NOW Supplements, Iron 18 mg, Non-Constipating*, Essential Mineral, 120 Veg Capsules

Worked well Alone and With Ferret's Iron

These are really some great Iron pills! in early 2013, I was having issues with my hair thining and finally I told my primary care doctor to send me to an endocrinologist to be tested since she couldn't really give me reasonable answers to my issue. After getting a full panel of blood work done and having it indicate that I almost had no iron in my body, I spoke to my my brother (who is a health enthusiast) and he told me to look into the issue of thinning hair and low iron in women. Low and behold, I found a lot of information about women's thinning hair issues and having low iron without anemia. I went back to the endocronolgist armed with my research and she too confirmed that having such low iron could be contributing to my issue so she prescribed me 325mg of ferrous sulfate (which equals 130mg of elemental iron). This dosage is 600% more than the daily recommended iron dose for women! Yes, my iron was that low... As i looked back over previous blood test from my annual physical exams, apparently it had been like that for years, but because the ferritin level was at the very bottom end of the very wide range or big gap of what is considered normal, my Dr didn't bother to mention any concern for the issue. This is why, to some degree, I've learned that you really have to take your healthcare in your own hands. Anyhow, after just taking the prescription drugs for 2 or 3 days, my stomach was in so much pain that I had to leave work a few times. The prescription drugs also causes you to be very constipated. The endocrinologist told me that I would have to take those pills about a year to get my iron and ferritin levels up to par, but I knew there was no way in hell I was going to suffer taking those pills for a whole year because they debilated my quality of life just that much. So, I started looking for alternatives immediately and I came across these pills. I began taking them about 30 days before my next blood test and as I took them, I had no stomach cramping, no feeling of nausea and best of all, I wasn't constipated at all. However, you must have something on your stomach before taking them because they can make your stomach upset a little if it's empty. To put this review in perspetive, in Aug 2013 before taking these pills my ferrition was 11.6 on a scale of 11.0-307 and my iron was 27 on a scale of 50-212. When I went back in about 30 days to have my blood re-tested my ferritin had increased to 17 and my iron had increased to 142! That was amazing to me! Research says that you need to get ferritin levels up to at least 70 for several months before any significant change with hair can be seen, but I will say that just taking these pills alone (2 pills 2x per day) definitely was a big help! However, because I needed way more iron to build of my iron stores (i.e. ferritin, since it's the hardest to build up) and I didn't want to pop these pills all day long, I now take these along wth Ferrett's Iron Supplement because you get 106 elemetal iron in one pill with the Ferret's brand iron. In early Oct 2013, I began taking 2 of the Now iron pills first thing in the morning with a tangerine (Vitamin C helps increase absoption) and 2 hours before having any dairy (dairy decreases iron absorbtion). And at night, I take 1 Ferretts Iron Supplement pill and one 1000mg of Vitamin C tablet before I go to bed and I am delighted to report that my 3rd blood test that I took on Nov 6, 2013 revealed that my iron level is now 168 and my ferritin is 49.9. I am very glad that I choose the natural alterntative to increase my iron levels and if you try either of these two products, you will be glad too! If you don't need as much iron as I do, then these pills may work just fine for you

289 persons found it helpful

Good iron but NOW's QA sucks

Haven't had many issues with this but the plastic wrap was over the bottle and I removed it then opened it, and there was a finger hole through the top foil. So this happened before it left NOW's manufacturing plant. Up your quality assurance NOW

81 persons found it helpful

First time I've found iron pills that work for my …

First time I've found iron pills that work for my anemia problems without any stomach upset. I've never had iron pills that seemed to produce no side effects but keeping my iron levels healthy. I'm truly grateful for the reviews because they are the reason I even tried this product. I will never use a different kind of iron. I added this product to my repeat shopping list on amazon

70 persons found it helpful

Great for restless legs & very gentle

I take this to boost my ferritin levels up into the upper half of normal range to combat restless leg syndrome*. Any iron supplement would do, but all the other types i tried weren't as well tolerated at this one with which I've had no side effects. (*Researchers have found that many people with restless legs tend to 'lose' iron so that their iron levels are usually in the low normal range & that for those people supplementing to bring their iron levels to middle of normal range can greatly improve symptoms. Worked for me. But i have to take an iron supplement most days to keep my iron levels up.

59 persons found it helpful

A good iron supplement with no side effects (for me)

After doing a lot of research, I settled on a ferrochel iron supplement because they are reported to have the best rates of absorption and little or no side effects. I aim for one dose daily with breakfast, and this has helped resolve my light anemia and low energy levels - with zero perceptible side effects or changes. I just purchased my second bottle, and will continue to use this brand because I'm happy with my results and it is affordable

56 persons found it helpful

Love the NOW brand

NOW Foods is such a great brand. Clean and inexpensive. They also support missions. It's a really great company. I bought these b/c I felt like I might be low in iron (I've been diagnosed in the past so I recognized the feeling). I take one capsule every night and I started feeling better within a week

34 persons found it helpful

Brought levels back to normal quickly

Perfect dosage and the brand, NOW, has been the one I have been using for most vitamins now. My iron was a little low so I supplemented with this and it's now normal and so are my energy levels. I use it with other vitamins, B mostly, for an MTHFR gene mutation and it's amazing how different I feel. So happy to finally find a regimen that works

27 persons found it helpful

Not Without Side Effects

Although, this form of Iron is much better than Ferrous Sulfate in its absorption; it still caused me to have side effects. Although, it does not have the extreme constipation effects like other forms of iron; it did make me extremely bloated with gas to the point that I looked pregnant and I also had a great deal of muscle pain. I took this product for 10 days and since the side effects continued; I quit taking it. All my side effects were gone in 24 hrs and I tried taking it again briefly 48 hours later and the side effects returned. I have since quit taking it and will have to eat more foods with iron including foods highly fortified with iron like Cream of Wheat and Grits. This product did give me energy and I do suspect I am somewhat Anemic since my periods have been heavier lately due to PeriMenopause

27 persons found it helpful

a usefull iron supplement

This product ( Ferrochel) chelated iron has been the only iron supplement that actually increases the iron in my blood. The normal iron sulfate tablets are not absorbed by me. I was on weekly iron IVs for several months until I changed to Ferrochel at the suggestion of my son. My blood iron has now been in the normal range for 3 months

21 persons found it helpful

It works for me

It is difficult to find a daily dose of iron without dozens of other vitamins and minerals added. I was anemic, meaning short of red blood cells. As soon as I started taking one easy to swallow capsule per day I am no longer anemic

21 persons found it helpful