Extremely low iron

For a few months I've been suffering with low iron. I have really bad restless leg syndrome and nothing I try helps. I had another dr visit November 15th. He said my anemia has gone from bad to worse and now it's time to pull out the "big dogs" . He put me on ferrous sulfate, 325 mg twice a day. I called my surgeons office and was told to eat raw spinach daily. I'm 31 months out from my RNY and have lost about 163 lbs. I never expected to have these kinds of problems this far out and I don't know how to solve it. Also, I know that orange juice helps iron absorption but the bottle says do not take with vitamin c so I don't know if I should drink orange juice with this. Help!

Hello,

I do not absorb iron orally and must get infusions 2 times a year.  This is a quick, painless amazing solution to iron deficiency and the results are fabulous.  I suffered needlessly for a few years as my iron levels dropped and dropped before I finally jumped into action and saw a hematologist who within weeks solved my issues.  Please learn from my mistake, see a hematologist now and determine if you are a candidate for infusions.  We do not need to suffer with vitamin deficiencies and being our own advocates with gastric bypass and complications are crucial to our long term success.  Good luck, there IS A SOLUTION!  You will do great!!!

:) Lisa

Hi Lisa, yes I actually asked my dr about infusions. He's not ready to do this yet and wanted me to try the pills first....I hope the infusions are next...uggghhhhhh

So, were you taking iron EVERY SINGLE DAY since your surgery and your iron continued to worsen?  Or, did you not take iron and now you are anemic?  If you were taking iron every day when this developed, what and how much were you taking? 

Perhaps your formula already contains vitamin C, mine does.  This is something you really need to ask your doctor.  High doses of iron can be really toxic and you don't want to reduce or accelerate absorbtion unless your doctor tells you to do something.  Just follow the label.  Anemia takes a long time to correct.  It won't happen in a few days.

Do you take B-12 every day and if so, in what form (oral, sublingual, etc. and how much)?

Hope you feel better soon.

Oral iron did not work for me. 3 years post op I got infusions. Suffered one year heavy supplementation that only gave me cramps pain and constipation.

 Ferrous Sulfate is the WORST iron you can take, in terms of absorbability and also in terms of how it can affect your stomach!  It is not gentle on the stomach...your dr should know this. You will not absorb iron from food,,,,the part of your intestine that absorbs iron has been bypassed. If you are severely anemic, the quickest way to get your iron levels up is with infusions---IV iron therapy.  It is not a big deal and you would be feeling better in no time.  You will not, imho, have much success at raising severely low iron levels with oral supplements, only...and anemia is not something to be taken lightly.  As far as oral iron, MANY of us do not absorb it and it is a waste of time. The best absorbed iron, if you are lucky enough to have it work for you,  is a heme iron. There is one available online called proferra (or maybe it is proferrin) and another one is available in many drugstores---Bifera.  Besides those, many have had success with MAINTAINING their iron with carbonyl iron and also ferrous fumerate...NEVER SULFATE!  There is alot of info available online if you are interested in educating your physician and also learning more about this. 
Please do not take this the wrong way, as I am feeling alot of empathy for your situation and just want you to know I have been "there"...you HAVE to learn to be an advocate for yourself and your health. Many docors, unfortunately, do not have the experience in dealing with the malabsorption issues long term wls postops can experience.  But, the research on dealing with re-arranged guts and the absorption of minerals, vitamins and foods IS out there. Good Luck!

What are your numbers?  Ferritin, iron and the like?  Ferrous Sulfate is useless.  Get thee over to vitalady.com and order thee some tender iron.  Start on 6 a day.  You can chew those puppies with some vitamin C or you can just swallow them.  If your Ferritin and other numbers are too low, you should be going right to an iron infusion.  If your PCP won't get it for you (you've waited long enough in my opinion), I would get to a hematologist.