Perfect Iron

I began taking Perfect Iron on the advice of my PCP.  My iron levels are normal but my red blood cell indices are trending down (my red blood cells are getting smaller and paler which can indicate a decreasing iron level).  She recommended Perfect Iron (carbonyl iron) because it requires less gastric acid for absorption and may be better absorbed by bariatric patients.  More important, however, is that it does not cause nausea or constipation in many patients and I have already had an issue with constipation in the past.

I began taking it a week ago.  I have had absolutely no nausea and my stools have actually be softer since 24 hours after the first dose.  So win-win.  It will be several months before my next bloodwork but I will report the results at that time

So now my question.  I cannot find a good reference for how much carbonyl iron to take as a VSG patient.  I can find multiple sources for basic doses in non-bariatric patients but nothing for me.  Any thoughts?

http://asmbs.org/2012/06/asmbs-integrated-health-nutritional -guidelines-for-the-surgical-weight-loss-patient/

"Add a minimum of 18–27 mg/d elemental"

(Carbonyl is elemental, just for the record!)

Thank you!  What a great chart!  I hope they update it to include VSG at some point.

I can't wait for it to be updated for VSG.  People have been getting VSG for years at this point!

I take 65 mg elemental a day as my labs came back like yours.  Retesting in May.  Be mindful that there are SO many things that can inhibit the effectiveness of Iron that when you take it you basically have an empty stomach.  No tea, no coffee, no dairy, no calcium, etc. for two hours prior or after.  I basically finish everything bu****er by 8 pm and then take a tablet at 10 pm and just let it sit on my tummy while I sleep.  I don't have any nausea issues from it.  I'm hoping that taking one pill a day is good enough with these considerations in mind.  One of the previous post gave the link and I looked at it (thanks by the way to that poster) and it says that some people can even go up to 4 of those pills in a day.  Gosh, I don't know how you can get away with that with all the other considerations to stay away from for its absorption.  Wishing us luck on this one!

Thanks!  I am currently taking 50 mg elemental.  I might bump it up to 75 mg and see how it goes.

I also switched to Perfect Iron quite a ways back, and it helped the constipation a lot.

Taking vitamin C helps with iron absorption. You should have 200 mg of C for every 30 mg of elemental iron.

I take 75 mg of perfect iron a day. It takes a lot of iron to change our labs, and change seems to be much more gradual than for anything else.

I'm sure you know not to take iron with calcium, but many other things interfere with iron absorption as well. Tannins in tea, caffeine, etc. all interfere. See:

http://m.voices.yahoo.com/foods-supplements-medications-inte rfere-with-12306188.html?cat=51

Thank you for the suggestions and the link!  I am headed to vitamin shoppe today to get some vitamin C (got a $10 coupon!).  

I quit caffeine the day before surgery, thankfully was easier than I expected but I wasn't a coffee drinker, just diet Dr Pepper, lots of it.  I miss it every once in a while, but mostly the refreshing mouth feel of it, not so much the caffeine.  

I am going to increase my iron to 75 mg and see what my labs show in May.

Gosh, yeah!  Forgot the Vitamin C bit.  Yeah...that too!  No wonder so many people are Iron deficient...can't hardly keep up with all the specifics related to the absorption of it.  I don't do any extra Vitamin C at this point.  Trying to see where this bump leads me as my number were ever so slightly off kilter and I had my labs taken right after TOM, etc.  At the 3 month mark from my last lab work it will be not around my TOM and we will see where we go next!  I swear we are becoming experts as we all go through this together!  I will post what happens with these specific labs at the end of May...I will say, that I have noticed a big difference in my level of fatigue (Much, much lower) since I have bumped up my Iron with overall absorption issues looked at.