For those who've had iron shots
zyxst
Posts: 9,149 Member
(This isn't the right forum, but there isn't a forum for general health questions and my Google-fu is coming up with nothing useful.)
I have to get iron shots at a hospital. Now, the medical people have been calling them shots, but are they actually shots (needle in the arm/butt) or is shots just a short term for IV infusions (port in back of hand)? Either way I will be freaking out (needle phobic), but no one is clear on what they mean and I kinda want to be prepared if I have to lay in a room for 3 hours vs, sitting in a chair for 5 minutes.
Also, is it really 5 shots 4 times a week? How long does that continue (weeks, months, a year)?
If it helps, I'm in Canada.
I have to get iron shots at a hospital. Now, the medical people have been calling them shots, but are they actually shots (needle in the arm/butt) or is shots just a short term for IV infusions (port in back of hand)? Either way I will be freaking out (needle phobic), but no one is clear on what they mean and I kinda want to be prepared if I have to lay in a room for 3 hours vs, sitting in a chair for 5 minutes.
Also, is it really 5 shots 4 times a week? How long does that continue (weeks, months, a year)?
If it helps, I'm in Canada.
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Replies
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I've never had iron shots but lots of iron infusions. I am assuming it must be shots because the infusions are usually only once a week0
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Hmmm, I have done the Infusions as well. Where you go and get to spend a nice 3-4 hour period of having the drip via port into your hand/arm. I remember I had one done every three weeks over a three month period. That was a few years back. The number is inching lower again. Well actually even with infusion you sit up in a chair get to watch TV. Bet that does not make the thought better if one does not like needles though. Good Luck.0
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My doctors have talked about IV iron rather than shots, but so far by taking two of these a day and eating about 100% of the RDA in iron per day I've managed to stay in Low Normal.
Other forms of iron did not work as well to get my iron and energy levels back up. I discount foods that were fortified with iron as presumably the food manufacturers use cheap and potentially ineffective forms of iron.0 -
I had to get injections at a hospital for anemia/low iron every few days. It was in the arm. In/out, two minutes, one injection. Painless.
Why don't you call and ask? Ease your mind. I mean, each medical condition requires its own treatment - ours isn't yours, ya know?0 -
cmriverside wrote: »I had to get injections at a hospital for anemia/low iron every few days. It was in the arm. In/out, two minutes, one injection. Painless.
Why don't you call and ask? Ease your mind. I mean, each medical condition requires its own treatment - ours isn't yours, ya know?
How is a shot different for every person? You don't get a needle put into your body?
Asking the person on the phone if I'm getting a shot or an IV isn't as informative as you'd think. The phone person says it's a shot, but when I get there and find out it's not is going to ramp my anxiety/phobia so high Christopher Guest is going to pop-up next to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOO5S4vxi0o 4 -
That's when you call ask things like "is this an injection or an infusion", "how long do you expect I'll be there" (if it's a few minutes it won't be an infusion), or "is this an intramuscular injection" (if it's an infusion it won't be IM). Given there are multiple methods of getting iron into your body in a healthcare setting, it makes significantly more sense to ask your health care provider than it does us.cmriverside wrote: »I had to get injections at a hospital for anemia/low iron every few days. It was in the arm. In/out, two minutes, one injection. Painless.
Why don't you call and ask? Ease your mind. I mean, each medical condition requires its own treatment - ours isn't yours, ya know?
How is a shot different for every person? You don't get a needle put into your body?
Asking the person on the phone if I'm getting a shot or an IV isn't as informative as you'd think. The phone person says it's a shot, but when I get there and find out it's not is going to ramp my anxiety/phobia so high Christopher Guest is going to pop-up next to me.3 -
That's when you call ask things like "is this an injection or an infusion", "how long do you expect I'll be there" (if it's a few minutes it won't be an infusion), or "is this an intramuscular injection" (if it's an infusion it won't be IM). Given there are multiple methods of getting iron into your body in a healthcare setting, it makes significantly more sense to ask your health care provider than it does us.cmriverside wrote: »I had to get injections at a hospital for anemia/low iron every few days. It was in the arm. In/out, two minutes, one injection. Painless.
