Do iron supplements slow diarrhea?

[nogutsnoglory]

I know iron is supposed to constipate. Does it help slow down Crohn's related diarrhea? I posted about how I started an oral supplement and hope ill have this as a nice side effect.

 

[mickey]

It may, but we are all different. One thing to note is besides constipation, it generally makes the stool VERY hard. Drink plenty of water!

 

[nogutsnoglory]

That might be annoying but after so much diarrhea I'd welcome that!

 

[AlliRuns]

I have had anemia off and on long before being diagnosed with Crohn's (competitive runner problems), I use to get constipated on tablet supplements, but never on the liquid kind. I used this stuff called Floravit under recommendation of my running coach.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

I have heard good things about Floravit. I think my doctor wants me to have heme iron though.

 

[AlliRuns]

Use to take me a day or two, but I was always chronically constipated up until a few years ago. So maybe longer if you normally have diarrhea.

 

[Jennifer]

I normally had diarrhea for a while (was on 6MP, then switched to Humira now I'm on Remicade). I take 650mg of iron a day (the regular tablets). My iron levels are up but they never affected my stools. At most sometimes my stool will be dark green but I didn't find them to bulk up my stool or constipate me either.

Edit: I've been on that dose of iron for about a year now.

 

[Jam300]

Interestingly since I started taking Vitamin D and Calcium tablets i've noticed that my stools are more formed, even after a night of drinking. Do either of these supplements have known bulking effects?

 

[AlliRuns]

Calcium could make your stool more formed, especially if you are taking more than your body is absorbing. The problem with a lot of supplements is they do have great bioavailability.

 

[nogutsnoglory]

My cal/mag/d might contribute to more diarrhea since magnesium can act as a laxative.

 

[UnXmas]

I found iron made my diarrhoea worse and my stomach more uncomfortable! I really didn't think it was supposed to do that, as I think it's more common for it to cause constipation. Luckily I wasn't actually deficient in iron so I could stop supplementing, I just decided a while back to take a multivitamin for a bit as I wasn't managing to get much food down.

can't believe I'm excited about the possibility of constipation but that's what spending full days in the bathroom with diarrhea will do. How long on iron tablets till I should get constipated or at least more bulked up?

Lol, I always thought that too, until I actually got constipated, then I couldn't wait to get the diarrhoea back again! Diarrhoea is more gross and a worry when you're out in public and perhaps without easy access to toilets; constipation is painful and can be equally inconvenient as it can mean literally hours in the bathroom (for me anyway). I think it's like when you're boiling hot and can't imagine how you'd ever in your life complained about being cold, and then when you're freezing you can't imagine how you ever disliked being hot. Whichever symptom I'm suffering with at the moment is the worst one.

Also I'm not sure iron would make the stool more bulky, at least not in the same way that fibre supplements are supposed to.

 

[amrycrohns]

When I was taking large amounts of Iron I got black hard stools on low amounts I have not noticed any change. I get a lot of stomach discomfort on large amounts of Oral Iron. 2,000mg + mg day is what I consider a lot.

 

[hbrekkaas]

I've had both diarrhea and constipation while on iron supplements, it just seems to depend on what else was going on with my body at the time. Both sucked.

 

[Tuff]

I'm on 300 mg a day. At first, I got nausea and stomach pain. Gradually I got used to it, and it doesn't bother me now. Never got constipated.

 

[Tuff]

I just remembered, when I was a child growing up in Europe, my mother would give me activated charcoal from the drug store for stomach problems and diarrhea. It was also used for accidental poisonings. I haven't used it in years, but apparently it's still being sold. This might be something to ask your doctor about. The only warning I found was not to inhale it into your lungs.

 

[UnXmas]

I just remembered, when I was a child growing up in Europe, my mother would give me activated charcoal from the drug store for stomach problems and diarrhea. It was also used for accidental poisonings. I haven't used it in years, but apparently it's still being sold. This might be something to ask your doctor about. The only warning I found was not to inhale it into your lungs.

I tried charcoal once. It's easy to get hold of - I just bought mine on Amazon, it's sold in tablet form as a health supplement. It didn't do anything for me - but then very few things do! It also turned my tongue black which wasn't nice, so if anyone does try it you might want to keep a bottle of mouthwash handy! Apart from that I think it's pretty safe - very few side effects and it's fairly cheap too, so it's worth giving it a go.