Hi

I feel tired. My doctor has suggested I have iron transfusions for my low serum ferritin which is 4. My hemoglobin is fine and 115. I'm not anemic apparently, just low stores.

Has anyone had iron transfusions and noticed an immediate difference?

I have not the iron infusions but if you look through a few threads here, you will see that many people have.

Like you, my ferritin was 5 and I was just borderline anemic (my lab indicates that anything below at 12 is anemic and I was at 11.7).

My doctor is trying oral iron first, since I'm not terribly anemic. During my last check my hematocrit had gone up to about 13.7 and my ferritin had gone up to 12. I hoping that the upward trend continues.

Hi! I just wanted to let you know that my ferritin level was 4 and my iron stores were 10%. I was on oral iron for 2 months but my body did not absorb the iron and eventually had 4 iron infusions completed last April. It took about a month to start getting my energy back but all summer I felt very good. I'm now starting to feel sick again but my doctor told me I would eventually need more infusions. Did you look at your TIBC level also? The higher that number is the more anemic you are also... mine was 650 or something like that pre-iron infusions and dropped down in the 400 range after the infusions. Good luck! I know how life-altering anemia can be.

I get a bit confused with what 'infusions' actually are and whether they are the same as injections?

I had a series of 5 injections, one per week, which took all of 30 seconds to administer and then i was out of there. It was only after the 4th visit that i began to feel better. My dr told me that there is a natural process within the body which the iron has to follow, certain organs/areas of the body get it first eg: bone marrow and muscles, while things like your energy and hair/skin/nails get what's left over so that is why people will rarely start firing on all four cylinder straight after a first treatment.

I don't know how long this will last, but it has tremendously helped my tiredness and my eyes dont feel as swollen and they dont hurt or burn anymore (i was told the eye issue is as a result of the low iron affecting the thyroid). I actually get the desire to go running and to be energetic and feel like a kid. Just hope this lasts, as i got sick of taking a multitude of things everyday!!

I would say go with it if the dr is offering it. It is still beneficial to find out what is causing your low levels, but it doesnt hurt to get a boost of iron either.

Audrey,

Infusions are different than injections. You are just getting a shot. People getting infusions are hooked up to an IV, sit in a chair for awhile with a "bag of iron" and get major doses. It goes directly to the blood stream while yours probably goes into the muscle.

I would guess that the infusion gives a much higher dose than the injections. I'm not sure if they use injections in the U.S. much anymore. There used to be a high incidence of iron discoloration at the site of the injection and apparently it was permanent.

Christine--I think at least some doctors do offer injections here in the US, my GI doc said that is what I needed when he thought I couldn't tolerate oral iron supplements. When I got to the Hematologist he said no to this, I think because he does the BIG dose with IV like you said earlier. My GI doc said that he would show my husband how to give these. When it came down to it he backed out because I was so ill. He said that he never told us that and that he wasn't taking the risk. That was a lie. I guess that anemia causes lack of hearing as well! Not really.......FLFLOWERGIRL:)

Here gp's administer the injections and if it's not administered correctly that is when you get the 'discolouration' at the injection area. That's why i stuck to my gp as he said that he prides himself on not leaving any tattoos :)

FLFLOWERGIRL - Why didn't the gp administer the injection himself? Why ask your husband to do it? There is no way i'd be game enough to give one of those injections (or any other injection) to anybody, unless i was a dr and fully trained. He has to hold the muscle at your bottom in a particular way to which my partner commented that it must have been the highlight of my dr's week :p

Audrey--This wouldn't be a problem once shown how. When my husband had migraines so bad I had to give him pain shots myself. I had a friend that was a nurse and she taught me how on an orange. I did it for years. But I did leave a couple of bruises. I also gave myself allergy shots for 2 1/2 years. My sister gives her own B-12 shots as well. It's not that bad. I converted the large needles to smaller ones and did it that way. IM shots can be long needles.

The doctor said he would show us how so we could do it at home. More convenient but he is not a man of his word. FLFLOWERGIRL:)

I totally feel a difference after getting an infusion. My iron stores were at 5%, and I got an infusion 10 days before we were scheduled to go to the beach for a vacation. I had so much energy and I continue to feel better even six weeks later. I would have been a real 'wet blanket' if I hadn't had that infusion!