Forums >Health and Nutrition>iron deficiency training
Hi. My not-quite-17 year old dd has had a lot of fatigue and some unexpectedly slow race times in the past couple of weeks, so took her to Dr. yesterday. Turns out she has iron deficiency. We are supplementing per Dr. and adding in more iron-rich foods. Anyway, she's not racing for next few weeks, but we can't seem to find any info out there about training. Her coach is having her cut back mileage and not do any track workouts (speed) for now while he researches (another reason I love this guy....he's really looking out for her!). Thought I'd ask on here if anyone has experience with this and what they did or if you all know of any articles to read with sane advice.
Thanks! Sherry
MTC my crappy spelling!
BTW---- thanks, Spaniel for answering so quickly!
Feeling the growl again
Yes. There is no quick fix for this. The best absorbed iron supplement is liquid ferrous sulfate. They don't usually stock it but most pharmacies will order it for you, it is not expensive.
Be sure to follow dosing instructions and dilute it as directed. If it is too concentrated it will stain her teeth. It can also cause constipation so keep the fiber level of her diet up. Don't take any other bivalent minerals (calcium, zinc) in close proximity to the iron as it will inhibit absorption.
There is not much point in worrying too much about training until her iron comes back up. In fact any real effort can be counter-productive. Once her levels come back up, taper back into training.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
I went to a session by Karen Harvey on this topic at a recent coaching clinic, and Spaniel's exactly right about the calcium.
Coach Harvey recommended 45-100 mg elemental iron a day (ferrous gluconante) or liquid iron--see the doctor for the proper dosage. Also, she recommended taking the iron supplement just before bedtime, preferably with a glass of orange juice, since vitamin C aids iron absorption.
She said it's important, too, that you have the doctor test for Ferratin, and she looks for that number to be 25 or above in her runners. Evidently, that test isn't usually performed as part of the blood test of iron levels unless it's specifically requested.
It should be mathematical, but it's not.
Yes. There is no quick fix for this. The best absorbed iron supplement is liquid ferrous sulfate. They don't usually stock it but most pharmacies will order it for you, it is not expensive. Be sure to follow dosing instructions and dilute it as directed. If it is too concentrated it will stain her teeth. It can also cause constipation so keep the fiber level of her diet up. Don't take any other bivalent minerals (calcium, zinc) in close proximity to the iron as it will inhibit absorption. There is not much point in worrying too much about training until her iron comes back up. In fact any real effort can be counter-productive. Once her levels come back up, taper back into training.
dude nooo. That stuff is absolutely revolting. It tastes like you are drinking blood. Literally. DisGUSTING.
I recommend just taking an iron supp along with Vitamin C - and try to limit dairy. When I was severely anemic last year, I had a lot of stomach problems when I tried the normal dosage of Fe (I'd literally just puke it right back up). So I found these slow-release caplets (brand name is Ferro-Sequels, only 50mg) and I'd take one right before bed along with C. It worked well - my hemoglobin went from 6 up to around 12 or 13 in about a month.
It takes a little longer - but honestly - that liquid iron stuff is the worst.. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone haha.
I was severely anemic last year. I couldn't figure out what was going on as I was huffing and puffing just going up a short flight of stairs. I also thought I had asthma with the difficulty breathing.
Apparently it is very common in runners.
My dose of iron was 100mg of elemental iron twice a day. I took ferrous fumarate 300mg. It didn't cause constipation although it does for some people. Ditto on the Vitamin C and ditto on staying away from liquid iron. It took about 2 weeks for my iron stores to be high enough to notice a difference in my running. But once it kicked in....Yay!!!!
Suffering Benefiting from mature onset exercise addiction and low aerobic endorphin release threshold. Hoping there is no cure.
rectumdamnnearkilledem
What everyone else said...plus start cooking in cast iron as much as possible--especially acidic foods, like tomato sauces, as that leeches extra iron from the pans.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
"run" "2" "eat"
if iron makes you constipated, try using polysaccharide iron [niferex or nu-iron or generic]. works great for me.
i find the sunshine beckons me to open up the gate and dream and dream ~~robbie williams
I've had iron deficiency as well, and started taking Proferrin ES, which is heme iron and absorbs the best. I've tried other kinds as well but this has proved most effective. You can order it online with no shipping charge, and it usually arrives in about 2-3 days.
