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anemia hemoglobin iron iron-deficiency low hemoglobin venofer

Operation: Venofer

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 As per doctor’s orders, I am going to administer 5 doses of venofer to myself: 1 for the next 5 dialysis runs.  Apparently my iron stores are low.  My hemoglobin is 103 (or 10.3) which is not bad for me, but my iron stores are on a downward spiral, and if I don’t act fast with these venofer injections, my hemoglobin may begin to fall.

So, what’s venofer again? Below is some cut and paste from drugs.com:

Venofer contains iron sucrose, a form of the mineral iron. Iron is important for many functions in the body, especially for the transport of oxygen in the blood.
Venofer is used to treat iron deficiency anemia in people with kidney disease. Venofer is usually given with another medication to promote the growth of red blood cells (such as Aranesp, Epogen, or Procrit).

Here is a picture of the vial:

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So I draw it into my syringe while I’m setting up my dialysis machine:

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I tape it to my dialysis machine’s movable/adjustable screen so that I’ll remember to use it!

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Safety first! Gotta make sure to wipe the port before I stick my needle into the dialysis line to administer this stuff.

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I only push 1cc of venofer per minute. If I push the whole thing quickly/at once, it could drop my blood pressure…and I definitely do not want or need to drop my pressure while I’m doing home hemo!

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I checked my blood pressure immediately after administering the venofer to make sure my blood pressure isn’t too low before I turn the lights off and go to bed.  My BP is not low. Perhaps maybe a little high! Heart rate is good though.  So I’ll continue to do this for the next little while until I’ve done my 5 doses…then I’ll wait for further instruction, probably after my next monthly blood work is brought in.

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