Iron infusion concerns

Image: Vladislav Muslakov

Iron infusions… have you ever had one?

People report such varied experiences with these, some positive and some not so positive.

I personally think that iron infusions are great and have only ever had positive experiences.

When considering an iron infusion, make sure you flag with your GP the risk of low phosphate and it's resulting fatigue. This side effect is not well known to health professionals, despite the growing number of cases.

Risk factors include vitamin D deficiency, low calcium levels, low phosphate levels or raised parathyroid hormone levels. These should be checked and corrected prior to an iron infusion.

The fatigue can kick in days to weeks after the iron infusion which, understandably, creates much confusion and discouragement when you thought the iron infusion was going to fix your already existing fatigue.

If you feel noticeably fatigued days to weeks after your iron infusion, talk to your GP.

You could prioritise high phosphate foods or better yet, ask your GP to test your bloods. You may require phosphate and vitamin D supplementation.

Prior to the infusion, if your GP informs you that your levels are lower but in the normal range, don’t let this stop you from requesting that your bloods be checked post-iron infusion if you’re experiencing symptoms.

If your levels are low but in the normal range, this can still be problematic.