# Iron supplements? Give me the good, bad, and ugly...



## Mama2BMS (Jan 14, 2008)

Just looking for feedback from other people's experiences with giving iron supplements to their toddlers...DS (15 mos) is going to start on them tomorrow due to iron-deficient anemia which was diagnosed with a blood test last week...poor baby.








So, is there anything I should be cautious about (i.e. I've heard they taste bad and that I will have to mix them in with something he loves) or any tricks you want to share about how you get your DC to take them, etc...

TIA!!!


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## Past_VNE (Dec 13, 2003)

Use Floradix!! It's a plant-based iron supplement that is highly digestible, doesn't cause constipation and tastes good. My son always wants more.









Most iron supplements are very hard to digest, meaning most of it is expelled without being absorbed or used at all. They can also cause belly aches and constipation.

I took Floradix post-partum and am taking it again now, post-miscarriage. I think it tastes okay, but my 3 yr old loves it to death.

Please don't just start him on some tablet or drops that a pediatrician supplies. Pediatricians are notorious for being badly educated on nutrition!

http://www.florahealth.com/flora/hom...4771.htm#R4771


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## pbjmama (Sep 20, 2007)

Give them with citrus to help absorbtion, not calcium which hinders absorbtion. We haven't used them but they can lead to constipation - I would probably do every other or every 3rd day to start and see how it goes.


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## es1967 (Oct 31, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Past_VNE* 
Use Floradix!! It's a plant-based iron supplement that is highly digestible, doesn't cause constipation and tastes good. My son always wants more.









Most iron supplements are very hard to digest, meaning most of it is expelled without being absorbed or used at all. They can also cause belly aches and constipation.

I took Floradix post-partum and am taking it again now, post-miscarriage. I think it tastes okay, but my 3 yr old loves it to death.

Please don't just start him on some tablet that a pediatrician supplies. Pediatricians are notorious for being badly educated on nutrition!

http://www.florahealth.com/flora/hom...4771.htm#R4771

I love Floradix too! It tastes great to me.


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## es1967 (Oct 31, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama2BMS* 
Just looking for feedback from other people's experiences with giving iron supplements to their toddlers...DS (15 mos) is going to start on them tomorrow due to iron-deficient anemia which was diagnosed with a blood test last week...poor baby.








So, is there anything I should be cautious about (i.e. I've heard they taste bad and that I will have to mix them in with something he loves) or any tricks you want to share about how you get your DC to take them, etc...

TIA!!!

How do they take blood from a 15 month old? I'm been avoiding going because my DS also 15 months won't sit still for a second. Did you have signs that your DS was deficient?


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## Mama2BMS (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *es1967* 
How do they take blood from a 15 month old? I'm been avoiding going because my DS also 15 months won't sit still for a second. Did you have signs that your DS was deficient?

I took him in at naptime (not intentionally, it just worked out this way), so he had just fallen into a pretty deep sleep in the car and stayed asleep right up until they were about to do the draw (it was taken from his arm with a very small "butterfly" needle); this, of course, woke him up, but he was too tired to resist. He cried a little, but took it like a champ. There were no signs of anemia that I could tell, but he's my only one so I had nothing to compare to... The reason for the blood test: He tested a tiny bit low on the finger stick at 12 mos (10.9), but then it had gone down down, instead of up like we were hoping, at his 15-month check-up, so the doc sent us for a blood test, which confirmed it.







Very frustrating..


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## es1967 (Oct 31, 2007)

That sounds like a good idea going while they are napping. Thanks for the info.


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## fritz (Nov 9, 2005)

We did iron drops with my son starting at one year (he refused to eat any iron rich foods), and kept him on them until after 18 mos IIRC. He never had any constipation issues, but he was also still nursing (that whole breastmilk as a natural laxative thing).

Use a big burp cloth, under your DS's head/neck if you squirt the drops directly in his mouth (the "pouch" between back teeth and cheek)--our DS would sometimes manage to push some out of his mouth with his tongue. The drops will stain any fabric/books they touch, fyi.

