Had iron infusion 5 weeks ago just had blood test disappointing results anyone else experienced this

Allergies, blood and immune system
1

hi 

i am so fed up I have been struggling with low ferritin for the past 2 years ..taken oral iron tablets, until they caused gastritus etc .. then liquid iron then finally I was given an iron infusion 5 weeks ago after I had a lumpectomy for a non cancerous lump.  Sadly I started a period on the day of the infusion which lasted 10 days and had heavy blood loss yet again ..

before the infusion my ferritin was 6 and my haemaglobin was 10 

now 5 weeks later my my ferritin is 9 and my haemaglobin 10.

so disappointed 😔 expected it to be high .. has anyone else had poor results after iron infusion .

2

No I has great results. I was told that it might take up to 8 weeks after the last infusion. Btw I had 2 infusions, two weeks apart. 

Have they booked you in for another infusion?

3

I saw my gp today the blood management team will contact me next week am guessing they will offer another infusion ..

Thanks Jenny 

 

4

Hi, curious if you received another infusion and how you did with it and if it helped?  

5

Hi 

well I found out that I was only given a 200 mg infusion instead of 1000mg which explained the disappointing results ..

but since then I have taken ferrous fumerate every other day 2 tsp 10 ml ... 

and my ferritin has gone up to 19 😀....

so I haven’t needed another infusion I am carrying on with the ferrous fumerate ..

hoping my stomach will keep tolerating it ..

 

6

Hi, that's great it's rising!  Is your iron prescription or over the counter?  If OTC, can you tell me what brand and how much?  Mine is a different form and imnot sure if it's working or not? ?  Do you think liquid absorbs better? 

7

Hi 

ferrous fumerate liquid is milder on the stomach it is prepscribed ..each 5ml spoonful contains 45mg of elemental iron ..

the trouble with over the counter iron tablets or liquids is they don’t contain anywhere near the level of iron you need to build up your ferritin the max for over the counter is 8mg per 5ml of elemental iron .. 

its a lot lower ..

and if you have prescription iron takien daily it will take 6 weeks to improve your symptoms 3 months to raise ferritin and 6 months to get you into the healthy numbers ..

your ferritin should be between 30and 200 

anything under 30 needs urgent treatment 

hope that helps ..