3 year labs.. Problems, questions..

Thanks Hala.. With my insurance everything except psych visits have to be funneled through the pcp... And I didn't get to chose him either, lol. I am gonna fight harder this time though for that referrral. I know that at the hospital we use for dr visits, they do not do iron infusions, period, so going to a specialist is the only thing to push for..

My PCP has this silly notion that he just has to get it above 10 and all is right with the world..

I had a friend at a support group who was having problems with her iron and she started taking
Floradex (sp??) and she said it didn't give her problems with constipation and it really helped
her numbers.  It's available OTC (online), so please check it out;  you shouldn't have to fight
the medical profession in order to feel better.

Best wishes,

I've always had good luck with Vitron C - iron supplements. Vitamin C is mixed in so there's no need to take it separately with the iron for absorbtion. For me it's absorbed well, works great and raises my iron levels when I need them up. I was getting them from the hospital pharmacy but now my local pharmacy and food store pharmacy has Vitron C. It works well for gastric bypass patients and doesn't have the constipating effect other iron supplements have.
jen 10 yrs post op

Holy Cow!  Girl, you need to do whatever is necessary to get iron infusions. Yesterday. No wonder you are so tired.

Do you see a RDW or MCV on there anywhere?

After you get tanked up it wouldn't hurt to try a combo of Tender Iron and Proferrin. Major Mom has had good results with that, I believe. PM her for the skinny on those.  The other thing is to play with your B12 some more and try to get it a little closer to the 1800-2000 range just because it factors in with the anemia that you have.

Michele

Those two were in normal range:

RDW: 14
MCV: 81

I will continue to toy w the b12. Last year it was over 3000 and my dr said I was over supplementing- they still use the 21-911 range..

I think getting to the hematologist, who will at least understand what's going on will be first.. After I get numbers up I will def be making a plan to keep them there..

Eta: I couldn't get an appt to talk to dr till Oct 6th, so even if he refers me, I wouldnt get to the specialist till mid Oct, and maybe get going w treatment till end Oct... Should I be concerned with that timeline..

I agree with those that say ferritin of 6 is definitely cause for an infusion.

You might try the heme-based irons too. They are better absorbed than some of the other forms.

sending love and hugs Fawn.

How much Tender Iron were you taking?

I was taking two a day for about a year- got that ferritin up to the teens.. But then my dr said that was too much and I went back to one...

2 of which Tender ? caps or tabs?

Ferritin in the teens.... was TOO MUCH?

Under 50 is symptomatic. I want mine between 200-300!

Um, so they took away your B12 and your iron, based on some mythological text book from the 80's, which has nothing to do with us, our obesity (which is forever) or our altered anatomy?

OK, let's go with modern research and real labs. B12 below 1000 starts sliding into danger and yes, many studies thereon, yet the lab range remains critically low.

Iron. The danger of toxicity in iron is taking a big gob at once, like a bottle. And then you're dead before you'd get labs. But that doesn't happen too often, only in textbooks. A slow build up of serum iron and ferritin IS desirable to a point.

Ferritin is kind of flexible. If you have any disease process at all (flu, cold, broken bone), the ferritin can leap high. Mine runs around 200, but last fall was 350, but I had UTI. Last spring was 502, BUT I'd just made my RA mad at me, hands looked like cartoon hands, puffy with edema. So, neither if a reflection of my true status over all, only during those issues.

Some docs infuse when ferritin reaches 50, some prefer it to be 100. Single digits is very not acceptable and teens being "too much" would scare me right out of the door.

2 Tenders of either were never enough for you!

Foradix is ferrous sulfate, which is not absorbed well by anyone, stains the teeth, and can be brutal to the GI system.

The only liquid I would use is Ferretts, which is a good form of iron, doesn't stain and very gentle. But kinda spendy.

So, not counting the iron in your multi (which is canceled by the calcium in it), and if you were taking only 50mg Tender (tabs), you were taking about 1/3 of what you SHOULD have started on.

If you were a loved one, I'd have you taking 300mg Tender per day, after infusions to try and hold your own