Bad side affects with iron

Hi Lynsey: I am hoping that you are taking your iron with food even if it is recommended on an empty stomach. Most forms of iron will never be tolerated on an empty stomach. Taking it with food will eliminate your symptoms, it will slow down the absorption but the goal is to eventually increase your numbers and it is better that it be in your system by slow absorption than to not have it in your system at all. I would recommend Ferrous Polysaccaride it can be taken with food and the absorption rate is much better than other forms. There is 150mg in one tablet and most of that is elemental so you don't have to take pills all day long. The problem with the other forms of iron is that there is very little elemental iron in each tablet so therefore the dosing has to be much higher. I was taking other forms as well and truly the impovement was next to nil, I switched to ferrous polysaccaride and within a week I could feel the difference. I would say that going off your iron supplement is NOT the answer. Going off the one you are currently taking might be a good idea however, I think you just need to switch to a better product and DO NOT take it on an empty stomach regardless of what the instruction indicate. Takeyou iron with 1000 mg. of Vitamin C with food in your stomach and within one bottle of ferrous polysaccaride you will indeed be heading in the right direction. Chest tightness is not a symptom of the iron supplement. It is a symptom of low iron levels due to possible low oxygen levels. Your red blood cells are oxygen carriers and when iron levels are low it can directly affect your O2 levels. The dizziness is due to your low numbers and has nothing to do with the supplement. Not sure if you have had your B12 levels checked but you might want to start supplementing with a B12 as well. You can purchase a sublingual which will rapidly dissolve under the tongue. B12 is water soluble so there is no fear that you will take too much. Your body will use what it wants and the rest will be gone in your urine. My advice is to get back on a GOOD iron supplement taken WITH food.  You will never feel better if you don't. It will not correct itself. Good luck!

Yes, it is normal. Depending on how low you hemoglobin and ferritin are will determine how badly you feel. Everyone is different. In earlier years my ferritin was only 8 and I really didn't feel that badly. However, this time my ferritin was 40 and I felt terrible. So, for some reason the symptoms were worse with a higher level than when it was low. In your situation, it may be possible that your B12 is also very low as these things do go hand in hand. One of the worst symptoms of low B12 is a constant feeling of lightheadedness. With low iron levels the lightenedness is not alway constant. As I said supplementing with B12 is worry free and you might want to get a sublingual and start taking it even before you know your numbers. Also, don't be satisifed with low numbers. You will want to get you B12 to a nice high number. So ask your doctor for the range and ask where you are in that range. Doctors tend to be happy with low numbers but low numbers don't always reduce symptoms. If you are also on thyroid medication you might want to see an endocrinologist as that is there expertise. Balancing thyroid hormone is often no easy task. Good luck.