IRON?

A friend of mine asked me if there was iron in the vitamins I take...I checked my multi vitamin and there is. Is it a bad idea to take iron during a flare? She said it is hard on the stomach....Thanks.

Iron can exacerbate UC symptoms. Have you ever been told you were anemic? Do you know your iron and/or ferritin levels? If you're post menopausal female you definitely don't want to take iron unless you are anemic.

See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16133010?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_MultiItemSupl.Pubmed_TitleSearch&linkpos=2&&log$=pmtitlesearch4

and http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/knowledge_base/detail/iron-supplements/

Thanks for the input. The multi-vitamin I take has 100% of the daily allowance....I am not anemic but when I used to give blood, my iron was always on the low side. My recent blood work showed everything is fine, just showed some inflammation. I think I will skip the multi-vitamin with iron for now, starting tomorrow. and no I'm not post menopausal but I am 50 and it can't be too far in the future. Appreciate the words of wisdom from you all once again!

FYI-- my gastro said that iron in pills tends to clump in the intestines, not good for fragile mucosa. To treat major anemia during flares they now infuse iron rather than Rx oral forms. / Old Hat (34 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)