I've been put on Iron supplements due to low iron levels. However, each time I take them I get bloated and consitpated so much so that I ended up at the doctors yesterday with symptoms of pancreatitis and severe pain which ended up only being gas.

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Ask your doctor about changing your iron supplements to Slow-FE. I used it while I was pregnant – had to take 4 supplements daily, and since it dissolves slower, it doesn't cause any of the uncomfortable GI side effects.

The best place to start is with dietary measures such as eating foods with lots of fiber in them like bran flakes (rasin bran or corn flakes) or fruits like apples. if that doesn't help you may try fiber supplements which will help increase the bulk and loosen things up. if that still does not work try a sttol softener that you can get over the counter and any store. However, before doing any of these, you should consult your doctor or a nurse at your doctors office to ensure that they will not counteract your iron supplement.

In addition to increasing fiber and water intake, take Colace. It's a red clear over the counter stool softener, and it works very well. Most drug stores also carry a cheaper generic form of Colace. You can ask the pharmacist at your local drug store if you can't find it, they will know where it is.

try eating more fruit and veg, and include some cereals in your diet for fibre and drink as much water as you can

Hi sista-soul

I've been there!

Perhaps one of these ideas will help:

1. Vitamin C + magnesium citrate. each of these nutrients on its own can induce diarrhea if taken in too large a quantity. They work well together and may begin to produce a stool loosening effect at dosages as low as 1000mg Vita C and 500mg mag. Experiment and work your way up slowly. Vitamin C also helps you absorb iron more quickly so that you might be able to reduce your dosage of iron. if you're not critically low in iron, perhaps your doctor would decrease your dosage.

2. Change the kind of iron you're taking. Chelated forms of iron, such as iron protein succinylate or iron bis-glycinate can reverse anemia more quickly and with less constipation than the typical iron salts most doctors prescribe.

3. if the supplements continue to bother you, get your iron from red meat instead. the heme source of iron from meat is utilized most effectively of all.

4. the best option would be to eat more iron-rich, and Vitamin A-rich, foods (Vitamin A and zinc are also two other nutrients that increase iron's availability to the body) and take Vitamin C (and magnesium can't hurt, either).

Best of luck!