Iron infusion

[Spiky Bugger]

Update: I'm two days out post-infusion and I made it out of bed! I even showered! However, I've spent the rest of the day glued to the couch to binge watch the Mindy Project but the world is looking up.

That's scary about the rust colored nail beds! The only think I have is a small bruise on my hand where the IV was.

I'm so thankful for you guys. Not even my medically-inclined friends truly understand what anemia feels like and that an infusion isn't an overnight fix.

Just...consider that there are several iron formulations and you might react more favorably to one of the others. Maybe. I have had infusions about every 6-9 months for the past several years, have had three different iron products and have never had headaches or funny colored parts. So, maybe you'll do poorly on all...or maybe just this one sends you to bed.

 

[Settledownnow]

Just...consider that there are several iron formulations and you might react more favorably to one of the others. Maybe. I have had infusions about every 6-9 months for the past several years, have had three different iron products and have never had headaches or funny colored parts. So, maybe you'll do poorly on all...or maybe just this one sends you to bed.

This is very true. I get infusions yearly (or more) as well and my hemo told me Dextran is not used much anymore. I cannot recall the name of the type I get (not Venofer) but it only takes 15 minutes and without side effects.

 

[Rhondajs]

Yeah that's in the back of my head. However, I felt like crap before the infusion and my hematologist told me it could take up to 10 days for me to really start to feel better. I had a headache as was barfing daily before the infusion.

Yes dextran isn't used as frequently as it used to because of anaphylactic reactions. However, it tends to work faster and is only one dose unlike Venofer (iron succonate). And the most important piece is dextran is much cheaper, and that music to insurance company's ears.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Yeah that's in the back of my head. However, I felt like crap before the infusion and my hematologist told me it could take up to 10 days for me to really start to feel better. I had a headache as was barfing daily before the infusion.

Yes dextran isn't used as frequently as it used to because of anaphylactic reactions. However, it tends to work faster and is only one dose unlike Venofer (iron succonate). And the most important piece is dextran is much cheaper, and that music to insurance company's ears.

Well, let me say this as gently as possible, with the most appropriate vocabulary choices I can muster, for a 70-yr-old college grad with a (previous generation) SAT English score in tbe mid-700s....here we go:
fuck the insurance companies.

(I am currently awaiting an approval for a med I have taken--and they have paid for--for about a decade. Because I had a stockpile, I haven't reordered recently. So now I need a preauthorization, over a holiday weekend. After telling the CSR that she probably already knew she worked for morons, I said, "Well, I was avoiding ordering it when I didn't need it. But since MY copay is only five or ten bucks, I will put it on auto-refill and you guys can pay your share every month while I fill my cupboards with cases of the stuff.")

We have people here who fight insurance companies as a hobby/mitzvah. (I usually fight for myself and family.) They mostly win, because insurance companies' primary responsibility is to their shareholders and their preferred coverage is almost never the best medicine.

Anyway, here's a chart, page 2, discussing types of iron infusions. I currently use Injectafer. It costs a fortune...like two grand a pop. But I have really good insurance. It takes 15 minutes. And you get two infusions, a week apart. (Way better than when I'd go weekly, for six weeks.)

http://www.injectafer.com/pdf/Treatment_Options_FCM192em.pdf

 

[southernlady]

Of those listed by @Spiky Bugger. we discovered the hard way I am severely allergic to InFed so that one is permanently off the table for me. Good thing I was in the infusion center, a nurse was RIGHT there and they had the benadryl handy to put in the IV.

 

[Rhondajs]

Well, let me say this as gently as possible, with the most appropriate vocabulary choices I can muster, for a 70-yr-old college grad with a (previous generation) SAT English score in tbe mid-700s....here we go:
fuck the insurance companies.

(I am currently awaiting an approval for a med I have taken--and they have paid for--for about a decade. Because I had a stockpile, I haven't reordered recently. So now I need a preauthorization, over a holiday weekend. After telling the CSR that she probably already knew she worked for morons, I said, "Well, I was avoiding ordering it when I didn't need it. But since MY copay is only five or ten bucks, I will put it on auto-refill and you guys can pay your share every month while I fill my cupboards with cases of the stuff.")

We have people here who fight insurance companies as a hobby/mitzvah. (I usually fight for myself and family.) They mostly win, because insurance companies' primary responsibility is to their shareholders and their preferred coverage is almost never the best medicine.

Anyway, here's a chart, page 2, discussing types of iron infusions. I currently use Injectafer. It costs a fortune...like two grand a pop. But I have really good insurance. It takes 15 minutes. And you get two infusions, a week apart. (Way better than when I'd go weekly, for six weeks.)

http://www.injectafer.com/pdf/Treatment_Options_FCM192em.pdf

Thanks for making me laugh! You're right. Fuck insurance companies. I've had my fair share of fighting with them these last few months over all the lab work I've had drawn. Here's the thing though, I don't care what they want. I just don't have any left in me to fight with anyone right now, especially those assholes. I just want to be healthy and move on with my life. Right now I can't do that.

 

[Rhondajs]

Southern Lady- That's scary! I'm glad you had a nurse that was on her game when you needed her!

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Of those listed by @Spiky Bugger. we discovered the hard way I am severely allergic to InFed so that one is permanently off the table for me. Good thing I was in the infusion center, a nurse was RIGHT there and they had the benadryl handy to put in the IV.

One day, several of us "infusion vets" kept reassuring the newbie that it was a piece of cake...and then she went into a severe reaction. We felt like bullies. Like we had egged her on to do something she didn't want to do...and it hurt her.

 

[BayouSwitch]

I've been getting infusions for about 6 years now. Ferrocit(not sure about spelling) Used to wait until my iron was in the tank and have to do 8 weeks in row. Now we're trying to do more of a maintenance situation 1 time every 8 weeks. Never had any bad reaction. Nurses in the Chemo lab do my infusions and they are awesome. Good luck!

 

[Rhondajs]

Update: It's a week today that I had my infusion. I have had a splitting headache everyday since. Nothing gets rid of it. I'm going to call the hematologist tomorrow and see if he has any advice. He told me it could take 7-10 days for me to feel better post infusion.