Dealing with Anemia

Brandon Nelson3 said:Soy products and massive amounts of calcium can totally block iron absorption.

Thanks for the heads-up. But wait, what counts as "massive" calcium here? Like, does drinking a gallon of milk a day actually mess things up?

Brandon Nelson3 said:must be the results

and even for this 😳)
Look, lady, it’s your topic, but I'm out here digging through the dirt just trying to find some actual info. 🙂

I struggled with anemia for quite a few years back in the day. I was a vegetarian during my teenage years, and honestly, doctors threw all sorts of different medications at me, but nothing seemed to make a dent. Eventually, they put me on some iron supplements—specifically Hefe-Iron—and that finally did the trick; my blood work actually started looking normal. Fast forward a few years later, and my iron levels are totally fine now. I don't deal with those dizzy spells anymore, and I’ve actually put on some weight 😁
As for little kids, you really can't go wrong with plenty of green veggies and meat 😉

hmm.. soy has iron too, apparently 😕
I honestly have no clue how people manage to keep their blood work normal. I don't get it. And frankly? I'm jealous.

If you're dealing with anemia, honestly, spirulina is such a total lifesaver!

Edward Green said:Hmm... but there's iron in soy, you know.😕
Honestly, I have no idea how some people manage to maintain perfectly normal blood work. I truly don't get it—and frankly, I’m a little jealous!

As for me, my blood counts actually improved once I cut out meat entirely. I know, I know—it sounds completely counterintuitive! But I started eating way more vegetables than I used to, especially all those leafy greens.

I've been struggling with my iron levels my entire life.

Quick question: can this trivalent iron you get from veggies actually replace what's in meat? A friend's doctor told her it's a no-go.

Edward Green said:I figured I’d jump in early just to be safe—proactive, right? 😁
Do I actually need to take extra iron during pregnancy? I don't plan on raising my kid to be a vegetarian—especially since I've dealt with blood count issues my whole life—but still. I won't be pregnant for a while, but it's good to know ahead of time. 🙂

Not necessarily. If you're planning to conceive, it's usually best to start taking prenatal vitamins a few months beforehand—think of it as prepping the house for the new tenant! :-) They’re packed with everything needed for a healthy pregnancy. The only real "extra" I'd suggest (assuming your doctor gives the green light) would be calcium—I personally swear by coral-based supplements.

Aenea said:Add some fresh fruit or veggies to the meal, since anything with Vitamin C helps you soak up more iron.

Just wanted to double down on this... pretty sure it works.

allegra said:Exactly. If you serve a steak with some fresh bell peppers or sauerkraut, you're getting both iron and Vitamin C. And kids can eat all of that at this age.👍

Sure, they can, but do they actually want to? Plus, where are you even going to find fresh bell peppers right now? Trying to get a kid to eat fruit this time of year—like finding decent, organic citrus locally 😢—is a nightmare. Good luck trying to squeeze juices or whatever else they'll demand.

When my kid was around three, he was dealing with some low iron issues. I ended up giving him this Green Steel syrup (made by Specchiasol) which is basically just extracts from beet, spinach, and other veggies. It actually tastes pretty good, and you can just pick it up at a local health food store. It didn't mess with his stomach or anything, and thankfully, it didn't ruin his teeth either. I also made sure to prep plenty of horse meat for him—even making stews. I'm talking horse meat meatballs served with sides of spinach, chard, or kale. Plus, dried apricots, prunes, dark chocolate, and some Fruit King berry juice fortified with iron...

So, I’ve got this buddy who was dealing with some seriously low iron levels, right? And get this—his doctor actually told him to start sipping on some blackberry wine, just like one little shot a day, maybe a tiny bit less than that, and I swear to god, his levels totally bounced back! He feels amazing now, weeeeeeeeeeee!

If anyone else is struggling with that kind of stuff and needs a lead, I’ve got the contact info for the guy he bought it from, so just shoot me a DM and I'll pass it along!

Hello everyone, I have a few questions if anyone is willing to offer some insight. We are looking at a 50-year-old male who struggled with low iron levels last year, but now it has recurred. Additionally, his hemoglobin is slightly low, and his Ferritin is sitting at 7, while the lower limit should be 28. He has been taking supplements for months, but they don't seem to have made much of an impact. Now, we are wondering what the next steps should be. We are currently waiting to hear from a hematologist, but if anyone here has experience dealing with this kind of situation and knows how to manage the anxiety surrounding it... Thank you all😉

placidmarlin15 said:Hello everyone, I have a few questions if anyone is willing to offer some insight. We are looking at a 50-year-old male who struggled with low iron levels last year, but now it has recurred. Additionally, his hemoglobin is slightly low, and his Ferritin is sitting at 7, while the lower limit should be 28. He has been taking supplements for months, but they don't seem to have made much of an impact. Now, we are wondering what the next steps should be. We are currently waiting to hear from a hematologist, but if anyone here has experience dealing with this kind of situation and knows how to manage the anxiety surrounding it... Thank you all😉

I assume this has been sorted by now, but let's bump this thread anyway.
😉

There are several tests required because he is clearly losing blood somewhere; the question is just where. As far as I know, a gastroscopy and a colonoscopy are standard procedure. Generally, these types of deficiencies are more common in women due to heavy periods or fibroids.
He likely received an iron infusion to replenish those Ferritin reserves while they hunt for the actual cause of the loss.

