In October, I found out I was slightly anemic (hemoglobin 10), and my ferritin was 4. All of the other numbers were like you'd expect for iron deficiency- high RDW, low iron saturation, low MCV, etc. Doctor added tranexamic acid and sent me to a hematologist, they drew my blood at the end of January. My hemoglobin made it up to 12.0, ferritin 4.8. I have some other things going on that make me Not A Good Absorber of Oral Iron.
I got iron dextran (Infed) at the beginning of February. It took about 3 hours, I got a little itchy so they gave me a ton of prednisone before sending me home. I was a little achy for like a day. Within two or three days my brain started to work better than it had in a couple of years. Within a month I had stamina again and my mental health improved tremendously.
This week I finally got around to getting the follow up bloodwork. My hemoglobin is 12.6, my ferritin is almost 60, and the rest of the iron numbers are back to normal.
I can't say enough how life changing this is. Do not be afraid of the infusion! (even though low iron causes a ton of anxiety, realize it's just the stupid low iron doing that!) I am now getting tested for a bleeding disorder because the hematologist thinks my numbers should be a little higher, but I had no idea that iron was the cause of so much of the crap I was experiencing and it's great to feel so much better.