We all remember when Robert Downey Jr. AKA Tony Stark uttered that he was Iron Man at the end of the first movie:

I really wish I could say the same….and yes, I know that sounds weird.

But, this is what I mean.

I am super anemic.  Like….a lot.

I have been between borderline anemic and kinda moderately anemic for…..most of my life?  I don’t really remember the last time I wasn’t anemic.  My anemia was part of the reason for my hair loss a few years ago and I’m sure has played a factor in a lot of other things.

Unfortunately, for me, my somewhat recent celiac diagnosis has made my anemia worse, which isn’t a huge surprise since it’s an autoimmune disorder that can affect a lot of your body systems.

Yet another reason for me to hate this celiac crap.

I never faithfully took an iron supplement before because my doctor was always more in favor of eating more iron-rich foods and cooking in cast iron, taking a multivitamin with iron, etc.  Because my iron levels weren’t as bad as they could be and because iron supplements can be hard on your stomach, she was putting that off until it was necessary.

Well, according to the blood test I had done on Saturday (thanks also to celiac for that), my iron levels are lower than they ever have been, which means it’s now time for an iron supplement.

I’m not super surprised, though, mostly because my energy level has gone down a little, and most annoying for me, I feel like part of my hair has thinned out a bit again, which is sad for me.  (I did also just start a new supplement for this as well – which if I like it, I’ll talk about it in a couple months since it takes a while to work – as me knowing how to style my hair, so it’s not super noticeable to anyone but me.)

So, I get to start an iron supplement, sooner rather than later.

My doctor recommended this Vitron-C supplement because it’s supposed to be gentle on your stomach, plus it has Vitamin C which helps the iron absorb (and since I work with germy children, having extra Vitamin C can’t hurt).

Obviously, I trust my doctor (I mean she’s been my doctor for 20 years and she’s now also Devon’s doctor), but I wanted to get some user opinions, just because….I’m me.

So, have any of you readers out there used this before?  Is it really as gentle as it claims?  Is there another iron supplement that you’ve tried that you like better/works better?  I’m going to likely see if I can pick it up at Target when I stop by later (Hurricane prep, ftw), but if there is something that is easier on your stomach or that works better, I’m down for suggestions!