Vitamin C supplement

[Jherm21]

Hello my doctor just put me on liquid iron because my ferritin level has dropped pretty low. She told me to use a vitamin c supplement with it for better absorption. Which are the best vitamin C supplements gluten free celiac safe? Has anyone ever used Ester-c powder? Or any other powder ones? Or chewables? Thanks for any recommendations. 

[Ennis-TX]

I use Ester C capsules as they lack the filler in the others I get the 500mg ones and split up the dosing.
PS I dump the capsules under my tongue the flavor is mild and I wash it down with a drink after.

[cyclinglady]

Why not eat Vitamin C-rich fresh foods while taking it?  Like an orange?  Also consider adding iron-rich foods to your diet.  But more worrisome is why are your ferritin levels low?    Is your celiac disease active?  When did you last get your antibodies checked?  That is a good place to start.  

Open Original Shared Link

[Jherm21]

Ennis thanks for the ester c recommendation so that brand is celiac safe? Great. 

Cyclinglady am otange sounds like a good plan as well I will use that in the morning. I do reintroduce a lot more iron rich foods I have always been a good red meat eater but I’ve recently added a lot more spinach and other greens in addition to the liquid iron. My ferritin was at a 7 about three weeks ago so she called and said supplement. They didn’t say anything else just that hemoglobin was normal but I had an abnormally low Mcv test?? Not as out of range as my ferritin but it was lower than it should be. Unfortunately I don’t test positive on celiac blood tests I just had a positive biopsy and endoscopy when diagnosed. But my ferritin has gotten lower from the last time it was checked and I can feel the symptoms. Super tired and losing lots of hair. Who would know more information on this? What type of specialist. I recently saw a new gi because of my SIBO and he said you don’t have anemia so don’t worry about it. But as a woman I can feel how bad it is around my menstraul cycle so I listened to my primary and started on a supplement last week 

[cyclinglady]

The MCV value on a CBC panel just means you have smaller red blood cells.  As long as your hemoglobin is within range, you should be fine and you would not be anemic.    I am not a doctor, but I have very tiny red blood cells.  I have Thalassemia which causes me to always be slightly anemic (out of range hemoglobin).  When my hemoglobin really dropped, they blamed perimenopause and Thals, but it was also celiac disease!  

Last year I got glutened (antibodies were off the charts) and triggered a variety of long lasting symptoms (e.g. gastric issues and hives).  I went on a strict gluten-free diet (Fasano diet), but no improvement (symptoms or antibodies).  I has a repeat endoscopy which revealed Chronic Autoimmune Gastritis.  

Why share this?  Not everything is related to gluten.  I did discover that when my celiac disease is actively flaring, I can trigger concurrent flares with my other autoimmune issues compounding my symptoms and recovery.  

Take the supplement, but try to determine the cause of your low ferritin (which in a normal woman amazingly builds back up fast despite very heavy periods).  

Take care!