If I had to give for myself, I could--I just can't donate for the cause.

Right! And, god forbid I ever had to, I sure wish I could get past it now.

A quick Google resulted in some information.

From this website: "Iron is available in two forms heme and nonheme. Heme forms of iron are found in meat and poultry and are absorbed quite easily by the body. Nonheme iron is found in vegetable and grains and is absorbed less readily.

This page has excellent information on iron in the diet including the factors that affect how iron is absorbed in the body. Certain other substances / foods also affect how readily iron is absorbed, for example, vitamin C increases iron absorption.

It is generally considered a bad idea to self-medicate with iron supplements. Iron overload is just as dangerous as iron deficiency."

I'm 99% certain that you can't OD on heme iron, though. Heme iron is also found in egg yolks, though for some reason neither website mentions it.

I eat plenty of meat and eggs, so I'm not gonna worry about it unless they tell me it's a problem.

I'm wondering now if there is a home iron test so I can figure out when to make another appointment to try.

Magnets?

Or, relatedly, hold some iron filings near your face and see if you can get a beard like Wooly Willy.

bonny, if you take your iron supplements while playing Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" on your stereo at full blast, while yelling "I Am Iron Woman!!!", it will improve your body's ability to absorb iron. It's a proven fact.

I can taste it in my mouth, and I smell like breakfast cereal.

At the risk of sounding incredibly stupid/obvious/ignorant, I just wanted to point (because of the sentence of the breakfast cereal), that milk products are the kryptonite of iron.

But we knew that before, right?

Magnets?

HA! I've been joking about this all week...that magnet should be flying toward me.

I like the Wooly Willy idea...I had one of those!

A theme may be emerging here. At both clinics, the very kind technicians kept asking, "You don't eat red meat? Really?" as if it were a problem. All of my iron intake has been from plant based sources, though I DID eat some turkey yesterday.

Much as I want to do this, I just can't see myself eating 4 footed creatures for the cause.

And what folks said last week about 'normal' being different for people is really ringing in my ears. My normal was just fine for me...taking so much iron to gain that one, measly .1 point just isn't worth it. Nauseous and, ironically (see what I did there?) more tired than when I wasn't taking the iron.

Feh.

bonny, if you take your iron supplements while playing Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" on your stereo at full blast, while yelling "I Am Iron Woman!!!", it will improve your body's ability to absorb iron. It's a proven fact.

This is a plan I can get behind!

And yes, Shir, I have been avoiding dairy like the plague this week. I don't do much anyway, usually just a greek yogurt now and then...not even cheese, as a rule.

I know we have a variety of dietary persuasions here, but the most available form of iron (heme) is found in red meat, particularly beef and liver. Heme iron is absorbed two to three times as efficiently and can increase the absorption of iron from plant sources. (CDC on iron deficiency [link]