Iron supplements/thyroid medication

Anonymous

Iron supplements/thyroid medication

Nancy2581

Sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong section. I love my onc - she is very thorough. On Thursday she ran a bunch of blood tests on me (mainly because my platelets had been low though this time they were up so yay for that). Anyway my vitamin B12 is low so will be getting shots once a month for that. My iron levels were a bit low as well so she wants me to take an iron supplement in the morning and evening. I take Synthroid (thyroid medication) and I am worried the iron supplements will affect the Synthroid. I've already gained more weight than I've wanted and don't want to gain anymore. I also don't want to take the iron because it constipates you.Um no thank you.

My question is does anyone take iron supplements and thyroid medication? If so, was your thyroid medication affected? If so, what did you do? Did the iron supplements constipated you? What did you do about that?

Thanks for any info.

Nancy

dtad

Hi Nancy. I agree about the iron being constipating but I actually had iron infusions while taking synthroid with no adverse reactions. Good luck and keep us posted...

Nancy2581

thank you

Nancy2581

bump

Outfield

Nancy, I have had to take iron on and off quite a bit. Take it with a good hefty dose of Vitamin C - that helps your body absorb it, and (for me at least) it helps with the constipation. It's also better to take it with food.

You're right to be concerned about the Synthroid, but that's not impossible. What I would do is to separate the iron by at least a couple hours from the Synthroid. Most people recommend taking Synthroid first thing in the morning, but you don't have to - any time you have an empty stomach and won't be eating for at least a half- hour is OK. Some people take it at bedtime. My mom takes hers when she gets up at night to pee. So if you take Synthroid in the morning, take the iron with a mid-morning snack or lunch, then again as much later in the day as you can, like with supper, or, even better, an evening snack.

Nancy2581

thanks Outfield. I'm seeing my onc tomorrow so I will discuss with her. I take my synthroid first thing in the morning. I've taken one dose of the iron supplement and it's already messed me up even with a stool softener grrrr