Iron and hunger, a hmmmm moment

I had my labs done for my two year annuals and they all came out just fine except for my iron.  My iron is really quite low.  My doctor asked me to start taking iron pills every day and told me to recheck the iron levels in three to four months.  As soon as I started taking my iron I noticed a very odd thing, my hunger completely disappeared.  As a matter of fact, I am having a hard time getting in enough calories to sustain my weight and I have dropped a few pounds in one week.  This can't be water weight as I actually expected to gain a few pounds right around now and when I check my calories, they are way below my usual.  I know that this is not a scientific study, it's just my experience and the correlation could be caused my any number of other things, but the two changes happened almost at the same time, I took in iron, and hunger disappeared.  Could it be that my body was giving off signs of hunger as an inducement for more iron in my diet?  Could other vitamin deficiencies show up as perceived hunger?   I really don't know the answers to these questions, but I thought I would ask the experts, you guys, if you have seen any similar things. 

In any case, I am going to have to actively take in more calories if I don't want to go below 100 lbs.  PB, cheese and avocados are my new best friends.

Hmmm, interesting!

Are your bowels moving? I only ask because some folks when they start on iron get backed up and hunger generally falls by the wayside for a bit, I think just in an effort to not cram more down where nothing is coming out!

My being anemic does not change my hunger, but definitely changes my compulsions.  When I am chomping on ice and actively looking for ice to chomp, then I know my iron is low. 

I know you probably know all the "do not take your iron 2 hours near these things" but I am going to spit it out just for the sake of someone who might not know.

Calcium/dairy *unless you are taking Proferrin, says MacM*, nuts, whole grains, eggs, teas/coffee, and hmmm.  I think there is one more thing, but my brain is mushy right now. 

Good luck finding out your answer!

You know it is weird, I expected to be stuffed up, but I am not.  My bowels are moving just fine, but I am almost repulsed by food all of a sudden.  It's been this way for over a week now and it started on the same day I took my iron for the first time. 

Thank you for sharing the foods I should not eat with iron.  I did not know this at all.  I knew the calcium thing but not the other foods.  I have been doing it all wrong, as I have been taking the iron with eggs and coffee in the morning.  I guess I should wait two hours. I was told to take it with food and vitamin C.

Well cool that you are not!  That's boo to be constipated !  I know sometimes iron makes folks feel puny, but you do not feel puny, you just are not food lusty.  That's not a bad deal :}

You are welcome!  I only lurk around the lab folks since my protein is the poot and learn stuff from them, otherwise, we do not seem to be told much of that stuff!

And I do not think you did it all wrong - but I think the point only is, the chances of best absorption are in that environment, because obviously folks absorb iron and eat all sortsa stuff and its not important enough to give us guidelines it does not seem! 

I have low iron as well. Next week I'll be taking more labs to check my levels. I know when my Iron is low when I get cold and start to shiver.

My problem is I get constipated from taking the Iron Supplements. I've tried Vitalady Tender Iron as well as Vitron-C. I haven't found a supplement that doesn't make me constipated.

I've also tried a couple of different types of stool softeners/laxatives ie Colace, Peri-Colace, Ducalax. They don't help.

Any suggestions???

Proferrin is supposed to be easy on a belly, Mikey - have you tried it yet? 

I am sorry. Constipated is no way to be!

Nope...Is this something that can be picked up in a local pharmacy ie CVS or is it an Internet orderable item?

I havent found anywhere local that has it, you can order it from Vitalady or from here.

https://www.proferrin.com/order-online.php

For them, the shipping and handling is built into the price of the bottle, so the price given is for all of it (unless there are tax charges).

Bifera is also a heme-iron, but you need to take twice the dose of Bifera to get a single dose of the heme in Proferrin, so ultimately while Bifera can be purchased locally, its going to end up costing more, but it something if you are in a fix!

Thanks...

Does the same calcuim rule apply to this product?

YippeSkippy! it looks like the answer is hells to the no!

http://www.proferrin.com/

Contains Only Iron from Natural Sources*

The HIP in Proferrin® is extracted from hemoglobin, a naturally occurring iron source found in red meat and poultry.² Heme iron sources used by Proferrin® do not contain common allergens, such as milk or wheat products, gluten, or significant amounts of oils or fats. If you have specific allergies, please contact your physician or Colorado Biolabs for more information.

Doesn’t Compete with Other Nutrients*

The HIP found in Proferrin® is absorbed differently than traditional irons. Unlike other irons, Proferrin® does not compete with other nutrients.^3,4

Fewer Dosing Restrictions*

HIP does not appear to be affected by calcium, coffee, or other foods, and can be taken with meals.¹ It may even replace intravenous irons.⁵

Fewer Side Effects*

Traditional iron supplements are made with ionic irons, which can cause side effects such as constipation, cramping, gas and other forms of digestive system problems.^6,7,8 Proferrin® causes less gas⁹ and is unlikely to cause common iron-related digestive system side effects. This is due to Proferrin’s® heme iron polypeptide being absorbed differently than that of non-heme iron.

If you take a traditional iron supplement to get your Recommend Daily Allowance (RDA), then you may be totally missing the target. The USDA recommendations assume that 75 percent of your daily iron comes from heme Iron sources rather than non-heme iron.