Question about dong qua

My platelets just crashed very quickly. For the past two weeks I have been taking a new vitamin called womens one. When I got home from the hospital I looked at all the ingredients and saw dong qua. Does anyone know if that could have contributed to the platelet crash?

Here is an article from Mayo Clinic about dong qai. It says more good research is needed, it may be contaminated, and that it may cause bleeding.
www.mayoclinic.com/health/dong-quai/NS_patient-Dongquai
Erica

Wow thanks. I will throw out those vitamins and look for a different all natural multi vite with iron.
Dru

Iron often doesn't work well as part of a multi vitamin. From what I understand companies add it anyway because people who buy these vitamins think ones with iron are better.

www.livestrong.com/article/195033-what-supplements-can-interfere-with-iron-absorption/

The type of iron in multi vitamins is almost completely unusable to the body. It basically will constipate a person and then just leave the body un-utilized. The two best options for increasing iron are black strap molasses (put in coffee, mix with something else, straight, etc.) or a product called Floradix. I consider floradix superior partly b/c it includes some B vitamins which are so important to the immune system, as well as a few liver cleansing herbs, and some vit. C (which incidentally is excellent for cell integrity [preventing cells from bleeding/rupturing].

Here's the ingredients list on it:

Other Ingredients

Pear juice*, water, grape juice*, black currant juice, honey, orange juice*, blackberry juice*, cherry juice*, red beet juice*, ascorbic acid (as antioxidant) and natural flavor.

*From concentrate

This product contains no alcohol, artificial colors or flavors, parabens, sorbate or other antimicrobial agents.

Supplement Facts
Serving Size: 10 ml
Serving Per Container: 50
Amount Per Serving % Daily Value
Calories 20
Total Carbohydrate 5 g 2%*
Sugars 5 g †
Thiamin (as thiamin hydrochloride) 2.25 mg 150%
Riboflavin (as riboflavin 5' phosphate sodium) 3.6 mg 210%
Vitamin B6 (as pyridoxine hydrochloride) 1.8 mg 90%
Vitamin B12 (as cyanocobalamin) 6.75 mcg 110%
Iron (as ferrous gluconate) 10 mg 60%
Proprietary Blend 6.046 g †
Aqueous extract from carrot root, stinging nettle herb, spinach leaves, fennel fruit, couch grass root, kelp, hibiscus flowers
Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) extract
Rosehips extract (from Rosa canina L.)
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) germ extract


You could look into either of these two things and I think you'll find them much better sources of iron then the form you find in vitamins. They are also more bio-available b/c they are both liquid sources (always a better option for any supplement).

HTH

Multi-vitamins are crap imo. They don't have enough of each vitamin to really do any good. I buy individual vitamins and supplements from reputable companies. It's a pain to take all of those separately, but you get what you need and they don't have fillers.

A first! We all just agreed on something.

:woohoo: :silly: :woohoo: :silly: :woohoo: :silly: :woohoo: :silly: :woohoo: :silly: :woohoo: :silly:

Yes, I think I need to try something else. I do not eat meat and if I do not take iron I l
Always get anemic. The reason I got that women's one that I bought at Whole fds cuz it did not have chemical additives. But I hope that the dong qua did not cause my platelet crash.

Thank you alicein for the info about Floridix. It does not look like there is anything in it that would affect platelets negatively. It has some stinging nettle herb that I have noticed people have recommended for itp treatment. Everything else looks safe. Hopefully I can buy it from whole foods tomorrow.


Dru

Dru, if you do not eat meat then you will also need b vitamins. Besides iron, they are key to blood cell line production in the bone marrow (which means reds, whites and platelets). If you use the floradix it has some b vitamins in it but you might want to look into the NOW brand B complex liquid (not the capsules) as well as the floradix. The floradix does not have enough b's to overcome the lack of meat so you would need to add the b's separately. Floradix is VERY expensive. Online it runs $35 so don't be shocked when you see the store price. However, it is the best source of iron I know of. You can purchase it for $35 at www.luckyvitamin.com (which is my all time favorite supplement place).

Thank you, I will look for Floridix and b complex liquid at whole fds or will order thru that website. Do you or does anyone else have experience using floradix in someone with itp?

In my house, we don't eat meat and we use nutritional yeast to get our B vitamins. It is delicious, I use it on soups, vegetables, pasta, popcorn, etc.
Erica

Yep. Nutritional yeast will work as well. I can't stand the taste and had to capsulize mine to tolerate it. :sick: Coming from a picky taste and texture person though........

Tamar,
:silly:

mj

eklein wrote: In my house, we don't eat meat and we use nutritional yeast to get our B vitamins. It is delicious, I use it on soups, vegetables, pasta, popcorn, etc.
Erica

Just got back in town so just saw this.

Erica what is nutritional yeast and will I find it at Natural Grocers or the like?

I do not take a multi-vitamin - MD said not to. I know there is a B I should not take too much of because of neuropathy [need to talk to neurologist about that].

Thanks!

Here is an example, I have gotten this brand of yeast before, and from Amazon. www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-8-Ounce-Packages/dp/B000EDM8FS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1361411909&sr=8-5&keywords=nutritional+yeast
You could find other brands and from other sources, just make sure you don't get 'brewers yeast' by accident, totally different.
Erica

Oh and yes, it is usually available at natural grocers.

Okay, all set up with liquid iron, nutritional yeast, healthy foods. I do treat my itp with conventional meds because they work for me but at least I can have some control of my health in other ways. I don't know if the dong qua contributed to this platelet crash but I will not take it again.