Iron ?
However long you want. There is no reason to only take 60 mg at a time, so you can take those three 60 mg doses as close together as you want.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
I am 10 years out from an open and I have had issues with anemia off and on since my surgery. My doctors never made a big issue about mixing calcium with iron. I would spread out the doses because from my personal experience iron supplements can be hard on the stomach, some more than others and the larger the dose the harder it is for me to handle. I had to try 8 different iron supplements before I found one that doesn't make my stomach upset, so if you try 1 or 2 and have an upset stomach, try a different brand. The one that I found that finally works for me if called Bifera. It's a smaller dose per tablet, but it brought my iron up to normal faster than some of the larger dose brands I had tried and they really tore up my stomach, some more than others.
One note I want to share with you. I did not take seriously the importance of taking supplements and of watching my iron level. I was only mildly anemic for several years. In January of this year, I had shortness of breath to the point of not being able to speak a sentence and severe chest pain. I went into the emergency room and my blood counts were so low that they were surprised that I was conscious and alert. I very nearly waited too long (not realizing that my periods of shortness of breath were warning signs of severe anemia) and when I was taken in, they thought I was having a heart attack and apparently, I was close to that point. I get them backwards, but my hematacrit and hemoglobin were 4 and 18 when I was admitted. I was hospitalized from Wednesday evening until the following Monday night. It took 4 units of blood, two iron infusions and several other iv bags of minerals (I know they did calcium, magnisium and potassium) while they did invasive testing to find the source of the bleed and there wasn't one. I had two very small stomach ulcers, but that was all they found after putting me through an endocope and colonoscopy. I was relieved that there wasn't something worse going on but the procedures were invasive and unpleasant. All of this could have been avoided if I had taken my supplements as directed. Also, in the hospital, the GI doctor that did my procedures is the one that told me that if you try out different iron supplements, you'll find one that doesn't make you miserable. I did try to take my supplements, but with the iron upsetting my stomach and feeling queasy all the time, I stopped. If I had realized what could happen, queasy is better than dead. I had a check up the end of July and everything is within normal limits. They want to monitor my blood counts every six months, but hopefully I am not all set.
Also, if the iron supplements do not bring up your iron level, ask your doctor about b12 shots. Initially my anemia was not improved with iron alone. If your b12 is low, your body will absord even less of the iron than you would normally and we are already low absorbers. I take b12 shots every other week at home (anyone can give them, my daughters or a friend usually do it) and that makes the iron supplements much more effective. It took my general practitioner a year of anemia to realize I needed the b12 shots.
I hope this helps you!
One note I want to share with you. I did not take seriously the importance of taking supplements and of watching my iron level. I was only mildly anemic for several years. In January of this year, I had shortness of breath to the point of not being able to speak a sentence and severe chest pain. I went into the emergency room and my blood counts were so low that they were surprised that I was conscious and alert. I very nearly waited too long (not realizing that my periods of shortness of breath were warning signs of severe anemia) and when I was taken in, they thought I was having a heart attack and apparently, I was close to that point. I get them backwards, but my hematacrit and hemoglobin were 4 and 18 when I was admitted. I was hospitalized from Wednesday evening until the following Monday night. It took 4 units of blood, two iron infusions and several other iv bags of minerals (I know they did calcium, magnisium and potassium) while they did invasive testing to find the source of the bleed and there wasn't one. I had two very small stomach ulcers, but that was all they found after putting me through an endocope and colonoscopy. I was relieved that there wasn't something worse going on but the procedures were invasive and unpleasant. All of this could have been avoided if I had taken my supplements as directed. Also, in the hospital, the GI doctor that did my procedures is the one that told me that if you try out different iron supplements, you'll find one that doesn't make you miserable. I did try to take my supplements, but with the iron upsetting my stomach and feeling queasy all the time, I stopped. If I had realized what could happen, queasy is better than dead. I had a check up the end of July and everything is within normal limits. They want to monitor my blood counts every six months, but hopefully I am not all set.
Also, if the iron supplements do not bring up your iron level, ask your doctor about b12 shots. Initially my anemia was not improved with iron alone. If your b12 is low, your body will absord even less of the iron than you would normally and we are already low absorbers. I take b12 shots every other week at home (anyone can give them, my daughters or a friend usually do it) and that makes the iron supplements much more effective. It took my general practitioner a year of anemia to realize I needed the b12 shots.
I hope this helps you!
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