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6 year old - a question about Iron supplements

Posted , 3 users are following.

jamie32048
jamie32048

My son is 6, and has had a history of terrible sleep problems which have made the last 6 years very hard for our family. Along with the sleep issues, he's had extreme anxiety and anger problems, and a has a generally morose mood. Physically he's always had very pale skin.

He usually eats well (far better than most of his friends) and has always had a good varied diet with plenty of fruit, veg and red meat.

When he was 3/4, a blood test showed low levels of iron - not extremely low, just slightly under the normal range. We were prescribed a course of iron supplements (Sytron) which lead to a slight improvement in his symptoms.

We were then told by the doctor that we needed to stop those supplements and after 30 days have a blood test. We did this, and the results were that he was now within the normal range (albeit the lower end). However his symptoms quickly went back to normal. The doctor was insistent though that he did not need iron supplements as his levels were now normal again, and that we should focus on his diet which we did, to no avail.

My son had very extreme emotional reactions to the needle for both these blood tests which led to us being loath to put him through further tests.

A couple of years later (with his symptoms continuously bad throughout) we decided to try him on supplements again ourselves. After a couple of weeks on Feroglobin, he was a different child! Sleeping well, loads of energy, happy and confident. Family life become infinitely better.

He was on Feroglobin for a couple of months before we noticed his teeth were staining and turning brown. We then took him off the Feroglobin and booked a doctors appointment to ask advice. Within 3/4 days, his symptoms started returning. After another few days it got very bad so we put him back on the Feroglobin and after a couple of days - life was good again, albeit his teeth don't look great.

My wife saw the doctor and she recommended our son come off the Feroglobin for 30 days and then have an blood test.

However on further thought, the idea of taking him off the supplements and the sleepless nights and behaviour problems returning for at least a month is too horrifying to contemplate! The doctor doesn't seem to have any further ideas.

Questions -

What would you do in the same situation?

Can we just carry on blindly giving him Feroglobin daily without knowing what his iron levels are?

Should we plan to stop sometime, or just keep going indefinitely?

If we are to carry on with the Feroglobin, what can we do about the teeth staining?

Thanks!

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • jenny19687
    jenny19687 jamie32048

    Posted

    Hi Jamie

    The symptoms are reocurring and it maybe that his iron levels keep dropping. The question is why and in my IANAD opinion should be investigated if this persists.

    It is not advisable to keep dosing with iron unless you know his iron levels are low. Having too much iron can be very serious. Get your son tested now as you need to know where he is and take further action based on the results. Ensure Folate, B12, iron tests, ferritin and FBC.

    Hope this helps.

    • jamie32048
      jamie32048 jenny19687

      Posted

      Thanks for your response. Due to his low iron levels in the past, and the fact that this supplement is not a high dose, I think it is incredibly unlikely that he has too much iron.

      The reason we are not getting him tested now is that the doctor has asked that we have 30 days off the iron supplements. The iron supplements seem to be the only reason he's getting any sleep and I feel like they're the only thing keeping my family sane currently. The idea of coming off them is quite scary!

      If we had a blood test WHILE he was still on the supplements, do you think that might still be worthwhile? (obviously we'd ask the doctors opinion as well)

    • jamie32048
      jamie32048

      Posted

      For clarity - the doc has asked for 30 days off, in order that the test shows normal unsupplemented levels. She wasn't concerned about him being on the supplements.

  • Lady_C
    Lady_C jamie32048

    Posted

    Hi

    Sorry to hear about what is happening to your son and family, you can also try using iron rich foods and natural supplement. also try seeking help from support services that may provide help,

    there is also a good book on amazon Overcoming aneamia: my experience. i read it when i suffered from aneamia and got some tips from it,

    best wishes,

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