Low Iron / Venofer
HI! I am almost two years out of RNY and have not had any energy for abut the past year. I have very low iron and had to have a blood transfusion about 3 months ago. I recentrly found out that my Iron level is at a 2, and yesterday I started an iron infusion called Venofer.
Has anyone had to go through this treatment and did it work for you? I would really love to have some energy again. I lost 90 lbs, I am right at goal and now I don't want to leave the house!
Thanks!
Has anyone had to go through this treatment and did it work for you? I would really love to have some energy again. I lost 90 lbs, I am right at goal and now I don't want to leave the house!
Thanks!
I am in the midst of iron infusions. I have had 3 since June and I'm scheduled for my 4th in November. I don't know what the product name is, but I go to the hospital, get hooked up to an IV and have this brown looking gunk pumped into me for about 2 - 3 hours at a time. My hemotologist is hoping that this will hold me for about a year.
I have always had anemia, it just got worse after WLS when we realized that I was not absorbing iron no matter what they gave me. They have yet to determine what has caused the anemia for my entire life and they probably will never know.
As to how I feel. I feel much better since the infusions. My energy level is up. My coloring is much better. The severe cramping in my legs is gone. My hair is starting to look better. My core body temperature has gone from what was normal for me of about 96.8 up to 98.2 and my non-stop chewing of ice is basically gone. It takes about 2 weeks after an infusion to start feeling any results from it and it's not like all of a sudden you feel this burst of energy. It was very subtle for me, but enough that I noticed the changes.
I had to have surgery in March, unrelated to anemia or WLS and my doctor was worried about infection due to my low iron, but I did just fine with that. No problems whatsoever.
Hope the infusions solve your problem. If anemia is ongoing for you though, you will probably need to have infusions every couple of years. In my case, because it is a lifelong problem, they are hoping that once a year will do it for me. But again, that remains to be seen. Good luck.
Stephanie
I have always had anemia, it just got worse after WLS when we realized that I was not absorbing iron no matter what they gave me. They have yet to determine what has caused the anemia for my entire life and they probably will never know.
As to how I feel. I feel much better since the infusions. My energy level is up. My coloring is much better. The severe cramping in my legs is gone. My hair is starting to look better. My core body temperature has gone from what was normal for me of about 96.8 up to 98.2 and my non-stop chewing of ice is basically gone. It takes about 2 weeks after an infusion to start feeling any results from it and it's not like all of a sudden you feel this burst of energy. It was very subtle for me, but enough that I noticed the changes.
I had to have surgery in March, unrelated to anemia or WLS and my doctor was worried about infection due to my low iron, but I did just fine with that. No problems whatsoever.
Hope the infusions solve your problem. If anemia is ongoing for you though, you will probably need to have infusions every couple of years. In my case, because it is a lifelong problem, they are hoping that once a year will do it for me. But again, that remains to be seen. Good luck.
Stephanie