Hi All,
I have very low levels of iron (<20). Not yet anemic but borderline. Tried supplementing with Fe but stomach was a mess and levels barely budged. So I’m doing IV infusions, doctor believes deficit is endurance training related.
These come with their own set of side effects. Wondering if anybody has trained hard through a set of these…. 5 sessions of Venofer.
Thanks.
I haven’t. But borderline iron deficiency is actually quite good for longevity and health in general and I even donated blood to get rid of iron (and forever chemicals) but the effect on performance was quite dramatic
Say more please
I don’t have any illusions of increased performance, given that I’m not anemic. But perhaps it will help me not to feel tired and sleep better.
You can start with below but even though I am really into the longevity I don’t want to intentionally lower my iron atm but I also wouldn’t want to increase it if I happen to be borderline anemic
Don’t know where you are or your background/competitive aspirations, but keep in mind that IV infusions are banned by ADA.
My working hypothesis is that the low iron is contributing to me feeling tired and not sleeping well……if it wasn’t for this, I wouldn’t do anything.
I had chronically low blood iron prior to my bowel cancer op and unknowingly continued training, it probably helped keep me alive tbh but I doubt my body at the time would have allowed it to be extremely hard. The week before the op I got an IV infusion and raced that weekend I kept it tempo RPE but with the influx of energy from the infused iron it was actually a pretty respectable time and closer to low threshold.
ECCA E2/10 TT - The Conservative Club - OT 24.39 | Ride | Strava
I’m assuming that you have had a colonoscopy as iron deficiency in a man is due to blood loss until proven otherwise. Not medical advice but I just wanted to make sure the basics have been done first.
I struggled on and off for a couple of years with low iron, but not low enough to meet the ‘anaemic’ criteria. It was super hard getting the medical profession to take any interveening action. I was desperate for iron infusions, but they, quite rightly, insisted that the root cause needed to be found and fixed.
I think you will quickly see improvements in performance after the infusions, but the real issue that needs addressing is finding out the cause for your low iron, and then addressing that.
I didn’t want to hear that message at the time I was struggling. All I wanted was to regain my on-bike fitness after struggling for so long.
Hope you get it sorted.
Just read Attia AMA about this. Will look into it. Thanks
It was straight forward for me. Insurance is covering everything. I have a good PCP who happens to be an endurance athlete as well.
I had a ferritin level of 5 and my other iron markers were similarly horrible. My doctor put me on what I assume is the same 5-session infusion treatment. I was training hard before these (15-20hrs/week), and kept training hard during them (20+hrs/week). No issues training through them, and after a few weeks I felt markedly better – but then again, I was severely anemic to start.
Levels were ok after the infusions, if still a little low. Fortunately oral supplements have helped pick up the slack.
Ok. To close down this thread. Absolutely no issues training during a 5 session IV iron infusion protocol. Will test levels in 4-6 weeks.