My doc's office just called, and my Iron is low. It was 24, she said it should be between 50-150. I've seen lower levels in googling.

the nurse said I should take Ferrets iron supplement.

I have seen some of the other recommendations of other types to take, one of the things I'm worried about is that I am already have (TMI, ahem) constipation issues, and the iron is just going to make this worse, right? Grr.

I think I am also going to take the plunge with Novasure. I've been toying with it because of lady problems, but now this added to the mix, makes me want to just cut the whole TOM thing out.

Any advice or sharing of your story would be helpful!

I can't offer you an advice, since I don't know the answer, but I wanted to say good luck and I'm sure everything will work out! I am also curious to hear some other answers since I am slightly worried that I may be in the same boat as you. I do remember this commercial that keeps playing about an iron supplement that supposedly doesn't have the unpleasant side effects, if it comes on again I'll research it and share if it is worth it!

I'm 40 now, and I had Novasure in 2-1/2 years ago. I have been very pleased with the results. I know when I am having a period, but I never need any more than a pantyliner, and most of the time, not even that. I used to have very heavy bleeding and cramping. I no longer feel cramping at all. I wouldn't hesitate one bit to do that again!

Hope this helps! Best.

You can take a stool softner once a day or/and you can also use benefiber, my NUT told me to use one serving per dose of iron.

i need too do some blood work to test my iron for anemia. Just to be safe.

hope2befit, that is great to hear, I've been wanting to hear some stories of folks who have had it. The commercials around here for it also talk about it helping with mood swings, and I don't quite understand why that is. have you seen that to be true? I thought it just basically burnt things out, I can't understand how it actually changes hormones, but maybe because it doesn't build up, maybe some chemical signals don't get sent.

I discussed it with my primary a couple of weeks ago, more because I've been having really pronounced mood issues around ovulation and TOM since surgery, and he upped my wellbutrin, but said if that doesn't help, that we may want to look at some other options like novasure since I also have the heavy bleeding issue. Now that I know I'm also having Iron issues makes me want to just have it done with!'

I couldn't find this "Ferrets" brand she mentioned. I had her spell it twice and asked, as in, "like the rodent" and she said yes....so I got ferrosequel instead, since on my paperwork it mentions ferrous fumerate and ferrous gluconate as being the best forms of it for post-ops.

Maybe I'll get some more energy out of this deal. I do feel like I have ok energy, so I'm not sure how bad a level of 24 is.

Mama, I don't know much about anemia. And no, the Novasure didn't help much with mood swings, maybe a little, but not measurably so. However, I had to take alternating ibuprofen and Tylenol daily when on my period. The pain was so bad, and I am less irritable now.

The worst thing about having iron deficiency

Your always cold. ALWAYS.

In an attempt to eat more "iron rich" foods, I'm gonna start drinking Green Monster smoothies

My sister in law mentioned she had one of these “green monster smoothies”, so I looked it up. It seemed pretty good, and I was thinking of trying one or two after pregnancy.

But since spinach is VERY rich in iron, I guess I’ll be having them a lot sooner!

A hematocrit level of 24 is a moderate anemia... So you really do need to take the iron supplement to correct this so it will not get worse and lead to further complications. It will take about 3 months to see the improvement in your blood work as a red blood cell lives approx 90 days, and likely your doc will recheck your labs then. Make sure you also take an OTC stool softener to keep stool a soft consistency- you may need to take the softener 2-3 times a day to get there, everyone is different. And FYI, the iron supplement will make your stool appear black- don't freak out!