IV iron infusion–a long day
Today I had my IV iron infusion and it was quite the long appointment. 4 hours!! I had never had IV iron before so I had to have premedications and a test dose then wait before having the actual dose. So the day went like this:
Got to the appointment at 9am. Got my IV in after 2 sticks. The first one was in my left hand and that one hurt like the dickens. The nurse who put it wasn’t very good at it and I’m gonna have a terrible bruise there. But she was finally successful in my right arm. Then the premeds each which took about 10 mins: benadryl, zantac and a steroid. Then the test dose over an hour. At this point they watch closely for any reactions. I guess anaphylaxis is common with this drug hence the premeds and test dose. I had no issues though so onto a bag of saline over an hour to wait for any delayed reactions. When that was over it was onto the real thing. I wanted to kiss the bag!! But instead I just took a picture:
And another of the lovely stuff going in:
An hour later it was done. It was 1pm at that point. I was starving and out of there! In a month I will find out if that is it or if I will need another.
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did you ever think that you have poor veins, dipsh*t? and it is not the medical personnel you should be criticizing.
Hi Tricia,
I sent you an email that you can read if you’d like but I find it funny that you would actually leave your name so that I could email you to such a comment!
But basically next time make sure to have all your info straight next time…..I am a medical personnel (duh an RN) maybe if you actually read my blog instead of swearing at me on it you’d know that! I hope you have something better in life to do than make yourself look childish on others’ blogs. I’ll say a prayer for you.
Oh and P.S. If you look in the picture attached to the post you can see that I have great veins actually.
Dear Tracey,
Wow, that girl was so mean! TOTALLY uncalled for. BTW, I have terrible veins and there are many well-trained people who have taken excellent care of me. Bruising and pain is almost always due to someone not taking the time or having the skill to execute their job effectively. Your reply was priceless!!
That being said, hope you feel better! I have had two iron infusions and it’s not fun! Your attitude seems great about the whole thing! Best of luck…
Thanks Anna! That means a lot!
Tracey
I found this very informative! My mom is scheduled for her first infusion later this month and she is very nervous, naturally. They still don’t know exactly why her levels are so low, but hopefully this will help her to feel better! Good luck and thanks!
I had an iron infusion 2 months ago. Thurs I had more blood tests and my wbc, rbc, hgb and hct were actually worse. Doc said my marrow isn’t doing its job and did a marrow biopsy. What is he looking for?
I had an iron infusion 2 months ago. Thurs I had more blood tests and my wbc, rbc, hgb and hct were actually worse. Doc said my marrow isn’t doing its job and did a marrow biopsy. What is he looking for? oops, meant to click “notify me”
Hi Faith,
I would assume that he is looking for how your bone marrow is functioning and how it looks. They can get lots of info by looking at your bone marrow. It is where your red cells are made. Good luck getting some answers.
Tracey
Did the infusions help. My Dr. wants me to consider this. My Ferritin level is 8. I am trying to take oral iron along with an increase in my diet but the oral iron makes me so sick to my stomach I don’t think I am going to be able to tolerate it. Just wondering if it was worth the while?
Hi Tammy,
I never updated after this did I? I guess feeling so much better I found other things to do!! I really need to get some updates on here!
Anyway, the infusion did wonders. My ferritin went from 7 to 12 after 3 months of oral iron. Then it went from 12 to I think 235 after one infusion!!! WOW! They were very impressed with that. That was from lab work done a month after the infusion.
I’m glad I went for this choice.
Tracey
my ferritin level is 6 – I have started orally taking 324mg of Ferritin. I am wondering if you tried pills before going for an infusion? I am thinking of asking my dr for an infusion right away as I am so tired of feeling this way.
Any advice?
my ferritin level is 6 – I have started orally taking 324mg of Ferritin. I am wondering if you tried pills before going for an infusion? I am thinking of asking my dr for an infusion right away as I am so tired of feeling this way.
Any advice?
sorry I forgot to click the notify me…
Hi Cheri,
I took oral iron pills for 3 months first and my ferritin went from 7 to 12. AFter that I had the IV infusion. I was one of those that just didn’t absorb the iron through my GI tract. I guess most people do. The recommendation is to try the orals for 3 months because the IV form does come with some pretty high allergic rates. I had to be premedicated and was there for 4 hours for my infusion. If I had had to have more than just one then the rest would have just been 1 hour sessions but for the allergic reasons I would at least try the oral agents first.
I know how much it totally sucks to feel the way you are but give it a go on the oral iron and avoid the IV if you can. It’s a quick fix but can come at a price if you have a reaction. I was lucky.
Hi Tracy
Thank you for your answer, your right it is best to try the less evasive route, I’m just tired of being tired!
Thanks again
Hd my IV iron yesterday. Still can’t
go to wirk because Blood Pressure
is to low.
I had a infusion of iron Oct -08, and my nurse missed the vein in my arm and the whole bag went sub-q in the tissue of my right arm. As soon as she removed the IV my whole arm turned the color of milk duds……and swelled up twice the size, one day later I was admitted to Beaumont Hospital for the awful pain I was suffering and still am. All this was done at Dr. Shaw Reddy infusion clinic through Providence Hospital.. This has never been reported, I was told by poison control it is very corrroisve to the tissue.
Shawn,
I’m so sorry to hear that this happened to you. How awful. I hope that by now you are feeling better and that your arm is healing.
Tracey
My ferritin is at 1 and I am having my first IV iron infusion today. Thank you ladies for posting this informative information, I am nervouse about this and am supposed to travel tomorrow out of state. Hopefully I will have no reaction and will see a positive rebound in my iron like several of you have.
Hi Anne,
I hope all went well and that you receive full benefits from the infusion. I am so glad I went that route.
Tracey
Hello, I went to the doctor Thursday for a follow up on my iron and B12, they called me Friday and said my blood cells were immature and not absorbing any iron (B12 went back to normal, from the vitamins) I’m going for my first iv iron infusion this week, a little nervous, but the information provided was awesome
that girl Tricia was ridiculous! Thanks guys!
Hi Elizabeth,
Hope all went well with your infusion.
Tracey
Tracey,
Anyone who just doesn’t know why they don’t absorb iron should look into Celiac Sprue. One is every 133 Americans have some degree of gluten senstivity and most don’t even know they have the problem. This can range from full blown Celiac to a mild sensitivity. This problem causes absorbtion issues. And, I know my hematologist didn’t check for Celiac.
I still have to get iron infusions. But, now that I am tyring to stay gluten free the infusions are about once every 18 months, instead of two a year.
Wow Regina!
Thanks for this info! I know when I had my EGD they tested me for Celiac by biopsy but not sure if I ever had the blood test. I’ll look more into my results. Thanks again!
Tracey
You must have a good doc. My blood work came back incunclusive so the doctor didn’t want to do further testing. He really didn’t want to test for Celiac in the first place. So, I tried the gluten free diet and I felt better. And, my iron didn’t drop as fast.
Regina
Thank you for posting this information. After a more than 2 year battle with low iron, my doctor wants me to have IV iron this week. I’m a little nervous and frustrated. I’ve taken supplements for years but my two pregnancies have wiped out all of my iron. And, now, it seems that my body may have stopped absorbing iron. It was nice to see someone else also mention Celiac (in the comments), I took that blood test today.
I hope that you are doing better and closer to finding out what is causing your illness. I just want to have energy again. I would love to be able to carry my kids around the house without feeling like I needed to rest for two days afterwards!