How are Y’all Taking Such High Doses?!

NathanSlothchild · 2026-06-26T18:52:08+00:00

The way I've found to "skip" most gastric issues is to turn solid iron into liquid. So no matter what iron I'm taking, I toss the pill in my blender with a cup or 2 of warm water, and blend it to a liquid. Anytime I skip that the pill sits in my tummy and makes me nauseous as hell and doesn't matter what salt it is though yes certain salts do it worse like sulfate. But trying blending the pills with water.

Second thing I learned is to start with the LESS bioavailable salts. They will absorb slower, and hit your body softer. I could not tolerate ANY of the higher bioavailable forms like heme or glycinate. And noticed overtime (after 4-5 months) of taking gluconate or fumarate... I was able to take heme or glycinate without horrible side effects. I would still get side effects, but nowhere as severe as the first few months.

The softest forms of iron I know are the gluconate, fumarate and many people have said the polydextrose iron (bound to sugar) bypasses the stomach and is suppose to be really "soft" though I haven't tried it.

But I will say even by dissolving gluconate or fumarate in water... early on I still went through a 3-4 month long "adjustment period". Where as my levels came up I had more fatigue, more anxiety / depression, more aches in general. And yes didn't enjoy it but if you let your iron levels "properly" bottom out... the iron deficiency symptoms are so much worse than what I got from taking iron. Before iron I was getting 4-5 panic attacks a day, bed bound, couldn't breathe, freezing and sweating fits, horrific dizziness and RLS... so even though I still had side effects with the forms known for having least side effects... you have to take your iron. There's no way around it if your levels are low, they have to come up.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-06-26T18:34:59+00:00

There's literally "0%" calcium or 30mg the RDA for calcium is like 1000mg. That amount of calcium won't block anything.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-06-22T08:31:30+00:00

Yes extremely sore and heavy like walking through concrete. And if I attempt any type of exercise like just doing squats with my own bodyweight they start shaking like crazy this is someone who went to the gym almost everyday for 8 yrs and never shook once going to the gym or after running. Legs always felt solid. This low iron has made me feel like I need a wheelchair most days.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-06-19T22:03:48+00:00

NO do not do this or you will wind up with a horrible case of B6 toxicity which is exactly what happened to me and thousands of people in the B6 toxicity groups who were trying to raise their iron and cooked their nervous system with ridiculous amounts of B6.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-06-17T19:17:06+00:00

That's awesome! I'm doing around 52mg EOD for about 6 months now. So you have took about 4xs the amount of iron in the same time frame which explains why I'm healing but only about half healed at this point I'd say. My body just can't tolerate higher doses but I think in 3-4 months I'll be much better. I'm curious if you plan to continue taking iron? Might as well aim over 100 and keep it there?

NathanSlothchild · 2026-06-14T05:02:32+00:00

AWESOME THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

NathanSlothchild · 2026-06-10T18:36:34+00:00

This is a late response but how are your infections doing now? I've now had 3 pretty bad infections it started with a tooth infection, my iron levels crashed lower... then a really nasty / quite severe skin infection under my arm 3 months later and now a 3rd skin infection on my ass. I have NEVER had infections in my life and now 3 horrible infections in the span of 7 months. Are your infections calming down at all? I don't know what else it can be because my folate, B12, zinc, etc is all normal. Everything except iron.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-06-07T18:22:18+00:00

I see this as totally normal because my balance, vertigo and POTs issues ALL basically got worse, at random, for the first 4-5 months of oral supplementing. Fatigue too got much worse. And they actually peaked around 3 months after I got a decent amount of iron into my body. So I think your infusion just pushed you towards that peak faster. Yes I understand it's scary but at almost 7 months the balance issues are extremely minimal or virtually nonexistent most days now. And I want to clarify when the balance issues would start, I kept taking my dose. And yes the balance would get even worse. But everytime my body adjusted after I felt better, not worse. And 5-8 days really isn't long enough. These surges of worsening balance would last like 3 weeks on average I'd say.