At first he'd be fine w/ eating the drops mixed in w/ his favorite molasses yogurt or peach yogurt (just a couple spoonfuls, otherwise he wouldn't eat all the yogurt) or peach applesauce, but that didn't last more than a month or two. That's when we started using a more direct delivery method. Not fun.

Also not fun were the followup blood draws. Basically my DH had to hold my DS while the lab techs tried to find the vein on a hysterical toddler. We only did 3 blood draws total--initial diagnosis and 2 followups. Too traumatic for all of us. The first one was fine. After that, though, DS figured out what was happening. (BTW, make the lab techs get all their equipment out and setup before you even think about having your son sit down in the blood draw chair. Part of our problem is that DS hates to sit still, so forcing him to be still for an extra minute or two while the techs got ready was not a good idea.) So we kept up w/ the iron drops for a while longer, then switched him over to a chewable multivitamin w/ iron, which he's been fine w/ up until a couple months ago. But now that he's almost 3yo he's willing to eat way more iron-rich foods, so it's not that big of a deal.


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## orionbaby (Nov 20, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Past_VNE* 
Use Floradix!! It's a plant-based iron supplement that is highly digestible, doesn't cause constipation and tastes good. My son always wants more.









Most iron supplements are very hard to digest, meaning most of it is expelled without being absorbed or used at all. They can also cause belly aches and constipation.

I took Floradix post-partum and am taking it again now, post-miscarriage. I think it tastes okay, but my 3 yr old loves it to death.

Please don't just start him on some tablet that a pediatrician supplies. Pediatricians are notorious for being badly educated on nutrition!

http://www.florahealth.com/flora/hom...4771.htm#R4771

Can you give Floradix to a 2-year-old? I couldn't find any info on their website about it. I've used it myself and would never use anything different now that I've tried it.


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## Past_VNE (Dec 13, 2003)

Yes, they have dosages for kids on the side. I adjust it up or down a little depending on the size of the kid, in my case, I lower it a little for my three year old. I've been giving him 1/3 of the little cup that comes with it (The kid dosage is 1/2 the little cup.


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## AppleCrisp (Aug 19, 2005)

We had to do it too...the nasty drugstore supplement smelled like poison, and after he had it he stunk like it was oozing out of his pores. I've also heard that the synthetic stuff is poorly absorbed also. How low WAS the iron? Can you try to add iron other ways too? We eventually went to a kids whole-food multivitamin that I crush and add to his food in powdered form. I also dried some green iron rich veggies and ground it up really fine and I add that to his muffins, waffles, etc. When we did the drops I just put the dropper in his mouth and squeezed and hoped for the best!


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## Mama Poot (Jun 12, 2006)

My almost 18m old has low iron. The endocrinologist said to give the drops with orange juice to help the iron absorb. I forget the name of the kind he wants me to get, but I'll probably get the Floradix anyway. Blackstrap molasses are another fantastic dietary source of iron. Use it in place of sugar when baking or in place of maple syrup or honey on pancakes and things like that.


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## mkmama (Jul 9, 2006)

i am allll about Molasses! seriously research it. It helped my DS so much! I never got his levels tested but could tell he was slightly deficient by pulling his lower eyelid down and checking how pale he was. it should be bright pink.

Check it out! i put it with bananas or oatmeal or smoothies a couple times a week when he is pale.


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## Past_VNE (Dec 13, 2003)

double posted below


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## Flor (Nov 19, 2003)

My experience was utter failure! They taste awful. Flordix was ok, but the dose is so much bigger that I never sucessfully got the entire dose into him. If I mixed one ounce of Floridix with one once of orange juice, he'd drink like two sips of it







. He wasn't into juice. I also didn't want to play around with it by adding it to everything because you really don't want to overdose it.


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## Flor (Nov 19, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *orionbaby* 
Can you give Floradix to a 2-year-old? I couldn't find any info on their website about it. I've used it myself and would never use anything different now that I've tried it.

I could not find any dosage information for 2 year olds. My bottle has directions for 4 year olds on up.


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## Past_VNE (Dec 13, 2003)

I forgot something. A fantastic source of easily absorbed iron is by cooking in cast iron pans. Even better, make a point to cook acidic foods in it, as they leech more iron from the pan. Spaghetti sauce is an easy one.

