Ugh. That’s all I can say that sums up this round of infusions. Round 2 took place on Tuesday (5/21).
I didn’t have any adverse reactions to the Venofer, but I had a very difficult time with the IV, as you’ll notice in the pictures to follow (nothing nasty…just bruising!) They attempted the right arm but couldn’t find an adequate vein to use. So they went back to my left arm, and selected a spot in my forearm…must have been a smallish vein as it became highly irritated during the infusion! I noticed a burning/stinging sensation, then some redness around the area. It looked as though there may have been solution being absorbed into the surrounding tissues or the iron just really irritated the veins. They diluted the iron a bit, running a saline solution along with the iron, which helped with the stinging. (You can see in the picture below, the redness spreading around the IV site…)
2nd Infusion - IV was not comfortable at all!
By the time I was done, though, it felt like someone hauled off and slugged me in the arm! As soon as I got home, I took a couple Tylenol and iced my arm in hopes it would alleviate some of the discomfort.
Yowza!