Question:
Has anyone had an iron infusion?

I will be having an iron infusion due to anemia. I have a LBL belt lipectomy scheduled for May 29th and it was already postponed once so I could consult with a hematologist. She said I should be fine even without the iron infusion but I could have it if I wanted to. It's still possible with or without the infusion I may have to have a blood transfusion after surgery. My plastic surgeon will only do this if I fall below 7 and I am at 11.6 now. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated. Thanks!    — crishsapig (posted on May 12, 2003)

May 12, 2003
Christine, i was in the same boat my surgery was scheduled for 8/30/01 and they did a cbc on 8/28/03 and got the call that night that they couldn't do the gastric bypass because I was Anemic and I had no idea. My iron was 8.40 i had to get 10 weeks of iron infusions and once i got my iron up to 11 they would approve me for surgery. My last iron infusion was on 1/30/03 and i had the surgery the next day. Perfect timing. I had it checked on month after surgery and it was up to 13.5 so it went up all on its own. You want to make sure you are strong and if your iron is low you won't have the strength. Good luck to you.
   — Kelli S.

May 14, 2003
I have some good news also for those of you that need or may need an iron infusion. I had mine today and it was really easy. It took about 3 hours total for the test and then the actual infusion. The test is to make sure you won't have a reaction to the infusion and they give you Benedryl IV. It knocks your butt in the dirt let me tell you! I dozed on and off the first 2 hours. No reaction and the infusion went without a hitch. Just something different and I was nervous of the unknown. The doc said this should refill my iron reserves so I won't have to worry about them for life as long as I keep them up and don't let them get low again. Sounds good to me :-)
   — crishsapig