I got a call from the dietician yesterday telling me that my test results for albumin and Iron were still low. I told her she was mistaken about the albumin because I was holding test results in my hand that I took August 27th that read 3.9 g/dl (range is 3.5-5.0 g/dl).

I was upset about the iron because I have been taking 65mg of iron twice a day religiously for the last seven weeks.

The constipation has been killing me and I have (TMI) an anal fissure that I've been trying to heal this whole time. I really want to cry cuz nothing seems to be going right.

I also found out that the PCIP insurance that I have will expire Dec. 31st 2013 and I'll have to pick another plan. The new plan may not have weight loss surgery as a ryder and then all of this work will have been done for nothing.

So I feel like I'm in between a rock and a hard place.

I'm bumping my iron up to 65mg 3 times a day in hopes of getting these labs straight by next month (Oct. 8th will be the last of my PCP visits and everything will be ready to be submitted).

I just needed to talk about it.

I started with one a week for two months' date=' and still have to go once a month until my levels get up to normal. It all depends on how low you are.[/quote']

That is so sad to hear. If the insurance wasn't changing it would be all good. Now I know I have to find out if the new insurance has wls or I've done all of this for nothing.

So let me ask you' date=' how long did it take your Iron levels to rise so you can have surgery?[/quote']

I am not who you asked that to, but my surgeon did my operation before I even started my infusions.

That is so sad to hear. If the insurance wasn't changing it would be all good. Now I know I have to find out if the new insurance has wls or I've done all of this for nothing.

Yah, I am used to it now lol

Good luck to you!

That is so sad to hear. If the insurance wasn't changing it would be all good. Now I know I have to find out if the new insurance has wls or I've done all of this for nothing.

It might be different for you. My friend only needed one infusion and never needed another one.

I also have very low Iron. I had 2 infusions prior to surgery with the last one being 2 weeks prior to. My pulmonologist ordered them. I went to the cancer treatment center in the hospital and had them. I reported in at 9am and was done and out by 3pm. they also added a little benedryl so I slept thru the whole thing. I'm 5 weeks post now and I think my iron is still very low. I'm so so very tired right now and have been since Friday and I'm covered in bruises. I was in my surgeons office today (but not for me) and mentioned it to the nurse she said if I have any other symptoms to call, otherwise they will take blood at my next appt.

I really hope this doesn't hold you up. Call your PCP and insist they do it. You have that right. And if the PCP won't go see the blood dr as suggested above. Scream and holler until someone listens to you!

So let me ask you' date=' how long did it take your Iron levels to rise so you can have surgery?[/quote']

I won't have the levels checked til right before surgery. (Feb). So I don't have any way of knowing for sure. I do know that my doc told me the best chance of getting my iron levels up are to take it without any Calcium. (She said another patient of hers had issues when taking it with her reg Multivitamin due to calcium...even though there wasn't that much calcium in the multi Vitamin.

I had to have an infusion before surgery. I only needed one. It was still on the low side and I cluld have had one more, but I had a reaction to the Iron. They decided my numbers were okay for surgery.

Unfortunately I do need another infusion since it has gone down tremendously since surgery. We will be trying some different type. I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest and it was hard to breathe. After the infusion though (a few days later) I started to be warm. I was always freezing and I didntcrave chewing ice anymore.

Anyways I definately recommend the infusion!

This thread is so concerning to me! My NUT called a couple of weeks ago to tell my iron and vitamin D levels were low. She said I needed to add a vitamin D tablet to the multi, but no additional iron. She said also the low levels wouldn't delay surgery, and the next recheck would be at my 3 month post-op visit. She didn't relay any actual values to me, but after reading this thread, I'm terrified this might be that random something that delays surgery, or if not completely corrected in advance, might be the thing that leads to complications. Pardon my ignorance, but if my levels don't get to that normal range before surgery, what am I looking at? Fatigue? Poor healing? Worse?

This thread is so concerning to me! My NUT called a couple of weeks ago to tell my Iron and Vitamin D levels were low. She said I needed to add a vitamin D tablet to the multi' date=' but no additional iron. She said also the low levels wouldn't delay surgery, and the next recheck would be at my 3 month post-op visit. She didn't relay any actual values to me, but after reading this thread, I'm terrified this might be that random something that delays surgery, or if not completely corrected in advance, might be the thing that leads to complications. Pardon my ignorance, but if my levels don't get to that normal range before surgery, what am I looking at? Fatigue? Poor healing? Worse?[/quote']

I would call and find out your ferritin, hemoglobin and iron saturation levels. See how low they are. If they're not too bad, you'll probably be ok with pills. I was still able to have my surgery and I healed just fine and have had no problems. I still go in for infusions once a month.

I agree with butterfly. I didn't have any complication after my surgery.. I'm post op 2 months.. With the exception of being tired which happens after you have had surgery..

If your doctor wasnt worried I would just ask the numbers. Dont stress. A lot of people have low iron but not enough for infusions and to delay surgery

I was told by my new surgeon that my iron levels won't be a problem. Just continue to take them as I'm taking them and I'll be fine.

Now I am really frightened. The doctor scheduled me for my first infusion, but they neglected to mention the side effects! I really only wanted to know if it would cause constipation like the Iron pills, but they didn't know the answer to that question. So frusturating.