Iron Infusions/Side Effects

I have had 3 infusions now and feel like crap after each one. I feel fine the day of and next day and I’m bedridden on the 2nd or 3rd day after. Chills, aches, fever. Thus last one I’ve had intense headaches that aren’t helped my Advil but also a lot of gut tension gas and diarrhea. It’s worth it in the long run because then my muscles stop aching and I don’t need naps everyday, but the side effects aren’t great!!

@canadianlady Welcome to Connect! Sounds like you have some personal experience with temporary side effects of infusions you’re taking. If you don’t mind sharing a little more about yourself, what are you being treated for? What are your infusions?

Omg I had an iron infusion Wednesday afternoon. Felt tired and hungry afterwards. The next day started feeling nauseous and by 7 pm Thursday evening I felt like I had the flu 10 X's worse . I was admitted into the hospital for 3 days . Dr said the infusion shouldn't have made me that sick. I thought I was dying or wanted to die.
I WILL NEVER GET AN INFUSION EVER AGAIN.

@stephanie666 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. But not welcome are the side effects you had from that iron infusion!

Here is an article from Mayo Clinic that reviews how an iron infusion may affect you: https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/iron-sucrose-intravenous-route/description/drg-20075836

I hope your doctor can review things with you, and perhaps determine if you are allergic to the main component or something else in that infusion? I imagine if an allergy is suspected, they might need to change the treatment plan. May I ask why the iron infusion was given?
Ginger

@gingerw my iron keeps dropping really low and everytime I try to take Feramax I get sick.
Omg yes you have a great point there ,I never thought of that. Maybe an allergic reaction to something in it. I will investigate thank you .

@stephanie666so sorry you had such an extreme reaction. I had two iron infusion and only had mild symptoms—but the transfusions were given slowly over 3 hours. Then I drank tons of fluids as I had read to hydrate to avoid symptoms. I felt much better a few weeks after the iron infusions. Some people are the outliers, that’s where we get those percentages of symptoms on the white medication insert! Glad you’ve recovered. There are different products they can give but I don’t blame you if you refuse them in future.

@stephanie666 I have had low iron issues, also. Currently I take chelated iron capsules twice a day, which seem to be tolerated well by my system. More importantly is to find out why you have low iron issues.
Ginger

@gingerw yes I definitely am going to let them know .. I had to do several blood work ups in emergency and did a 24 hour urinalysis but the results won't come back for a few weeks as it takes time . But I definitely will let know about a possible allergic reaction to a component in it.

@loribmt iron infusion. Cause my iron keeps dropping. Pill form made me sick so a specialist thought this was a good idea. My body did not like it. I honestly felt like an overdose. After 4 days in the hospital afterwards and 4 Dr's... NOBODY will admit that my reaction was from the iron. Too much too fast. 5 days later n I'm still feeling sore ,tired and sick.

Hi @stephanie666 I’m so sorry you had such a negative reaction to the iron infusion. How someone’s body will react to the iron isn’t predictable. I’ve had my share of reactions too from meds and infusions. They’re given with good intentions but since we each have our own body chemistry, we’re not a ‘one size fits all’. Can sure leave us feeling miserable until the side effects go away.

One thing I remember from iron infusions is that phosphate levels can drop fairly quickly. That can cause some of the symptoms you experienced. A simple blood test as a follow-up would help determine if that is a cause or not. I

Just for a quick reference to help you understand a little more about what you’re experiencing and maybe how to avoid it in the future if you need another infusion. (There are other forms of IV infusions, so whatever you received the first time may be replaced with another product. That might work better for you).

Anyway, combing through articles this morning, I found this site called IV Concierge. Their information on why people feel worse after an iron infusion was pretty comprehensive.
https://ivconcierge.com/blog/feeling-worse-after-iron-infusion/
I hope you start feeling better soon.