Slow Fe 45mg Iron Supplement for Iron Deficiency, Slow Release, High Potency, Easy to Swallow Tablets - 60 Count

Well Tolerated Effective Iron Supplement

I use Slow Fe for multiple reasons. (1) It is easily tolerated on an empty stomach. I have a sensitive stomach. Over two months I have had no abdominal pain. No nausea. No feeling of bloating or other discomfort. (2) Slow-release. Enables a larger daily dose to be available without it hitting my stomach like a bomb - which did happen with a larger dose of a non-slow release brand from another manufacturer. 3) Value. Its availability in bulk makes it more affordable. 4) Confidence in the brand. It has been available for years in its current form. Widely used over time. Its manufacture valid and reliable by GSK. Compare that to others who lack that name recognition. 5) Efficacy. I can trust that the dose form delivers the 45 mg of elemental iron that I want daily. 6) An easy to swallow pill which leaves no aftertaste. I have had a low ferritin without an iron deficiency anemia. Because of other issues this conservative dose meets my needs. After two months I do feel stronger. Have less fatigue. More energy. These are subjective improvements. I also have noticed observeable differences. Better skin color. Less pallor. Faster capillary refill on my nailbeds. That said, I still know iron supplements take weeks to show an improvement in lab values. Especially ferritin. I do also notice some of the other effects of iron supplementation - like a darkening of feces - are present. Mild constipation not worse than my usual issue. About the packaging. The blister pack is not insurmontable. I have not found I required a scissors to separate a single dose. However. If I am at all not careful in peeling back the covering, that little pill gets away from me, bouncing on a tile floor to places unknown, joining the Kingdom of the Lost. Be careful. I have become increasingly aware of how diet, prescriptions & supplements interact. That becomes important with iron. Like other iron supplements, it can lower absorption of multiple medications by binding with them. Antibiotics. Biophosphanates. Others. Iron's efficacy itself can be lowered by other medications, like antacids and proton pump inhibitors (like Pepcid) which raise the gastric pH. Iron also binds to calcium supplements. Most if not all of these effects are controlled by timing the Slow Fe dose two hours before or after the other medication. Even the polyphenols in green or black tea or coffee - not the caffeine - can interfere with iron absorption. Vitamin C, like that in a glass of Orange juice can promote absorbtion. Package warnings bear repeating: If you are pregnant or nursing, talk to your doctor before use. Keep your baby safe. This is NOT intended for children. Keep it out of their reach. One of the leading causes of FATAL accidental overdose in kids under 6 is ingestion of iron containing supplements. Do NOT chew. Swallow whole with adequate liquid. Do NOT take with other iron supplements. Stick with one to best evaluate your progress and assure no untoward effects will occur. Bottom line. Do your homework about interactions. Know your medication. Know what helps or what can interfere. Review all instructions and most important - follow up with your physician during use. I highly recommend Slow Fe as an iron supplement. Predictable. Well tolerated. Effective. A good value when purchased in this bulk form

68 persons found it helpful

Delivers results even to the anemic

I previously used a liquid iron supplement that I would always forget to take. Being anemic, you should never be forgetting to take your iron. My heart has actually become enlarged and my hair fall was quite significant before this product. It has only been about a month, but I am noticing a considerable difference in my hair fall. I feel less tired, I'm a single mom so I am always tired, but definitely a little more able to get out of bed in the mornings. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who is anemic. Iron is so vital to our bodies, especially as women, pre or post partum, pre and post menopausal. We lose a lot of blood ladies. We need to take care of ourselves

44 persons found it helpful

This WORKS! (over the LONG term!)

There is no magic pill to bring your iron levels up to what they should be. BUT consistently taking these pills for MONTHS will show difference. I'm bio major. Take it from me, that these work. It will take time, but take them religiously and you will see the difference. I took blood tests before and after using this product for 6 months (1 pill every. single. day) and my iron stores literally doubled. Again, there is no magic or immediate way to bring up your iron levels. The only way is to consistently take pills AND increase iron in your diet, for MONTHS to see a difference. But, this way definitely works - the blood tests I took prove it. NOTE: 1 30 day or 60 day pack won't necessarily make a noticeable difference. You'll need to take it for months

37 persons found it helpful

Fixed my chronic anemia.

