 [ Symptoms ] why are not the iron suppliments working for my animea  i was diagnosed with anemia a while back and been put on a supplement that did not raise my levels i then tried switching to the easy digest iron and my doctor told me to take at least 3 pills a day my iron levels are still incredibly low sometimes i think that it is just coming right out when i urinate because it actually smells like iron and you can sometimes see the little fragments [ Disease ] some forms of anemia are not iron deficiency but other causes your doctor may need to do some additional blood tests including one to see if you can bind the iron you are taking test is called total iron binding capacity some oral forms of iron are more absorbable than others