Heavy Periods and Iron Deficiency

[The23rdman]

Hi Shelley,

My partner, Ali, has been feeling really run down recently and has found out her iron count is low(10).

Her doctor puts this down to her very heavy periods and being a veggie. Ali's taking iron supplements now (a non-constipating one - I forget which) and her doc has given her a prescription for tranaxemic acid. My question is, is this safe to take or is there a natural alternative?

Thanks!

Dean

p.s. I'm feeling much better now. The enema regime worked a treat.

[shelley]

It's very safe and very necessary!!! That is a very low iron count and must be making her life a misery. She obviously cannot afford to be a vegetarian, get her to start eating right. Does it also have B12? If not, she should take that too. The Iron supplement that I recommend, the NOW brand, has everything you need to make red blood cells. Most of it you can get from foods, but if she's still a vegetarian then she needs to supplement B12.

[The23rdman]

It's this one http://www.solgar.co.uk/modules/shop/view.asp?catid=11&Prodcode=E1250

Yes, I realise the iron is necessary, I was refering to the tranaxemic acid to lighten her periods. Is that an ok or not?

She's not taking b12, but I'm off into town tomorrow to stock up on yeast flakes and will get her b12 while I'm there.

[The23rdman]

Is this the one you recommend? http://www.nowfoods.com/?action=itemdetail&item_id=2993

[shelley]

Oh, DUH! Sorry man, I overlooked that part! LOL!

OKay, the Acid is relatively safe and she might want to take it for one or two periods until she gets her diet sorted out, but I wouldn't see it as a long-term solution. ALL pharms are a trade-off but this one isn't that bad.

The natural solution, however, is for her to start eating meat, especially organ meats, and take either a very very good amino acid supplement for a couple weeks, or perhaps just Taurine and maybe MSM/Chondroitin if her joints are giving her trouble. She could also take Julia's Vitex to regulate menstruation. Does she have fibroid cysts or endometriosis?

That's the iron I take, yepperz.

[The23rdman]

Thanks and I'm not suprised you miss the odd part of all the posts you read!

No, I don't think she has either of those. Her periods are just very heavy with lots of really clumpy lumps. Really big ugly ones! She says it's like her liver is falling out! She gets so wiped out it's untrue.

She's never going to eat meat. I just can't see it. It makes her feel physically sick to try it. I've tried her on fish, which she might manage one day, but she can't do cows. She totally understands the life cycle and the Oneness of all and how everything has it's time etc. but she can't do it. All those years of yoga philosophy etc.

What amino acid sup do you recommend?

[shelley]

I haven't found one perfect amino acid supplement yet, unfortunately, I'd like to but so far nothing beats my protein shake recipe. Will she eat eggs? That would be a great help to her.

Okay, if she really can't eat meat (what about pate?) she's going to have to do some studying. At the very least she should make up a batch of Kichadi and get something like the Bean Pot vegetarian cookbook so she won't get deficient in Taurine again.

Try her on 500 mg of Taurine, every day for two weeks. After that she should take it on the days she doesn't eat beans, cheese, cottage cheese or eggs. IF she can handle dairy these foods should be regular staples.

Also get her a supplement that is a general amino acid supplement that is based on eggs. The closest I've found to perfect are the ones that claim to be exactly like eggs with the same ratios of essential aminos as eggs. Eggs are the gold standard. Lots of critters live off of various types of eggs, from insect eggs to horseshoe crab eggs...

If after three months she still has wonky periods or other symptoms let me know and give me a complete list of symptoms and what she ate for a week and any other lab test results that are outside of normal.

[The23rdman]

That seriuosly is fantastic information - thank you!

The good news is she's veg not vegan and eats lots of eggs. She was on your protein shakes last year so I'll get her back on those.

I do most of the cooking and ensure she gets plenty of bean and pulse protein to supplement her eggs.

If she's eating plenty eggs does she still need to supp B12? The iron tablets the MD gave her provide 65mgs twice a day. Will the equivalent in the Now foods provide too much B12 and other ingredients or should I get her to take 1-2 of the Now Iron and make up the iron the MD dosed her with the Solgar iron?

do I still need to get her taurine supps bearing in mind she does eat plenty of beans?

I basically cook her beans/pulses with spicey veg and good grains and she has that for breakfast and lunch then often eggs for dinner with veggies. She also eats lots of almonds and I've stopped her eating soya. Man, that makes her farts smell!