We use our cast iron every day, every meal practically. It's an added bonus that we get iron from it, but I know a few people who use it specifically for the iron in their diet.

And, like has been said several times, calcium inhibits the uptake of iron, so keep any dairy at least 30 minutes away from an iron-rich meal. Vitamin C encourages better absorption, so drink a little OJ or have some Emergen-C (or whatever has Vit. C) with your iron.








:


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## Past_VNE (Dec 13, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Flor* 
I could not find any dosage information for 2 year olds. My bottle has directions for 4 year olds on up.

My bottle doesn't state ages. It just says, "Adults" and "Children."


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## neveryoumindthere (Mar 21, 2003)

Our dd tested EXTREMELY low (less than 1) for iron and was put on a high dose of iron for a while. Literally 3 days later she was sleeping better (she would sleep *maybe* 6 hours out of 24 or something ridiculous)..she was constantly irritable, wouldn't play, was very lethargic, would just look at her toys, rarely smiled, it was really bad.

But despite all the blood tests, and holding her down to give those DISGUSTING iron drops (turned her teeth brown by the way), she really turned around. More energy, soon after started crawling (she didnt' even attempt to crawl till she was 11 months), and was sleeping better and at least taking short naps in teh day whereas she was taking NONE ever. Blech I hate to even remember those days.

Anyway thats our experience. HTH


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## sbgrace (Sep 22, 2004)

I used/use ferrous bis-glycinate as it is extremely well absorbed. We corrected iron deficiency with very low doses (like 10 mg). It's absorbed at least 3 times that of the typically prescribed supplements. Floradix has a lot people pleased with it and is hopefully good I take it but it doesn't have the scientific research behind it that made me comfortable when I was dealing with an actual deficiency in my kiddo. Like floradix it is well absorbed, is very safe (this is the form added to foods too), and doesn't constipate.
Whatever you do you do want to avoid things that inhibit absorption within 2-3 (I like 3) hours of the iron. And give it with vitamin C. Anyway, I used bis-glycinate (sometimes called ferrochel or ferrous bis-glycinate) form in powder on a spoon with some apple or pear sauce and some sodium ascorbate for vitamin C. Avoid dairy, beans, soy, egg, spinach, and raisins/prunes/red grapes at the same time you give iron as they contain substances that inhibit iron absorption. I've also at times put it in with some water or juice and dissolved it rather than gave it on a spoon to use a syringe. Over-all though my son never minded taking it.
My experience with the bis-glycinate and that of others who have shared with me here after reading of our experiences is that it raises levels very quickly. I spent 18 months on other supplements (including floradix though I don't remember how long we used it and I soon discovered bis-glycinate) without improving my son's iron. We got it up in a very short time--maybe a month--on bis-glycinate.


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## es1967 (Oct 31, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mkmama* 
i am allll about Molasses! seriously research it. It helped my DS so much! I never got his levels tested but could tell he was slightly deficient by pulling his lower eyelid down and checking how pale he was. it should be bright pink.

Check it out! i put it with bananas or oatmeal or smoothies a couple times a week when he is pale.









When you pull down the eyelid is it right behind the lashes or is it the part farther down?


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## mkmama (Jul 9, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *es1967* 
When you pull down the eyelid is it right behind the lashes or is it the part farther down?

well...with anemia the whole thing is usually pale...or with DS it was white...lack of color. but i would say behind the eyelashes? i see what you mean but i can't say i'm sure i've ever seen one totally pale without the other part being pale too...


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## StayAtHomeMama21 (Nov 6, 2006)

it stained my sons teeth for awhile until we went to the dentist and got them cleaned.
They were brown!


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## es1967 (Oct 31, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mkmama* 
well...with anemia the whole thing is usually pale...or with DS it was white...lack of color. but i would say behind the eyelashes? i see what you mean but i can't say i'm sure i've ever seen one totally pale without the other part being pale too...

