Is anyone taking Repliva?

So I got a letter in teh amil from Barix (Dr. P) on Friday night after work that Dr. P reviewed my 3 month blood work adn she prescribed Repliva (Iron PIlls). I was wondering if anyone els etakes these, if so did you have any problems wiht them when you started? I started them yesterday - theya re pretty big pills so I cut it in half and took it well after that i almost threw my guts up due to the horrible after taste and smell. But then I realized when i couldnt eat anything after that for hours that maybe something isnt right. Well today all day i feel like my pouch is the size of a pea... i ate one bite of beef stew and was so full. after i took my iron pill today it did make me vomit. I see Dr. P on wednesday this week for my 3 month appt so i will be discussing this with her I was just wondering if anyone has had any issues with this medicaiton? thanks all.

I have not been on repliva.

However, iron supplements in general can be difficult to handle.  They are also known to cause some serious constipation - so be sure to get in extra fluids and take colace if needed so you don't have that going on with everything else.

There have been others who have talked about different iron supplements that worked for them.  Sad to say because I have not needed iron - I did not pay enough attention to the names to recall them right now.

Definately talk to Dr. P on Wednesday.  You might even want to give her a call tomorrow to bounce it off of her earlier.

Pam

Thanks Pam - The pharmacist told me I would get constipated. If I dont feel any better tomorrow Im going to call Dr. P.

Uhhh...I take Repliva, have since 3 months and I've NEVER been constipated.  There are plenty of people on OH who took it and everyone has responded differently.

I used to cut mine too, but I just swallow it whole now.  NO problems at all.
Do you take your pill on an empty stomach?  DONT!  I used too and I got sick as well.  The information tells you that which comes from the pharmacy.

I take mine after I eat my lunch in the afternoon and I don't get sick whatsoever.

I hope you can find a system that works for you.

My MIL had issues for months with that med... and she isn't even a gastric bypass patient... they finally switched her to a much lower dose to take a couple times a day and it seemed to work better that way...

I take Rapliva now also. I actually find that my bowel movements are more regular with the Repliva then with the over the counter iron I had taken before. I do have to eat before taking it but have not had any side effects from it. Its actually the first iron I've taken that I really like.

I took Repliva for quite a while and had no problems.  However, I did not cut it.  Maybe cutting it gives you that nasty taste as it exposes the center?  Dr. P. told me it was fine to swallow whole.  I'm sure she'll have some good advice for you though.  Good luck.

Thank you everyone. Looks like my problems was not taking it with food - maybe. Ill see how today goes and go from there. This is the first time ive ever taken iron pills so ... actually its the first time in my life i take medication and vitamins so i feel like a medicine dummy. lol.

thanks again

Rita,
I took it for a month and hated it. I thought the pills were huge and when I cut them I swear I could feel the edges in my pouch. I did not not realize it at the time - but I was told that you can
grind them and mix with a little juice to swallow. I switched to the chewable iron that Barix sells after a month on them. I did not have any constipation issues. Good luck, Tammy

Hi,
I have been on Repliva for about a year now and actually, only have to take it now every other day.  I've never had any problems and am not constipated like I was before I started taking it.  My surgeon's office told me they had great success and I thought they even said the company gaurantees your iron levels will go up in x-amount of time. 

I do know that the first few months after I had surgery, taking large vitamins made me vomit, they'd get stuck, I guess.  But now I can swallow a handful of vitamins with no problems.

Good luck!