donating blood

[XstarchildX]

Well there are a couple schools of thought advocating not donating unless your critical. One is that your bone marrow will produce more blood bc it know you pulled blood out. It will overcompensate. Lipids are an issue but blood volume doesn't really effect your cholesterol profile. Dehydration point is true but again I point to cycling with enormous amount of blood doping and extreme dehydration and you never hear of them die


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You do make a couple valid points, but then it would seem that bodybuilders shouldn't donate at all if the body overcompensates by producing more red blood cells. It would actually worsen the condition over time if that were entirely true.

The catch 22 I'm aware of is the fact that frequent donations can deplete iron and ferritin stores, then you're left with little to no iron and risk becoming anemic. I've also heard of severe iron deficiency in the absence of low H and H (ie - crit and hg are still in upper ranges). At this point it would be difficult for the individual to restore iron without pushing hematocrit beyond normal ranges. Quite the conundrum.

 

[johnjuanb1]

I just picked up my 60cc syringes and 16 gauge needles. I attempted to draw blood from my inner thigh but that was an epic fail leaving me with a big pocket of blood under the skin.
So I ended up drawing 60ccs of blood from my left arm.
OMG a 16 gauge needle is huge!!!
It didn't just slide in the vein. I had to thrust it once it was lodged against the vein in order to get it inside the vein.
I plan to drain 60ccs of blood once a week for 8 weeks, then get blood work done. Here is a picture of the massive syringe and needle full of blood.

 

[xman280]

I just picked up my 60cc syringes and 16 gauge needles. I attempted to draw blood from my inner thigh but that was an epic fail leaving me with a big pocket of blood under the skin.
So I ended up drawing 60ccs of blood from my left arm.
OMG a 16 gauge needle is huge!!!
It didn't just slide in the vein. I had to thrust it once it was lodged against the vein in order to get it inside the vein.
I plan to drain 60ccs of blood once a week for 8 weeks, then get blood work done. Here is a picture of the massive syringe and needle full of blood.

dude, it wasnt coming through at all through an 18g even if you use the surynge? did you try an aspirin for a few days and then try drawing...?

 

[johnjuanb1]

dude, it wasnt coming through at all through an 18g even if you use the surynge? did you try an aspirin for a few days and then try drawing...?

It works fine on an 18 gauge but when I googled what blood centers use it says most use a 16 gauge to draw blood so I ordered those. The blood wasn't thick actually. I even let it sit in the syringe for 45 minutes before squiring it into the sink and none was coagulated. I'll use an 18 gauge next time.

 

[xman280]

It works fine on an 18 gauge but when I googled what blood centers use it says most use a 16 gauge to draw blood so I ordered those. The blood wasn't thick actually. I even let it sit in the syringe for 45 minutes before squiring it into the sink and none was coagulated. I'll use an 18 gauge next time.

as far as coagulating idk - cus i drained half a pint in a measuring cup and in 10 mins it started to coagulate, but not being thick is good. I m researching on how often to donate for regular ppl is once every 3 months, for guys like us - we have to g by our blood tests, i m planing on half a pint one a months and look at blood results....but what u did should help u a lot

 

[johnjuanb1]

as far as coagulating idk - cus i drained half a pint in a measuring cup and in 10 mins it started to coagulate, but not being thick is good. I m researching on how often to donate for regular ppl is once every 3 months, for guys like us - we have to g by our blood tests, i m planing on half a pint one a months and look at blood results....but what u did should help u a lot

I'm curious to see how I feel in the morning. After the last 60ml draw 2 weeks ago I felt great for a couple days/more alive.

 

[xman280]

I'm curious to see how I feel in the morning. After the last 60ml draw 2 weeks ago I felt great for a couple days/more alive.

u know how i felt - my balls dropped like and I felt like a horny teen, I also felt very hungry for days, but I drained 4 times more than you...but the fact is u made a very good decision by draining...idk if 60 ml is enough or not , but I know for a fact, it was a very good thing to do....be safe my friend....

 

[maldorf]

Probably just coincidence. but I was doing my own phlebotomies and had my heart attack about 3 days later. Just something to think about.

 

[xman280]

Probably just coincidence. but I was doing my own phlebotomies and had my heart attack about 3 days later. Just something to think about.

that s very unfortunate, did you have any other signs , in your blood tests? Years ago when i didnt use aspirin, and my blood gets thick, I ve had that condition - its kinda of arrhythmia when u feel ur heart skips a beat...I forgot the name....that s exactly what you feel like your heart jumps and skips a beat...very unpleasant...and i ll get tested..they wont find anything besides the thick blood....when i rember i ll tell u , it s not palpitation but another thing...it felt scary

 

[maldorf]

that s very unfortunate, did you have any other signs , in your blood tests? Years ago when i didnt use aspirin, and my blood gets thick, I ve had that condition - its kinda of arrhythmia when u feel ur heart skips a beat...I forgot the name....that s exactly what you feel like your heart jumps and skips a beat...very unpleasant...and i ll get tested..they wont find anything besides the thick blood....when i rember i ll tell u , it s not palpitation but another thing...it felt scary

I would get it once in awhile but nothing serious, not much more than a normal person. Just high hemoglobin on tests. I get my phlebotomies done now at the hospital about once every 3 months.

 

[xman280]

They ve used the word PVCs ...thats what ve had every ince in awhile when my blood thinckens..

 

[bahtforyou]

sorry to hijack thread.. but how much does hemoglobin levels drop after a donation?

less than two months after a donation i was back at 17.5 hemoglobin level
wasn't even on any cycles or anything which is even more mysterious. the maximum is 17.7 i think for a blood donation (?) correct me if i am wrong?

are hemoglobin levels susceptible to changes if one is dehydrated?

