Too much Iron?!?!?

Ladies

I have a girlfriend who is almost done with her schooling for a nurse. She also is a sister. She made the comment to me to beware of to much iron. Since I dont bleed anymore I will not pass any excess iron causing it to become toxic to me. I am still very anemic and my Md wants me on iron supplements for several months. I mentioned this concern and she said it is not true. I am so confused. Anyone else heard anything like this?

Thanks for your replies!

Too much iron is very dangerous. Just ask your GP to do monthly hemoglobin levels on you, or even every other month. That way you will know when you can stop taking the iron.

Hi, I know how hard it is to get well meaning advice from people, but then to get more confused.

If your doc has done blood tests and you are anemic, there is good reason to take iron.

I would follow my doc's advice-you won't be on iron forever and it is helping you heal.

Sometimes when people are in school, they learn a lot of new and interesting things, but don't yet have the experience to know how to use all that information.

I have a friend that is an BSN and she tells me things that I have to go and look up, then ask the docs because sometimes they are not right for me.

A good resource is the pharmacy-ask the pharmacist about iron supplements and when to take them-they know a lot about those things.

's

I know from experience of being anemic (to where I received 2 units of blood) that a person may still need added iron for a while. I had to take iron for several months until the hemoglobin stabilized. I had the hemoglobin tested several more times after stopping it. I would go with your doctor's advice on this one. Especially if he is monitering your hemoglobin. That is my anyway.

Jane B

Both are right to a point.

It's important to get your hemoglobin back up after surgery and having adequate iron will help with that. Hemoglobin allows the body to deliver oxygen to you tissues and of course that helps you heal.

But too much iron can be bad for you in the long run. There have been some studies done recently that high iron levels can damage blood vessels and the heart. So once your levels are back to normal, you doctor will likely advise you to eliminate the supplements.

What may even be good when you're all healed up is to donate blood on a regular basis.

Take care.