Why don't you call and ask? Ease your mind. I mean, each medical condition requires its own treatment - ours isn't yours, ya know?
How is a shot different for every person? You don't get a needle put into your body?
Asking the person on the phone if I'm getting a shot or an IV isn't as informative as you'd think. The phone person says it's a shot, but when I get there and find out it's not is going to ramp my anxiety/phobia so high Christopher Guest is going to pop-up next to me.
I did ask. She said shots. I've played the "the person I spoke to says one thing and when I get to the hospital it's something different" game before. Just because a person calls me about a medical appointment doesn't mean they have any involvement/knowledge of the procedure.1 -
That's when you call ask things like "is this an injection or an infusion", "how long do you expect I'll be there" (if it's a few minutes it won't be an infusion), or "is this an intramuscular injection" (if it's an infusion it won't be IM). Given there are multiple methods of getting iron into your body in a healthcare setting, it makes significantly more sense to ask your health care provider than it does us.cmriverside wrote: »I had to get injections at a hospital for anemia/low iron every few days. It was in the arm. In/out, two minutes, one injection. Painless.
Why don't you call and ask? Ease your mind. I mean, each medical condition requires its own treatment - ours isn't yours, ya know?
How is a shot different for every person? You don't get a needle put into your body?
Asking the person on the phone if I'm getting a shot or an IV isn't as informative as you'd think. The phone person says it's a shot, but when I get there and find out it's not is going to ramp my anxiety/phobia so high Christopher Guest is going to pop-up next to me.
I did ask. She said shots. I've played the "the person I spoke to says one thing and when I get to the hospital it's something different" game before. Just because a person calls me about a medical appointment doesn't mean they have any involvement/knowledge of the procedure.
Then you ask to speak to the department or you call them directly. Having had something like 8 surgeries, most of them fairly major, and a boat load of MRIs I've played this game as well. There are ways to get the information that you want, trust me, there are.1 -
Oh hey, remember when I asked if people who got iron shots got shots? My GP said I was getting shots. The hospital said I was getting shots. The ambulatory nurse gave me an infusion. I spend 30 minutes in full blown anxiety attack being refused the infusion until I "calmed down".
Had I known ahead of time I would be getting an IV, I would've been better prepared and not lost my s*** on a gurney.
That's when you call ask things like "is this an injection or an infusion", "how long do you expect I'll be there" (if it's a few minutes it won't be an infusion), or "is this an intramuscular injection" (if it's an infusion it won't be IM). Given there are multiple methods of getting iron into your body in a healthcare setting, it makes significantly more sense to ask your health care provider than it does us.cmriverside wrote: »I had to get injections at a hospital for anemia/low iron every few days. It was in the arm. In/out, two minutes, one injection. Painless.
Why don't you call and ask? Ease your mind. I mean, each medical condition requires its own treatment - ours isn't yours, ya know?
How is a shot different for every person? You don't get a needle put into your body?
Asking the person on the phone if I'm getting a shot or an IV isn't as informative as you'd think. The phone person says it's a shot, but when I get there and find out it's not is going to ramp my anxiety/phobia so high Christopher Guest is going to pop-up next to me.
I did ask. She said shots. I've played the "the person I spoke to says one thing and when I get to the hospital it's something different" game before. Just because a person calls me about a medical appointment doesn't mean they have any involvement/knowledge of the procedure.
Then you ask to speak to the department or you call them directly. Having had something like 8 surgeries, most of them fairly major, and a boat load of MRIs I've played this game as well. There are ways to get the information that you want, trust me, there are.
Oh hey, remember when I said I asked if I was getting shots and the person said I was getting shots? I remember doing that. I remember telling you I did that.
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So sorry. Hope it went OK.1
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Oh hey, remember when I asked if people who got iron shots got shots? My GP said I was getting shots. The hospital said I was getting shots. The ambulatory nurse gave me an infusion. I spend 30 minutes in full blown anxiety attack being refused the infusion until I "calmed down".
