ways to boost iron?

[Sherri Tierney]

Do any of you ladies (or Aaron ;) ) have any really great ways to boost iron levels? I am pretty darn anemic right now and I'm starting to feel it. :( I take iron supplements (drink orange juice with them as my doctor says it helps absorption) and I try to eat foods that are high in iron like spinach but I could use more of a boost.

[BrattyMeg]

red meat, egg yolks, artichokes, lentls, soybeans, chickpeas all of those are rich in iron as well. Red Meat is prob the best to eat for iron

also try taking vit C as well it helps your body absorb the iron more :)

**eta** I just realized the bit about taking the iron with OJ..(vit c)

[Darcy Baldwin]

Greens - spinach, kale - leafy greens are great ways to get iron naturally!

[Lyd]

During one of my pregnancies, I took a liquid iron supplement, and my body did much better with that than with pills. It's called Floradix. It doesn't taste very yummy, but it really worked great for me. You can probably get it at any health food store. Here's an amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Floradix-Iron-Herbs-8-50-Ounces/dp/B00078RWU6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344309567&sr=8-2&keywords=floradix

[KyRainbow]

If you can stomach it, braunschweiger is very high in iron. I was anemic during my pregnancy and was told to eat it as it's one of the higher level of iron meats out there (liver). I actually like it on crackers with cheese.

[Darcy Baldwin]

oh! And Quinoa is also a great source of iron - and a complete protein to boot!

[mariewilcox]

I'm a vegetarian so I don't eat red meat but for iron i eat oatmeal, quinoa, blackstrap molasses, spirulina, pumpkin seeds, lentils, spinach, white beans, dried peaches, and prune juice. I do supplement B12 though with a sublingual tablet.

[webseitler]

During one of my pregnancies, I took a liquid iron supplement, and my body did much better with that than with pills. It's called Floradix. It doesn't taste very yummy, but it really worked great for me. You can probably get it at any health food store. Here's an amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Floradix-Iron-Herbs-8-50-Ounces/dp/B00078RWU6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344309567&sr=8-2&keywords=floradix

Ditto!

It's expensive. But effective!

[Sherri Tierney]

Thanks all :) You know, some of those foods I haven't even heard of. Our local grocery stores don't have a great selection. I've heard of quinoa, for example, but never saw it at the stores around here. There is a health food store about an hour from here that would surely have it though.

Lydia and Nicole, I will look in to that liquid supplement. I spend a small fortunate on my iron tablets and they don't seem to help much. I'm willing to try anything!

[NeverendingJen]

Sherri, a lot of people don't think the kroger in my town carries quinoa, but I usuall can find it in the organics/nutrition/special diet sections rather than regular sections, so maybe try there too.

[Sherri Tierney]

I found Floradix in the health food store when we were out of town. I didn't end up picking it up because it costs less on Amazon. When I was reading the reviews of Floradix someone mentioned Geritol tonic with Iron as a less expensive solution that works the same. I snagged some of that from Walmart and have been taking it. I'm feeling somewhat better. I can tell the difference when I take the iron.

It is a bit tricky for me because my iron is dropping faster than I can build it up. I'm having to take 2-4 times the recommended dosage of iron in order to feel like I can function. I'm really getting tired of this. It is putting me in a rotten mood and my views on everything are jaded right now. :(

I mentioned that a few years ago I had some crazy uterine bleeding that eventually led to a D&C and blood transfusion (well, the transfusion first so that my iron was high enough to do the surgery). After that things were looking up and I felt great until June. Since June 22nd I've had a whopping 10 days where I haven't been bled. I'm on day 23 of ridiculous bleeding. I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow because I can't deal with it any longer. Sadly, I know what he is going to tell me too. I have high estrogen and his answers last time were uterine ablation or hysterectomy. I want neither. :( I'm hoping to convince him to give me a round of birth control to see if that will help balance my hormones for a bit. Then I can build up my iron levels again and get to feeling better and then try to go off the pills and see what happens. They aren't permanent where a hysterectomy is and a uterine ablation means I'll have to take birth control ANYWAY in order to prevent a pregnancy that would certainly end in miscarriage. :( It is all so frustrating for me. :(

I felt pretty good yesterday. We took the kids to a little amusement park and I rode on Go-Karts and bumper boats and all sorts of rides and was on the go all day. I slept almost 10 hours last night too. My husband woke me up, I came downstairs and within 2 hours I had fallen asleep in the chair. I ended up sleeping for almost 6 hours and I'm still tired now. :(

Anyway, sorry to vent! Thank you all for the recommendations. I'm sure doc will want to do blood work to find out exactly what my levels are. I'm not looking forward to that. I don't want a transfusion for sure!