Low Hemoglobin....help?

My iron is at 86 and must be over 100. What is the best advice for getting my levels up? I live in Canada and take over-the-counter ferrous gluconate. Thanks Karen G

Hello, i am not a professional.... i just like to do look things up and reseach online. when i was a new post op....i had low hemogloblin, too. to get my iron levels up.... 1 )  - I started taking extra vitamin C with my iron pill. i take vitron-C - Click here i also take extra vitamin C as well even though it has vitamin C in my iron pill. taking extra Vitamin C ....promotes iron absorption 2 ) - I got my iron from foods...

-Bran flakes cereal, multigrain breads, rye bread, whole wheat bread -all meats , Beef liver,steak, shrimp, lean ground beef, tuna, Halibut.....etc. - all kind of beans - kidney beans....Navy beans.........etc. - whole grain foods , mixed peanuts - Whole wheat breads/ multigrain cereals, oatmeal - vegies - Broccoli ,Green peas, Spinach - dark green leafy vegetables -eggs, Swiss chard,  - drinking ...coffee, tea - sugar free chocolate i am sure there is A LOT more foods that have iron in them it is worth to Do a little reseach in google.com and find these iron -rich foods... then go buy the foods that are high in iron. add them to your diet. eat iron-rich foods and take your iron pill ....this is how i got my iron level's up... i am over 3 years post op ...and my iron level is just fine :-)

best wishes to you Happy Holidays hugss Lizzy

Thanks !!! I was not taking extra vitamin c and I will run out right now and buy some. I hope this is the trick. Much appreciated. I also appreciate your iron foods listing. Most of these items are in my diet. I eat only multigrain products, lean meats, fresh fruits and dark green veggies. I probably need to eat more meat than I currently do. I am following weigh****chers. Thanks, Karen G

Great advice on the previous post. My only addition is that if you have had a cold or infection, your iron levels may be low from that.  Low hemoglobin and low iron are not necessarily the same problem.  Make sure that other nutrients such as folate and B12 aren't an issue by checking your MCV (mean corpuscular volume).  If your MCV is high, you may be losing hemoglobin because your blood cells aren't able to mature before they are sent out to carry oxygen around. (ask your doc). If iron is the issue - add the Vit C  and recognize that iron from animal products is better absorbed than that from plant-based foods. Good luck!