Anaemia

PeanutBean · Sep 26th, 2008, 12:20 PM

Having found out I have to go on stupid iron tablets I've been looking into what my test results mean and found some interesting stuff. I thought I'd share this particular passage with you:
In pregnancy, anaemia occurs in a different way. There is an increased need for iron, to supply the mother and fetus, but there is also a ‘relative’ reduction in the amount of circulating iron and RBCs. As pregnancy progresses, placental hormones bring about an increase in the amount of blood vessels in the woman’s body, which are needed to ensure that the uterus, placenta, lungs and breasts are well perfused. This causes a relative drop in blood pressure, as there is not as much relative fluid circulating through the system to keep these extra blood vessels supplied. To compensate, the woman produces more plasma, the liquid in which all components of the blood are transported, such as RBCs, white blood cells and platelets. In addition, the woman produces more RBCs (which is why it is important to ensure that the woman has good iron levels to begin with, to ensure she can supply the iron needed to create these extra RBCs). However, the amount of plasma produced is much greater than the amount of RBCs produced. There is a 50% increase in plasma volume, and only an 18% increase in red cell mass. As a result, there is ‘haemodilution’ (the blood is diluted) and so there appears a relative physiological anaemia, which is a normal part of pregnancy. There is some debate about the treatment of anaemia in pregnancy, as it is acknowledged that some degree of anaemia is normal. In fact, apparent anaemia can be a sign of excellent adaptation to pregnancy, with lower haemoglobin concentrations associated with higher birth weights, and higher haemoglobin concentrations associated with preterm birth and lower birth weight babies. The Word Health Organisation advise that haemoglobin levels should not fall below 11.0g/dL, and certainly haemoglobin concentrations of less than 10.5g/dL should be regarded as abnormal. At this stage, treatment of anaemia is normally commenced, by iron supplementation with ferrous sulphate and/or diet.

It's from this website: http://www.studentmidwife.net/midwif...5-anaemia.html so should be relatively reputable.

redberry3 · Sep 26th, 2008, 13:28 PM

thanks!! that is very interesting.

sorry about your having to go on pills.

elm · Sep 26th, 2008, 18:15 PM

Very interesting! Have you looked into the benefits of taking iron diluting sachets in water? I've only seen them advertised but they claim to have less side effects that way. Might be worth having a look at.

Just found this that looks scientific!!!
http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-...003#Supp-Forms

They are selling the sachets though.

x

JeffsWife07 · Sep 26th, 2008, 20:43 PM

Thanks for that info. I had to go on iron pills too and they keep me so sick.

mummymadness · Sep 28th, 2008, 13:35 PM

I hateeeeeeeee my iron pills , Iam on ferrous sulphate

.
Iam very badly anaemic in pregnancy

, They make me sick my poop Black lol .. I dont feel any better for taking them , I probably feel worse when i take them as to before i took them .
Ohh well ill keep popping them untill midwife tells me to stop , Great info thow Peanut thanks . xxx .

PeanutBean · Sep 28th, 2008, 14:10 PM

Glad you ladies were interested. I was surprised! If your tablets are making you feel really crap it's worth talking to your doctor about it as there are maybe three or so different types and you can also alter how many you take as well.

Thanks for your info Elm!

SwissMiss · Sep 29th, 2008, 07:26 AM

Hi all, great info Peanut thanks!
Don't wanna stick my nose where it dont' belong, but if I may recommend taking your iron pills with food, that often helps. If it doesn't, by all means talk to your doc about what type of iron you're on. Iron VERY often makes people ill, but you may react just that slight bit better to a different concoction...
Also, try to eat 150g red meat (well cooked of course) every 2 or 3 days to help boost your iron thru diet; lentils, spinach should be eaten with a source of vitamin C (typically OJ) to help absorption; veg iron is harder to absorb than that from animal products...

girls!

PeanutBean · Sep 29th, 2008, 08:26 AM

Thanks swiss miss, yes I always take vitamins or any kind with food as the body has a better chance of digesting them when it's already on the go. As it happens I'm getting the liquid which I pick up this afternoon so we'll see how that goes!

I'm veggie though so no red meat for me! Already doing the spinach, broccolli, lentils, wholegrains etc etc.

Oh and I read yesterday that though vit C helps a little with absorption its effect is really very slight, so that was interesting I thought.

reallytinyamy · Sep 30th, 2008, 11:50 AM

They only put you on the pills once the iron level goes below a certain point, they were umming and arring about mine for ages as they dont like to give them unless they have to. It usually has to go below 10. Mine was 8.5 before I started them

PeanutBean · Sep 30th, 2008, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reallytinyamy

They only put you on the pills once the iron level goes below a certain point, they were umming and arring about mine for ages as they dont like to give them unless they have to. It usually has to go below 10. Mine was 8.5 before I started them

Mine was 10.5 so they investigated how much iron I have in storage by testing my ferritin levels and on to the pills. 8.5 is pretty low, at the Manchester hospitals apparently you will be considered for a blood transfusion is Hb goes below 8!

Oh, I got the liquid yesterday and it was bloody peppermint flavour and made me gag so much I have felt horribly sick ever since! Gelatine or no I've had to get the tablets today as just thinking of taking more of that syrup made me retch!

