eat those.
The first thing I did, but you can't trust all the sources, and specially for such a thing, you know, so I also went to the library : That is the reason why I'm eating the disgusting animal crap. Didn't had the luxury of time during my visit, he only gave the rx and that was all. I don't think that the kind of meat I'm eating has many benefits, and like I said, my blood checks were perfect with my normal diet, even better than the most because I take good care of what I eat, so there is nothing wrong besides this lack of iron, which has been caused for the reason I explained. Meat is not that good for you by the way... But thanks for your comment.
After childbirth my midwife told me to drink Kräuterblutsaft (I'm not even going to try to translate that). Like a good German remedy it tastes bad, as I recall, so you know it works. You just have to be careful not to take too much iron, because it can give you constipation (again, wisdom from my midwife).
Indeed... I looked it up and has Eisengluconat, the stuff on the tablets I'm taking, plus other nice stuff high on iron, so I'll definitely give it a try. Thank you so much, I owe you a beer.
Some cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals, so check them out. I'm not sure if you take a multivitamin or not, but make sure you do not take it with the iron at the same time. Calcium and iron supplements negate each other.
I had iron issues in high school, especially if I didn't eat breakfast or it was the start day of my time of the month. I haven't had a lot of problems since then, I just have to be sure I eat regularly.
You might think about a good cast iron pan... Does cooking with cast iron pots and pans add iron to our food? | Go Ask Alice! You might have a look at this: http://emptyclosets.com/forum/gender-identity-expression/149742-really-bad-dysphoria.html#5 In addition I would get some organic multivitamins... And I would not recommend eating nonvegetarian abruptly after being long time vegetarian... I had an allergic like reaction when offered a soup where some meat was boiled in... was sick for a few days... (*hug*)(*hug*)
I have low Iron as well, do you take your Iron tablets on an empty stomach, or a few hours after meals. That is what my pharmacist told me to do. Another thing my doctor told me to do is drink orange juice when I take my Iron tablet.
Yes, and the funniest is that this is happening after I gave up milk. My only source of calcium is cheese, and I'm not abusing it. I'm feeling pretty sick right now. I forgot to add that I also experience episodies of blurry vision. Right now I'm wearing glasses. I also went to the ophthalmologist, she said I didn't had nothing serious, but she wanted to make more tests. This wednesday I have another appointment. Hopefully someone will come with me, because after the test I won't be able to drive or see clearly for a few hours. I'm going to try your suggestions, I think it'll be allright eventually, thanks (*hug*)
I have ongoing issues with low iron. I dunno if I'm allowed to say what I get, but I take 200mg twice a day for it. but mine is fairly low, to the point that my red cells are smaller than they're meant to be.
I would recommend having some vitamin C with your iron. It increases your ability to absorb it. This is especially important if you're getting your iron from plant sources. Iron comes in two forms heme and nonheme. Nonheme Iron is the form of iron in plants and fortified foods. It doesn't absorb as well as heme iron from animals. To counteract this, taking vitamin C is recommended.
Red meat is always good for low iron but damnit man if you don't like it, don't eat it repeatedly! Lol. And also beans and dark green veggies are good. And for better absorption try some vitamin C
I have a genetic disorder that causes me to over absorb iron called hemochromatosis, so I've already done my research and I can give you a few tips! Don't drink milk or black tea with your meals. They help to block the absorption. Take vitamin C suppliments like others have said (you can't OD on vit. C) and drink orange juice or something comparable with your meals to increase what you do absorb. Red meat, especially rare, is high in iron but try and substitute what you can with dark green leafy veggies. Essentially, do the opposite of this document: http://www.irondisorders.org/Websites/idi/files/Content/854256/DietRecommendations.pdf I know how you feel, as iron overload has similar symptoms to anemia. Really hope this helps!