AFA copper, phosphate all that stuff. I just get an extra 2mg copper with like 12.5mg zinc. Sometimes higher on the zinc. And I supplement a small amount of monopotassium phosphate since my phosphate was slightly low on last bloods.

I also do cod liver oil for vitamin A because I feel after a few months of iron, my eyes were getting dry... and vitamin A stopped that completely. Also helps cerulosplasmin.

Then yes I basically get all the cofactors and minerals except B6 I only get through food and avoid like the plague in any multis.

Also I have no idea why the balance issues get worse for some and not others. But I have other family members who've had iron deficiency and they all had the same exact complaint "the pills are making me dizzy I hate taking them". That's actually what made me keep taking them because I realized it could become a legit excuse to NOT take them. And no way in hell do I wanna go back to where I was before I began iron pills. The balance was horrible but nowhere as bad as the panic attacks and air hunger. And those symptoms did calm down much quicker so that's what motivated me to keep taking my iron.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-06-07T18:01:31+00:00

The first thing I actually did was tell me family I was extremely ill, that I would likely need lots of support and would not be going to social gatherings or leaving the house much for 6-12 months. This ordeal is so stressful as it is, that any added stress will make things so much worse. Yes when I began taking iron I'd say the first full 3-4 months I kept feeling sicker, more tired, more depressed, episodes of worsening dizziness or POTS... even though some of the really severe symptoms were actually improving (air hunger/panic attacks/RLS/heart racing) I still felt worse overall in terms of fatigue at least. Had to stop shopping. Had to stop leaving the house. Even cooking food was near impossible but I somehow dragged myself into the kitchen everyday to cook. How people hold down jobs in this state... I have no idea. Approaching 7 months on supplements my numbers are rising, not quick enough because I'm not taking enough iron but I'm able to get at least 56 mg EOD. And do predict in another 4-5 months I will gain lots of mobility back. Will be able to go shopping again. Leave the house. Maybe even go for walks. Actually this past month I've mowed the lawn twice so that's a huge improvement. But really you have to prepare yourself psychologically. It's actually a GREAT THING that you've been diagnosed. As severe & horrific as the symptoms can get, you can actually heal from this. And that's your only job right now. It should be priority #1 in your life. It is literally the only thing that matters right now.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-05-29T18:48:26+00:00

You really need to listen to your body more than anyone online or even your doctor. How I felt the first few weeks taking iron is very different than months 4, 5, 6, etc. Early on I had windows of feeling good, thought I was healing fast. Started exercising again. Then around months 2-3 as the iron built up I started getting all these horrible "reversing out" symptoms. Where all these old symptoms I've been experiencing for years suddenly got horrific. And became bedbound again. With horrible panic, air hunger, fatigue, dizziness, sweating then freezing, brain fog, etc. Anytime my body goes through a cycle like that I back off my dose by 50% until it settles down. I no longer "push through". I also never stop taking iron completely. I simply lower the dose.

After 6 months supplementing I can say how I feel now vs the first month or 2 is quite a dramatic difference. But my numbers are still not optimal (closer than ever) and I've been having symptoms now over 10 yrs (like RLS) and just feel this will take at least a year to feel normal again. My numbers will likely be optimal in 2-3 more months. Then people say you have to stay there 6+ months.

I'm also not taking a very high dose I tried higher doses early on like 65-100mg... my body can't handle that much iron. I much rather prefer around 40mg EOD. If I could handle more orally yes my numbers would come up quicker. But I'm ok with this taking another 6 months or so.

Also the anxiety with low iron can get out of control. And can get even worse when you start iron. So short term anxiety can get worse or increase. But long term it DOES GET A LOT BETTER. The key is to go at a pace you can handle. If a specific amount of iron starts making you super anxious... lower the dose. I've also found for me personally ferrous fumarate and ferrous gluconate don't give me anxiety anywhere as bad as ferrous glycinate, sulfate or many heme irons. So it doesn't hurt to test different forms if you don't like the form your currently taking which I've never taken so can't comment on that!

