question for the ladies

this is about AF.  i got her 2 days after surgery. and i was so tired from surgery hardly cared,  but i just got it last night and today i feel super tired.  and when i stand up i get little light headed if move fast.  i had been feeling great until now.  so my question is,  post op does AF just draw more out of you then pre op?  could it be my iron?  i know i'm a little anemic but they dont have me on anything anymore post op,  so i was thinking it was that. but i wasn't sure. and if i did my old iron pills are f'n huge, there is no way i could swallow them.  

Yes - the regular iron pills are enormous. Barix sells a chewable which tastes really good. I now get a different brand at Vitacost.com. They are much cheaper than Barix. I had a hysterectomy - so can't answer the rest of ur question. Tammy

Kim, Wish I could help you I got my period the day after surgery and have not seen her since!

Kimmie, I don't believe you lose any more during your cycle than you do pre op.  However - it could definately be an iron issue with your history. The thing that you mentioned about getting dizzy if you stand up to quickly makes it sound like your blood pressure might be low.  Increase your fluids and see if that helps. I'm not sure if you take any high blood pressure meds or not - it might be time you come off of them if so. If this persists, you may need to have some labs drawn before you are scheduled. And although I have not had to take them - yes, they do make different iron pills.  The ones you have from before surgery may be able to be cut in the meantime. Pam

Kim,I had problems for a few months with heavy heavy bleeding that lasted for weeks on end.Gyno put me on Provera for 3 months to help level things off.He explained that we store estrogen in our fat so rapid weight loss causes a flood of estrogen.Because of it I became anemic which kicked my butt.I'd check with your gyno it can't hurt

Aside from the rest of the posts (which are always very helpful and I swear I learn something new every day from them), my nut told me as long as I was having a monthly cycle (i'm perimenopausal and it comes and goes as it pleases) to take iron.  However as you stated, not only were the typical iron pills big, but they were also constipating.  She told me to get "Slow FE" (47.5 mg iron) which are much smaller and actually did help with the constipation.  They are just a little tablet - very easy to swallow.  I used to have the same symptoms as you with lightheadedness and I think the iron was a big help to alleviate that.

thanks so much donna, i will check that out, and also ask at my apt that is in about 2wks. 

I often get dizzy when I get up fast, I think our bodies just need to adjust to such dramatic weight loss, but it certainly could be your iron or BP.  Dr. Pupkova told me it was fine to take the huge iron pills without cutting them up.  I was on the prescription iron, Repliva which were quite large but they went down fine.  Try getting up a little slower and check with the Dr. if it continues, good luck