Re: lingering digestive issues after taking iron pills for three weeks.

[Guest guest]

Hi, and welcome!

I'm glad SCD works well for you, and sorry you're having one of those

" dips " that can send all of us into a tizzy.

First -- if you re-read BTVC, you'll find that ANY iron supplement is not

recommended -- the bad bacteria love supplemental iron, and absolutely

flourish on it, as you are discovering, to your sorrow.

However, anemia is no joke. Look into cooking in cast iron -- and adding

a spritz or two of lemon juice to whatever you're cooking. It help make

the iron absorbable. Look at red meats like bison or grass-fed beef or

ostrich if you can afford them. Look at <choke> liver pate. (If

you're guessing I don't like liver, you guessed right, but I can get it

down if I need it!) I will say that the bison and ostrich tastes lots

better to me, at least -- and, interestingly, when I had my surgery for

endometrial cancer in April, the surgeon had me down for up to two units

of blood. I needed none. I ate good red meats before the surgery, and had

good nourishing broths and soups after the surgery.

Be aware also that you need Vitamin C in your diet to absorb iron from

your food. You also need B12 and folic acid -- sometimes, if you don't

have enough of these, you'll show anemic no matter HOW many pills you

swallow or how much iron-cooked red meat you consume. Taking B12 as a

pill sometimes doesn't work -- folks with damaged guts may not only fail

to produce adequate B12, they may not absorb it, either. A number of

people have reported benefit from B12 injections, especially with dealing

with anemia and tiredness.

Go for the student teaching! We need good teachers. (I used to be a

special ed teacher, then ended up tutoring, and now I do SCD

stuff.)

Funny thing -- I'm rather fond of SCD foods, too!

—

Marilyn

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

[Guest guest]

Here's a link about iron. It has the highest iron DV% amounts in

food. Gaining a little weight is uncomfortable but better than blood

transfusions imho. I'm not looking too 'pretty' either since I'm

taking two multi-vitamins a day for iron. And, you should get your

blood re-checked then decide if you need to keep taking iron or

finding a tolerable way to build it up so you can keep the energy to

teach. There is a type that is supposedly more tolerable that is

prescription only. A good GI can switch it up and try different iron

pills with you. It's ferrous fulmate I think--so that makes it

medicinal and therefore legal. The kind of iron we are taking is OTC

and hard to tolerate.

Here's a link http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/iron.asp and I've read

somewhere that cooking in cast iron can add 1-3mg of iron to the foods

you eat. Bone stock with lots of marrow and cooked spinach--drink the

juice I've heard works. I haven't had the stomach to try it yet.

Good luck,

debbie 39 crohn's

On Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 1:29 PM, Wizop Marilyn L. Alm

wrote:

>

> Hi, and welcome!

>

> I'm glad SCD works well for you, and sorry you're having one of those " dips "

> that can send all of us into a tizzy.

>

> First -- if you re-read BTVC, you'll find that ANY iron supplement is not

> recommended -- the bad bacteria love supplemental iron, and absolutely

> flourish on it, as you are discovering, to your sorrow.

>

> However, anemia is no joke. Look into cooking in cast iron -- and adding a

> spritz or two of lemon juice to whatever you're cooking. It help make the

> iron absorbable. Look at red meats like bison or grass-fed beef or ostrich

> if you can afford them. Look at <choke> liver pate. (If you're guessing I

> don't like liver, you guessed right, but I can get it down if I need it!) I

> will say that the bison and ostrich tastes lots better to me, at least --

> and, interestingly, when I had my surgery for endometrial cancer in April,

> the surgeon had me down for up to two units of blood. I needed none. I ate

> good red meats before the surgery, and had good nourishing broths and soups

> after the surgery.

>

> Be aware also that you need Vitamin C in your diet to absorb iron from your

> food. You also need B12 and folic acid -- sometimes, if you don't have

> enough of these, you'll show anemic no matter HOW many pills you swallow or

> how much iron-cooked red meat you consume. Taking B12 as a pill sometimes

> doesn't work -- folks with damaged guts may not only fail to produce

> adequate B12, they may not absorb it, either. A number of people have

> reported benefit from B12 injections, especially with dealing with anemia

> and tiredness.

>

> Go for the student teaching! We need good teachers. (I used to be a special

> ed teacher, then ended up tutoring, and now I do SCD stuff.)

>

> Funny thing -- I'm rather fond of SCD foods, too!

>

>

> — Marilyn

> New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

> Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

> Darn Good SCD Cook

> No Human Children

> Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hello,

Thanks for responding! Both posts were excellent and the link has

great information about iron. I re-read BTVC last night and couldn't

find the information about iron supplements, but I believe you. This

morning I went to the Illegal/Legal website, in the Knowledge Base

there is a section on Iron supplements that says exactly what you

said. So no more iron supplements for me. My pricey multivitamin has

10 mg of elemental iron in it, I can't replace them right now, but

that's a very low dose compared to what I have been taking.

My previous blood work shows some issues with kidney function and now

with my increasing problems with fat digestion, I really worry about

how well my organs are functioning. My Dr. blames heavy meanstrual

flow for my low iron, but she has not ordered any tests other than

thyroid and ferritin. I started taking vitamin K last month and my

periods are much, much lighter and easier to manage.

I have put so much thought into student teaching, some strategies

have really paid off. Like taking vitamins to try to stop the

constant trips to the bathroom due to out of control menstrual

bleeding and packing a whole day's worth of SCD foods so I keep my

energy up and the headaches away. The iron supplements were a

mistake, hopefully my intestines will heal quickly and the darn

bloated belly will recede. I feel sad buying bigger and bigger

clothes. I feel like a meatball on toothpicks...

[Guest guest]

I forgot to mention (and I also forgot if you said what stage you are

or what you tolerate) but Lucy from Lucy's Kitchen Shop told me adzuki

beans are really good. I looked them up, they are a reddish

color--advanced definitely but good for iron. Hope you feel better

soon.

Debbie 39 crohns

[Guest guest]

Since outdoor mold is high right now in most places, perhaps the dairy

will come back when molds in the air go down. Michele

>

> Hi,

> I have been on SCD since 2006. I love it. My IBS and gluten

> intolerance loves SCD. The best part for me about SCD is the fact

the

> I am a mess. I cannot eat dairy at all now and I cannot seem to

> digest fat either. My weight won't go down to 160 lb, I am stuck at

> 175 lb.