# best iron supplement/pregaday



## speeder (Jul 9, 2008)

hi - gp wants my iron levels up. am 39 weeks and have already increased them from 10.2 to 10.8 in two weeks on one pregaday a day plus two spatone. slightly constipated but not a big deal....

so i am now on two pregaday plus the spatone but it really hurts my tummy. pharmacist has given me Fybogel but wouldn't give me lactulose which has confused me slightly. is this right? 

also are any other iron supplements that are easier to take? 

(had big bleeding problem/tranfusions last time round so gp wants my level to 12 by d-day....)

thanks so much


----------



## Mistletoe (Holly) (Jan 1, 2007)

Hi Speeder!

You can take lactulose - I did in my pregnancy. It is considered safe as long as you don't take so much you go too far the other way.
In the BNF it says dietry method first, then fybogel, then lactulose and if all else fails senna.

The therapeutic dose of iron that should raise haemaglobin levels by 0.1-0.2 grams per decilitre per day or 2 grams over about 3 weeks, is about 100-200mg of elemental iron per day.

Pregaday has 100mg elemental iron in it in the form of ferrous fumarate. So if you are on 2 per day then that should be plenty.

Different people find different iron salts easier to take than others. There are other iron salts available. If you need to get your levels up and really cannot tolerate the oral iron there are iron injections available.


----------



## speeder (Jul 9, 2008)

thanks Hazel - that's really helpful.


----------

