iv Iron

[Jrskyhook32]

hey everyone. I’m in Thailand and I agave access to a hospital that can do the IV iron treatment. I’m excited to try. But can someone walk me through the inns and outs of this? I’m not sure how high to set my bar of expectations and I’m also unclear about the guidelines. What levels should I have and is there a chance I don’t need this or that it wouldn’t be helpful? Has anyone tried it?

[amrob123]

Hi there, if you search this forum, you'll see that there have been loads of posts about iron infusions previously. Once you have selected a post to read, a list of related posts will also appear on the right-hand side. I'm sure you'll find the answers you're looking for within those posts.

[ChrisColumbus]

You can also download and read the document on Iron Therapy that you'll find towards the bottom of this linked page:

rls-uk.org/useful-resources

[SueJohnson]

What is your ferritin? That will give an idea whether it will help.

Ask what iron infusion they use.

In the publication on Treatment on the RLS.org site and in the publication Medicines, it says 1) ferric carboxymaltose (Injectafer) and 2) low-molecular-weight iron dextran(INFed). At this time ferumoxytol (Feraheme), iron sucrose (Venofer) and sodium ferric gluconate (Ferrlecit) lack adequate clinical trials to verify their efficacy in treating RLS.

In the publication on Augmentation on the RLS.org site, it lists the same plus ferumoxytol (Feraheme)

Ferric carboxymaltose (Injectafer) - can cause low phosphorous, however RLS patients may have higher phosphorous levels - is expensive Either 1000 mg or 2 doses of 750 mg 2 weeks apart .

Molecular iron dextran (INFed ) - has higher incidence of minor reactions, least expensive

They take 6 to 8 weeks for maximum effectiveness. You can be tested after 8 weeks to see if it raised your ferritin.

[Jrskyhook32]

do you think it would be an effective way to help ween me off Neupro

[Joolsg in reply to Jrskyhook32]

Not really. Iron therapy won't stop augmentation or withdrawals. It may reduce them slightly, but that's all.Iron infusions help many, but not all. I had an infusion of 1000mg of Injectafer, but it didn't improve my RLS.

I think your best option is to slowly reduce the Neupro OR switch to the equivalent dose of normal release Ropinirole and reduce by 0.25mg every 2 weeks with the help of a low dose opioid and starting gabapentin or pregabalin around 4 weeks before the last dose of Ropinirole.

There have been a few reports of patients starting low dose buprenorphine and slowly reducing dopamine agonists without the awful withdrawal symptoms.