Re: iron supplements/To Queen

February 13, 2006

Hi ,

Thank you for sharing your experiences with infusions. Especially, the fact

that they are not a blood product, which I have avoided them because I thought

they were. My problem is that I lost 3 pints of blood during Ps last April,

(yes there was an accidental cut of a vessel.) My hemoglobin is back to normal,

but iron stores still behind and I take perscription liquid iron three times per

day. I've been on it since april, so at the one year mark if it's not normal,

I'll go the infusion route. Until that happened, my iron was normal, so I do

not attribute the issue to my mgb which I had 3 years ago. I do think that

makes it MUCH hard to catch up if you lose 3 pints of blood in surgery! So what

I'm wondering is since my body was keeping up wiht iron Ok prior to the blood

loss, if I got it caught up with an infusion, I wonder if it could keep itself

up after that? Does your insurance pay for it? I think mine would because it

has covered all the dr appts relating to the blood work even though it obviously

didn't cover the ps.

Thanks for listening,

Holly

318/170

5'10 " Size 8

Dr R (MY HERO!)

March 11, 2003

Re: iron supplements

I'm 2 years out and am taking six to eight ferrous sulfate (65mg) tablets

per day. I was diagnosed as amenic almost a year ago. I took 3 tablets for

six months after I was diagnosed but then I bumped up to my present level

about three months ago (my blood tests showed no improvement with just three

tablets per day). I have no side effects whatsoever so I'm wondering if the

6-8 tablets are being absorbed. I'm having my iron levels checked once more

in about a week and if they're not up, then I'm going to need the

intravenous treatments.

1/12/04

246.5/160

laura saia <todds340wedge@...> wrote:

Hi, Im 3 1/2 years post op, I could not tolerate any of the iron, it

basiclly made my stomach cramp, my bowels stop moving, and sometimes it

would my me throw up.I tried 2 over the counter kinds, and 2 Rx, I finally

had to take it with ivs.My blood count was so low I was passing out, after 8

treatments, and 3500.00 later, I feel normal again, the doc said they will

check it every few months, but the treatments would contiue to work for a

couple of years, hopefully. Goodluck MGB Dr.R 8-22-02 365----145

banco32000 <Bsummerof69@...> wrote: My doc told me I have to take iron

supplements.

The pharmacist recommended ferrous sulfate, 65 mg three times a day.

Has anyone taken this?

Thanks,

BarB

February 14, 2006

My insurance does cover it as a malabsorption issue. They could care less

what " caused " it. I have some out of pocket but not so much as to make me

NOT do it. My doctor said it is not unusual for a WLS patient. Some

patients, a very small group are unable to absorb iron or very little. We

were concerned about me because I have had a revision and I have a 12 foot

bypass. If you are one of the unlucky few that don't absorb, the infusion is

a way to keep your levels normal, but again, VERY few people fall into that

category. I was worried, but clearly DO absorb iron, just not as

efficiently as a non-WLS patient. Still, my body has a hard time keeping up

over the long haul, so I get the infusions as needed and don't wait until I

am in horrible shape.

As for those who are asking about the numbers, I am no expert and there are

lots of people who can join in and correct me, but my understanding is

hemoglobin is measured in the lower numbers and depending upon the lab, 9-14

is the normal range. My doc thinks if he has me at 11 he is THRILLED...The

other number they watch is the feritin (don't know how to spell it). It is

the iron STORE and it gets low before the hemoglobin drops drastically.

Depending upon the lab, a normal range in 100 range. I have been low but

never as low as some people I have heard of...I think I was at 25 when I

started infusions and I felt like crap there. I think my first infusion

bumped me to 150...it was very dramatic and I felt a LOT better. The

hemoglobin level didn't really go up a LOT, it went up from a 9 to gradually

a 11ish...It never gets above that. They also look at the size of the blood

cells. Apparently their shape indicates how well they can carry oxygen to

the body. Again, this is just MY understanding, and I could be off base.

V

_____

From: [mailto: ] On

Behalf Of hlfsuper@...

Sent: Monday, February 13, 2006 3:16 PM

Subject: Re: iron supplements/To Queen

Hi ,

Thank you for sharing your experiences with infusions. Especially, the fact

that they are not a blood product, which I have avoided them because I

thought they were. My problem is that I lost 3 pints of blood during Ps

last April, (yes there was an accidental cut of a vessel.) My hemoglobin is

back to normal, but iron stores still behind and I take perscription liquid

iron three times per day. I've been on it since april, so at the one year

mark if it's not normal, I'll go the infusion route. Until that happened,

my iron was normal, so I do not attribute the issue to my mgb which I had 3

years ago. I do think that makes it MUCH hard to catch up if you lose 3

pints of blood in surgery! So what I'm wondering is since my body was

keeping up wiht iron Ok prior to the blood loss, if I got it caught up with

an infusion, I wonder if it could keep itself up after that? Does your

insurance pay for it? I think mine would because it has covered al Thanks

for listening,