Iron supplements

I’m taking iron from Twin Lab. My levels are sitting at 5 right now.
Occasionally I'll have some blackberry wine. I've got a checkup scheduled for May, so I'll let you know how it goes then.😍

They go by the name Ferum...
I’m not entirely sure if they carry this specific brand here in the States... maybe they’re more common over in Switzerland or somewhere else...
Anyway, I’m starting my very last pack today... so we’ll see what the bloodwork looks like in two weeks. I’m hoping for an improvement, though honestly, I’m not holding my breath.😢

My iron levels always plummet just a few months after finishing my therapy, and it happens incredibly fast! Since my periods are extremely heavy, it really takes a toll on me. When the weather gets hot and I’m doing any kind of strenuous physical activity—like working hard in the garden or going for a hike—I end up feeling dizzy, nauseous, and just completely wiped out. Everyone around me starts making such a huge fuss, acting like I have some sort of "heart condition," and honestly, I'm going crazy from all the drama. Last time, my iron was down to a 3, and my hematocrit was way below anything you'd consider a normal range for a healthy person. People have actually told me that even dead people have better blood work than I do! Lately, my nails have been turning blue and I feel like I'm stuck in a total coma. What should I do? I take my supplements for six months, then I'm fine for half a year, and then the cycle repeats itself, which has been going on for years now. Logic tells me that I should probably be taking something constantly just to prevent these crashes from happening in the first place. Does anyone know anything about this? Is there something I can take to keep my levels steady and normal? A friend suggested drinking beet juice with sugar, but that sounds way too weak to actually help me.

Blackberry wine and Floradix really did the trick for me... I’d been dealing with constant fatigue issues for what felt like forever... I’m not entirely sure if they actually "cured" anything, but here I am four months later feeling completely fine... all that persistent exhaustion I used to struggle with has just... vanished.

ruggedseal82 said:. I I'm constantly stuffing myself with dried fruit, chard, spinach, and beet greens, all while washing it down with nettle juice.

Furthermore, sesame seeds are an excellent source of iron.

I’ve been fighting this battle with anemia for quite a long time now—it all really kicked off right after I had my baby. Turns out, the culprit is just those heavy menstrual cycles... it's such a constant cycle, honestly! I’ll get my iron levels up, then my hemoglobin starts crashing again, so I spend a few months taking supplements, feel totally fine for about a year, and then—bam—back to square one. It’s exhausting, really. But, if you're wondering what actually works for me to get those numbers back up, I swear by Ferum Lek + Centrum + Vitamin C.

Back when I was a teenager, my iron levels totally tanked.
Instead of just popping pills, my mom used to make me this juice every single morning on an empty stomach—one beet, one apple, two carrots, and an orange. You can totally throw in whatever other fruits or veggies you like. The big secret is the beet; it has to be raw and run through a juicer.

I bounced back so fast, too. Now my iron levels are sitting pretty at 30 or even a little higher.🙂

So, I headed to the doctor today and he prescribed me yet again some Ferum Lek. When I actually had the nerve to ask him how I’m supposed to maintain my iron levels long-term without things getting out of hand, he just shrugged and told me—basically—that I should probably just stay on iron supplements for the rest of my life! I pointed out that my iron levels might actually spike too high since these are serious medications, but he just laughed in my face and insisted that was physically impossible in my specific case. Honestly, I’m not totally sold on that logic, so I think I’ll just stick to taking a quarter or maybe half a tablet at a time and make sure I get my blood work checked much more frequently to be safe.

To help with your blood work, you should also grab:
blackberry wine and blueberry juice.

Seriously, try that recipe I posted earlier. It won't hurt you, I'm positive!

I’m totally convinced that sipping on some fresh veggie juice would be amazing for me, but honestly, trying to juggle that while keeping up with two little kiddos is a whole different story! It feels practically impossible to find the time to peel, chop, and juice everything from scratch every single day. I was just wondering, though—do you think I could whip up a concentrated syrup from it and then just mix it with water to drink?

Of course, it’s absolutely vital to make sure you're incorporating iron-rich foods into your diet—I mean, we're talking red meat, liver, maybe even some venison... and let's be honest, the body just absorbs iron from those much more efficiently than it does from fruits or veggies! But—and this is a big "but"—when your iron levels have been bottoming out for a long time, to the point where your hemoglobin (and your final ferritin numbers, too!) are crashing way below the lower limit... well, at that stage, you really can't get things back on track without actual medication.

feralcobra92 said:I’m sure fresh veggie juice would be great, but I work and have two little kids running around. Honestly, there's no way I could peel, chop, and juice everything every single day. Maybe I could make a concentrated syrup out of it to drink diluted?

