dealing with my low ferritin

I posted a couple days ago that I got the results of my labs and ferritin level is only 15.  Which, by the way, my PCP thinks is OK since it's still within the reference range listed on the lab report.  But it's down from 78 a year ago and I do not like it that low and defintely don't want it to drop any lower.

I contacted vitalady and ended up talking with her husband (Mr. Vitalady?  Vita-man?).  He said they both take 300 mg carbonyl iron daily, which is more than three times what I had been taking.  I know it is possible to take too much iron, but I'm gonna try that for a couple months, then get my iron and ferritin checked again.

I have been using Sundown Perfect Iron, along with 1000 mg vitamin C tablets.  Well, the Sundown Perfect Iron tablets are only 25 mg each, which would mean taking 12 a day, along with three of the 1000 mg vitamin C tablets.  That's 15 pills, just to get my iron in!  I feely queasy just thinking about it.  I am going to order the 60 mg carbonyl iron capsules from vitalady, which have 400 mg vitamin C in them, and then I'll just need five of those a day.  Five pills instead of 15 sounds much better to me!  Until I get my order, I'll go ahead and take the 12 Sundown Perfect Iron (divided into a couple doses because I don't think I could stand to swallow that many pills at once) but at least that will only be temporary.

Hopefully this does the trick.

please keep us posted...loved your "Mr. Vitalady, Vita-man" reference

Hee hee.  His name is actually Don, and like Michelle he is very  knowledgable and very helpful, but if I posted that I talked to Don, no one would know how I was talking about.

I take the 60mg iron capsules from Vitalady.  (I only take them three times a week, but I also have no menstrual period and eat red meat.)

I really hope it gets your level up.

Lora

Five sure sounds better than 15!

Hope it works. When will you have your labs drawn again?

I'm supposed to get my B12 checked again mid-September, because it was on the high side and I'm cutting back on that.  So I'm gonna call my doc and ask them to order iron and ferritin levels, too, and get those drawn at the same time.

Maybe I'll actually end up having more energy if I get my ferritin up.  That would be nice!

are you somewhat worried about getting constipated? i was taking the iron after getting regular from surgery and got backed up majorly again....it just stops the plumbing up....

just curious how this will work for you...

debby

No, not really.  I use carbonyl iron, which does not usually cause constipation.  Ferrous sulfate almost always does, and the other ferrous salts like ferrous fumerate and ferrous gluconate often do.  But carbonyl, hardly ever.

I do take Miralax daily to help keep things regular, though.

I use the same Perfect Iron.  I take 6 of them and 2 500mg Vitamin C every night.  I wind up drinking 8 ounces of liquid just to get them all down.  That's a good idea to go up to the 60mg ones, maybe when my three bottles of perfect iron are gone, I'll order that.  Its just that the Sundown ones are so cheap when you get them BOGO.

The capsules upset my stomach so bad. It was like I swallowed fire. The tablets don't do that, but I got minor constipation. I split mine into morning and night doses, 6 each.