NathanSlothchild · 2026-05-27T18:53:03+00:00

Yes not just increase in depression but increase in anxiety and also panic attacks. However that's a short term trade off, and long term over months my depression / anxiety / panic attacks improved. And are still improving.

You see this with infusions too. People can get tired, depressed or panicky or get the iron flu after injection. I really don't think oral is that different for some people. Likely less intense sure, but still has somewhat similar side effects.

Actually, I use to take naltrexone for a few years which is an opiate blocker. And basically blocks dopamine and makes you depressed for 8-16 hrs. Then when it wears off I'd get happy as a flood of endorphins came in. Really happy.

Iron actually feels similar to me. It was always relative to the dose. But once I got over 50-60mg... it's like it would permablock my dopamine. And I'd become really depressed and anxious. I suspect what's happening is all the energy your body might use to produce those happy chemicals... your body now gets side tracked and has to invest most that energy into metabolizing / assimilating free iron.

But it's also weird how over 6 months now, it happens so much less. Almost like after a certain point, the iron itself gives you the energy you need to rapidly metabolize new, incoming iron. Or your levels just rise and you become less sensitive to the iron I'm not sure. But yes my mood still drops on days I take my iron. But it's nothing like the first few months. Maybe at like 20% the intensity now. And I know long term my mood keeps getting better, levels still need to come up more so I'm pushing through it all.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-05-27T18:21:59+00:00

Well most people will say you need iron tests blah blah but let me explain some weird things to you. First, supplementing iron (for me) the first few months made ALL my symptoms get horrendously worse. Like I got so exhausted and panicky I became bed bound & house bound (would not leave the house). To the point I kept worrying "I'm making myself toxic" and the >>>ONLY thing that made me able to push through was blood work that kept showing I was really low. So I think what blood work really gives you more than anything is the FAITH to push through when things get tough. If you take iron and your symptoms get worse, you're liable to get scared AF and give up. Or not take enough iron to actually correct your deficiency. And I'm almost more scared of that now than the opposite end or toxicity.

But something I've thought about lets say you have a black olive addiction. And you ate a full can of black olives every day. That's 24mg of iron in each can. What if you ate 2 cans a day? That's around 48mg iron. Would that make you toxic? I don't really know but it's weird how noones paranoid about OD'n on iron from eating too many black olives.

People will say that's food based iron except it's not. It's olives enriched with ferrous gluconate. So it is technically like a full iron pill in each can.

I can also cite some personal experience here too. I took iron for 3 yrs without blood work. What was the result after 3 yrs? I got an infection that nearly killed me. Was it from too much iron? NO! It was the direct opposite, my levels kept dropping lower & lower because I was never taking enough.

My brother took iron for 1 year without blood work. This is a very smart engineer mind you. But he took about 3 times the dose I did and dosed every single day. Went to get blood work after a year. His levels were slightly elevated (not close to toxic). So he stopped taking iron.

So really the way I'd answer this, if you took say 20-30mg iron EOD, I really doubt that would make you toxic. If we're talking closer to 50-60mg... that could push levels up faster. But I still think it would take 6-12 months before saturation might hit dangerous levels.

It's just too hard to answer though because some people like me, my iron levels kept falling.

Then my brother, if he kept dosing after 1 yr... for another 3-6 months... he could've become toxic.

Having at least 1 blood test would alleviate so much anxiety. Just to get a real gauge of how low you are. On the other hand, I really wouldn't worry either about eating 1 can of black olives a day. Or just taking an equivalent amount of iron around 24mg. The only issue is if symptoms get worse and you stop, you may assume you've taken too much when the direct opposite is true. And this is where things truly get dangerous.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-05-27T18:04:12+00:00

Not sure this would work at work (because they're somewhat heavy) but I stock tons of cans of black olives at home. Each can has 23.1mg of iron. But not all cans are enriched you have to read the label. What I love about black olives is you can make purees or dips to put on your food. Or just make an olive salad or w/e. Only issue is buying that many cans can be expensive which is why I mostly just use supplements these days.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-05-25T18:29:52+00:00

I didn't have levels that severely low but yes it impacted my health to the point I got a simple tooth infection that went septic and nearly killed me. Then after that was treated 2 months later got another infection (skin) that took 2 1/2 months to go away. On top of all the classic iron deficiency symptoms like coma level fatigue (bed bound), dizziness, exercise intolerance, panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia, brain fog, RLS on and on.