The reason I'm asking is that I just got my own blood tests back and right behind the lashes its red but farther back its light. The tests showed I'm anemic but if you look at the eyelid it does not look light. I'm going to get my son tested but wish I was sure the eyelid method was accurate. Its so frustrating because I've even been taking Floradix (on and off) and it obviously is not working for me. Maybe I was not taking enough. I'm going to try it plus some molasses. I just gave DS some molasses in his applesauce as well which he seemd to like.


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## es1967 (Oct 31, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mkmama* 
i am allll about Molasses! seriously research it. It helped my DS so much! I never got his levels tested but could tell he was slightly deficient by pulling his lower eyelid down and checking how pale he was. it should be bright pink.

Check it out! i put it with bananas or oatmeal or smoothies a couple times a week when he is pale.









I just checked this book I have-Your Vegetarian Pregnancy(relied on it during my preg) and she says that 2 tablespoons of Blackstrap Molasses has 7.0 mg, 1 cup lentils 6.6 mg,black turtle beans 5.3 mg,all bran cereal-1 cup 9.0 mg. It surprised me that 4oz of beef is only 3.5 mg. Did you say how much molasses you gave your DS each time?


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## Flor (Nov 19, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Past_VNE* 
My bottle doesn't state ages. It just says, "Adults" and "Children."

Are you in the US? I did get some dosage info from someone in Canada. Their bottle had different labeling.

I just found this on the website:

Adult dosage:
Take 10 ml (1/2 capful) twice daily. For kosher use take 10 ml (1/2 capful) twice daily in a glass of water or fruit juice.

Children's dosage:
under 2 years old: as directed by a physician.
2-4 years old: 1/5 the adult dosage.
5-9 years old: 1/4 the adult dosage.
10-14 years old: 1/2 the adult dosage.


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## MeredithMommy (Oct 24, 2004)

we do iron drops for dd2. She was pretty anemic. finger stick was 5, I cant remember the actual workup numbers.

We use the nasty perscription ones and dd2 seems to like the taste of them. She's a weird kid









SHe has perked up sooooo much!!!!!


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## mkmama (Jul 9, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *es1967* 
The reason I'm asking is that I just got my own blood tests back and right behind the lashes its red but farther back its light. The tests showed I'm anemic but if you look at the eyelid it does not look light. I'm going to get my son tested but wish I was sure the eyelid method was accurate. Its so frustrating because I've even been taking Floradix (on and off) and it obviously is not working for me. Maybe I was not taking enough. I'm going to try it plus some molasses. I just gave DS some molasses in his applesauce as well which he seemd to like.

hmmm, i just know that the whole underneath was completley pale so i panicked, gave him some molasses and he pinked right up a couple days later after a few small doses. this was at about 8-9-10 months, i haven't given him any in a long time. i check every once in awhile and he's nice and pink. better than stickin' him with a needle!

Quote:


Originally Posted by *es1967* 
I just checked this book I have-Your Vegetarian Pregnancy(relied on it during my preg) and she says that 2 tablespoons of Blackstrap Molasses has 7.0 mg, 1 cup lentils 6.6 mg,black turtle beans 5.3 mg,all bran cereal-1 cup 9.0 mg. It surprised me that 4oz of beef is only 3.5 mg. Did you say how much molasses you gave your DS each time?

just a couple tablespoons a couple times a week!


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## Mama2BMS (Jan 14, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sbgrace* 
I used/use ferrous bis-glycinate as it is extremely well absorbed. We corrected iron deficiency with very low doses (like 10 mg). It's absorbed at least 3 times that of the typically prescribed supplements. Floradix has a lot people pleased with it and is hopefully good I take it but it doesn't have the scientific research behind it that made me comfortable when I was dealing with an actual deficiency in my kiddo. Like floradix it is well absorbed, is very safe (this is the form added to foods too), and doesn't constipate.
Whatever you do you do want to avoid things that inhibit absorption within 2-3 (I like 3) hours of the iron. And give it with vitamin C. Anyway, I used bis-glycinate (sometimes called ferrochel or ferrous bis-glycinate) form in powder on a spoon with some apple or pear sauce and some sodium ascorbate for vitamin C. Avoid dairy, beans, soy, egg, spinach, and raisins/prunes/red grapes at the same time you give iron as they contain substances that inhibit iron absorption. I've also at times put it in with some water or juice and dissolved it rather than gave it on a spoon to use a syringe. Over-all though my son never minded taking it.
My experience with the bis-glycinate and that of others who have shared with me here after reading of our experiences is that it raises levels very quickly. I spent 18 months on other supplements (including floradix though I don't remember how long we used it and I soon discovered bis-glycinate) without improving my son's iron. We got it up in a very short time--maybe a month--on bis-glycinate.


