Iron infusions

I know many of you have had iron infusions in the past.  I just got a call from my GI to set up a round of them over 4 weeks.  I knew my iron was low but I can't tolerate the oral 325 mg/day he wants me to take.  Anyway, what can I expect and did you have any side effects?  Will I be able to drive?  Can I come back to work after?

Gee, between tests, dr. appts and now these I'll use up all my vacation days for the rest of the year and maybe have to use FMLA too.  I HATE CD!!!

First time I had an iron transfusion I had an anaphylactic reaction. I got a weird tight feeling in my chest, put my cup of tea down, caught a nurses's eye, said 'I think something's wrong', and next thing I knew I was on the floor with doctors and nurses around me, feeling like I was literally on death's doorstep. In retrospect it wasn't as serious as that (I'd just passed out, not actually lost a pulse), but still: it's not something you expect to happen <_<.

That was about 4 years ago now. Second time was was last year, and it was infinitely more successful. I was given a different type of iron (Ferinject, I think. That's probably the brand name though.) The reason I think it worked was because I had it given over 2 visits instead of the usual 1 and at a slower rate. Even so, I gotta few hives and the chills initially but those went away.

More to the point, it really raised my haemoglobin level. It rose to about 12 and stayed there until relatively recently, where a recent flare up, drugs, etc. saw it lower again.

Cliff notes: iron transfusions work. Don't be put off my first reaction; that's really rare.

This is so timely... I have had 3 iron infusions over the past year or so.  The first one they did a 'test" drip for about 10 minutes to see if I was allergic.  When I was ok.. took about an hour.  made me feel so much better.

How long do they last?  Can they last  over a year?  I had 3 in a row and my 2 counts were good....

Prof

Have had it severel times. Have had no sideeffects and it made me feel much better right away.
For me it took about an hour. And I worked the same day.
Good luck!

How long do the resutls last? it has been almost a year since my last infusion and things are still ok....

Hi prof,
When I had iron infusions it was because I was anemic from bleeding ulcers in my small intestine. My guess is that if they don't stop the bleeding, ( source of anemia) then the infusion won't last that long. So it depends on your reason for needing the iron infusion in the first place. I was on Prednisone at the time, and once they replaced my iron and the inflammation/bleeding was under control, then I was fine and went back to normal iron levels.

Lambs, I can't tolerate oral iron. I had no reaction from the infusions. They did a test amount first and I guess it was a slow drip because it took about a half a day. It took a couple of weeks, but I felt much better after. I would definitely do it again if I become anemic.

My Dr referred me to an hemotologist. she said my problem was 2 fold, low iron "carriers" and low storage sites. she desribed it this way
think of iron storage as a parking lot. my lot should have over 750 spaces, but I only had 600. then I only had about 60 cars to put into those spaces. so, according to her the iron supplment pills would never give you enough iro to fix that. Can explain why it took so long except it was alot and they do it very slowly. My Hemoglobin is now around 11 to 11.2. no way near the 14 for an adult male, but it has been holding. I am a little concerned that my body has slight bleeding at the ulcerations spots and that my body cannot recover just replace what I am loosing.

Anyway, they check my levels at least monthly, so we stay on top of it.

I'm so tired right now, I am actually looking forward to this. But since I've used up my sick time for the year I'm walking a thin line at work. They aren't too happy I've requested intermittent FMLA. But my health comes first and they will have to deal with it (me).

I think I'll try to schedule in the a.m. just in case it takes longer. The hardest part will likely be finding a good vein for the IV to go in.

I had Iron infusions over the summer because my doctor said I was severely anemic. I had one every week for 5 weeks and it took about an hour each time. Everything went really well and I was perfectly fine to drive home and go to work right after. The only thing I really noticed was I got really warm after the first one and I did not have to take naps during the day anymore. There is nothing to worry about with iron infusions, they are a breeze. Just make sure you keep on getting checks on your levels so that you don't get too low,