Low Iron Levels........ ADVICE?????

take 1 injection of EPO a day. your times should start to drop real fast. you will prob pr in workouts too

I just take the generic iron supplement pills. Seems to work ok. I'd take it every day for a few weeks until you feel like you're back to 100% and then drop to every other day after that just to keep your levels up.

This is what I take. I'm also in college, this stuff is cheap, you can order it online, and it works! Not sure about the glucosamne, I don't take that.

http://www.amazon.com/Ferrous-Sulfate-Elixir-Supplements-Laboratories/dp/B000GCOTL8/ref=sr_1_1/102-9696527-9270542?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1178681875&sr=1-1

"low iron" can mean alot of things. Talk with your doctor and find out what the best course of action is for your specific lab results that are abnormal.

Also, do your own homework on the subject. Become an expert on your condition and do what makes the best sense to you.

Feeling tired all the time is not always "low iron". Find out which lab value came back abnormal and by how much, then try to figure out what to do.

good luck

College stud, it wouldn't hurt to take a daily multi-vitamin (Centrum or something) also....on a standard regular basis, particularly during heavy training periods.

take iron

I take vitamin b complex and vitamin c with an Iron supplement. It works great for me. I have prescription level iron, but you can pick up the V. B and V. C over the counter anywhere, i think I have RiteAid brand.

Relatively cheap over the counter product that works well is Slow FE. Also, take it with a full glass of orange juice as Vitamin C promotes iron absorption. Just be patient because it will be 2-4 weeks before iron levels start to return to normal. Also, unless you have a heditary condition called hereditary hemochromatosis you most likely will not "overdose" on iron. If you continue to take it once you are normalized you are most likely going to excrete it, ie a waste of money. Lastly, you need to keep seeing the doc and getting blood work regularly so you know when you can stop supplementing.

does anyone find iron tablets messes with yout stomach -

and they make your poop black.

runningbean wrote:

does anyone find iron tablets messes with yout stomach -

I had heard that they might before I started taking them, so I have always taken them at night before bed so that I wouldn't have to run after taking them. I haven't had any problems doing it that way.

i'm also sure most people on here have "low iron" levels. you need to know exactly what your doc is looking at. athletes get something called exercise induced anemia. this name is misleading however, because iron levels DON'T decrease, they stay the same or even increase but it looks like they are low because plasma volume increases (another postitve effect of training). so, for a given amount of blood there appears to be less iron but this is not the case. just make sure you get tested for the right thing, serum ferritan and hemoglobin are much better than hematocrit.

Iron Boy pointed out that you need to drink OJ or some type of vitamin C with yur iron pill. This is critical, else the pill will go right though you without absorbtion.

There are two types of iron. Iron ingested with meat is called Heme iron and it is readily absorable on its own. Iron that is fron non meat sources needs Vitamin C as a catalyst to absorb the iron. So it you eat vegetables with iron (like Spinach) or cereal fortified with iron - yu need to drink a class of OJ or apple juice or eat an orange.

Red Meat is a great source of iron.

And yes, iron pills give me loose stools.

Also calcium is supposed to block iron absorbtion, so when i take iron pills, i take them at night.

Google iron supplements and you'll read enough to know what to do.

silly question, but can you use vit c tablets to take with the iron