Is it possible to have iron supplement by injection?

[Marie2023]

I am posting on behalf of somebody with severe Colitis. She can’t take iron tablets as the tablets make her ill. Is it possible she could have an iron injection? She’s anaemic. It would have to be at home as she’s housebound due to the Colitis.

Thanks.

In what way do they make her ill? And do you know which ones she is taking? Just asking as there are different versions of iron supplements, some are cheaper and make you more constipated/nauseous than others.

You can have an iron infusion, they should speak to their doctor.

Not an injection but an infusion.

They gave her terrible diarrhoea.

Yea it’s possible, but they’re awfully painful and leave a black/dark “tattoo” where the needle leaves the skin. These days iron is much more commonly given via an IV infusion. I have had this a few times and it’s great. Takes about 20-40mins and you feel amazing afterwards. Also MUCH less painful than via injection. (Last time I had an iron injection I asked if they wouldn’t mind melting it down first, next time. It was like being injected with an entire fridge.)

I don’t know if an iron infusion would be something they could provide outside of a hospital setting. It’s worth asking the question. FYI in my trust it can be really hard to get iron infusions so personally I would push querying the possibility and then be prepared to push for the treatment. Is she under the gastroenterology team?

Can she have the iron infusion at home? She’s housebound. Thanks.

Also if you have the iron infusion. How often do you have top ups? Thanks.

It would be an IV infusion in a hospital, I don’t think they could do this at home as they monitor them quite carefully as they can cause staining under the skin if not properly in the vein. Sorry they’re suffering, I have Crohn’s disease so understand to an extent. The infusions really help and I had no side effects with my Crohn’s.

There may be some more gentle supplements that work for her. I have Crohn's and have had the same problems in the past, so I have a lot of sympathy.

I've had some tablets called Ferracru which were pretty good. Or there are Spatone sachets, which are kind of already diluted in water and it can be added to fruit juice or something like that.

For maximum absorption, she needs to be taking it at a time of day when she's not drinking tea, coffee or milk as these all stop iron absorption. Something with vitamin C is best, e.g. orange juice.

Any sort of iron tablet made me throw up but Spatone was fine

You can have it via a drip. I’ve had this because of digestion illness. It was fine. It was at hospital and took about two hours start to finish.

I can't tolerate iron tablets and am on ppi medicine for heartburn, which reduces how much iron goes into the body (low stomach pH encourages uptake of iron, ppi medicine increases stomach pH). I had very heavy periods and all that happened was iron tablets slowed the decent into inevitable severe anaemia

Had iron infusion for the second time and it was amazing - I felt so much better within days. Push for this. Get your house bound relative out of the house to the hospital for one. It will transform their life. No lie. Arrange hospital transport if necessary. 30 minutes literally changed my life. I despair thinking of how much I've missed out on by being so anaemic

@MidgeMainCourse that’s so interesting as she takes a lot of heartburn medication!

@Marie2023 you know people say to have a glad of orange juice with your dinner etc - that's to help iron absorption, but of course with heartburn you avoid anything like that. Poor uptake of iron is a known size effect of ppi but it's one that seems to be ignored until you're on your knees.

Journal article on it