Low Iron - Crohn's??

I had to take iron for a few months and I used a ferrous sulfate pill. It bugged my stomach but I pushed through to get my numbers up. It took about 6 months to get my hemoglobin and ferritin back into normal range.

Two years later I adopted a Gluten free diet and haven't had any problems with iron since then. I should also note that I haven't had a real menstrual cycle in months, and was tapering down my cycles over the past couple of years, so that may have helped my struggle with anemia too.

Since I don't tolerate oral iron very well either, my GI has me do iron infusions. I've had 3 rounds of them in the past 1.5 years. They help more than anything else, however I can't get them until my levels drop below a certain level.

I'm not on iron now, but have been in the past. Regular iron pills make me sick. At one time I was able to handle the Slow Fe (slow release iron pills). I've successfully been on those a few different time.

The last time I needed iron supplements, even those made me sick. (1) I made sure to take a daily multivitamin with 100% RDA of iron in it. (Many multivitamins do not contain iron. I take chewable Flintstones Complete). (2) I tried to focus on foods that were high or higher in iron. When eating out, I'd look up nutritional information online and pick something on the menu that was higher in iron. (3) I ate fortified cereals more often. 1 cup of Total Raisin Bran, if you can handle it, also has 100% RDA of iron. Most other cereals are 25% per serving. (4) I also supplemented calories with Boost or Ensure because I wasn't able to eat as much due to a stricture at my ileocecal valve. Ensure has 25% of the RDA of iron.