 

[maldorf]

They ve used the word PVCs ...thats what ve had every ince in awhile when my blood thinckens..

Yes, preventricular contractions. Even a normal heart can have that once in awhile but if it becomes rather common for you then something is wrong. I have a lot now after my heart attack. If you have too many in a row then that can lead to tachycardia and then that goes into fibrillation. This is why I have my defibrillator. It will shock my heart if my heart rate gets too high. I think it is set at around 200 or so. My last episode where it fired off my heart rate got up to 260 per minute. If it fails to get my heart back into rhythm then I am dead. So far it has worked flawlessly. They are very reliable. Battery has lasted me 9 years! I think I have about 2-3 years left and then I will need a new one. The device is crazy expensive too. The bill showed mine costing $60,000 and that's not including the surgery to put it in.

 

[xman280]

Yes, preventricular contractions. Even a normal heart can have that once in awhile but if it becomes rather common for you then something is wrong. I have a lot now after my heart attack. If you have too many in a row then that can lead to tachycardia and then that goes into fibrillation. This is why I have my defibrillator. It will shock my heart if my heart rate gets too high. I think it is set at around 200 or so. My last episode where it fired off my heart rate got up to 260 per minute. If it fails to get my heart back into rhythm then I am dead. So far it has worked flawlessly. They are very reliable. Battery has lasted me 9 years! I think I have about 2-3 years left and then I will need a new one. The device is crazy expensive too. The bill showed mine costing $60,000 and that's not including the surgery to put it in.

No ,God forbids, but since i start taking better care of myself i havent had many of them -knock on wood, sometime when lying sideways on my left side and my breathing is restricted, i feel a light one....worst I remeber was 11 years ago, I took cialis around noon and at 10pm went the gym, I stepped on the scale , and I ve had one after another for 1 min straight,just calmed down and left the gym...at that time i was doing no blood work and eating only junk food...

 

[maldorf]

No ,God forbids, but since i start taking better care of myself i havent had many of them -knock on wood, sometime when lying sideways on my left side and my breathing is restricted, i feel a light one....worst I remeber was 11 years ago, I took cialis around noon and at 10pm went the gym, I stepped on the scale , and I ve had one after another for 1 min straight,just calmed down and left the gym...at that time i was doing no blood work and eating only junk food...

If it felt like it last for one minute than that was probably a run of tachycardia, fast heart rate for no reason. Those can get up to 180 bpm or so and makes you feel like shit. Not a good sign for sure. I am glad you don't have that anymore. Would be a good idea to get at least an EKG done if you haven't had one.

PVCs feel like you skipped a beat. It makes an irregular beat something like this : boom...boom...boom..boom..boom........boomboom. There is a beat skipped and then you get a couple right on top of each other. the extra beat right on top of the other is called a compensatory beat. Feels like crap. When I was in the hospital last time I was having an average of 60 PVCs in one minute. I was jacked up.

 

[xman280]

If it felt like it last for one minute than that was probably a run of tachycardia, fast heart rate for no reason. Those can get up to 180 bpm or so and makes you feel like shit. Not a good sign for sure. I am glad you don't have that anymore. Would be a good idea to get at least an EKG done if you haven't had one.

PVCs feel like you skipped a beat. It makes an irregular beat something like this : boom...boom...boom..boom..boom........boomboom. There is a beat skipped and then you get a couple right on top of each other. the extra beat right on top of the other is called a compensatory beat. Feels like crap. When I was in the hospital last time I was having an average of 60 PVCs in one minute. I was jacked up.

I ve done many EKGs since then,ECG, stress test, cat-scans.......but a friend of mine whos 49 had em quite often and his EKG was barely catching them, he was strapped to one of those 24hrs thing that you wear through the day...

 

[maldorf]

I ve done many EKGs since then,ECG, stress test, cat-scans.......but a friend of mine whos 49 had em quite often and his EKG was barely catching them, he was strapped to one of those 24hrs thing that you wear through the day...

Yeah, those should show problems because the test lasts so long. Halter Monitor they call it. Usually lasts about 1 week or so.

 

[Massive G]

Yeah, those should show problems because the test lasts so long. Halter Monitor they call it. Usually lasts about 1 week or so.

I felt like my heart was jumping and some irregular beats a few years ago, EKG of course showed nothing my doc had me wear one of these for 7 days and everything was fine. It was a pain in the ass to keep on, nurse shaves and sands the area then sticks it on. He told me not to sweat or work out and cover it in the shower but it was July plus I told him I was gonna beat the shit out of the thing in the gym to see if what I was feeling was anything, and he was cool with it.

How it works | iRhythm

 

[Massive G]

All I can say is be careful and don't pull more than a pint out a week, my hemo I got see said he would never draw more than 480 a week - pretty much a pint, no matter what he mentioned the platelet dangers, can't remember exactly ..Stewie is well versed in the risks and I know several guys who got 2-3 pints drawn off in a month by going to red cross and rotating hospital blood banks and had iron and ferritin issues.

 

[johnjuanb1]

I just did my weekly 60cc blood withdrawal.
This time it went beautifully!!!
What a difference.
I used an 18 gauge needle.
My blood was very viscose.
It ran all over the ground like water.
Such a beautiful sight after seeing sludge come out 3 weeks ago.
I think I'll take 60ccs out every week and get blood work done after 8 weeks.
If it has improved I'll do this long term.