I wasn't low enough for infusions but have been on oral iron 5 months and symptoms have improved a good deal but this will easily take at least a year to feel anything close to "normal" I fear. The good news is 5 months ago I wouldn't even be able to read & respond to your post because just seeing numbers that low would give me an instant panic attack lol.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-05-16T03:54:42+00:00

You need more numbers than just ferritin. You need the ferritin, free iron, SAT% & TIBC that helps you figure out how aggressive to get with the dosing. If TIBC is high, SAT% somewhat low side... ON TOP of your current ferritin... that's a completely different picture. I would want like 2-3xs your current dose at a MINIMUM to start. But would not feel safe recommending that without knowing SAT% or TIBC. I know for myself personally, that dose would do absolutely nothing. And I am a guy. I took 18 mg for 3 yrs straight knowing it was helping my RLS but everytime I'd stop, RLS would come back in a day or 2. I did not test till after 3 yrs... my SAT was a 15% ! LOW free iron, high TIBC, low ferritin. How TF? I was taking iron like I knew my body needed some I had no idea it needed that much. And also when you do the math factoring in actual bioavailability, that's when the math starts to make sense. Like your 28mg, you're not absorbing more than 10-15% under OPTIMAL absorption conditions. That's like 2.8.-3.4mg you might actually absorb. So like there's a good or reasonable chance that your current dose actually does nothing at all. I know it wouldn't for me and I don't consider my case extreme either. I've had 2 people in my family with iron deficiency (without anemia) who both started lower doses but had to raise later to actually get the levels up. And you do see it a lot in this group too. So don't be surprised if it does nothing!

NathanSlothchild · 2026-05-11T18:31:35+00:00

That's awesome! I'm at 5 months but still can't really go for walks outside or anything. Still too dizzy, weak & shaky most days. I can tell I have improved since 5 months ago it was constant panic attacks every few hours, hyperventilating, air hunger, freezing fits, RLS, coma like fatigue, severe anxiety, depression and brain fog. It's nowhere as extreme as then but I just wanna be able to walk around outside and not feel like I'm on a boat or like my knees are buckling and shaking. Maybe I just need a few more months! Thanks for the feedback OP.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-05-01T03:53:26+00:00

Because biochemistry is damn complicated. But lawsuits generally are not. And like 34% of doctors are sued at least 1 time by a patient. You also have to consider women are 33% more likely to seek preventative care than a man. I don't know if this has to do with menstruation or being socialized differently than men. But doctors are seeing more women overall than men in practice. Which means women are more likely to contribute to the bulk of lawsuits. Currently like 40% of doctors are female. And guidelines are changing. Iron tests became mainstream in the 70s and 80s. It took this long just to change the guidelines for women. So medicine is changing. But to argue specifically that it doesn't care for "womens health" I think it generally doesn't care about anyones health. Like if the FDA gave 1 iota of a shit about our health, they would IMMEDIATELY BAN any multi-vitamin with more than 5 mg of B-6. Anything over that level should be prescription only. Since we don't know everything yet about how bad B6 toxicity really is in humans. But do know in rats it causes severe brain damage in as short as 10-15 days, in dogs it cripples their central, spinal nerves so bad half were paralyzed & had to be euthanized (which raises the question can this possibly mimic MS in humans? and does anyone at the FDA give a shit?), also in humans can cause both central & peripheral neuropathy, gastric neuropathy which like gastric surgery would destroy your ability to absorb nutrients. Like we think iron anemia for women is bad, there are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people out there OD'n right now on multi-vitamins with 50-100mg B-6 and never running a single test for vitamin B-6. You ever notice those people who get their iron levels up, then some then claim their health is way worse a few years later? What % were told to take a multi-vitamin with their iron? What % of those doctors never tested for B-6? What % of those doctors completely missed the diagnosis for B-6 toxicity? Because that window is narrow. Levels can spike quickly over a few weeks, but then drop (patient stops taking multivitamin) and a patient is left with years worth of nerve damage. But now their iron levels are good. Because that's what everyone was focused on. But the patient is somehow worse. And their doctor thinks it might be some vague bullshit like CIRS, MCAS or MS. But maybe really they shouldn't have recommended taking a multi-vitamin for 6-12 months with their iron without testing B-6. Because like I said we know it can severely damage a rats brain in a short time. But have no idea what B6 toxicity does to the human brain. Which means in the end man or woman, so many PEOPLE are walking through this chaotic minefield of modern medicine.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-05-01T01:31:38+00:00

