Question:
I am concern about intake of Iron-I need it to eliminate my fybriod growth

I have several fybroids and there are times I bleed heavly and I am concern after surgery I will not be able to get enough in my body to slow down the bleeding. I have trouble now and am irregular. What suggestion to you have to help keep this from becoming a big issue.    — ANTOINETTE B. (posted on April 23, 2004)

April 22, 2004
I also have fibroid tumors and am almost 13 months post op. I've not had any trouble getting in enough iron. I only have to take my iron supplements when I'm on my period. However, every once in a while when I start feeling really tired, I'll take an iron pill every other day for that week...then I'm fine. My blood work has been great. I just have my blood work done periodically and keep an eye on my levels. I would suggest talking to your surgeon or your ob/gyn...they will be better able to tell you what is or is not good for your situation. Good luck!
   — Renee B.

April 23, 2004
Antoinette, I can so understand the fibroid issues. Although mine were pre-op, so I am not able to answer the iron questions. However, I wanted to relate my situation. I had soooo many fibroids that I would bleed continuously for weeks at a time. I had huge clots and at times when I showered it would look like a murder scene. I would soak the largest pad made in about 20 minutes. For 3 days out of every month I was confined to my home because the bleeding was so heavy. My gynecologist performed a wonderful procedure that literally changed my life. I had an ablation performed. That is where the lining of my uterus was removed. There are several different types including a balloon ablation in which a balloon is inserted through your vagina and into your uterus and hot saline is inserted into the balloon, this then burns the lining and it sloughs off, never to return again. Because my fibroids were so large, I had a rollerball ablation in which something like a cheese cutter is rolled along the lining and it removes the lining. Now, this is done under general anesthesia and is an outpatient procedure with no incision. I literally had no pain whatsoever post op, not even requiring an advil. Since then(12/00), I have never required even a pad during my periods. I will know that it is my period because I will lightly spot and see it when I wipe, and that is it!! With this procedure all of your organs are intact including your ovaries, so hormone production doesn't change. This procedure can only be performed if you are finished with childbearing. My husband had just had a vasectomy, so I qualified!! Apparently, if you DO get pregnant following the ablation, it can be very dangerous for you. I see by your profile that you are 40, so maybe that is where you are in life. I would definitely recommend looking into this procedure. It literally changed my life and gave it back to me. Good luck!! Shelley
   — Shelley.

April 23, 2004
There ARE irons that do not consitpate and are better absorbed than the ferrous sulfate you're thinking oof. Iron is always taken with vit C, never with dairy, caffeine or whole grains, other vites, minerals or meds. Alone together for at least one hour. The one I like the best is carbonyl form of iron, but it's low dose per pill. It's fairly cheap and they're small, so easy enough to adjust the dose to fit. The other I like is polysaccharride. Large mg per pill. Both are gentle. One works better than the other, for you, for me, but no way to know til you try. I was tormented with what was probably fibroids, too. Of course, in those days, it was "all in my head", so eventually, they just took it all away, which was FINE with me! I spent most of my life anemic and being for fedce ferrous sulfate (which hurt going in and going out, if you know what I mean). After RNY, my doc used a gentler form of iron and suddenly, I was no longer anemic!
   — vitalady