Anemia

[loismwallace]

I had an appt on Thurs, 3/6. My nurse called yesterday and said I am borderline anemic. She said normal range starts at 11.5 and I'm 11.6. My Dr wasn't in the office yesterday so he could prescribe me something. Does anyone know what the reccomended dose is for pregnancy. Plus, I know this is going to cause constipation which I really haven't battled. Any natural remedies? I drink plenty of water and it has seem to keep it at bay. I'm worried the iron pills will make it horrible.

[Skylynns_mom]

I have been exhausted maybe the iron thing is why i have been so tired.  Hopefully once i pick up my Rx and start taking them I will start to feel alittle better.  I have been super thirsty too, i didn;t know that was a sign of animea....guess we learn something new everyday.  I really hope that i dont get constipated more from the pills since i already seem to have an issue with that throughout this pregnancy

[Want2BeMama]

im 23 weeks pregnant and i found out i had low iron when i was 14 weeks my Dr. put me on an iron pill thas called REPLIVA i take one a day with juice and food, at the beggining it was making me constipated but now im really regular i still take my prenatal vitamins too and i dirnk lots and lots of water!

You should be fine but if you really get constipated i was giving a stool softern over the counter that is safe to take while pregnant, hope that helps and good luck.

[ftogirl]

Constipation- I have had a constant battle with this!  I have to take Citrucel once a day (My doctor okayed it.)  Plus my prenatal vitamin has a stool softener in it...and I still have to add more to my diet!  haha  
I eat Total Whole Grain cereal about every day; it has several grams of fiber.  Some other things I've found that have a lot of fiber are- Quaker Weight Control oatmeal, some Granola cereals, some yogurts, Sam's Choice (walmart) apple juice with added fiber, etc.  Right now I have stopped the yogurt with fiber because I read the ingredients one day and it had chicory root which I read is not good during pregnancy.  But who knows?  Just a precaution I wanted to take just in case.  But I ate that yogurt for several weeks with no problems.
And getting more water definitely helps.  I would slowly add the fiber to your diet, though, or you could quickly take a turn in the softer direction.  :)

[loismwallace]

Ok, the nurse called my house number instead of work yesterday. I called this morning and they are calling me in a prescription. They said to continue with my prenatal vitamins. I read on my prenatal that there is 28 mg of iron in them and the recommended is 30mg when preg. Will that not be too much iron? I'm sure they know what they're doing, but I can't help but wonder if that's too much....Oh well! Drs orders. I see prune juice in my future.....Yuck! Thanks ladies for your advise.

[beautifullychaotic]

If your doctor doesnt call one in and you dont hear from him then I would call there and let them know how you feel. I dont think it would be a good idea to just go out and buy a supplement. You dont want to over do iron.  Especially when it comes to constipation. I remember when wad anemic I was soo tired and I was always sooo white and pale. And thirsty! I LOVED ice cubes. Pregnant women that crave ice cubes could possibly mean a sign of anemia.  Good luck to you. Dont fret about it. If you do get constipation go to prune juice..or eat things with lots of fiber!

[loismwallace]

You have all been very helpful.

Skylynns_mom, how did it make you feel. I mean the anemia. I just feel so drained here lately and a little light headed to boot. The nurse is suppose to call me back today if my Dr wants me on iron supplement. If she doesn't call, should I just buy something over the counter? I wonder if it's safe. Crud, now I'm just confusing myself. I guess if I don't hear from her today I should call her in the morning.

[Skylynns_mom]

My doctor just called me about an hour ago and said the same thing, she wants me to start taking iron pills once a day with a meal everyday so that once i have the baby my blood count doesn't drop to low.  She said to make sure i take it with food so its absorbed better, hope this helps.

[precious03]

With my 1st child my iron levels dropped to 9 and I started blacking out about 7 times a day.  They had to run numerous tests before they figured out the problem.  I was on my prenatal vitamin and had to add 1 extra iron tablet to that everyday.  It did cause constipation, and the only thing I could do was drink lots of fluid and try to get as much exercise as possible.

[carissarae]

i have been anemic for years, and have to take iron pills daily, just drink plenty of fluids and you will be fine!!!

[mo41486]

Constipation really sucks!  I know what gets me going is walking on my treadmill for a while.  If that doesn't work I go to plum juice.  If worst comes to worst I go to prune juice.  The stuff tastes nasty but it does the trick.

[michelle148]

I believe its one a day