how one pharmacist’s experience with iron supplements informs the way she helps patients
bridget degraft-johnson knows a lot about treating iron...
4 minute read
bridget degraft-johnson is a pharmacist with rexall in brampton, ont., and a graduate of the international pharmacy graduate program at the university of toronto.
nick kozak
this story is sponsored by
biosyent
this story was created by content works, postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of a client.
bridget degraft-johnson knows a lot about treating iron deficiency anemia, both from a personal and a professional perspective. degraft-johnson is a pharmacist with rexall in brampton, ont., and a graduate of the international pharmacy graduate program at the university of toronto. like many women, she experienced iron deficiency anemia when she was pregnant with her first child. iron deficiency is common during pregnancy. pregnant women need more iron than any other group of people, because growing babies need to build up a store of iron while in the womb.iron deficiency also commonly affects women with heavy menstrual bleeding, also known as menorrhagia. menorrhagia is diagnosed when a woman loses more than 80 ml of blood per menstrual period – a typical amount of blood loss is between 10 and 35 ml. this extra blood loss can cause iron deficiency.the symptoms of menorrhagia may include periods that last for more than seven days, passing large blood clots, and having to change your pad or tampon more than every hour.when she was first diagnosed with low iron during her pregnancy, degraft-johnson initially used a traditional iron supplement, which takes the form of an iron salt.“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.”
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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.most of the gastrointestinal side effects of iron salt supplements are caused by release of iron in the stomach. by releasing the iron after it moves through the stomach, many of the side effects can be avoided.degraft-johnson preferred her experience taking feramax 150.“i didn’t have all those side effects… i wasn’t nauseous, and my iron levels started going up,” she explains. “it was perfect.”degraft-johnson notes that during her second and third pregnancies, she didn’t wait for the doctor to tell her to take feramax.symptoms of iron deficiency are varied based on individual contributing factors. feramax’s online symptoms checker helps provide a starting point to discuss iron deficiency with one’s physician.
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in her practice as a pharmacist, degraft-johnson regularly recommends the feramax product. when patients come into the pharmacy with a prescription for an iron supplement, degraft-johnson likes to review the different options with them.“i reach for feramax often because it bypasses so many of these side effects.”degraft-johnson also likes feramax pd therapeutic 150 because it’s vegan and approved by the society of obstetricians and gynecologists of canada.“so if you’re pregnant, you know you’re taking something safe for you and the baby,” she says.while traditional ferrous salts tend to be slightly less expensive per pill, degraft-johnson says they usually don’t end up saving the patient money.“ferrous salts have to be taken twice a day,” she explains.“and you know that what’s going to happen [is] pregnant women will end up getting all these side effects, [so] they might end up not taking the medication or even have to go buy another medication to help with the side effects,” she says.“why not reach for a product that you can take once a day… that will give you much less of all these other side effects? you know, like a one stop shop.”this story was created by content works, postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of biosyent.the information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. a licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. links to other sites are provided for information only – they do not constitute endorsements of any other sites. recommended treatments may not be applicable, available, or permissible in canada or other jurisdictions. if you suspect iron deficiency, talk to a health care provider (hcp). ask your hcp if feramax is right for you, and take as directed.if you would like to talk to a licensed canadian pharmacist about iron deficiency from the privacy of your home, call 1-800-663-8637.
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