How do you keep your iron levels up?

Every month my kid goes for blood work. Standard operating procedure for many I'm sure. Its helpful as it also insures I hear from her GI's office every month. Again low on iron.

She takes an adult multivitamin with iron (is sure not to have lactose free milk with her pills) but we can't keep her iron levels up. It isn't in the range she needs iron shots and I like to avoid it as she is already poked with enough needles weekly. Red meat is hard for her to injest and she is a kid.... Spinach eating is not going to happen. (I have tried) Any good tips on keeping iron levels up?

I *hated* taking iron pills, so I stopped taking them and began working to eat enough red meat to support a McDonalds. Thankfully, I love red meat in almost any form, so that's easy. I also enjoy spinach. But, I remember being a kid and hating anything but hamburgers and I wouldn't touch spinach.

Try to get as much red meat in her as she can handle without being uncomfortable. Meatloaf, hamburgers, tacos, etc.

In addition, there are several foods with iron in them that you can add to her diet. Here: http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/top-iron-sources-44111008 is a link I found with a list of different foods. I have also heard of using iron skillets to add iron to foods, but I am not sure as to the legitimacy of that.

Hi Supportive Mom, (you're a fantastic mom BTW),
I tend toward constipation and oral iron really upsets my gut. I am a big fan of iron infusions when I get anemic. I eat a very healthy diet with lots of iron rich foods, but it is not enough when I am flaring. They have a new kind of iron infusion called Feraheme that only takes about an hour. Last time I need two doses about 10 days apart and it has lasted about 6 months so far. They can do a small test dose to make sure she is not allergic.
If possible, you want to find out why she is anemic. It may be poor nutrition, but it also can be from blood loss from the Crohn's or anemia of chronic disease where her bone marrow is just not producing enough iron. I'm not certain, but the Methotrexate may also affect her iron levels. So try not to nag her too much about her diet....this may not be under her dietary control. I feel ridiculously fatigued when my iron is low....it is definitely worth trying to fix....don't leave her to just try to cope with it.

I do pretty well about the nagging part and keep it to a minimum. I will normally add a liquid supplement for a few days in a shake or something. I know Methotrexate brings the iron low and that is why I think we started with monthly blood tests. I think this is just a constant struggle I just have to live with. Flares & puberty do not help the situation I am sure!

I take an iron supplement called FERAMAX. It is the only one I have tried to date that I can tolerate without getting constipated. I don't think I could eat 150mg of iron via food every single day I would have to research that. As well, the feramax is absorbed differently than other supplemenst and food and it seems to keep my iron levels normal. I get samples and have been for sometime I hear it is expensive but I do not know because I have never had to purchase it.

Post Edited (sooper) : 12/8/2013 7:25:22 PM (GMT-7)