posted
My dr. put me on them and I'm supposed to take 2 pills per day. No biggie, right? Wrong!
These things are a pain. I can't have milk, milk products, eggs, whole grains, or cereal an hour before or 2 hours after I take one. Since I count on dairy and whole grains for my protein, this is difficult to coordinate. Is it because these foods don't aid absorption of iron?
Also, I can't lie down for 30 min. after taking a pill. Why? I've done a bit o' googling and can't seem to find the answer.
posted
Hmm... these are all things the doc said? I have been on iron supplements (yes, doctor ordered) before and there were never those types of restrictions.
I know taken with Orange Juice is supposed to help you absorb it better.
And iron supplements can cause constipation real bad - be aware of that.
Is DPR on? She would probably know more about this.....
posted
Wow. I have never heard of those restrictions. The only thing I was told,w as to take a Vit C at the same time to aid absorption.
Posts: 1021 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
This one says to eat food. Got this on WebMD:
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/8/1680_54570.htm Side Effects: You may need to continue taking iron supplements for up to one year. Taking iron supplements with food can help prevent common side effects, which may include nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and stomach pain. Let your doctor know if you continue to have side effects. Different formulations are available. Iron supplements can also interact with other medications you may take, so be certain to tell your doctor if you are being treated for another condition. Your doctor may also recommend that you increase the amount of iron in your diet. Good dietary sources of iron include red meat, beans, egg yolk, whole-grain products, nuts, and seafood. Your doctor will monitor your red blood cell counts including hematocrit, hemoglobin, and ferritin levels during treatment. If your anemia doesn't improve with iron supplements, your doctor will look for some other underlying cause. In rare cases, your doctor may prescribe iron injections or give you iron intravenously (through a needle in the vein). In extremely rare cases of life-threatening iron-deficiency anemia, treatment may involve blood transfusion.
Posts: 2845 | Registered: Oct 2003
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So I went ahead and did what I should have done - call the dr. Apparantly the foods listed slow down the absorption and I'm supposed to keep taking them. Golly, and only 12 more refills on the 'scrip, too.
Maybe if I lie down immediately afterwards I'll turn into a vampire.
The food restrictions are to prevent the formulation of a chelation of the iron supplement and the various heavy metal ions that are found in the foods you mentioned, especially minerals like calcium. The second reason there are some food resctrictions, as well as the caution to not lay down, is to prevent the iron supplement from causing erosion of the esophogeal lining. Drinks like hot coffee and tea can cause the tablet to dissolve rapidly, and if the tablet becomes accidentally lodged in the esophagus, this can lead to a perforation.
However, the idea of taking Vitamin C is a good one because Vit C is ascorbic acid, which potentiates absorbtion for the very reason you are cautioned about above: the resultant acidic environment. Although the stomach makes plenty of hydrochloric acid, the vitamin C does help iron absorb better.
In a nutshell, these guidelines you are given are generic and attempt to warn you against any POSSIBLE harm. I advise my patients to take iron as directed, and to even take it with food if the iron supplement does upset the stomach. Just avoid the calcium-rich foods as described in the informational pamphlet as much as possible. But I would rather have a patient take their iron twice a day, even with a calcium rich food than to miss a dose because of their dietary habits!
Warnings with iron are as listed above, especially constipation and darkening of stools. Keep pushing fluids, especially plenty of water to prevent any trouble here.
Hope this helps...
Posts: 1870 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
Calcium inhibits the absorbsion of iron. Taking Vitamin C enhances it.
Take it with food for sure, as taking iron is often upsetting to the tummy. I had to take iron while I was pregnant with my daughter, and yeah, it's a pain. I took it first thing in the morning with toast and a glass of orange juice. And again at night with peanut butter slathered toast and more orange juice. It didn't upset my tummy, but I had to stop taking it in the evening before bed, as it seemed to make my ever present heartburn worse.
Increase your fiber intake too, since iron tends to make some people constipated.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Glad I could help SO, but I forgot to describe what a chelation is:
A chelation is a conglomerate of a drug and various heavy metals, that form a large "clump", rendering the drug in question useless, because the digestive tract cannot absorb the drug as it does normally.
Usually, the warning is mostly applied to various antibiotics that are rendered useless when taken with heavy metal sources (vitamins and antacids to name a few). A few examples of these are the tetracyclines and the fluoroquinolones (Cipro, Avelox, Levaquin, etc...)
I would recommend taking your iron first thing in the morning, and taking any offending or complicating vitamins (multivitamins or other heavy metal sources like magnesium, calcium) after breakfast.
Posts: 1870 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
That's interesting because I had always heard of the term chelation in a more positive sense -- in fact, I think you can buy "chelated" vitamins, and such, that are supposed to be better...
posted
Alucard, how far apart/how close together can I take the iron supplements? I can take one in the morning as you suggested, and wait an hour for breakfast. But taking one in the evening is difficult. Usually we have some kind of whole grain with dinner, so I'd have to wait 2 hours afterwards, but that's my snacktime, which involves yogurt, crackers, cheese, or something of the like...and by the time I wait another 2 hours and another 30 min. before I can go to bed I'll end up not taking it half the time.
Is it ok to do one in the early morning...say 7:30 or so, and another in the afternoon? Thanks again!
space opera
edit: punctuation - it's what's for breakfast
[ February 11, 2005, 04:53 PM: Message edited by: Space Opera ]
Posts: 2578 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
Chelates are far more stable than the metal ions would be alone.
Chelates aren't in and of themselves good or bad. Chelated active ingredients of drugs that become too large to absorb are bad; chelated actives that increase absorption (as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) does with iron) would be good.
I had to take two iron pills a day for several months after the birth of my son (major blood loss). The tummy distress sucked, even with lots of fiber. The gradual release from anemia was great.
That sounds fine. I would take your iron as you have described, say an hour before dinner or supper. Some patients take iron 3 times a day. Imagine that fiasco with all the dietary warnings!
Farmgirl, the information Rivka provided is awesome! Keep in mind, some chelations are intentional, and the chelation is with an amino acid, for example, that is easily removed during digestion, leaving the mineral in question to be absorbed. But also, some chelations are bad and render a drug or supplement non-absorbable. The chelation therapy you mentioned uses this technique to remove unwanted heavy metals from the body...
An in closing, good luck again with everything Spacey, I hope your iron therapy goes well!
posted
Well, my midwife called today and said I need to be on iron- she has me on Floradix which is supposed to be non-constipating- actually, it was nice to hear that I'm slightly anaemic because I have been beating myself up over my fatigue and laziness lately.
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posted
*twinkle* Every once in a while something from organic chem gets through the deliberately self-induced amnesia. (Like a vague memory that what pharmacists call "chelations" chemists call "chelates" -- why? ellifino!) Add Google, and stir well. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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We do? I've noticed chelates, chelations and chelation products used both in my pharmacology classes and when I worked on chelators for drug therapy in industry. Because, y'know, the people designing the drugs are chemists. Who are these pharmacists of which you speak?
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Um, ok. So . . . my prof misspoke, was misinformed, or the swiss-cheese of my memory misremembers. Or the distinction was between true chemists and you biochem people . . . ?
posted
Heh. It's my word against his Maybe that's the way kids did it when you were younger, but it's a different world, grandma
What's an article on chelator cancer therapy doing in IUPAC's Pure and Applied Chemistry? Couldn't they get it published anywhere else?
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
Dunno. I just figured IUPAC was a good place to look for info on chelates. There's a reason I didn't become a chemical (let alone biochemical!) researcher, y'know.
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