Had I known ahead of time I would be getting an IV, I would've been better prepared and not lost my s*** on a gurney.
That's when you call ask things like "is this an injection or an infusion", "how long do you expect I'll be there" (if it's a few minutes it won't be an infusion), or "is this an intramuscular injection" (if it's an infusion it won't be IM). Given there are multiple methods of getting iron into your body in a healthcare setting, it makes significantly more sense to ask your health care provider than it does us.cmriverside wrote: »I had to get injections at a hospital for anemia/low iron every few days. It was in the arm. In/out, two minutes, one injection. Painless.
Why don't you call and ask? Ease your mind. I mean, each medical condition requires its own treatment - ours isn't yours, ya know?
How is a shot different for every person? You don't get a needle put into your body?
Asking the person on the phone if I'm getting a shot or an IV isn't as informative as you'd think. The phone person says it's a shot, but when I get there and find out it's not is going to ramp my anxiety/phobia so high Christopher Guest is going to pop-up next to me.
I did ask. She said shots. I've played the "the person I spoke to says one thing and when I get to the hospital it's something different" game before. Just because a person calls me about a medical appointment doesn't mean they have any involvement/knowledge of the procedure.
Then you ask to speak to the department or you call them directly. Having had something like 8 surgeries, most of them fairly major, and a boat load of MRIs I've played this game as well. There are ways to get the information that you want, trust me, there are.
Oh hey, remember when I said I asked if I was getting shots and the person said I was getting shots? I remember doing that. I remember telling you I did that.
If you didn’t trust that the staff handling your case were well enough informed about what you were going to experience, why in the world would you expect any of us to know better than they???
Seriously, no one here deserves your scolding. We have no way of knowing the particulars of your treatment.3 -
Oh hey, remember when I asked if people who got iron shots got shots? My GP said I was getting shots. The hospital said I was getting shots. The ambulatory nurse gave me an infusion. I spend 30 minutes in full blown anxiety attack being refused the infusion until I "calmed down".
Had I known ahead of time I would be getting an IV, I would've been better prepared and not lost my s*** on a gurney.
That's when you call ask things like "is this an injection or an infusion", "how long do you expect I'll be there" (if it's a few minutes it won't be an infusion), or "is this an intramuscular injection" (if it's an infusion it won't be IM). Given there are multiple methods of getting iron into your body in a healthcare setting, it makes significantly more sense to ask your health care provider than it does us.cmriverside wrote: »I had to get injections at a hospital for anemia/low iron every few days. It was in the arm. In/out, two minutes, one injection. Painless.
Why don't you call and ask? Ease your mind. I mean, each medical condition requires its own treatment - ours isn't yours, ya know?
How is a shot different for every person? You don't get a needle put into your body?
Asking the person on the phone if I'm getting a shot or an IV isn't as informative as you'd think. The phone person says it's a shot, but when I get there and find out it's not is going to ramp my anxiety/phobia so high Christopher Guest is going to pop-up next to me.
I did ask. She said shots. I've played the "the person I spoke to says one thing and when I get to the hospital it's something different" game before. Just because a person calls me about a medical appointment doesn't mean they have any involvement/knowledge of the procedure.
Then you ask to speak to the department or you call them directly. Having had something like 8 surgeries, most of them fairly major, and a boat load of MRIs I've played this game as well. There are ways to get the information that you want, trust me, there are.
Oh hey, remember when I said I asked if I was getting shots and the person said I was getting shots? I remember doing that. I remember telling you I did that.
Remember how one of my suggestions was, "ask the hospital how long they expect you to be there"? More specifically,"how long do you expect I'll be there" (if it's a few minutes it won't be an infusion)
That would have gotten you your answer. That you didn't take the advice is not on me. As the person above me said, none of us would have been anywhere near close to giving you that information. Heck even if we worked at that hospital and were able to trace your username to your information in the hospital's system, it would have been illegal for us to tell you here (those "pesky" privacy laws - I say with my tongue firmly in cheek).2
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