Prescription Iron Pills...

[court3189]

I'm anemic and taking a prescription iron pill. I finally ran out of the Dr's samples she sent home and went to fill the script. Insurance won't cover it and it's $40 a bottle. Does anyone know what the difference is between prescription and over the counter iron pills? I've put in a call to my Dr., but they're closed because of the weather.I'm wondering if it's necessary to be taking such an expensive supplement, when they are available otc?

TIA!

Court

[irishmama2]

the only difference I can think of is the doseage. Just make sure your taking the same doseage of the OTC as is in the script.

[Weezy6703]

Originally Posted by irishmama2 the only difference I can think of is the doseage. Just make sure your taking the same doseage of the OTC as is in the script.

yes!

[linzbear]

Generally the difference is that it's a different type of iron that is time release and "works better." It's also supposed to be gentler on your stomach, but in my experience it isn't true.

I'd still recommend getting Floradix iron because it works better and doesn't hurt your stomach or cause constipation.

[DocsNemesis]

Originally Posted by linzbear I'd still recommend getting Floradix iron because it works better and doesn't hurt your stomach or cause constipation.

Yeah that. I've been anemic with every single one of my pregnancies. With regular iron pills, I stay somewhat anemic and get constipated as heck. I always have great numbers when I take Floradix.

I actually did phlebotomy during one of my pregnancies. As part of that, we had to check 3 different hematocrits each day, including our own. It was crazy to see the difference between days when I hadn't been taking my Floradix and when I had! My RBC count would be soooo much higher!

[Ola_]

I would suggest comparing the labels. I was taking iron pre-pregnancy because I was anemic (amazingly my iron seems to stay good while PG!) and used either Palafer or EuroFer and those are 300 mg each. Do you still have the package from the samples so you can see? There is also a slow release one, but I don't know how much is in it as I never used it.