Low Hemoglobin

Lorie
Lorie Member Posts: 78
edited May 2020 in General Cancer
Hi, Anyone had any experience with taking iron supplements and/or getting iron infusions? I was tested and it came out a little low so a choice was offered to me. Reading about it mentioned that PPI or antacids can prevent your system from absorbing iron and I've been on Omezaprole about a year for acid reflux. another side effect of iron pills is constipation and fighting that too. Sounds like infusion best solution but would like to hear if anyone had side effects from that. It seems like one pill leads to another, and another side effect.
Thank you and be safe.
Lorie

Comments

  • po18guy
    po18guy Member Posts: 329
    edited April 2020
    One of the lymphomas I had produced a form of cytokine storm that caused autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA), in which my immune system was killing red blood cells. Iron supplements was the answer, and treatment, of course, for the underlying lymphoma.

    As to constipation, artificial sweeteners which contain sugar alcohols (sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, erythritol etc.) will cause an increase of water in the colon - which helps relieve constipation. It is worth discussing with doctor or nurse.
  • Lorie
    Lorie Member Posts: 78
    edited April 2020
    po18guy, So you tolerated the supplements without many side effects?

    Interesting you mention artificial sweeteners. I had purchased a huge bag of sugarless gummy worms with sorbitol but they didn't taste as good as the regular ones so I put them away. i'll be eating a few daily now. Thank you for info
    Lorie
  • po18guy
    po18guy Member Posts: 329
    edited May 2020
    They were not bad. In any event, the things we worry about may never some to pass. If it produces undesired side-effects, it is simple enough to discontinue and try another avenue. The fatigue and dizzniness/loss of balance causing difficulty walking was more of a concern than the side effects of treatment.
  • ChicagoSandy
    ChicagoSandy Member Posts: 111
    edited May 2020
    I actually like erythritol as a sweetener for tea and sprinkled on my keto pancakes. To me, it tastes exactly like table sugar without stevia's bitter aftertaste. My hemoglobin has always been borderline--it hasn't been high enough for me to be a blood donor in over 5 years. (It hovers around 12). So my doctor has me take an iron supplement that is easier on the gut and also more readily absorbed. I alternate daily between "Feosol Complete with Bifera" (which contains heme iron--a form that needn't be taken with something acidic) and "Vitron-C" which has enough C built in to enhance absorption. (I've taken Dexilant for years for GERD due to hiatal hernia). Eating lots of veggies (2/3 of my meal plate) has made it so that I haven't even needed a stool softener in over a week. Drink lots of water too. (If you are not a low-carb dieter, eat prunes too). I am also an omnivore, which allows me to have red meat (pasture-raised, of course) 3-4x/wk.

    Other sources of iron: egg yolks, oysters, raisins, dark chocolate. The iron in spinach, OTOH, is bound by the oxalate in the leaves, so it's not really bioavailable. And when you take your iron, make sure that you take it at least 2 hrs after calcium and then abstain from calcium for another 2 hrs.
  • Rustysmom
    Rustysmom Member Posts: 37
    edited May 2020
    I had good luck with Floravital Iron + Herbs. It's a liquid non-constipating iron supplement. I took it all thru chemo and radiation treatments.

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