Start With Ferrous Sulfate or Ferrous Fumarate When Oral Iron Is Needed

March 2017

It's tricky to iron out differences among oral iron supplements.

Efficacy and tolerability are similar at equal doses of ELEMENTAL iron. But the percent of elemental iron varies between products.

For iron deficiency, start with 100 to 200 mg/day elemental iron in most cases. Use ferrous sulfate or fumarate...they often have 65 to 100 mg elemental iron/tab versus about 35 mg with ferrous gluconate.

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Start With Ferrous Sulfate or Ferrous Fumarate When Oral Iron Is Needed

Get concise, unbiased advice for effective drug therapy, plus CE/CME

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