iron supplements not good for those of us with compromised guts after all!!

Magnesium electrolyte supplements are extremely irritating to my pouch. Does anyone else have this problem ?

Magnesium salts are typically used as a laxative (such as Milk of Magnesia), so that is no surprise.

Same with iron supplements, which frequently cause GI upset in the general population, not just us. It is often a reason people cannot take them. ferrous sulfate is one of the worst. I was lucky because I could take it when I was anemic.

I guess it is sort of like "pick your poison." Which is worse for you? The GI symptoms or the deficiency.

Jan

yikes jan i think my iron pills were ferron ..nicole said on one thread that she uses liver pills for her iron needs that are scd safe..so maybe we can have our cake and eat it!!! i completely forgot to figure to check supplements while trying the scd diet or similar diets..it defeats our purose without even knowing it..just need to find ones that are ok and apparently they are available..

My GI gives me iron infusions when I'm low. Hate them, they give me migraines

I see a Hematologist and at least once a year I have to have 3 iron (Ferron) infusions because I lose so much of it while bleeding during BM's. I think the normal level is 112 or above, but I go down as low as 8. I feel I do get a little more energy when I have the 3 infusions. I get 3 infusions each 2 weeks apart.
My GI doctor has no problem with this. He does not believe I should be taking iron pills. He believes that it would hurt my gut.
By the way, I have had a J-Pouch since 1990. With the Cipro/Flagyl, plus the Endecort originally prescribed by Dr Shen, my bleeding eventually stops or gets to the point that I don't notice it anymore.

yikes..so loss of iron is not unusual for jpouchers who go a lot?

my reading was 36 and someone said 112 was normal? lab said mine fell in normal range ..probably very low normal..i only noticed it because i was haven recently some unusual amount of hair coming out when i washed it..my deem checked thyroid normal and said to take iron but it definitely created havoc for me after i realized it..going to try liver pills.. i do not have bleeding issue so did not think iron related but see some of us have it anyway

Since needing a blood transfusion for my pouchitis, I have been told to take iron pills daily. I have not had any issues with them to date....

i take some liver pills from radiant life instead of iron pills..apparently can get iron this way without side effects to intestines some people have..

d. shen did not think my number of 36 was too low because he told me not to take to much of it..besides the hair loss thing kind of just went away(it was just a matter of a few months i noticed it)..thinking now it had nothing to do with iron..and came across an old blood test from 2008 and it had iron at 30 and created no red flag to drs at that time..

the only thing shen did suggest since i relieve myself a lot in 24 hours to drink some pedialik to replace salt i loose and prevent dehydration...better than gaterade from sugar standpoint which i need to watch..

My iron level gets low only when I have a Crohns attack and lose a lot of blood with my BM's. My Hematologist says 8 is too low. I really don't remember the normal range for iron. He doesn't recommend iron infusions until I get below 15 or so. Also, my private insurance will not approve paying for it until it gets really low.