Iron supplement side effects

Hi Charlotte, too much iron can give you diarrhoea & if you are having too much iron it will make you stools blackish. if the tablets are in a caplet form (ie not plastic coated) you could try halving them (you can buy a pill splitter from most chemists or vets to make this easier) try halving them & see how you get on for a week, if the diarrhoea stops you know it was too much for you. you may want to ok it with your doctor 1st ( i am just a colitis sufferer, not a professional). if it settles on half they could reduce you dose in future & check your bloods to see if it has corrected the anaemia then. i have a friend with anaemia & she had a bit of a time with finding the right dose initially that didnt cause diarrhoea, but once her & doctor got right amount of iron, she was fine. best wishes x

Iron is very hard on the gut. It also can cause constipation. If you are bleeding you have to take an iron supplement to help your body replace the red blood cells you are losing.

You want a bioavailable iron that bypasses digestion. My son takes Angstrom Minerals Iron Plus C. You can purchase it online. Here is a quote "This is an angstrom size mineral and vitamin supplement of iron and vitamin C. An angstrom or nanoparticle size mineral supplement does not require digestion. Angstrom size minerals are absorbed immediately into the bloodstream due to their minute size, hence the body also requires much less of them to have the same effect on the body. With a traditional powdered mineral, actual absorption ranges from only 5 - 15 percent. With angstrom or nano-sized minerals, absorption is 100 percent, so much less is needed to reach the same daily supplementation level."

HI Charlotte ,

As the other replies have suggested a supplement that bi passes the gut can help. The initial starting on the iron may have caused you diarrhoea unfortunately this is one of the major side effects , however once your body gets used to them it should settle down. I was prescribed it too along side a vitamin D and B12 injection to help. I have UC too and been in remission for quite some time now , my own experience was that it camed down after about a month of taking the supplements along side my other medications .

Hope this helps and best wished for a more positive outcome .

Yep can't tolerate any synthetic iron tablet, you could try spatone from pharmacy it isnt as strong so may take longer but is far gentler on stomach. If you really can't tolerate any of them I have an infusion every few months now, might be worth an ask.