Side effects on Ferrous Gluconate
I am anemic yet again, it seems like my body has a hard time holding onto iron or absorbing iron from diet. I got told my low iron is due to "inadequate dietary intake of iron." Doctor's office has just referred me to Hematology to do further testing to see if there are iron absorbtion issues due to diseases/conditions. My doctor's office wants me to get back on whatever type of iron I can tolerate, I found that I can only tolerate Ferrous Gluconate 324mg pills. I am currently on Ferrous Gluconate 324mg×2/day and Vitamin D3 5,000IU×1/day, these are both to treat deficiencies, on no other meds at all. Only other supplements are the occasional Benefiber/Lactobacillus Acidophilus 1 Million CFU capsules to try to reduce side effects from iron pills. Last iron/iron panel blood work: Hemoglobin: 9.6 g/dL (12.6 - 15.9 g/dL), Hematocrit: 32.3% (36.0 - 49.0%), Platelet: 449 k/uL (159 - 439 k/uL), Red Blood Cell: 4.54 M/uL (4.08 - 5.47 M/uL), Mean Corspucular Volume: 71.1 fL (81.9 - 101.0 fL), Mean Corspucular Hemoglobin: 21.1 pg (25.8 - 33.1 pg), Mean Corspucular HGB Concentration: 29.7 g/dL (31.2 - 34.5 g/dL), Red Cell Distribution Width: 16.3 (11.5 - 15.3%) All othere CBC blood work normal, Bloodwork collected May 6th, 2026 at 4:18pm. Not Fasting.
Iron: 12ug/dL (28 - 170 ug/dL), Iron Binding Capacity: 404 ug/dL (240 - 450 ug/dL) Transferrin Saturation: 3 %sat (20 -50 %sat) Ferritin: 6 ng/dL (13-150 ng/dL) Bloodwork collected May 6th, 2026 at 4:18pm. Not Fasting.
My side effects on Ferrous Gluconate 324mg×2/day and Vitamin D3 5,000IU×1/day are random intense vertigo, near fainting randomly (mostly when going from sitting to standing), random low blood pressure (90's/60's), severe constipation (can't go for 5 days or so, I think it's the iron pills). Doctor's office doesn't know why my blood pressure randomly gets too low/severe vertigo, was referred to neurology for brain EEG testing/further testing (history of seizure). I am mostly concerned about the severe constipation and how to not be so constipated on these meds (ideally not something like Mirilax that causes the worst stomach cramps for me)? Also if near fainting or bad vertigo is common for these meds? Thank you. Edit: Restarted Ferrous Gluconate 324mg×2/day and Vitamin D3 5,000IU×1/day on May 11th, 2026 to treat deficiencies.