Can you tell me more about bis-glycinate?
Where do you get it?
Does it have a brand name?
Did a physician approve it?

Thanks!!!


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## abigail_b (May 3, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama2BMS* 
Can you tell me more about bis-glycinate?
Where do you get it?
Does it have a brand name?
Did a physician approve it?

Thanks!!!









I have the same question! I googled it and was able to find that it does certaintly seem to be safe and effective...and it looks like it is called Ferrochel...but I can't find a child /infant formulation. I am looking at it for my 16 month old.


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## Mama2BMS (Jan 14, 2008)

bump!


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## orionbaby (Nov 20, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Past_VNE* 
Yes, they have dosages for kids on the side. I adjust it up or down a little depending on the size of the kid, in my case, I lower it a little for my three year old. I've been giving him 1/3 of the little cup that comes with it (The kid dosage is 1/2 the little cup.









Thanks so much for replying. Oh, and great idea about the cast iron. Duh, I should have thought of that. I'm off to pick up some Floradix for DS and I to share. Not sure I need it so much as my midwife told me during my pregnancy with DS that I had one of the highest iron levels she'd ever seen in a prego woman (no, I don't eat a lot of meat).

Oh, and I plan on just shooting it in his mouth like vitamin drops or tylenol. He doesn't drink juice so I don't want this to be a struggle. He'll take anything from a dropper, luckily.


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## sbgrace (Sep 22, 2004)

Well, it may come in liquid form but I never did that (we're limited in ingredients due to allergies so generally I look for hypoallergenic stuff).

But I use capsules and open them and use the powder. Two ways to do it--putting a bit on a spoon with some food the child likes which works best for kids eating off spoons obviously. Make sure the food doesn't have anything that blocks iron. I use pear sauce usually and pears are available pretty much year round here. Put some vitamin C on there too or follow with a food with vitamin C. I use a pinch of sodium ascorbate powder I get from Bronson vitamins.

Alternatively, you can make a solution easily with both the ferrous bis-glycinate powder and the sodium ascorbate--just add a liquid to disolve it and syringe. I've done it but prefer spoons as it is easier.

I've used two brands of ferrous bis-glycinate. For a long time I used Solgar brand ferrous bis-glycinate (I think it is called Gentle Iron) which is availabe at many health food stores but the capsules are in adult doses so I would portion it out to child size. The dose used there is used in studies with children; it won't hurt them even if you don't portion it out; but I don't do more iron than we need. We only needed 10 mg. or less per day to correct defiency (may vary according to child, what else the child eats, and how deficient in iron the kiddo is).

Lately I've been using kirkman labs form of ferrochel (ferrous bis-glycinate) and since it comes in 5 mg. capsules it's easier to dose. I just do one capsule when he gets up and then another two hours later--for 10 mg. While I'm dosing iron I don't do foods that block iron like dairy. http://www.kirkmanlabs.com/products/...on280_120.html Either one you do need a vitamin C source. Bronson vitamins makes a sodium ascorbate and I'm sure there are plenty of others.

Here's some information/research summary on the bis-glycinate. It's a very safe iron source which is why it is generally the source used to be added to foods. http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache...lnk&cd=7&gl=us Doctor recommeded? Well, our doctor gives some vi-sol form. We used that. For a long time. And dealt with constipation and his iron didn't improve so I researched better forms on my own and found this one looking in medical journal abstracts. Doctor was ok with it (and it worked!) but I think most peds/doctors recommed what they get samples and such with or just what is always used. Not necessarily the best forms.


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