Iron and Caffiene?

[BreaRose]

Ok so, two questions here.

First: I'm iron deficient but everytime i take an iron supplement or a multi-vitamin with iron in it is makes me feel VERY VERY sick for about 15 minutes after taking it. And I always take it with a meal. I tried this iron supplement called "Gentle Iron" that's supposed to be easy on the stomach. And it really is easy on the stomach, but it doesn't work at all. It is very inconsistent at raising my iron levels and I don't feel like it's realiable. Is there anything out there I can eat or take to increase my iron A LOT that won't make me feel sick? Also, I live in Idaho and fresh fish and clams are not availible, so yeah.

Second: I have an 8 hour road trip ahead of me this weekend. I'm not very scared of the trip itself except that I'm going to be leaving early friday morning and it's a REALLLLLYYY boring drive. In the past, I've gotten an energy drink and drank that to keep my eyes open but they make me feel very sick so I don't want to drink them. I think it's because of the excessive amount of caffiene and sugar in them. Is there anything else I can do to fight the drowsiness I get when I take long drives?


Thanks in advance.

[Francesca]

I struggle with anemia if I'm not careful, and the iron pills always nauseated me. What I did that finally raised my hemoglobin consistently was to take a multivitamin with minerals (obviously iron was in there) AND eating a serving of red meat every day. After doing this for about a month I felt so much better.

I also eat iron-fortified foods like cereals, and dark chocolate, blackstrap molasses, dark leafy green vegetables - but make sure you have something with vitamin C in it - like an orange - to help with the iron absorption.

Hope this helps.

[oceanlove]

hey i have anemia also I dont know which brand you bought but the one I use is apparently the most gentle (slow fe) of course always take this during or after a meal. Multi vitamines i have a hard time with also! How about taking half in the morning and the other half at noon. Iron levels take a while to build up you can help the process by eating some red meat,
Energy drinks are a definite no for me the caffeine just throws me into a panic attack. They are some vitamin waters out there that have no cafeine but a good boost of vitamine C to help with fatigue
Hope you get better soon

[sage]

I've heard the best thing to fight fatigue while driving is to stop every hour for about 5 minutes, get out of the car, stretch, walk around.

Good luck!

[amarkham01]

I take a brand called NFH and it's Iron Glycinate. I have never felt sick after taking it. I take it on an empty stomach, hung over, whenever. I always feel fine. It does constipate me, though. I am not sure if it has anythign to do with the fact that I mix it into orange juice instead of swallowing the capsule (it is too big for me).

Maybe you could try taking it in smaller portions? Like if the whole tablet makes you feel sick for 15 minutes, take a half or quarter, and then the rest 20 minutes later?

[asianeko]

I don't know much about iron, but I've driven the 13 hour drive from NH to Ohio many times. If you want to avoid energy drinks, try tea. It works especially well if you don't mind it cold. You can make it iced if you would prefer, and keep it in a cooler. Breakfast Teas are the best, they have a nice amount of caffeine to keep you awake. I am a tea addict and it's never made me feel sick. Just make a ton of it and sip away!

My friends have also used Energy gum like Jolt and whatnot. They say they work but I have never tried them. Nobody I know has felt gross after using them.

[ann32]

i drive distances all the time and I love it! open your windows and blast music aqnd sing your heart out...thats what I do...It never gets old...my kids think im nuts, but being in the car with the windows down and good music blaring is like heaven to me...

[BreaRose]

Thanks for all the helpful answers. I've never thought about drinking tea in the car...because...I dunno! I am a HUGEEEEEE green tea fan and drink it pretty much everyday. I've thought about energy gum but have never tried it either.

I was taking an Iron Glycinate thingie they called "Gentle Iron" and that's the one that didn't make me feel ill but also had half and half results. The reason why I need the iron is more because I "donate" plasma every monday and friday and if my hematocrit (I believe it's called) is too low then I cannot donate and I'm out $20 for that one time. The people at the plasma center told me that hematocrit is linked to the amount of iron in your body and I've already known before that I'm slightly iron deficient if not completely anemic. When I was taking the Gentle Iron EVERYDAY I would go in to plasma and they would test my blood via prick from the finger and my hematocrit would be like a 38 which is like BARELY above the MINIMUM needed to donate. If you get a 37 you can't donate. But then on friday I would go in, having changed NOTHING about my diet or iron intake and I would get a random 39 or 42 which is still "low" in their terms but WAY higher than before and I did nothing different. But then a couple weeks ago I was still taking it regularly with no change in diet or anything and I was getting 32s and 35s constantly. Bleh! Anyway!

I wish I had money to go get some blood tests done and have the Dr. tell me exactly how much iron I need to take so I'm not over doing it or under doing it. !

[fedup_emet]

When it comes to Iron, I take a multivitimin with iron added, because I'm iron deficcient as well. And as for the drowsiness, keep yourself occupied. My experiences with energy drinks and caffene are almost identical to yours.