I have a bit of a question for you all! I’ve been dealing with anemia since my teenage years, and now that I'm 40, it's still a constant battle. Every time I get my blood work done, the results are absolutely abysmal, which leads to me spending months chugging iron supplements just to get back to baseline. On my most recent lab test, my iron levels were sitting at a measly 3, and everything else looked equally terrible. My doctors won't even give me a maintenance dose; they just wait until things crash and then try to fix the damage after the fact. Between having heavy periods and an obvious genetic predisposition to anemia, I'm constantly fighting an uphill battle. To make matters even more complicated, I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and I'm currently on Synthroid. I absolutely cannot afford to let my iron levels drop any further because once they do, I honestly feel like a total zombie.
So, what could I potentially take on a regular basis to keep my iron levels steady within a normal range instead of this exhausting roller coaster of highs and lows?
I was thinking maybe I could just take a quarter of a 100mg tablet—basically 25mg daily—as a permanent maintenance plan, and then check back in with my doctor after a few months to see how it goes.
Are there specific supplements designed specifically for maintaining healthy blood counts rather than just treating an acute deficiency? And does anyone know what kind of daily dosage would be enough to prevent my levels from plummeting again?
Also, besides Vitamin C, what else would be beneficial to take alongside it to help everything stay balanced?

feralcobra92 said:I have a bit of a question for you all! I’ve been dealing with anemia since my teenage years, and now that I'm 40, it's still a constant battle. Every time I get my blood work done, the results are absolutely abysmal, which leads to me spending months chugging iron supplements just to get back to baseline. On my most recent lab test, my iron levels were sitting at a measly 3, and everything else looked equally terrible. My doctors won't even give me a maintenance dose; they just wait until things crash and then try to fix the damage after the fact. Between having heavy periods and an obvious genetic predisposition to anemia, I'm constantly fighting an uphill battle. To make matters even more complicated, I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and I'm currently on Synthroid. I absolutely cannot afford to let my iron levels drop any further because once they do, I honestly feel like a total zombie.
So, what could I potentially take on a regular basis to keep my iron levels steady within a normal range instead of this exhausting roller coaster of highs and lows?
I was thinking maybe I could just take a quarter of a 100mg tablet—basically 25mg daily—as a permanent maintenance plan, and then check back in with my doctor after a few months to see how it goes.
Are there specific supplements designed specifically for maintaining healthy blood counts rather than just treating an acute deficiency? And does anyone know what kind of daily dosage would be enough to prevent my levels from plummeting again?
Also, besides Vitamin C, what else would be beneficial to take alongside it to help everything stay balanced?

I’ve been a vegetarian for 10 years and struggled significantly with anemia, though I must admit I’ve managed to stabilize things over the last two years.😁

From what I understand, a healthy body requires about 15 mg of iron per day. For me, after six months of taking Hefe-Iron along with Vitamin C, I had another bout where I took Natural Wealth supplements. They aren't particularly potent, so a single 28mg tablet is sufficient.
If you want to avoid pills entirely, why not look into those syrups that come pre-mixed with Vitamin C?

And eat plenty of nuts; they make a difference for me.

So, I dealt with anemia myself, but it wasn't even caught until late in my freshman year of high school. They kept shoving these random pills down my throat, but honestly? Nothing worked. I think my iron levels were sitting somewhere around 0.5.
I ended up going to Mayo Clinic, where I saw this amazing doctor—I'm pretty sure her name was Nakić. She sent me over to Mercury for some follow-ups, but I still had to head back to the clinic every single month just to get my blood checked.
She put me on this liquid supplement called Ferohel. I had to take three big tablespoons of it every single day, and I stuck to that routine for about a year. On top of that, I was taking multivitamins, like Centrum or something similar. It took a full year—maybe eighteen months, actually—for my iron levels to finally climb up to a 6.
Fast forward two years, I got my blood drawn again and my iron levels were actually better than expected. Obviously, I'm not on iron supplements anymore, but I still grab a Centrum once a week or so. I guess the vitamins help your body actually absorb the iron more effectively.

Anyway, that’s just my experience. Honestly, give that Ferohel stuff a shot. Nothing else touched the needle for me before that. And hey, you don't need to go around drinking blackberry wine or any of those old-school remedies, though you can if you want. 🙂