I always take my iron supplement at night so it doesn't upset my stomach. I also take Caltrate +D, which is what my doctor recommended for a calcium supplement. The added D helps with bones, hair, joints, and it helps with the absorption of the calcium. I take that at night also. The Caltrate +D comes in a chewable form if you have difficulties swallowing pills.
The Instructions on my calcium say to take it 3 X a day I'm inquiring at the Doc to day about IV Iron and if she's not cool I'll just go back to my vitron C
Need to get my Calcitriol too (Prescription D) I'm rationing it right now since No scooter to get to WLS doc with
Hi! Forever no post (from me) lol! Ok, things I learned the hard way about calcium, iron and vitamin D...
You can take iron at any time of the day, but I recommend not doing it 2 or 3 hours prior to lying down. A lot of people experience severe heartburn if they do. Same goes for calcium, except it doesn't usually cause heartburn. When you have to take both, you just need to be sure you don't take them within an hour of each other. This gives your body enough time to clear the calcium "sludge" (once the supplement has melted in your intestines) to clear, thereby not blocking absorption of the iron into the blood stream. Vice verse for iron blocking absorption of calcium. And finally vitamin D... The prescription form is chemically called ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) and is unbelievably inferior to the over-the-counter-available form chemically known as cholecalciferol (vitamin D3). D3 is more readily absorbed and is rarely known to cause toxicity. D2 is known to cause toxicity as D2, which our bodies have to work to turn into D3. Ok, having said that, it's also really cheap so it's not a strain for most people. I can get a 2 to 3 month supply for less than $20 (U.S.$), depending on how much I need to take. I found I had a severe vitamin D deficiency when my doc followed a whim and checked my level. She also found I had a dangerously low blood calcium level (5.8). I could have had heart failure and never known why. I always have an iron deficiency. I don't recommend the I.V. ferrlecit (iron) because it is time consuming, extremely uncomfortable (it made me feel like crap) and most insurances won't cover it unless you cannot absorb iron or something is physically preventing you from absorbing it orally or you are losing red blood cells faster than you can make new ones with iron. It's kind of expensive. I had a long-standing G.I. bleed that led me to need the I.V. for about 3 months. You do it once a week. Whew! Sorry for all the info, lol.
Hey KO: Only thing about my taking iron is not within a couple hours of dairy or caffeine because it negates the inon.
Original S: Please post more often. I think that when we get someone on this board that is an "old-timer" you guys impart a lot of knowledge and help us to prevent problems.
hi nan!!!! and what's more - SERENDIPITY is one of the smartest folks around.
i'm sitting here trying to remember the not-quite-prescription form of oral iron i have to take occasionally. as soon as this CRAFT moment passes, i'll post the name.
I see serendipity already mentioned it, but I think it bears repeating - calcium and iron should not be taken at the same time, or within 2 hours of each other. They are absorbed by the same receptors in the body, so one sort of cancels the other out because they can't both all be absorbed at the same time.
I take my iron before bed with vitamin C (and magnesium and stool softeners!). I take calcium first thing in the morning, at lunch, and when I get home from work.
Jill, do you get your labs run occasionally? I actually had too much magnesium and I was taking the lowest amount once a day. I'm not sure why that happened but I haven't heard of it from anyone else.
Thanks for all the input guys I've been a little lost soul for a bit and feeling craplicios! I'm going to try taking the iron at night and then rocking the Calcium with my other stuff during the day. . .you guys rock!
Iron Q
