Iron tablets, is there another way?

In November I was told that I had a mild iron deficiency and so the doctor put me on Iron&VitC tablets. He said I needed them and that no matter how much red meat and spinach or silverbeet I ate it would not raise my iron levels back up to normal again.
So I took them for about a month and stopped because I was forever having sore stomachs/cramps and constipation. It was so bad it would wake me up in the middle of the night.
Obviously I did not take them long enough because my midwife just told me that my Ferriten count is 13 and should be 20. So I'm back on them again.
This morning I woke up twice with the cramping and constipation/diarrheoa. And I still had it when I woke up at 5.45am. It is gone now but I know if I take the iron tablet it will happen again.

Does anyone know of any other iron supplements that are not as harsh on the tummy?
They make these iron melts now... has anyone tried them?
I don't know that they would have enough iron in them for me.

Should I just phone my midwife and ask her?

I seriously do not want to keep taking these iron tablets. I would rather be so low in iron that I am constantly tired and having headaches than suffer like this every day. I am sure that baby is getting enough iron. Usually babies will take all the vitamins and minerals they need and leave mommy low.

When our patients iron is low we recommend

Ferrous Sulfate 325mg and don't take with vitamin take sepearte and With OJ it is absorbed better.

I used it and it helped me.

HTH

I used to take Feosol, it's time released so you don't get the stomach problems.

I used to take the same and sometimes only half a tablet at a time.

I also agree with what Jacobsmama said, take with OJ and not with other vitamins.

I would take one tablet every other day if you can.

I know it sounds silly but how about Flinstone vitamins with Iron? I dont know how much Iron you need but that might work. Kait takes them daily and she does not complain about her tummy.

The tablets the doctor prescribed are actually Iron and Vitamin C combined in one.
They are called "Ferrous Gluc + Ascorbic Acid TA (HEA)"
They do not say the dosage on the bottle. But I am supposed to take one in the morning and one at night. It's just too much for my stomach.

I guess I'll phone the midwife and ask her.
I don't want to switch to something else if it's not going to be enough iron to get my levels back to normal. I'm assuming they are pretty low because I am really tired all the time and always have headaches.

I don't think there would be enough iron in the Flintstones vitamins because they are for kids. But thanks for the suggestion. I'll check with my midwife and let you all know what she says.
I have to phone her anyway about booking another US.

Me too, my doc said it was enough in the Feosol but your levels may be lower than mine were. He did prescribe some to jump start me, but I only had to take them for a few weeks and then he told me to get the Feosol.

I was on slow Fe when I was preg with Jay, it didn't cause any stomach problems

Iron supplements do the exact same thing to me too, and I'm always mildly anemic. I just try to eat better. More Broccoli, Spinach, Green Beans, meat of any kind, etc. Sorry you're going through this. Have you tried to search the internet for other alternatives? Maybe there is something out there that we all don't know of?

Here's a good article: Anemia and Pregnancy

And here is another from the same site:
Iron

And here is a government site that shows a TON of foods that are rich in iron:
Dietary Supplement - Iron

I hope this helps you a little.

My midwife just came over and had a look at the Iron tablets and said to try just taking one tablet in the mornings and see how that goes. She said that my haemaglobin level is fine... it's just the Ferriten level that is low.

If they still cause me pain then I will ask my midwife about the slow release type.

And I'm booked in for my rescan... on the 12th of April!

Erika thank you so much for all the information! I will read it.
I think I will take the one tablet in the mornings and also try to eat more red meat and greens. And oranges or OJ. My diet isn't too bad... when I can be bothered cooking Sometimes we eat too much Takeout.

I know they just brought out these Iron melts recently... they look ok. I might have a look at the supermarket and pharmacy for them. They are probably quite expensive though.