Question about iron supplementation...

...and stool color.

I know it's common to have darker/black and sometime tarry stool while taking iron supplements. I started taking iron in October and experienced that. However, now I'm not, and I'm wondering the cause.

Could this mean that my body is absorbing more of the iron? Or less? Or just that it is now used to the level of iron I'm taking on a daily basis? (The latter would be my guess.)

I'll be having my levels (hemoglobin, hematocrit) retested mid-March, but just curious as to whether or not this is something that I should pay attention to. I'm not sure if it could be indicative of something (proper levels, improper levels, etc.).

I don't know. But, black/tarry stool are usually signs of iron and if that seems to be the case regularly, I would check with your doctor. It sounds like it could be signs of a flare, but better to be safe than sorry. Please keep us updated on how you're doing.

Sorry I'm not sure, but the bloods will be your best bet.

Cross-stitch gal said:

I don't know. But, black/tarry stool are usually signs of iron and if that seems to be the case regularly, I would check with your doctor. It sounds like it could be signs of a flare, but better to be safe than sorry. Please keep us updated on how you're doing.

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Sorry, my post was a little unclear. I'm still taking the iron, but not experiencing the darker stools. I re-read what I wrote and I think I made it sound like I'm not taking iron and still experiencing darker stools. Sorry for the confusion. I'll definitely keep an eye on it either way.

nogutsnoglory said:

Sorry I'm not sure, but the bloods will be your best bet.

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Thanks! I figured that I would probably have to wait to see the numbers to know for sure, but found the change out of the ordinary, so thought I'd ask and see if anyone else had experienced something similar.

I study nutrition, and the lessening of the dark color in your stool is likely caused by better absorption of the iron. Stool becomes dark when on iron supplements due to the amount that is not absorbed, so it makes sense that if you are absorbing more of it, the darkening of your stool would decrease.

I have a video on my channel that talks about iron and how to better absorb it, the link the said channel is in my signature. Certain vitamins help the absorption of the iron, which the video covers, and it talks about the differences between heme and non-heme iron.