12 days post iron infusion - when did you recover?

[lowironpleasehelp]

I received and iron infusion 12 days ago. My ferritin was very low and Hb was low end of normal. I've felt a little better the past few days but still feel totally exhausted when I do housework etc. if you've received an iron infusion, how long was it until you felt back ri normal?

Hiya! Iron infusion aficionado here!

You do have to be a bit patient. Sometimes it can take 3-4 weeks to really kick in. My last one, I think it took about a month or so.

But it will feel better soon! Just more gradually than you might expect.

Hope that helps!

Oh miss kitty you are fantastic! Thank you. I've been feeling so crappy just wondered if it was going to work. I've been ill for months and was very scared at first as I'm normally very energetic, the GP ran a lot of tests to find this. I must say there has been a slight improvement but today has been a bad day after cleaning this morning, I felt physically sick, very nauseous and dizzy. I will take it easier for a bit longer and hope I come good.

No experience here but I'd love to know if this was NHS or if you paid. My iron is always low and has never ever been optimal. I'd love a hit!

I'm in Australia and my GP does them at her surgery, some of it was covered by Medicare which is like nhs here and I paid equivalent to 100 pound out of pocket. I think it's different in Uk but you can pay for them privately. I'm told it's worth it and my levels were crap, gp said it would take months with tablets, I hope someone else can offer you advice.

I've had 7 or 8 and I'd say yes, 3-4 weeks is totally normal. My ferritin was 2 so I was not good, but felt like a new person within a month!

Thanks @tempnameforadvice, was your Hb normal? Mine was lowish end of normal but not anemic but I still felt awful, ferritin was 4.

Yes mine was <10, I had rapid heart rate, confusion, at my worst I was hallucinating. I found it very tough to be seen and had to really push very hard with the hospital. And I was pregnant!!

No worries at all! Glad to help!

My ferritin was 8 and I had palpitations and hair loss. But the iron will eventually make a huge difference.

Trying to get one on the NHS is a nightmare unless you're already under a hospital consultant team for some reason. You do tend to get prescribed ferrous sulphate/fumerute instead.

Privately, I think they can cost around £700!!!!

I had mine in Edgbaston clinic in birmingham, it was nice. had to pay 650£ for the drip and also for consultation. It was a bit steep for me but it was preferable thank going to London. Thankfully the doctor got the vein in one go...i used to have a lot of trouble with my veins in the GP surgery.
I did improve but it took me about 2 weeks to get my breathlessness better. I was feeling quite sh..ty for 3 days....something about an 'iron flu'.
did anyone else have this please?

I had a hip replacement carried out at a private hospital in the South West of England in late 2022. I had been on iron supplementation in the months running up to the operation for an unrelated gynae problem. My haemoglobin level as measured shortly before the operation date was just back up within range.

Had it not been, the hospital would have required me to have a blood test and an iron infusion, for which the cost would have been an additional £842.00.

Iron infusions are expensive for the NHS and in my NHS Trust area certain criteria have to be met in order to be considered for a transfusion.

@lowironpleasehelp did you find improvement following infusion? I'm on day three and don't feel any different.

Hi @bobbleb, it took a while, as in 4-6 weeks to start to feel better. Your body needs time to absorb the iron to make new red blood cells. I felt rough for a while, 6 weeks post infusion and my Ferratin increased from 8 to 149! I just had bloods done again two weeks ago and it's now 101, so still good. My haemoglobin was 126 6 weeks post infusion, two weeks ago it was 144. So I believe things take a while to improve. I don't know your situation but I worked from home a lot, didn't over exert myself (leave that cleaning) and my husband helped where he could. I just did what had to be done as I was exhausted for weeks. You will get better though, it just takes time. What symptoms have you had?

Thank you. My ferritin has been 6 for over a year. I have been exhausted. No energy, Poor sleep. Losing my hair. Forgetful and muddled. Breathless. Like a shadow of myself really. So perhaps am worried it won't work if that makes sense? HB around 119-121...

@bobbleb I felt the same, my mental health was affected badly and I kept thinking it was something else causing my symptoms, especially when people told me I'd feel better within a week, not true at all for me, it takes time. Ferratin of 6 is going to make you feel crappy , just rest up as much as you can, I watched a lot of Netflix! I did take gentle walks after a couple of weeks but that's it. Please remember to let me know how you're feeling down the track. I'm sure you'll be starting to feel much better soon enough. I getting my checked 6 monthly as I can't go through that again!!