Iron Infusion Time

Keeping in mind that I have a genetic form of anemia...iron malabsorption or whatever...and I NEVER know how it feels to be in the top half of those ranges...my labs are back and the ones of interest are:

Iron--33 (34-150)
Ferritin--10.9 (13-240)
Iron Saturation--7 (12-57)

So I'm essentially circling the drain.  Actually, given my genetic thing, he kind of left it up to me ("how are you FEELING?") because the Iron and Ferritin are technically within (or ALMOST within) range.  But since the Iron Sat is non-existent...he agrees that it won't HURT anything to top off my iron tank.

I'm only going to do four infusions this time...so I need four good movies to take with me.

Wow, about your range for ferritin. My hematologist uses 40 as the bottom of the range. It's about that time I get horrible tiny muscle cramps in my thighs, like restless leg syndrome discomfort.

Good luck on your infusions!! I rarely get topped off, but it's more due to a nasty little uterine wall fibroid that I need to take care of.

Hugs,
Ratkity

typo...lol...but it's still low...and that's with reference ranges from a couple of different labs.

I hope your infusions make you feel GREAT.

~Becky

Not post-op yet, but I am a nurse and I know those iron infusions take TIME (and lots of it). Not really a movie buff, sorry no good suggestions. Good luck with getting your tanked topped off!

Nika

No biggie...it will be my--I think--third ride.  I go to the doctors' office--they are an oncology/hematology group.  There are about ten or so recliners...most of the patients are there for chemo...some for iron, a few for both.  I take my portable DVD player and a chick flick and ear buds and snacks.  They have lots of snacks but most have too much flour in them and all are just carbs.  I take some stuff with protein like snack packs with nuts and stuff.  I sit back and start my movie...they start my IV and it's always a close race as to which will finish first.

And since the nurses there stick people all day long, they are real pros and I seldom even walk away with a bruise.

He wanted to know about my energy level.  But you know...the damned pedal edema is making that hard to calculate.  When I'm on diuretics and not carrying around all that excess fluid, I feel great.  But that keeps me close to home.  When I'm out and about and NOT taking them...then I get bogged down in the water weight.  So I can't tell what part of all of that is the anemia thing.

That ******g sucks arse.

I know I'm a poet.


Rectal dosing....just say'n......

Tell me more about this rectal dosing business. You've mentioned it before, but I need DETAILS.

It is very simple...normal drug absorption orally goes into the GI tract then is absorbed via the portal vein, flushed through the liver and filtered back into the blood stream via the kidneys and then you get the lovely little effects after it has protein bound the molecules but you only use a wee bit of the amount you ingested.  It is very inefficient because our liver is so efficient.

Now sublinguial, IV, IM and subcut all cause 100% absorption of said administered drug...so too does rectal absorption.  Suppositories work a treat but as it involved sticking things up ones arse we avoid it like the plague....despite the fact that it is supremely more efficient.  By extension sticking three tender iron tablets up your arse would mean you'd absorb allllll of the iron contained there in not only 20% (guessing) orally.  I'm assuming that tender irons would melt down ok but I've never tried it as my iron is semi ok and I'm oral dosing until this set of labs and if they suck its pills up the jacksi for me.

Ahhhh...you damned subjects of the crown are SUCH drama queens.  I've stuck myself way worse holding the paring knife upside down chopping onions.