Bad Labs need help

 Hi everyone, I just had my two year labs drawn.  Last year my Ferritin was low and my doc started me on iron supplements. Well My ferritin is 18.9, Rbc low 3.85, Hct :low 34.5, Mch high 31.1.  My surgeon is hooking me up with a Hemotologist and I will be getting Iron Infusions.  Have any of you had the iron infusions?  How was it for you? I know alot   you recommend Tender Iron and I will use that after my infusions,  I just want my iron up I have been tierd and dizzy for a year and a half and am ready for something quicker. Also my B-12 is 315, it is in the normal range, but I think that is getting to much on the low side.  Does anyone have any ideas about that? Thank you all for any info, I always appreciate your help

Oh yeah I have another question.  Did your insurance company cover the infusions?  I have Tufts HMO    Thanks

My doc thinks that since my ferritin is at 16.0 that I am within normal ranges!  Because by military standards normal is 15-150.  How about that!??? I can't even remember what it feels like to not be dizzy.  My ferritin was at 5.1 three months ago...I chewed 325mg of Tender Iron with VitC as ascorbic acid and swallowed a copper capsule (along with a slew of other vitamins daily) for two months and got my ferritin up to 16. (As of May 2) Retest in a month.  All my blood counts raised into normal ranges too.  My B-12 was at 1127 when we found out I was Iron deficient anemic! So my anemia was Iron Deficieny.  I was facing blood transfusions because many of my blood counts were low...and I still have some funky weird blood cells...but I really did amazing on Tender Iron.  Do you know what is causing your low iron? Iron or Vitamin deficiency? I would think that raising your B-12 with an injection and taking Tender Iron, you'd be better off than iron infusions!  I dreaded them...I was soooo determined NOT to go that route, I would have chewed up rusty nails rather than get infusions. Well...good luck with all that!  Let us know what happens...

I had to laugh at your comment about eating rusty nails.  After my last allergic reaction to the Ferrlicit, my hemotologist prescribed me liquid iron to take while waiting to get the Venefor approved.  It was literally like drinking rusty nail juice.  It was one of the worst things I had ever tasted in my life.  I tried it twice and couldn't stomach it anymore.  When the nurse (who also had WLS) called a few days later to see how it was going, I told her how awful it was.  She said she had a feeling it would be.  I even said to my husband that I would have rather had to drink a gallon of that phosphsoda that I had to drink the day before more surgery than to ever, ever taste that liquid iron again.  So no rusty nails are in my future if I can help it. BTW, It's good that you got your levels to come up some.  I hope you can get them up to a much higher level.  The difference in energy that I feel now that my ferritin is up close to 200 is amazing.  I was so tired for so long that I forgot what it was like to have energy to do anything other than take care of my little boy.

OH yelch!  I guess the grass is always greener on the other side...LOL If I had to actually eat rusty nails, I might just rather have an infusion!  Actually after taking Ferrous sulfate, all I could taste was a bloody, rusty taste for several hours as it just repeated on me and gave me bad cramps and severe constipation.  That's when I switched to a safe, nearly tasteless form of iron that was far more absorbable as well as "tender" on me poor guts!   My doc thinks my ferritin level is fine at 16 since my low blood counts are also in the normal ranges now... I just can't believe that.  My iron went from 22 to 55...so it is climbing slowly...and hopefully it's building momentum now that my blood counts are better.  HOPEFULLY!  I really don't want infusions or to eat rusty nails!  LOL Hugs

My ferritin was a 2 last June when I had my labs done.  I was referred to a hemotologist who wanted me to do iron infusions.  My insurance took forever approving these.  I've not heard of anyone else having problems getting them approved.  I had severe allergic reactions to both Infed and Ferrlicit but had great success with Venefor.  After 8 infusions (one per week for eight weeks) my ferritin was 97.  I then had an infusion 2 weeks later, and another 3 weeks later.  At that time we did another complete iron panel and my ferritin was 197.  6 weeks ago my HBC was 14.6 which was actually considered high.  Today it was 13.7 which is pretty good for a female according to my doctor.  I'll be having all of my labs done again in the next few weeks and will see where my ferritin is.   We are hoping to conceive our second baby this summer so I need to keep a super close eye on it because I can't have infusions during the first trimester.  My last baby totally drained what iron I had stored. Good luck, Jennifier