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Anemia/Iron Deficiency And The Effect On Hba1c Results

  • Thread starter Thread starter asparagusp
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JMK1954 said:
In the UK doctors do not give iron injections any longer. If your blood tests show you need iron, you will be given tablets. Only a consultant can prescribe an iron infusion, which means hospital appointments to see a specialist nurse followed by 2 further visits to be hooked up to an IV drip which takes an hour or so to deliver the iron solution into a vein. That finally did the trick for me. I felt really dreadful beforehand, but a few weeks later I had plenty of energy again. You need iron for your body to make the red blood cells which carry oxygen. That is why if you are short of iron, your red blood cells are poor in quality and you easily run out of energy and become breathless.

If you think it needs checking for any reason, make an appointment and get it done. If it falls very low , it can take an awfully long time to correct it with tablets. I know this from experience unfortunately
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I did not know that about the uk and the injections over two weeks ! Then tablets as an option
When did the injections stop .. they are a quick top up ..
I know about the infusions .. but not about the injections, when did the uk stop the injections ?
 
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SWUSA_ said:
@asparagusp, @Freema There are several genetic defects that can cause iron overload, they are grouped together as hemachromotosis. Iron overload is over storage of iron in your body.They do indeed raise the risk of developing diabetes, arthritis and liver cancer among other things.Your liver will look fatty if you have this defect. I am a composite heterozygote for hemachromotosis. That means that I inherited two different defects, I actually have three. This is one of the reasons I do not eat a lot of meat. In women this usually only causes clinical problems after menopause. My iron levels have never risen above high normal , in part because I eat a diet designed to reduce iron storage. This is also one reason I need to lose weight slowly. because excess iron is released from tissues as you lose weight if you have this condition. If you have ever donated blood they check your iron level. The treatment for excess iron storage is actually the same as donating blood-often carried out at the same place here. They simply remove some blood and this reduces your overall iron level. I do not think you have problems with this but as mentioned above a simple blood test can check it out.
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no I don´t either think I have this very serious inherited condition, but I do very easily uptake iron... and after 5 month of hardly eating any meat my iron is still in a very normal range...I just wanted to tell people here that in the UK, especially people of celtic origin very othen do have this condition compared to the rest of the worlds populations... it is acctually 1/100 in the UK that has the condition, and as most do get diabetes if not regulated early in life, I would guess that many in this forum do have the condition, and that those shouldn´t eat a very high red meat diet style...when low carbing
 
JMK1954 said:
In the UK doctors do not give iron injections any longer. If your blood tests show you need iron, you will be given tablets. Only a consultant can prescribe an iron infusion, which means hospital appointments to see a specialist nurse followed by 2 further visits to be hooked up to an IV drip which takes an hour or so to deliver the iron solution into a vein. That finally did the trick for me. I felt really dreadful beforehand, but a few weeks later I had plenty of energy again. You need iron for your body to make the red blood cells which carry oxygen. That is why if you are short of iron, your red blood cells are poor in quality and you easily run out of energy and become breathless.

If you think it needs checking for any reason, make an appointment and get it done. If it falls very low , it can take an awfully long time to correct it with tablets. I know this from experience unfortunately
Click to expand...

I think it always depends, if people are extremely low in iron a blood infusion can be a very good option as some totally loose their appetite
 
Freema said:
I think it always depends, if people are extremely low in iron a blood infusion can be a very good option as some totally loose their appetite
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But I don't think the urgently needed injections over a period of two weeks have stoped, have they ..
Meds needed of course , usually for life depending on cause and condition ...
 
Freema said:
no I don´t either think I have this very serious inherited condition, but I do very easily uptake iron... and after 5 month of hardly eating any meat my iron is still in a very normal range...I just wanted to tell people here that in the UK, especially people of celtic origin very othen do have this condition compared to the rest of the worlds populations... it is acctually 1/100 in the UK that has the condition, and as most do get diabetes if not regulated early in life, I would guess that many in this forum do have the condition, and that those shouldn´t eat a very high red meat diet style...when low carbing
Click to expand...
For some it's heredity to :)
 
Have the injections and tablets changed in the last 20 years or so?

My grand mother was seriously anaemic around that time, and was given tablets - but they upset her stomach so badly she begged for the injection.
But that gave her a bruise the size of a dinnerplate on her bum (not that my grandmother ever had anything so indelicate as 'a bum') and after that, she begged to go back on the tablets...
 
Brunneria said:
Have the injections and tablets changed in the last 20 years or so?

My grand mother was seriously anaemic around that time, and was given tablets - but they upset her stomach so badly she begged for the injection.
But that gave her a bruise the size of a dinnerplate on her bum (not that my grandmother ever had anything so indelicate as 'a bum') and after that, she begged to go back on the tablets...
Click to expand...
I don't think they have changed much ..
Infusion yes ..
but remember the old gold injections .. for anemia , years ago , in grandparents day , but painful still today , as is B12 IM ..
 
Brunneria said:
Have the injections and tablets changed in the last 20 years or so?

My grand mother was seriously anaemic around that time, and was given tablets - but they upset her stomach so badly she begged for the injection.
But that gave her a bruise the size of a dinnerplate on her bum (not that my grandmother ever had anything so indelicate as 'a bum') and after that, she begged to go back on the tablets...
Click to expand...

Or one could tuck into @asparagusp 's mince pies? (In her new avatar.)
About 1 to 1.5mg of iron by all accounts..!?! :)
 
Wow! Other great news from Google..

That "odd" cheeky glass of red wine (6oz glass.) contains 5% of your daily iron allowance..

Bad news is, oatcakes act as an "inhibitor"... :banghead:
 
I have iron malabsorption and get iron infusions. The last infusion I was 17 ferretin level and they took me to 368. I can't say I noticed any difference with my hbA1c results... mine are usually only about .3 difference a lot of the time. Although being over 300 means I have too much iron in my blood now. But it drops anyhow as I don't absorb it. Thankfully I can make my infusions last a while which is just as well as infusions for some reason make me sick for a good week afterwards like I've been hit hard by something. I can't take iron supplements orally though so not much choice. When they did allow me to take oral supplements my iron level didn't move as it wasn't absorbing.
 
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