I have suffered from severe (for me) anemia for four years. I didn't know until I met with a hematologist. It wasn't my doctor's fault. I just didn't take it seriously when he stated that I was slightly anemic. I didn't think I had anything to worry about. I ended up having a failed iron infusion. I had a horrible allergic reaction to the infusion. Luckily, I didnt have to have blood transfusions, because it seems as if I was headed in that direction. I started taking the SlowFe, on my own, after the infusion (which brought my iron levels up one or two points, but still didn't bring them up to anywhere near normal). Guess what brought my levels up? The SlowFe. I was able to get my iron levels up to have surgery. That was another issue that decreased my quality of life. I have to give credit where credit is due. I am now seeing steady iron levels. It is now to the point where I see my hematologist every six weeks, instead of every two weeks. I have more energy and I am grateful to this supplement. I usually don't tolerate iron supplements. This one is A-1. If you're having issues with your iron, ask your doctor about this supplement

28 persons found it helpful

Hope this is what I need.

My doctor has been telling me for a while that I my iron is low and need to take a supplement, Slow FE in particular. However, my hemoglobin was fine, and I was concerned with the side effects, so I resisted. Recently I had a problem which caused my hemoglobin to drop significantly. I relented and ordered Slow FE. I have only been taking it for less than a week, so it is too soon to tell if it works as advertised. However, the side effect I was concerned about has not happened so far. There is one thing though. I would like to meet the diabolical idiot who designed the blister packing and knock some sense into his head. It is not a blister pack like others that you can just push the pill out. You have to peel the backing off the pack. Very annoying and not an easy thing to do

18 persons found it helpful

Physician recommended and patient approved

This was recommended by my doctor. I've been taking these for 4 months and they work. It helped boost my iron from a 5.9 to 11.5. They did not upset my stomach. You have to take them regularly to see an improvement in your iron levels

12 persons found it helpful

Less likely to constipate, but can constipate, if you're not careful.

Okay, so when I take a vitamin with 100% of daily iron that is NOT this brand, I will 100% be constipated for days and it's awful. However, this supplement has 250% your daily iron. So, if I cut the pill so that I only get roughly 100%, I don't get constipated. It's amazing. I tried to correct for the supplement with a ton of fiber like I do with all iron supplements and ended up with diarrhea, so it looks like my whole life won't have to revolve around fiber with this supplement. If I took the full pill, I'm guessing I'd end up constipated, tho, because this supplement does clearly slow things down somewhat... just not as bad as other supplements. So, just think about how much you've taken before with other brands. Maybe try to stay similar to that dose with this one and I'd bet that you'll experience less constipation (tho your mileage may vary). I wonder if some of the folks experiencing constipation with this one didn't realize they are getting 250% the RDA of iron? Maybe or maybe not. Just a thought. Be aware of the dosage with this one, because I could see it stopping you up, if you aren't careful, but it's clearly better than other OTC brands that I've seen

12 persons found it helpful

Better than any other brand I've tried

Having life long anemia, my Dr recommended this brand to me years ago while I was pregnant, and gave me a few samples. They were easy on my stomach and I did start feeling pretty good after a week or two. At the time, it was so expensive that I just opted to take cheaper ferrous sulfate supplements when I ran out. Those made me feel weird, so I just stopped taking iron altogether. Recently I had no choice but to restart iron supplements to get my levels back up. I tried the run of the mill iron tablets but the first one threw me into a massive panic attack. Not wanting to go through that again, I remembered the SlowFE my Dr had given me. I was really happy when I saw how inexpensive they are on Amazon and ordered them immediately. It's been a little over a month and I feel better and stronger than I have in a long time. I highly recommend these

11 persons found it helpful

Doctor Recommended, Arthritis Sufferers Need Not Apply

Apparently it works. My cardiologist instructed me to back off from taking it daily to taking it only on Mon-Wed-Fri. No side effects found with other iron supplements such as constipation, although you will notice dark, almost black, spots in your stool. I would rate this five stars if it was packed in a bottle. The blister packs are extremely difficult to open, especially of you have arthritis in your hands. Obviously the maker of this supplement did not think this through. I have no issue with individually wrapped doses, but they don't need to be armor-plated like Slow-FE is. I am not exaggerating; opening the blister packs is painful, there are no other ways to describe it. If it wasn't for my doctor recommending it, and its reputation as a low side-effect supplement, I'd take something else

11 persons found it helpful

180 tablets

Update 12-6-2018: I have ordered another 3 pack of 60 (180 total) which just arrived and I'm very happy with the expiration date of 05/2020. These work as expected. upgraded to 5 star I ordered the 3 packs of 60 and received all 3 today very quickly. This is a great deal. I was concerned about the people who only received 1 package but I received 3 as advertised. Also the expiration date is 02/2020 which is pretty good. I have to take 3 of these a day and I have literally tried every other iron supplement on the market. these wor

11 persons found it helpful