i know i am years late, i decided to google my symptoms and this thread came up. I would notice when i take Iron on a full stomach I would start getting these palpitations and shortness of breath, I also would have trouble sleeping as well. Most of the time I would wait until 4AM to take my Iron Pills on an empty stomach and I would not have these symptoms at all, its so weird. Try taking your Iron on an empty stomach a different time of the day than your normally do. I also get stomach pains but I believe its a side effect of the Iron tablets I am taking.
Has anyone found a supplement that does not cause heart palpitations, etc. This happens to me as well. I spoke with a pharmacist and my doctor and they've never heard of this.
Hi sorry just seen your post was 2 years ago but wondering how you are now? I recently had 2 iron infusions and seem to be having more palpitations/episodes of dizziness than when I was acutely anaemic.
Thanks
Claire, I'm going OK but had a terrible 12 months. I ended up in emergency 4 times, in ICU overnight and had many, many episodes where my concentration and focus would disappear, i couldn't breathe and a constantly felt like i was going to faint/pass out. I had tachycardia after an episode. Had trouble driving and called my husband many times when I had an episode. Gradually the episodes happened further apart and then after a year, i felt nearly normal. I think it upset my heart rhythms as i now have atrial fibrillation. i was 100 % healthy before my infusion so that's the frustrating thing! Hope you recover OK - it could take up to a year to get it out of your system. I decided i would just take iron tablets.
hi chloe my doctor recently put me on furrous sulfate since taking them i also am having heart pulptations and some times chest pain. even though my gp says it not the iron however only started since i been taking these. which ones are you taking? or have you stopped and do you still get them ? x
i am having the same symptoms. fast heart rate and palpitations after taking iron pills. when i go periods without taking them i feel fine. i also feel cold after i take them. but when i stop taking them these symptoms go away. smh anyone know why this is happening?
hello I read your post on low iron. did you ever figure out why it was happening?
I seem to have the same issue, and GPs don't seem familiar with it. A couple of years ago I started taking iron supplements having been diagnosed as anaemic, and I ended up seeing a cardiologist, but she could see nothing wrong with my heart and suggested that it was a reaction to too much iron from iron supplements, so i stopped taking them and the palpitations stopped. I am now pregnant and have been diagnosed as slightly anaemic, so have been prescribed ferrous fumerate ( 1 tablet gave me dramatic diarrhoea the next day!), so I went for Spatone liquid iron instead and tried a very low dose to start with (just 3 sachets in a week - it suggests 2 a day in pregnancy!) and ended up with constant palpitations... went for blood tests, iron had come up from 116 to 140 so improved, but still not high. I stopped taking the iron about a week ago, and the palpitations are now just occasional and mainly at night. I have been advised to make sure i keep taking iron as am slightly anaemic and pregnant, but don't want the palpitations back!
I wondered if there could be something in the comments about keep going with the supplements for a few weeks and the palpitations will stop once your iron levels are up, as I had a similar experience with Vitamin D a while ago - i was pretty deficient and started supplements and got awful headaches... but persevered and found a gentle supplement and they stopped and my levels came up...
Minefield!
I have the same issue. I was a perfectly healthy person and felt fine (although sometimes exhausted by life). I was diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia and I started iron pills. A week after I started the pills, I felt like a cardiac patient...chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, palpitations (pounding and fluttering). When I stopped the pills, after about 2-3 weeks I felt like my old self again.
But I have started them again, because my iron is so low. I'm just worried that weeks/months of these frequent palpitations is going to affect my heart. I'm going to ask the doc about it soon...but nobody seems to think it's related! It's all about the constipation, nausea, stomach stuff when it comes to iron...
I'm terrified of an iron infusion, due to the side effects I'm having. :-(
I am on my first week of Slow-Fe brand. slow release iron. Low dose. 45 elemental iron. I too am terrified of an infusion. My resting heartrate was 90-110 but in a few days of this iron pill its gone down to 85. I take one in the morning on an empty stomach with some OJ. Although I know its going to take longer to feel better this way but so far so good. I would recommend them.
Hi shellbell! Yes Slow Fe was the first brand I tried!
Here I am weeks later, I think I figured out what it was...my stomach got really upset (bloated, gassy) and I had acid reflux too. Anyway apparently the acid reflux can give you chest pain/pressure, and the GI upset can do weird things to that long nerve that controls both your digestion and heart (I forgot name). Also when your stomach gets really bloated it can push up against your heart...probably why I was getting pounding/palpitations. So when I changed to a really bland diet and changed to a different type of iron pill (iron bisglycinate) the symptoms went away.
Great about your heartrate! My heartrate went down too...just from 70 to 66...and my Hb is up over 9.4 now. I'm feeling more energetic and less dizzy. And I'm fairly hopeful I can avoid the infusion, since the oral iron seems to be working...Fingers crossed!
I have the same. How has it been with this?
Thank you so much for posting this. My anemia has been down to seven as well and is up to 13, but I still need the iron because my periods are still heavy. It seems to be connected to needing to have a bowel movement. I think the iron is messing with my stomach, but sometimes after I go my heart rate goes down. I still need the iron because my periods are still heavy. I wake up with racing heart rates and then strangely it seems to be connected to needing to have a bowel movement in the middle of the night I think the iron is messing with my stomach, but sometimes after I go my heart rate goes down. My anxiety gets so high, though, that I can get it up into the 190s and then I’m scared I’m having a heart attack.
Did your Afib ever improve?
Hi, yes it did - took 9 months to get over the worst of the infusion (episodes, tacycardia, shortness of breath etc...) and 5 years to stop having 99% of the 'episodes' - even weaker ones. I cant really take much iron so i only take natural tablets (liver, beef) and they seem ok.
@Im having the same issue, also pregnant. If I take iron I get awful cardio symptoms, weakness, and even fainting. Did anything work for you!?
@harriet0324 did you ever get the infusion??
do you mind me asking what type of iron you used? I had the same reaction from an Iron Glycinate that was mixed with B complex vitamins. I have had iron infusions and have taken other iron supplements in the past, but have never had this reaction in my life. I tried taking the iron on an empty stomach and with food but still experienced the heart racing. I found that it wasn't so bad if I took it with food. I stopped taking the supplement because it made me so sick!
Hi Chloe,
I started taking iron supplements last week. Ones that were easily absorbed, and experienced rapid heart beat, lightheadedness and shakiness. These symptoms disappeared after I ate. I tried them twice after that and had the same reaction except the following two times, my throat and chest got tight. I have stopped taking them because they gave me bad anxiety and I felt so ill throughout the day. I have taken iron supplements before and never had this reaction. I don't know what is going on.
Me too! I get bad anxiety! did you figure out why it was happening?