Sep 26th, 2008, 12:20 PM	#1
PeanutBean Mum (Mom) BnB Elite Join Date: May 2008 Location: Greater Manchester Posts: 18,226	Anaemia Having found out I have to go on stupid iron tablets I've been looking into what my test results mean and found some interesting stuff. I thought I'd share this particular passage with you: In pregnancy, anaemia occurs in a different way. There is an increased need for iron, to supply the mother and fetus, but there is also a ‘relative’ reduction in the amount of circulating iron and RBCs. As pregnancy progresses, placental hormones bring about an increase in the amount of blood vessels in the woman’s body, which are needed to ensure that the uterus, placenta, lungs and breasts are well perfused. This causes a relative drop in blood pressure, as there is not as much relative fluid circulating through the system to keep these extra blood vessels supplied. To compensate, the woman produces more plasma, the liquid in which all components of the blood are transported, such as RBCs, white blood cells and platelets. In addition, the woman produces more RBCs (which is why it is important to ensure that the woman has good iron levels to begin with, to ensure she can supply the iron needed to create these extra RBCs). However, the amount of plasma produced is much greater than the amount of RBCs produced. There is a 50% increase in plasma volume, and only an 18% increase in red cell mass. As a result, there is ‘haemodilution’ (the blood is diluted) and so there appears a relative physiological anaemia, which is a normal part of pregnancy. There is some debate about the treatment of anaemia in pregnancy, as it is acknowledged that some degree of anaemia is normal. In fact, apparent anaemia can be a sign of excellent adaptation to pregnancy, with lower haemoglobin concentrations associated with higher birth weights, and higher haemoglobin concentrations associated with preterm birth and lower birth weight babies. The Word Health Organisation advise that haemoglobin levels should not fall below 11.0g/dL, and certainly haemoglobin concentrations of less than 10.5g/dL should be regarded as abnormal. At this stage, treatment of anaemia is normally commenced, by iron supplementation with ferrous sulphate and/or diet. It's from this website: http://www.studentmidwife.net/midwif...5-anaemia.html so should be relatively reputable.

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Sep 26th, 2008, 13:28 PM	#2
redberry3 Other BnB Addict Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 5,617	thanks!! that is very interesting. sorry about your having to go on pills.

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Sep 26th, 2008, 18:15 PM	#3
elm Mum (Mom) BnB Addict Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: United Slingdom Posts: 6,324	Very interesting! Have you looked into the benefits of taking iron diluting sachets in water? I've only seen them advertised but they claim to have less side effects that way. Might be worth having a look at. Just found this that looks scientific!!! http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-...003#Supp-Forms They are selling the sachets though. x

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Sep 26th, 2008, 20:43 PM	#4
JeffsWife07 Mum (Mom) Chat Happy BnB Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fort Blackmore, VA Posts: 1,382	Thanks for that info. I had to go on iron pills too and they keep me so sick.

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Sep 28th, 2008, 13:35 PM	#5
mummymadness Mum (Mom) BnB Addict Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Lincolnshire Posts: 7,558	I hateeeeeeeee my iron pills , Iam on ferrous sulphate . Iam very badly anaemic in pregnancy , They make me sick my poop Black lol .. I dont feel any better for taking them , I probably feel worse when i take them as to before i took them . Ohh well ill keep popping them untill midwife tells me to stop , Great info thow Peanut thanks . xxx .

Status: Offline

Sep 28th, 2008, 14:10 PM	#6
PeanutBean Mum (Mom) BnB Elite Join Date: May 2008 Location: Greater Manchester Posts: 18,226	Glad you ladies were interested. I was surprised! If your tablets are making you feel really crap it's worth talking to your doctor about it as there are maybe three or so different types and you can also alter how many you take as well. Thanks for your info Elm!

Status: Offline

Sep 29th, 2008, 07:26 AM	#7
SwissMiss Mum (Mom) BnB Addict Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bern, Switzerland Posts: 3,965	Hi all, great info Peanut thanks! Don't wanna stick my nose where it dont' belong, but if I may recommend taking your iron pills with food, that often helps. If it doesn't, by all means talk to your doc about what type of iron you're on. Iron VERY often makes people ill, but you may react just that slight bit better to a different concoction... Also, try to eat 150g red meat (well cooked of course) every 2 or 3 days to help boost your iron thru diet; lentils, spinach should be eaten with a source of vitamin C (typically OJ) to help absorption; veg iron is harder to absorb than that from animal products... girls!

Status: Offline

Sep 29th, 2008, 08:26 AM	#8
PeanutBean Mum (Mom) BnB Elite Join Date: May 2008 Location: Greater Manchester Posts: 18,226	Thanks swiss miss, yes I always take vitamins or any kind with food as the body has a better chance of digesting them when it's already on the go. As it happens I'm getting the liquid which I pick up this afternoon so we'll see how that goes! I'm veggie though so no red meat for me! Already doing the spinach, broccolli, lentils, wholegrains etc etc. Oh and I read yesterday that though vit C helps a little with absorption its effect is really very slight, so that was interesting I thought.

Status: Offline

Sep 30th, 2008, 11:50 AM	#9
reallytinyamy Mum (Mom) BnB Addict Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Northampton, UK Posts: 4,324	They only put you on the pills once the iron level goes below a certain point, they were umming and arring about mine for ages as they dont like to give them unless they have to. It usually has to go below 10. Mine was 8.5 before I started them

Status: Offline

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