Is iron Safe with etidronate?
Free · No account · based on published sources including NIH ODS, FDA drug labels, and peer-reviewed literature
Take etidronate on an empty stomach with plain water and separate iron supplement intake by at least 2 hours to avoid chelation-related absorption loss.
Why this interaction occurs
Multivalent cations such as iron chelate with bisphosphonates in the gastrointestinal tract, forming insoluble complexes that significantly reduce etidronate absorption and bioavailability.
Evidence
Evidence level: strong.
Data source
PubMed - PMID 33805435
Reported safety data
The FDA’s adverse event reporting system (FAERS) has received 521 reports mentioning etidronate. This reflects reported cases involving the medication in general — not confirmed causation, and not specific to the etidronate + supplement combination on this page.
FAERS reports are voluntary and cannot prove that a drug caused an event. Do not use report counts to assess the safety of this specific drug-supplement pair.
Frequently asked questions
Related interactions
All iron interactions → · All etidronate interactions →
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Educational only — not medical advice.
Always confirm with your doctor or pharmacist.