Hubby had reaction to Venefor

[Lindia]

Hi All -   Ron got his first shot of Venefor on Tuesday.  His stored iron has been low for awhile.   The nurse gave him the injection - very slowly -   and he started feeling bad after she was done - and his blood pressure crashed into the 60's.     

Anyone have any tips or advice on how to handle this ?     

[jeannea]

That's listed as a serious side effect of Venefor. My only suggestion is next time see if he can get a different product. My doctors have me get Feraheme. I also saw with the Venefor they recommend changing the rate of infusion to help with that side effect. Sorry. I wish I had better ideas for you.

[boswife]

I wonder how long did they take 'pushing' the venefor.  We were told each bottle at least 5 min. and wondering if thats the kind of 'slow' they did.  That is so scarry and hope all is resolved..

[Restorer]

I used to have a similar problem when they gave me Venofer infusions before I was on dialysis. For me it was an allergic reaction - I'd sneeze a few times, then start to feel bad and get lightheaded and nauseated, my hands and tongue would start to tingle, and my guts would get sore, and about 30 minutes later I'd vomit.

Pepcid, Benadryl, and a slower infusion rate helped.

[mcclane]

the hospital told me to infuse venofer at a rate of 1 mL per minute.  I extend that to around 1 mL every 5-7 minutes.  So it takes me close to half hour to infuse 5 mLs.

[Rain]

My dialysis client hooks the iron meds to the machine 30 minutes into the shift.  And then slowly give me a squirt every time their do their rounds for 3 hours.

[Lindia]

Thanks for all the advice.   They have been giving him a smaller dose, and he is doing OK with it, for the moment.