Whether or not to take iron suppliments

Hi, my sister, who is medically trained, doesn't seem to think it's pernicious, I am a vegetarian and don't want to change, but I am on some iron, due to the multi vitamin I take daily, I don't feel ordinary anaemia is at all life threatening but my prolapsed bowel and getting stools so sticky I could easily develop a brain aneurysm from straining to get the stools out, could well be, I certainly didn't feel in the least bit ill between developing what just one GP seemed to think is anaemia and beginning the course of iron but felt dreadfully ill with the effect on the bowels since so I feel I have to weigh up the two.

Sorry, wasn't being very clear, I meant which is the most important consideration.

if she had pernicious amaemia they would have prescribed Vit B12. They prescribed iron therefore ( especially in view of the bowel problem) I think we can assume they checked iron levels and they were lo. so this is iron deficiency anaemia.

Currently the anaemia is the most important thing. Severe untreated anaemia can become life threatening and also lead to other medical conditions. You won't develop a brain aneurysm from straining. Do you take anything to help with bowel problems, like a stool softener or laxative? And also making sure you drink at least 3 litres a day will help.

No she had anaemia although like me only very slightly and went to her doctor and said "look I don't like what this is doing to my stools" and she took her off it. She was fine. I feel exactly the same but have a bowel complaint which I had major surgery on top to feel it's a priority.

I only have anaemia very mildly. What you say about laxatives doesn't work for me as I have a frequency of 16 times a day on average so laxatives would be sheer folly. This has also been discussed with my GP. I beg to differ on straining, I've had this prolapse six years and I know for a fact the wAy I strain I could easily anaerism, heart attack or stroke!

Hi, I've considered this one myself and spoken to my sister who cared for my elderly mother who had lots wrong with her and she does feel, as I do, that anaemia, if not pernicious is really not serious but my prolapsed bowel is. I felt perfectly OK without it in between being told, by just one GP, that I had a deficiency and taking them, opinions differ and I have to put the effect on my prolapse first.

My sister doesn't feel that medically that not taking the iron is going to lead to any problems and since stopping it I feel no different

What was your haemaglobin level? You may just have mild anaemia now and ahev no symptoms, but if you've developed even mild anaemia then you're either losing more blood than you're body can cope with, not eating enough iron, or your body isn't producing/processing enough red blood cells. If you don't treat is then over time the anaemia will probably become worse and then it's more difficult to treat and there's an increased risk of compications of anaemia. Your choice though. Have you googled "iron deficiency anaemia".

 

What sort of complications?

I have read the Google article but my feeling is I only have this condition very, very mildly. My sister says I did not look at all pale about the time it was being diagnosed, which I know is one of the manifestations

shortness of breath, angina, abnormal heart rhythm, headache, confusion /brain fog, muscle and joint pain,extreme fatigue, weight loss and if very severe , heart attack or stroke. If you have no symptoms and are a fairly active person, then  you probably have only mild anaemia, but your Doctor ( perhaps because he knows that you have a chronic condition) is trying to stop it getting any worse by giving you iron supps now. If you see him/her may say, Ok,don't take it and we'll check bloods in 3 months. On the other hand he may say that it's really quite important that you take the iron now. All depends on what your blood levels are and how your bowel prolapse or any other chronic condition affects your body.

Yes I saw all that when I google, I'll speak to my GP because my feeling is the former GP who prescribed it was slightly anti vegetarians, that's just my feeling.

Incidentally I have been speaking to a friend on a social networking site who recommends spatone, a much gentler form of iron with a far superior absorbsion rate, I feel my GP should recognise that I have other major health considerations, can't tollerate conventional iron supplements and need this gentler form of it but am intrepid because I'm well aware we none of us live in an ideal, sympathetic or logical medical world that caters much for individuals and he may find he is unable to prescribe this individual type, and they are too expensive to buy however I will ask him about them, as its obvious to me that with a six year ongoing chronic bowel complaint i cannot tollerate it and that should be fully recognised, don't you agree?