I was fortunate that my insurance company approved my infusion in time for me to get a boost ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. I want to say I feel some improvement, but all things I read say it will really be 4-6 weeks until I see the full effect. I believe I have to wait 4 weeks to have my iron levels retested. I would like to believe some of my color is returning, but it could also be the fact that it is a real feel of 28 in Pennsylvania this week and my nose is just frozen!
The infusion process was pretty simple. They dose you with Tylenol and Benadryl ahead of the drip. This requires a 30-minute wait to prevent any allergic reaction, fevers, headaches etc. which are common side effects of the iron infusions. The total drip time was about 20 minutes and then you must be monitored for 30 minutes for any reactions. They advised that I could experience fatigue, headaches and an upset stomach later. The only side effect I had was the fatigue. My infusion started around 8:30 am and by 3:00 pm I hit a wall of lethargy. As of today, I feel some more energy than I have had recently, and my rapid heartrate has slowed. Small wins!
Today marks Day 33 of period hell. The cramps keep me up at night sometimes despite taking ibuprofen. I finally settled on a combo of the two nonpreferred drugs at lower doses. I take the progesterone at a half dose every other day versus the full dose daily to minimize my hormone exposure. The tranexamic acid I take a half dose daily to mitigate the blood clot risk that my tamoxifen also carries. This combo keeps this all tolerable for the time being.
The best we can hope for is the iron infusion and lactoferrin outweighs what I am losing daily. For those that were not aware, there are differences in the iron that you can take to assist with anemia as a cancer patient. Pure iron supplements can impair immune response in cancer patients and cancer cells can capitalize on the free iron in your system. It’s a treachery slope of finding balance or normal well-being and not triggering recurrence. Lactoferrin is a natural part of the innate immune system and has anti-inflammatory effects. It is a natural iron binding protein that helps move iron where it is needed, preventing excess free iron.
I have two big trips in December and the holidays to get through. If I can at least make it to January, I think I can survive the last month. My levels have to be high enough to go into surgery, so fingers and toes are all crossed! For comparison purposes in 4 weeks, below are my lab results as of November 14th. My infusion was November 25th. We’ll see how much of a boost I get around Christmas! I am grateful this Thanksgiving that my body otherwise is health and resilient so that I can better weather these moments.
My next post will include links to my latest finds for supplements and modalities I have been using over the past months! Right now I have to focus on Black Friday sales!
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