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How Have Iron Infusions Been for You?
Well, every weekend in July is basically booked now that I have to go for iron infusions. (Weird that they do it on the weekend, no?) There’s so much my doctors and I are learning about my body this year. One of them being I have extremely low iron levels but not anemia. I tried an iron supplement but it barely made a dent in my levels. So next up are infusions. I’m a little nervous just because there are some risks involved. So I thought I’d ask here for experiences.
Have you ever had iron infusions? How did it go for you?
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8 Replies
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I personally have never gone for any vitamin infusions. But also you could try (which maybe you already know about it), putting raw baby spinach with yogurt and some type of berry to flavor it and put it all in a blender with some milk. Spinach is a great natural iron supplement
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That’s a great idea! Right now I’m just doing tube feeds into my intestines but I will keep that in mind for the future. Many years ago I was on a spinach smoothie kick because spinach tastes like nothing and it was still healthy. I usually did strawberries and bananas. 🙂
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Exactly! That’s what’s great about it is that it tastes like nothing LOL
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My iron levels have been low, although I’ve never had an infusion. I’m supposed to take a supplement, but am not very consistent. Have you heard of Iron Fish? Apparently you boil it in water to infuse your water with iron. I’ve thought about trying it since I do water flushes with my feeding tube. Not sure if I want to hassle with it or not.
You mentioned risks with the infusion. Can you expand on that?
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I guess I could go into anaphylactic shock from the infusion but that’s only temporary. It’s in a hospital setting so I guess I’m in the right place if that we’re to happen. Also, I’m curious if it causes constipation. This isn’t necessarily a risk, but with my whacky GI problems I consider it one. ???? I think because it’s going directly into my blood, it shouldn’t but I’m not entirely sure.
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My iron levels were also recently found to be low. I’ve been taking a liquid iron supplement by mouth for about a week. It’s not too bad, I was expecting a nasty metal taste but you only get a bit of that in aftertaste. Like someone else said, if you can incorporate spinach into your diet that could also help. Beet and carrot juice is also good
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I tried beets once and couldn’t stand the taste. Although I’m super picky so that’s probably why I didn’t like it ha. Unfortunately, the supplement wasn’t enough for my levels to improve so we’ll see how these infusions go.
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Update on my first infusion: I went late Tuesday afternoon and was violently ill by Tuesday night. I had a fever, chills, vomiting, and diarrhea. It was awful. It lasted until about 2 AM, and then yesterday I was dizzy with a headache. Today, I just feel like mush.
I was told these reactions are uncommon by my doctor. However, after talking to a friend who knows people that have had infusions, she told me they all had the same reaction. Just thought I’d share in case infusions are ever in your future.