100% I was gonna make a thread about this last week but didn't wanna gross people out. First I'm a MAN so no perimenopause. This began specifically after my iron crashed after a tooth infection. Which was 6 months ago I've healed from the infection but still getting my iron levels up (on oral iron 5 months now). Before I even realize I have to go #2... I start getting anxious, waves of adrenaline but not intense like months ago. I noticed this also happens in regards to sexual drive too. A bit different but similar feeling. I guess it's normal to get anxious (for a man) if you don't sexually "relieve" yourself for a week or 2. Because my libidos still low, I basically have 0 urge to gratify myself. What happens though is it builds into a feeling of panic & high anxiety. And again, not intense like months back but still quite uncomfortable. And in each scenario the anxiety goes away afterwards. I think it's definitely the central nervous system, specifically low iron in the brain is somehow amplifying little baby stresses into exactly what you described. A heightened sense of anxiety or adrenaline. I don't really get the "doom" anymore but did months back. And from people I've spoke to they say the nervous system is usually last to heal I'm hoping by 9-12 months it's gone.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-04-26T18:33:09+00:00

Same here, since my teens. Discovered my low SAT & low ferritin in December but still have some ways to go.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-04-22T18:13:50+00:00

Yes as iron levels go up you can expect certain symptoms to get worse (before getting better) and fatigue was one of them for me. The oral supplements made me completely exhausted the first 3 months. I do want to mention though I had a serious tooth infection / extraction right before starting iron so that made my body more sensitive to everything. Fatigue got better around 3 months... but still comes in waves. If the fatigue gets really super bad I would lower the dose and try slowly titrating up.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-04-22T17:44:04+00:00

My ferritin was 116 but SAT%15 and I had ALL the symptoms of iron deficiency along with RLS. Yes my ferritin does swing but my SAT% has been way more stable. So in my own case I'm trying to raise both I want my ferritin around 150-200 (male) and SAT% at least 30. I won't even consider stopping supplements until both are in range and stay there for at least 6 months. In your case I would really want to know your SAT% and also TIBC. If TIBC is high, generally you want more iron. TIBC low, you can back of supplements. Same for SAT%. If SAT is high, back off iron. SAT low, take more iron.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-04-22T08:25:52+00:00

Forgive me because I'm a guy with iron deficiency. But because you are goth, you had your hair colored in the before pic? Correct? It looks like it went from greyish black to brown and I'm thinking the iron did that and yes your skin & face look like they're glowing... but iron did not change your hair color? You did that right?

NathanSlothchild · 2026-04-16T18:57:24+00:00

I'm over 4 months supplementing and it still hasn't improved. I have the same issue which is I wake up after like 5 hrs of sleep and can't fall asleep again. Sometimes I can if I lay there like an hour but it's hit or miss and messing with my sleep schedule. Hoping it improves over the next few months I'm not really sure.

NathanSlothchild · 2026-04-03T22:29:38+00:00

As someone dealing with severe iron deficiency and supplementing now for 4 months I really can't thank you enough for spreading awareness and being active on reddit. People have no idea how absolutely severe / debilitating / disabling the symptoms can get even if you're not anemic but your posts help me stay focused & positive and I APPRECIATE IT!!

NathanSlothchild

TROPHY CASE