iron supplements

last sunday i passed out first time ever. short story my doc drew blood on monday and it appears that my iron is running low. nurse said it was 22 on a scale that should run from 35-155.  im still waiting to talk to my doc, but my questions is what kind of supplements do u all take. i had stopped taking iron early on in my recovery because of constipation and doc felt i was older ( i read in menopause) and maybe would not need as much iron. i guess wrong, lol.  i have been dizzy all week, have to ask doc if thats part of the same problem now im afraid to drive. have been in most of the week or letting hubby drive me around. any thoughts??  by the way i never went back to eating red meat, doesnt seem to like my pouch, so i know that may be an issue too. thanks for any input, jacki

Hi Mystic, Sorry you are having this issue! My iron levels are a bit lower than yours at this point, so I know what you are feeling, and I am taking 325mg of ferrous sulfate 3x a day right now to bring them back up, however my dr just scheduled me for an iron infusion on Monday. I have been taking massive amounts of benefiber powder mixed in with my protein shakes and also sennecot and correctol  to counteract the side effects of the iron supplements. Once i have the infusion however that won't be an issue any longer! Woohoo! My heme guy says that some people only have to have them every 6 months or once a year to keep their levels up. Perhaps you could discuss the option with your Doc, i know it's not for everyone, but neither is suffering through severe anemia or massive amounts of iron supps. good luck! ~Lori

thanks for your input lori i will keep that in mind.  this is a first for me, so dont know if it will continue to be an issue or not. doc didnt give me any guidance on which brand to take so i bought vitron-c which seemed like a good option.   i guess only time will tell i have also increased my fiber and started stool softeners again for the time being. she wants to recheck me in 6 weeks. she said my other labs were good hugs, jacki