Question re: Iron Supplement

Iron sulfate, iron gluconate, iron fumerate .... Which of these, in any, or all, can be taken by gastric bypass surgery patients (Roux-en-Y)?  I can't remember which is the best to take given malabsorption issues. Thanks! -CF

Ferrous sulfate is the one to be avoided since it can cause gastric issues.  The others are fine. I was doing Vitron C which is fumerate, I believe, but I switched to Tender Iron (Vitalady at www.vitalady.com ) which is carbonyl iron and my iron levels jumped nicely so I'm sticking with it.  Each pill is 25 mg of elemental iron (the Vitron C was 66 mg of elemental iron per tablet).  The Tender Iron are soft enough to chew - they have a slight metallic taste but I chew 'em with a chewable vitamin C which overshadows the taste.  Many iron supplements will say 325 mg or so but that include the binder (sulfate, gluconate, fumerate) - what is important is the elemental iron (iron itself).   Good luck, Kathy

Thanks for your quick reply!  I was pretty sure the ferrous sulfate was the one to avoid ... no surprise there since it is the most common to be found OTC everywhere ....   I'm going to give the gluconate a try and see how that goes .. nothing ventured, nothing gained, I say.  I had also done a bit of online research and had learned about the reality of and importance of the elemental numbers... I am on a prescription iron and will be going for update blood work in the next couple of weeks .. I'm just getting organized since I suspect my iron levels might be a tad on the low side just by the way I'm feeling (lethargic, lack of energy but no tiredness per se) ...  Short of having blood work done on a monthly basis .. it's hard to know sometimes whether what's going on is a temporary thing or the sign of something more long term starting up. Thanks again!!!!!!!! :) Carol

Be sure you take some form of vitamin C with iron.  It will enhance the absorption of the iron.  It doesn't have to be  a supplement, either.  Eat an orange or drink some orange juice, if you tolerate it. XOXOXO, Sharyn Nurse2b

Yup - always do .. learned about the Vitamin C + iron a long time ago when I first started taking the prescription iron. Thanks! Carol

We can plan on iron issues. Sometimes they fix easily, sometimes it takes a few tries. We had to try sevral irons before we found the one that works for us. I really can't take many of them, never culd, even pre-op. Between tummy and, you know, the OTHER, I wondred what would happen.

But eventually we found one that works very well for us, doesn't upset either one of us, levels are way beyond good into excellent.

Ones that we tried that had no effect for us:
Niferex forte (rx)
Trinsicon (rx)
Chromagen Forte (rx)
combos of the above
ferrous fumarate straight
Vitron C (fe fumarate with C)
fe gluconate
trisglycinate
bisglycinate
glycinate
iron amino acid chelate
and combos thereof

We finally found Tender Iron and we have been well since. We adjust up or down, as needed.

But it took some TIME and experimenting and lots of lab work.