Just get up 15 minutes earlier. You don't even need to peel an apple, carrots take like a minute, and lemons or oranges are super fast to peel.

Try to find some time. Those pills used to absolutely wreck my stomach. Over here, people recommend Tot'hema ampoules—you just take them with some juice or something, and apparently, they’re way easier on the stomach.

Still, if I were you, I’d definitely give the juice thing a shot for at least a month or even just a few days to see how it feels. If it works, just sacrifice a little bit of time until your iron levels are up, then just keep it going with extra beets and blueberries and stuff...

Does anyone happen to know what the standard recommended daily doses are for basically healthy people versus those who actually need an extra boost, like pregnant women or ladies dealing with heavy periods? My current tablets have 100 mg of iron in them.

I finally found it! I'm taking 30 mg of Iron every single day now, so it's just a handful of tablets plus a little bit of beet juice and some various healthy smoothies, and everything is working perfectly! I just have to go in for a checkup every five or six months and that's it! I am honestly a total genius!

Ugh, same here. My iron levels were absolutely pathetic at 0.7.

But after 7 months of slamming Ferum, cycling through supplements, praying my liver was holding up, and chugging literal gallons of raspberry wine... I finally hit 14.5.🙂

Seriously, what's the deal? I know deep down that my iron levels will finally climb after seven months of therapy, but the real struggle is actually maintaining those numbers for longer than just two or three months!
Did you ever experience that terrifying weakness after exercising in the heat? Last summer, I was out riding bikes with my son around Central Park, and suddenly I felt so incredibly sick that everyone around us—including myself—was convinced I was having a heart attack. I was nauseous, struggling to catch my breath, and my chest felt so tight. I honestly thought I was about to pass out right there! After that scare, I went in for an EKG and several other cardiac tests, only to find out it was just the anemia causing all that chaos. It really isn't something to take lightly, which is exactly why I decided it was finally time to face this thing head-on and get it sorted out.

Sam Ruiz7 said:Same here. My iron levels were a nightmare at 0.7.

Now, after seven months on Ferum, drinking tons of cycle juice, eating massive amounts of liver, and chugging gallons of blackberry wine, I'm sitting at 14.5.🙂

Glad you're still kicking! How did you even function with iron that low? I had no idea it could drop that far.

Man, when my iron levels first tanked, I was dealing with some serious dizziness. Like, every time I’d bend over to pick something up, I’d see literal stars dancing in front of my eyes. My iron was sitting at a pathetic 5.6. I tried taking Ferum, and while I was actually on it, things felt fine—but the second I stopped? Boom. It crashed again. My iron stayed stuck around 3 for a while, and honestly, I didn't even feel anything because my body just... adapted, I guess? But when it hit 0.7? That was absolutely brutal. My heart was constantly racing, and after walking up just a few stairs, I genuinely thought I was going to die. My hemoglobin dropped to 74, too. My doctor actually looked at me like I was a superhero, asking how I was even standing or walking. At first, they were talking about a blood transfusion, but once the specialists at the hematology clinic saw me—and they were freaking out that I was even upright—they suggested hitting me with massive, crazy doses of Ferum instead. Their logic was that every transfusion is basically a transplant, so it's better to try everything else first. Between those heavy-duty doses of Ferum and all the stuff I researched online, my iron is finally back up to 14.5.

How long does it actually take for iron supplementation to bring hemoglobin levels back to a normal range? Is we talking one month, or two?

Sophia Barnes73 said:Try to find some time—honestly, those tablets used to absolutely wreck my stomach back in the day.

And honestly, they just wreck your teeth in general—not to mention leaving them with this really unflattering yellow tint. 🙄

Sophia Barnes73 said:Honestly, if I were in your shoes, I’d definitely give the juice thing a shot—even if it's just for a day or a month—just to see if it actually makes a difference for you. If it works, it might be worth the temporary sacrifice until your iron levels are back up. Once you're feeling better, you could always maintain those levels by loading up on things like beets and blueberries... you know, just keeping that momentum going.

I’d also suggest adding some young nettles to the mix. You can find them everywhere this time of year—they're basically free if you know where to look—and you prep them exactly like you would spinach or Swiss chard. Honestly, they are an absolute iron powerhouse. I’ve tried it myself, and it's such a great way to boost things up naturally without spending a dime. It’s definitely worth a shot. 👍