Help anaemia and cooking OS style

sammy_kaye18

Hi peeps

Saw the doctor today and he said if i dont start doing somethign to fight my anaemia i am goign to be in real trouble. My hair is already falling out in chunks and that really is no exageration, my eyes feel swollen adn sore, im so unbelievably tired but with a 3 year old sleeping is not an option and i cant sleep even when i do go to bed - my doctor today told me that looking back on my records he could probably trace my anaemia really starting back to when i was pregnant with my son (which is really when i started feeling lousy) but like i said hes 3 now!

Ive always been pale and had dry bad skin but now the rest of my body is suffering form my iron deficiency.

Im allergic to nuts and dont like spinach at all so neither of these are really an option - also liver is not something i would eat unless made too as when me and my sister were younger i had to watch her being resusitated aged 6 years after eating it so no its definately not a favourite food of mine.

I have no idea what else to do - i drink ALOT of tea - maybe 15+ cups a day. So ive told my doctor i will cut it down to 6 a day for the next week, then down to 4 a day for a week and then finally down to 2 a day. I did try stopping tea altogether fullstop but the headaches were horrendous and i only ever take medicine if im in absolute agony.

Also im trying not to drink coke or pepsi either (figure this will help the sleep thing and the iron absorption if i limit or get rid of these altogether) i only tend to drink these if im working or i have a cup of tea so im going to try having squash instead.

I just really need help with the food side of things because i have no idea what to eat. I have got alot of cereal in the house today htat have iron in them, i know eggs are good to have too but any ideas on what else to have? I think i remember the doctor sayign soemthign abotu oranges helping iron absorption but does orange juice (fresh) work too?? as i can manage this easily in the mornings with a bowl of cereal then

Someone please help before i end up bald!!!!

CLARABEL

HIYA

sounds like you need to make sokkme drastic changes.

firstly, i'd hope you had some practical advice form your gp like diet sheets but it doesn't sound like it....
you need to reduce your caffeine intake as you know, but try using decaff tea, it's a lot better than it was a few years ago, i like it, and i'm a fussy tea drinker!

secondly, look here. http://www.healthcastle.com/iron.shtml for a list of iron rich foods and absorption helpers.

hope this helps you to start with
clara.x:A

Pink.

Hi sammy,

Sorry to hear that your iron levels are low. Could you ask your Gp to refer you to a dietician who would help you plan an iron rich diet?

You really do need to reduce the amount of tea that you drink as it contains tannins which prevent the absorbtion of iron. If you are trying to cut out tea and cola why not replace that with a drink that is high in vitamin C as that helps increase iron absorbtion in the body.

These threads from the Health board should give you some ideas on what food is rich in iron:

Iron rich food -advice please

Iron

Also if you google Iron rich foods there are a lot of links that should help.

Pink

lil_me

I take a multi vit and mineral supplement daily, tried loads of diet changes ( a lot of cereals have added iron too) but nothing worked. Been using the Tesco value ones for ages now, not even a quid I don't think.

sammy_kaye18

Thanks peeps

ill have a look at them now

Ive figured out that breakfast is pretty much going ot be a glass of fresh orange juice and a cereal - like my weetabix, or cornflakes etc but still no idea for the rest of the day.

I was thinking of getting iron tablets but they always..um.......bung me up.......if thats the right way of saying it so id rather give it a shot diet wise first and use those if i have to.

No i havent been given any diet sheets or advice either just to try changing my diet and see how i go for the next few weeks but like i said i havent slept very well for a while now, have had bad headaches, been feeling light headed, hairs falling out and now my eyes feel swollen adn sore as if i havent slept. Its horrible so i have to do something! im checkign out the websites as we speak and think ill make an iron meal plan for the week and get a few other peopls opinions on it - im sure someone else on here had an anaemic daughter so im trying to find her at the minute

Edit: Hang on! i thought Spinach was good for you - it says on that health page that its an iron absorption inhibitor!!! flipping heck. Also on a plus side it says to eat/drink alot of

fresh orange juice
strawberries
poultry
potato
brocolli
sprouts as these are all good absorption things

and good sources of iron are
beef
breakfast cereals
canned beans
baked potatos in skins
pasta

so i think htis may be easier than i originally thought

topmum

So sorry to hear you are feeling so lousy. If your anaemia is this bad, did your doctor not prescribe you iron tablets? This would certainly get you up and running again until you can make the changes to your diet. Also is your doctor looking at what is causing your anaemia? Have they ruled out any other problems?

Other posters have provided some good websites with info for you and I hope these help.

Take care and I hope you feel better soon. But if you dont, you MUST go back and see your doctor.

Hugs

Topmum

Pink.

It's Prudent who's daughter is anaemic. The thread is here:

Meals help please

Pink

jlj_2

I eat naturally dried apricots and also take Holland and Barratt Iron 15mg with vitamins and minerals. This does help but the reason I am anaemic is frequent heavy periods so now I also take tranexamic acid which cuts down on blood loss and thats helped more than anything. Do you know why you are anaemic?

sammy_kaye18

HI All

I have always been very pale liek i said and they've suspected it since i was younger but it really got triggered through my pregnancy with my son. I did miscarry when i was younger though (16) so it could possibly have been since then - im not sure but the doctors said to try altering my diet first before using iron tablets as they give me constipation really badly.

They also thought that all the symptoms i had were a reaction to the contraceptive injection but i came off it over a year ago now because i felt ill on it. Then they thought it was diabetes which runs in my family (age onset though and im only 23) so i think now they are covering this avenue

topmum

It may also be worth asking for a thyroid function test as an underactive thyroid can also give you some of these symptoms as well as give you anaemia.

wendym

Prunes.

Iron-rich in themselves, and would help to keep your digestive system moving while you take a low-dose iron supplement in the short term - I don't think diet change alone will be enough.

The only one I get on with is ferrous fumarate.

Good luck with it all, especially giving up some of your tea!