the iron will usually cause darker bowel movements if your body already has enough in storage. i don't know that it would be the only thing causing the constipation though - the growing level of progesterone will do the same....
Constipation is pretty normal in early pg as your digestive system slows down to allow extra nutrients to be absorbed. It sounds like you don't need the iron though, and too much iron wouldn't help. I recommend a bt before taking anymore iron. I have high iron and taking supplements for me is pretty dangerous.
Hi Missya
BG is correct. The iron in Elvit and your hormone both can cause constipation. Try increasing your fibre and fluid intake. If things do not ease then you can also try some coloxyl and senna tablets.
yep iron does it! I was the same first pg and found lots of fluid intake, muesli for bfast and positioning when you sit on the toilet. Put your feet up on a stool, back straight and angle a bit forward from the wait apparently it straightens out the curves... esp when you get bigger.
It will be the iron causing the dark greeny black number 2. A previous poster suggested that this only happens if you have sufficient iron storage when taking iron tablets, but that is not the case. I have an ferritin level of 11 right now which is quite low (shouldn't be lower than 22) and as soon as I went back on iron (also had to take it when I was pregnant) I got the odd colored number 2's again.
I was constipated for a little while there. I have fruit salad every day now (and sometimes I throw in a prune).
I have never taken Elevit (only Blackmores or Cenovis pregnancy vitamins with the last two pregnancies). I don't know if elevit has more iron in it? But I remember the orange bottle of iron tablets I had to take with my first 2 pregnancies made the stools dark green and hard
My body doesn't absorb iron at all so I've been on supplements since 5 years old. I have a reeaaalllyyy slow metabolism (as does my mother) to the point where my husband checks to see whether I am still alive at night as I breathe so slowly LOL. Becuase of this I have very slow digestion also and "regular" for me is once a fortnight!
I take Ferrograd C which you don't need a prescription for but will have to ask at the Chemist. I find it reduces consipation better than the supermarket brands of iron.
Also - fibre, fibre, fibre, fibre! It's a pain in the backside to take (no pun intended) but really saves a lot of stress and bother later on if you know what I mean! I take Metamucil capsules...5 a day. They are huge but tasteless so it's not too bad.
Maybe try a child's iron supplement? They are more gentle. Incremin (sp) is a yummy thick red iron supplement I took as a kid amoung other things and it's very common...it has a yellow box with a giraffe on the bottle. Available from the chemist.
Registered User
I put a bit of benefibre in my water. It completely dissolves and is tasteless. It certainly helped me.
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