Those of you who take Proferrin...

Great!  Please let us know how your iron levels look. :)

Yes, Dr. Sudan is quite the popular guy!  When they originally called me to schedule my June surgery date, I questioned the fact that my surgery was not scheduled on a Tuesday b/c that's when he typically does DSes.  I was told that he would have been scheduling into August if he hadn't "doubled up a bit."  I ended up getting in earlier due to a cancellation.    

Awesome!

When I contacted them back in the summer of 2009, he had just arrived and wasn't doing any DSes there yet.  (I had been searching for a DS surgeon and had been through a couple before I found out he'd moved to NC.  I'm in VA.)  I had to wait a couple of months for his robot to arrive and then after meeting with him, he wanted to wait a bit longer to make sure he and the OR staff were working well together before bringing in a new procedure (to them).  While I didn't really want to wait, this did impress upon me that he really is looking out for the best interest of his patients.  So, I got to be the first DS ever done at Duke on 11/12/09.  I'm also still in touch with Duke's #2 DS. 

So when is your surgery date?  Good luck to you!  Keep us posted!

Very cool story! :)  The robot is completely fascinating to me. 

Dr. Sudan is doing my surgery on Thursday!  I'm excited!  I'll post an update as soon as I can. ;)

Our prescription insurance covers Ferrex 150 Forte and I take 2 each a.m. with 500 mg of Vit C. I am able to get 90 days for $20. ! WOO HOO.. No potty issues at all. They are capsules and I swallow them. If you have prescription coverage check and see what type of iron they will cover.

I took the ES for about a year or so via Vitalady- she has the best price for it.  I recently discovered that I can get the Forte via script for about half the price, so I switched to that a couple of months ago.  I was just taking one ES a day, broken in half, and while my hemoglobin was great, my ferritin has been slowly sliding, so I just upped to two Forte a day, still broken in half.  Also, a benny to the Forte is the addition of folic acid- being a younger female who could conceivably get knocked up at some point, I figured it can't hurt.  My copay still costs more than most other OTC iron supplements, but I don't absorb the non-heme irons well, and it's nice to be able to take it at the same time as calcium- heme irons don't compete. For me, the extra cost is worth it.

This is such helpful information!  I didn't realize that the heme iron didn't compete w/the calcium!  So I don't have to wait until right before bed to take it?  This is good news for me!

Also, do I not need to take it on an empty stomach w/vitamin C like the non-heme iron?

You can take it with food (or not) and you don't need to take it with C.  In fact, I think I've read that it does NOT like acid and to not take it with C.

I still take mine separate from my calcium, but I don't worry about what I'm eating when I take it.  So if I just downed a greek yogurt and some cheese or ice cream I can still take the Proferrin despite having just consumed dairy.

I see.  Good info.  Thank you. :)

 I started on Proferrin ES at about 3 months postop, 1 pill a day, broken in half.  My total iron stayed nice and high, but my ferritin started to slip a bit, and my folic acid was to low for my liking too.  So, I switched to Proferrin Forte at about 6 months out and bumped it to 2 pills, broken in half first thing in the AM.  My 9 month labs looked better than my 6 month, and I am due for my one year and expect them to look even better on this regime.  I get it via script and it costs me about $30 for a month supply.  NO burps, constipation or tummy issues with either formula for me either.  

AWESOME!  Thanks. :)