too much iron? please help...

[amanda22]

my mom is in her late forties and having hip replacement surgery. to get ready the doctor told her to take iron supplements for 3 weeks prior to the surgery date. he told her to take five 65mg pills three times a day. thats FIFTEEN iron pills a day. at 65mg each, that is 975mg of iron per day. this sounded like a lot so i researched it and i saw you could overdose on iron. and the recommended daily value was something like 40mg on the high side...

 

my question is, does anyone know if 975mg a day of iron is okay in this situation? or is it way too much for any situation? she is not anemic and we asked the doctor to verify this amount and he said it is correct but it still sounds crazy. i just want to find someone that might know someone who has had to take this much and have it be ok. sorry im rambling... im worried...

 

THANKS IN ADVANCE EVERYONE!

[CarnelianButterfly]

My guess is that since its a joint surgery, there will be need for the body to have a high iron level so that when she has blood loss during the operation she won't have cell death due to lack of O2 or CO2 build up. The bone marrow produces red blood cells and since she will be losing a portion of bone, she will lose that area of production, so what red cells she will need to be efficient in their gas exchanges.

Also if she is doing a direct blood donation so that all blood used during the surgery is hers she will need the extra iron to compensate for the blood loss.

Iron will also help her body recover quicker since her blood is working more efficiently.

Hopefully she's taking vitamin C as well that helps the body absorb iron.

[amanda22]

thanks so much carnelianbutterfly. it really sounds like you know what you are talking about which puts me at ease even more. i was searching all over the web and i just couldnt find a solid direct answer, so you have helped me very much. FYI, she is taking a multi vitamin and calcium too.

 

again, thanks a bunch. any info regarding this subject is great because i am so nervous...

[CarnelianButterfly]

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Here are a couple of sites that might help.

[amanda22]

Thank you so very much. ill be very well informed by the end of the night