Iron Supplements And Insomnia

[uclangel422]

I am taking iron supplements for iron-deficiency anemia and have not had a good night sleep since starting them. I cannot fall asleep, stay asleep or get much refreshment from it.

Has anyone experienced this before?

I have been taking my iron after dinner because i need to take it with food, do you think this may be a problem also?

Thanks!

[plantime]

Try adding a B-complex with it. My doc told me to never take one without the other, as the depend on each other for maximum effectiveness.

[KaitiUSA]

I used to wake up alot and not sleep very good then I started taking calcium right before bed instead of earlier in the day. That has helped me tremendously.

Is there a way you could take it with an earlier meal to see if that helps?

[uclangel422]

Thanks for the ideas, i will give them a shot.

[hsd1203]

fyi - calcium right before bed gives me nightmares. weird, huh?

[sillyken]

It is 3:00 am and I have not had a good nights sleep in weeks. I have to do something. What remedies are there besides calcium?

Ken Ritter

Celiac and DH since 2003

[Ruth UK]

Ken,

If I remember correctly magnesium is supposed to be brilliant at helping the body to relax, and therfore sleep.

I used to be really badly troubled with restless leg syndrome - constant sleepless nights! - - triggered, I believe, by my long term anemia, which was in hindsight due to undiagnosed celiac disease. However, i started taking Calcium with magnesium tablets for a while - total clear up of RLS (despite continuing anemia) and only a few sleepless nights.

Hope this helps!

[sillyken]

I tried taking a calcium magnesium combo and I fell asleep the next night like a lamb. I am breaking out with DH and was wondering if anyone knows how you can check if a vitamin is gluten free.

Ken Ritter

[KaitiUSA]

You call the number on the bottle and ask the manufacturer. What brand is it?

[rmmadden]

You can also try Melatonin which you can find at your local health food store. It won't put you to sleep but once you fall to sleep it helps keep you relaxed and can help you sleep better.

Start by taking one 3mg capsul about 1/2 hour before bed. You can take up to 4 capsuls max but note that some people have to switch varities of Melatonin before seeing the benefits (each persons system is different).

Best Of Luck!

Cleveland Bob

[sillyken]

Kaiti,

It's called Solgar. I tried calling but they're only open 9-5 and that's the hours I work.

Ken

[KaitiUSA]

If you would like to give me their # I can call them and post what they tell me.

[sillyken]

You rock! 877-765-4274. Thanks alot.

Ken

[KaitiUSA]

I'll call in the morning and post right after No problem..I'm happy to do it..if you need anymore companies called just let me know.

[KaitiUSA]

Ken-

I called the company at least 20 times and left 2 messages and nobody answered or called back yet. I did email them too so I will let you know when I get a response.

PS...I just heard from them they have a list of about 12 items that are gluten free and they are supposed to email them to me. I will let you know when I get them.

Apparently they have a lot that are wheat free but only some of those are gluten free

[KaitiUSA]

May 12, 2005

Dear Kaiti:

Thank you for your interest in Solgar Vitamin and Herb. We have recently received an overwhelming amount of phone inquiries. My apologies for any inconvenience you experienced while trying to phone us.

Solgar works to eliminate as many allergens as possible from our products. In regards to your question about gluten, the following lists the Solgar products that DO CONTAIN gluten:

Cholesterol Support Tablets

Brewer's Yeast Tablets

Earth Source Multi-Nutrient Tablets

Earth Source Greens and More Powder

Earth Source Greens and More Tablets

Formula VM-2000 Tablets

Kangavites Multivitamin Chewable Tablets

Kangavites Vitamin C 100mg Chewable Tablets

Miller's Bran Tablets 500 mg

Multiple Fiber Formula Vegetable Capsules

Oat Bran Tablets 750 mg

Optein Wellness Powder

At this point in time, the other products in Solgar's product line are gluten-free.

As always, please consult with your healthcare practitioner to determine your particular needs.

I hope you find the above information helpful. If you have any further questions,

please contact the Product Information Center at 1-877-765-4274.

Thank you for choosing Solgar for your nutritional supplement needs.

Very truly yours,

SOLGAR VITAMIN & HERB

Elaine Ferraro

Consumer Affairs

Product Information Center

[sillyken]

Thank you Kaiti. You're the bomb!

Ken

[Guest BERNESES]

Also I recently started taking NatureMade vitamins and supplements. I take their multivitamin, B12, calcium/magnesium and fish oil and they are all clearly labeled gluten free. They're inexpensive- I get them at CVS. But Solgar is really high quality too. Beverly (PS kaiti really is the bomb!)

[julie5914]

I didn't have trouble with iron tablets and sleep except for when they would make my stomach hurt, which would in turn wake me up. Sometimes I would take a benedryl with them to help me sleep, which worked. I only did that though cause I knew I was on the pills short term. Most of my sleeping problems were due to the anemia before the iron started working - some cramping, restless legs, temperature changes during the night. At the same time, when I woke in the morning, I felt like I had a huge weight on me and didn't want to get up. Iron pills can also make you have stomach or esophogus convulsions. They bothered me so much during the day that I started taking them at night on an empty stomach hoping I would sleep through the side effects. I was on Ferrex 150.

[tammy]

Thank you for sharing your sleeping remedies..it helped! I recently started having an increased inability to fall asleep once I went to bed. I thought that perhaps taking my calcium/magnesium supplement before bed would help to at least relax me enough to fall asleep sooner.

Tomorrow I will take my supplement before bed.