low iron

Hey guys,
About a month ago I donated blood (no one told me not to and it was 6 months post op) and about 2 hours after the donation, I was about to take the kids swimming and I got really woozy, couldn't even sit or stand up without being dizzy.  Of course I knew that was probably tied to my iron and I did have my labs a week later and the numbers were still low...  SO, the reason I mention that incident, is that now I am trying to train to walk the half marathon in November.  So, I walked 4 miles on Saturday.  I felt fine during and after the walk.  I did my cool down stretches and all that.  After about 2 hours, I felt tired so took a nap and ended up sleeping 4 hours and waking up feeling worse.  I thought maybe blood sugar, but I was eating and drinking regularly and never got any relief at all, so now that I compare it to the post-blood donating, I am thinking this was iron related, too.  Trouble is, doctors think my numbers look OK on labs.  I am taking 150 mg. carbonyl iron daily, spread over 3 doses.  I am drinking 50-75 mg. protein (Nectar) as well as eating protein foods... 

Any advice or thoughts?  I know I do better at night, so for now all I can think of is to make sure I walk in the evenings, and that way I can be woozy while I am sleeping.  I had intended to walk Saturday evening, but we had plans with family, so I decided to walk in the morning to get it out of the way, but my getting ill kept me from following up with the plans anyway..........

I am determined to get through this. 
Thanks,
Jamie

Have you had your doc check your ferritin level? This show if your body is actually storing the iron you're taking, and how much. Very important! With me, I was anemic and was pounding down iron, but not absorbing it or storing it. As soon as I switched to one my body liked, my numbers went up! I now use Hematinic Iron by Solgar. It is a "heme" iron, one made from meat, blood & tissue instead of from plants. We absorb it much better!
 Have your doc run your ferritin level. Not all doc's, run this test. Hope this helps!

Thanks Lyn, yes, my ferritin gets checked.  It got down to 15 right after surgery but has steadily been coming back up.  Around 50-60 now.  My doctors just look at the numbers and if they're in the "normal" range, they think everything's fine....  What do you think of that level?  I am taking the iron I get from Vitalady, maybe I will look for the type you mentioned and give it a try anyway - can't hurt...  How does it affect the constipation problem???
Have a great day - Jamie
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Jamie,
 Yeah, I know what you mean about the doc's....your test results could be barely into the "normal" zone and they throw up their hands and say, oh well....thats good enough! Ummm, what???
 My level was about 9 when I had it first tested. It's now about 60, as well. Vitalady's iron is a real good iron supplement.  Lots of people take it and have great results with it. I think it's great, that we all know to important it is, to stay away from anything that is ferrous (made from plants). Me personally, I like being able to go potty!!  I always take a "heme" iron made from blood and tissue. So I can, go potty! Even desiccated liver tablets is good for us. (not very tasty tho...) So in answer to your question, the Hemetinic Iron by Solgar is NOT constipating at all. I thought that the ferrous sulfate was gonna kill me!!! I ended up having two small hernia's, cause I was so constipated....But not any more!
 I hope everything gets better for you!
P S - I think Vitalady rocks!!