Hi. My not-quite-17 year old dd has had a lot of fatigue and some unexpectedly slow race times in the past couple of weeks, so took her to Dr. yesterday. Turns out she has iron deficiency. We are supplementing per Dr. and adding in more iron-rich foods. Anyway, she's not racing for next few weeks, but we can't seem to find any info out there about training. Her coach is having her cut back mileage and not do any track workouts (speed) for now while he researches (another reason I love this guy....he's really looking out for her!). Thought I'd ask on here if anyone has experience with this and what they did or if you all know of any articles to read with sane advice. Thanks! Sherry MTC my crappy spelling! BTW---- thanks, Spaniel for answering so quickly!
Dont know but my doctor told me I was at no increased risk of heart enlargning disease (forget the name of this disease), it may be different for people running nearer their peak though. No cardiac myotrophy is good.
dude nooo. That stuff is absolutely revolting. It tastes like you are drinking blood. Literally. DisGUSTING. I recommend just taking an iron supp along with Vitamin C - and try to limit dairy. When I was severely anemic last year, I had a lot of stomach problems when I tried the normal dosage of Fe (I'd literally just puke it right back up). So I found these slow-release caplets (brand name is Ferro-Sequels, only 50mg) and I'd take one right before bed along with C. It worked well - my hemoglobin went from 6 up to around 12 or 13 in about a month. It takes a little longer - but honestly - that liquid iron stuff is the worst.. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone haha.
I am not sure which product you used, I got it from the CVS Pharmacy via special order (like $7 for a big bottle). It tasted nothing like what you describe. Perhaps we used different stuff? Diluted in a glass of water it just tasted slightly sweet, it had sugar added. I've been through this twice now and the liquid brought my levels back up much quicker than the pills and the GI problems seemed less.
Be careful with the OJ -- sometimes they fortify it with calcium which will be counter-productive.
No, serum ferretin is not a standard lab value that is run. You typically must request it. Also, do not just let them tell you that you are fine, get the lab print-out and make sure the serum ferretin level is 25+. Low serum ferretin is more common than people think especially in teenage girls that run. More rare in boys/men for obvious reasons. The first doc I went to argued with me that I could not be anemic because I did not pass out walking into the office -- while this is how bad anemia may need to be for a sedentary person to notice it, a hard-training runner will be significantly affected long before it gets to that level. My RBC count was not affected, but the "redness" of the cells was low and my serum ferretin was 12. I could hardly train at all. 2 months after starting iron I was running OK again (able to race a marathon at moderate effort) and another 2 months later I felt better than I had in a couple years.
Good luck!
The shirtless wonder
No, serum ferretin is not a standard lab value that is run. You typically must request it. Also, do not just let them tell you that you are fine, get the lab print-out and make sure the serum ferretin level is 25+. Low serum ferretin is more common than people think especially in teenage girls that run.
Spaniel speaks the truth. When I had trouble my serrum ferritin was measured at 22. The lab said 22-300 is normal for a male. That may be true but let me tell you it definitely was a problem for an adult male running 60 miles per week.
If you have iron problems you'll feel a bit better in about 2 weeks and in 2-3 months you'll feel like a new person.
run.therowes.net
...and if you don't, go back and get tested again (well, you should do this probably anyway).
The liquid stuff is terrible. Absolutely terrible. But it works.
Jazz hands!
Only if you cast iron is really really well loved already, otherwise the acid will remove the fond you've worked so hard on and then it will rust and you'll get upset.
Just a quick warning... if you do start taking supplements pay attention to the dosage. Too much iron is toxic...
Good Bad & The Monkey
Yes, however it is very tough to OD chronically on iron.
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby