“iron salt formulas release all of the iron in the stomach,” degraft-johnson explains.
“this can cause a lot of gastrointestinal side effects like nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, sometimes constipation, or even diarrhea.”
degraft-johnson struggled to take the supplement initally prescribed by her doctor.
“i took it for a few days, and already i was nauseous from the pregnancy, and i was already constipated,” she recalls.
“and i noticed that when i was taking it, my situation got worse and worse. so guess what? i stopped taking it.”
degraft-johnson is not alone. many women cannot tolerate traditional iron supplements during pregnancy.
toleration issues due to side effects resulting from iron salts are well known among ferrous salt supplements. due to gastrointestinal symptoms, patients are known to struggle to take the treatment as recommended by their health care providers.
but after giving up the supplements, one day, degraft-johnson felt faint.
“i thought i was about to pass out,” she recalls.
she knew then that she needed to treat the iron deficiency.
that was when she learned about feramax 150, a different form of iron supplement in which the ferric iron is bound to polysaccharides, with the complex being released in the small intestine, closer to the site of absorption.