Issue: need to donate blood but all elbow veins are blown

[Muay Thai]

Just noticed this incredibly bad comment - you absolutely would not fare better doing it yourself. @BIGKIWI and @maldorf had heart attacks after draining blood themselves at home. We can't prove they were connected but with two guys having that outcome you absolutely shouldn't risk it.

damn, i did blood draw for a LIVING for a few years in between careers at community MEDICAL clinic (lol) and a private doctor practice. I still would NEVER do this at home or not in a lab setting, and I have cooked all kinds of crazy compounds in a way less sterile setting allegedly for personal use, and every ROA applied to formulas lol

I will post a pic of me drawing blood in a day or so, my forearms look GNARLY!!!! i miss being younger I was huge and could eat 2x more and no injuries no TBI . Come on LORD HGH , beam me up , madonna is obviously defying statistics give me what shese on (YEA RIGHT!!! lol)

 

[TakeMore191AA]

What do you do if crit and Iron are high?

 

[SouthernMuscle]

If they can't monitor a couple pints of blood exiting their system they're fucking fucked

Your disrespect for one of our deceased brothers is concerning

 

[alfresco]

Regular blood donation when not needed often leads to hematocrit rebounds - over time it will get higher and higher despite donating because the body's trying to maintain homeostasis. This often leads to extremely low iron levels as well.

I agree.

This has got my name all over it. Bingo.

What drove me to this ‘condition’ were the effin’ scardy-cat doctors driving it down from anything over 50. WTF? It is simple to game the system. Gotta do what ya gotta do.

 

[nothuman]

Yes, unless there is a ‘medical’ condition that requires frequent donations.

I got into trouble with frequent donations for over the past fifteen years. (Trying to control my hematocrit from TRT, not smart then again not too TRT ) Did not track my iron which was a huge mistake which was all one me . . . and my doctor for not tracking the trend also .

Ended up terribly anemic, dangerously low, like a 7. The doctor could not believe I was capable of doing what I was doing physically. Well . . . I knew something had gone awry but not to that extent.

nothuman had written about iron supps before so I took his advise and bingo, up and up it is going. The doctor wanted to know how I got such impressive results so quickly, so I told him. He learned something and will recommend in the future.

Big shout out to nothuman.

Nice, glad it worked!

 

[nothuman]

Others already made the point but I'll do it once more so it's super clear for you.

Unless you have a genetic clotting disorder or high platelets, high hematocrit by itself is harmless. It means nothing. If high hematocrit by itself was a problem we'd constantly hear about people in Colorado, sherpas, etc., dying or having health issues.

Regular blood donation when not needed often leads to hematocrit rebounds - over time it will get higher and higher despite donating because the body's trying to maintain homeostasis. This often leads to extremely low iron levels as well.

Guys without clotting disorders or high platelets will harm their health more with regular blood donations than a 55% hematocrit level.

I’ve landed on this being the reason my hematocrit tends to be 59% when I draw labs fasted despite drinking a lot of water beforehand. I started using a cpap to treat my mild apnea at the beginning of the year and it hasn’t changed that number. It doesn’t concern me but it is an issue when I see some dumbfuck doctor who has the power to de-prescribe my TRT.

Spot on post, btw

 

[Mufasa123]

I’ve landed on this being the reason my hematocrit tends to be 59% when I draw labs fasted despite drinking a lot of water beforehand. I started using a cpap to treat my mild apnea at the beginning of the year and it hasn’t changed that number. It doesn’t concern me but it is an issue when I see some dumbfuck doctor who has the power to de-prescribe my TRT.

Spot on post, btw

Similarly doctor has notes in my file about high hct and rbc. I'm trying to redo some extensive insurance planning and my number MUST be in range (been rejected before for this exact reason). Luckily the current plan is good enough but a lot more expensive than it should be and I wouldn't mind tacking on some extra years to the term.

 

[Neuro1234]

This needs to be a sticky on here. “Why you don’t need to donate blood”

please. Make it a sticky. If you wanna
Donate to help the local blood bank… atta boy/girl. Been working in the ICU a long time… seen therapeutic phlebotomy once.