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Today I received a letter from the hospital simply saying that I require Iron Therapy after having my gestational diabetes test last Friday.
No results were given of levels or anything.
So do I just go to the chemist and ask about iron supplements or wait till my midwife app and ask what I need to take then. It's on Friday so not too long to wait.
Any experience with iron deficiencies during pregnancy would be great.
I am on a pregnancy vitamin which I do take daily and it contains Iron 30 mg.
I had to start taking iron on top of my Multivitamins at around 36w with DD in 2010 as I was very low in iron after a blood test. It was a waste of time for me, she was born 4 days later, so I can't really comment on their effectiveness! :) I resumed using them a couple of weeks after her birth too, I wasn't coping and recovering well. They did help slightly, not enough for me to rave about though.
I was just given a piece of paper by my middie after a routine antenatal visit, to take to the pharmacist. All it said was: low Fe. I got a small container of pills and that was that. They cost me $5.
There are different forms of iron, some of which are more easily absorbed by the body. Look for chelated iron, take it with vitamin C (eg orange juice) and don't take it at same time as caffeine as that interferes with iron absorption.
Apparently a squeeze of lemon juice on your steak (after its cooked) is also good!
I was ring by my ob office after my diabeties test telling me I had low iron and had to go for anther blood test and was then prescribed some iron supplements (I'm also taking pregnancy vitamins). Maybe give them a call and ask them what you need to do?
The hospital needs to tell you what strength of supplement you need as there is a huge variation in the market. After early blood test my iron came back low - no surprise as I've had iron issues my whole life. The hospy sent me a letter stating I needed a supplement of at least 100mg per day and also a list of brands/doses available. I took that to the chemist and came back with Ferrogradumet green which is a dose of 105mg per tab. That was the highest strength tabs available. I initially tried a liquid which was a lower doseage so I needed 3 tsps a day - big mistake as the liquid has a compound in it which gave me horrendous stomach cramps and diarrhoea. Since taking the tabs I feel much better, although iron supplements do have a tendancy to cause constipation so you may also need a fibre supplement like metamucil.
I would suggest calling the hospital and checking what you need as a lower dose (than you need) will just be a waste of your money and time. Good luck!
Also to add to Mrs P's comments calcium also interferes with iron absorption so you need to take iron at least 30 minutes away from calcium supps or dairy products.
After a blood test last week all my specialist have suggested i may need a iron transfusion . This is a high risk pregnancy , and i have many health issues . So i am a little concerned about it , but its all for my jellybeans health aswell as mine .
I had an iron transfusion while still in hospital after the recent birth of my DS (I had a haemorrhage during his birth and already had low iron prior to birth).
It was fairly simple but did take quite a few hours.