Iron infusions… anyone had one?

I had a couple iron infusions. Insurance covered them. I didn't have any problems. The infusion center I went to required pre-meds and insurance covered those too. It was a 2-3 hour infusion (don't remember how long it took). Worked great to get my levels back up, and gave me more energy & relieved my other anemia symptoms. The doc said once the levels are as low as what mine were that diet and pills would have a difficult time getting the levels back up because so much is lost during digestion.

The real key is that you need to get the flare under control or you will become deficient again.

Do you have insurance?

If I go the pill route…. does anyone know if I can take the iron supplements at the same time of day as the other meds I’m taking? I’m taking Lialda and budesonide.

If you do have an iron infusion, try to get Ferinject. I had zero side effects from that after having an anaphylatic reaction to Cosmofer, an older iron formulation far more likely to cause side effects - I actually passed out, fell out of the seat onto the floor and had to be brought round with steroids and benadryl.

The only downside to iron infusions is that they are not permanent, so it's better to identify and rectify the cause of the iron/blood loss if you can. Sometimes it's not always possible though. Even when I was in remission with a stoma, I still became anaemic.

Failing that, I've had a bit of success with an oral iron spray, which is a first as I've not been able to tolerate any other oral iron. Even this stuff is tricky, as it doesn't all absorb in the mouth, but I spit the excess out into a sink and hope I at least get some of the iron. Haven't had an iron test for a long time (thanks Covid), so I don't know my actual iron levels but I will say it does help with my restless legs. I also think it gave me more stamina while I was playing tennis (for the first lesson I was hideously out of breath), but then lack of sleep and stomach problems made me stop that for a bit.

PS: I take the 10mg spray as opposed to the 5mg. The more iron, the better.

Post Edited (NiceCupOfTea) : 10/2/2021 7:48:17 AM (GMT-6)

If you take iron pills, try to take them with Vitamin C (I just take a supplement rather than eating an orange or something). It helps the absorption of the iron. And try not to consume any calcium or caffeine within two hours.

Had one a couple of days ago, felt a little off for 24 hrs.
No cost to me here in Canada.
Tried pills in the past which bothered me more.