donated blood today...."very HIGH iron"

[wizim]

the lady said my iron was extremely high and it was a good thing i was there. im only a few points away of being over the limit to donate without a script. todays donation will bring it down 4 points. i can go back in 56 days. she highly recommended i return every 56 days.
she also said if i consume a lot of protein powder this could be a culprit. i take in 75-100 grams of protein (powder) daily.
i also just finished up a little summer blast 2 weeks ago that included
test 500 (12 weeks)
mast 550(12 weeks)
winny (6 weeks)
halo (10 days)
i used synthergine for the last ~weeks for liver protect-ant

thoughts?

 

[Stewie]

She's referring to hemoglobin as "iron", in which is common verbiage at most blood bank facilities. Sadly, it's improper terming.

She checked your hemoglobin or hematocrit, not your iron.

Regardless, it's good to donate every now and then. Just keep an eye on your serum iron and ferritin.

Protein powders would have a miniscule effect on increasing your iron. The calcium in it will inhibit iron absorption. Not a likely cause. Steak and red meats on the other hand will help increasing iron stores.

Many things can cause acute elevations with our hemoglobin.

Sorry, she's not well versed in hematology.

 

[FrancisK]

Better than being anemic thats for damn sure!

 

[jcc80]

I believe green tea is supposed to decrease iron absorption from food. Might be worth adding in if you're not already.

 

[Stewie]

I believe green tea is supposed to decrease iron absorption from food. Might be worth adding in if you're not already.

We don't even know what his iron levels are? They checked his hemoglobin. The phlebotomist that wizim seen, by his description of her interpretation is erroneously terming hemoglobin as iron.

 

[jcc80]

We don't even know what his iron levels are? They checked his hemoglobin. The phlebotomist that wizim seen, by his description of her interpretation is erroneously terming hemoglobin as iron.

Good point, nevermind.

 

[para]

Your recent blast seem likely to be the cause. You may want to get blood work to see where it is after the donation. Sometimes it may not drop that much and you may want to consider another donation at another place before 56 days. It's not healthy to have it high and for some can be dangerous. I personally like to see my Hematocrit not more that 47-48 and hemoglobin in the low 15's.

 

[destin]

They do check iron levels too

 

[Stewie]

They do check iron levels too

The Red Cross and most major blood banks do not check iron levels.

That would have to be done by centrifugation by separation of the fractions of blood. They use a finger prick method to analyse hemoglobin or hematocrit.


Iron Information for All Blood Donors | American Red Cross
Does the Red Cross measure my iron level before donation?
No. The American Red Cross does not measure iron levels before blood donation. You can have a normal hemoglobin level and be accepted for blood donation, but still have a low iron level.

 

[para]

They do check iron levels too

IIRC They use to take a blood drop and put it in a solution to see how buoyant it was to determine if you could donate. They claimed it was to check iron.

 

[Stewie]

IIRC They use to take a blood drop and put it in a solution to see how buoyant it was to determine if you could donate. They claimed it was to check iron.

I've never heard of that. I would find that method inaccurate, as there's other trace minerals in serum; i.e, copper, magnesium, zinc, manganese, ect, that are non-buoyant elements. Such as iron.

I'd be interested to know more if that is so. I do know for a fact that the Red Cross uses HemoCue analyzers.

 

[destin]

Oh i stand corrected. I am sorry.
Last time i gave they said i had great iron levels to donate...those bastards. Lol

 

[para]

I've never heard of that. I would find that method inaccurate, as there's other trace minerals in serum; i.e, copper, magnesium, zinc, manganese, ect, that are non-buoyant elements. Such as iron.

I'd be interested to know more if that is so. I do know for a fact that the Red Cross uses HemoCue analyzers.

I'm sure it was inaccurate. This with the mobile donate stations back several years ago. They would drop blood in a glass with a blue'ish solution and if it floated you were Ok to donate and if it sank you were not. I'll see if I can dig up what it was.

 

[wizim]

i thought of something else today when the pharmacy called. ive been taking maloxicam (ant inflammatory) daily for a year. i winder if that would raise it.

 

[Stewie]

No, actually it can decrease Red blood cell count. Presumptively, hemoglobin and hematocrit would lower as well.

In your case, the probability, as pointed out is from your cycle. And possibly a bit of dehydration maybe mixed with a touch of hypoxia.

Footnote: Eliminate the thought that the phlebotomist said iron.

Edit: That's a long time to be on meloxicam. Not very liver or kidney friendly, by no means.

 

[cardealer]

I donate every 56 days and they say they check my iron levels also,mine are always about 17 right at cut off levels.

 

[Stewie]

I donate every 56 days and they say they check my iron levels also,mine are always about 17 right at cut off levels.

Considering the normal ranges for adult males for serum iron is 75-175 (ug/dL)micrograms/dL.

17 ug/dL would indicate iron deficiency, a CBC would help diagnose it either with or without anemia.

That 17g/dL is your hemoglobin. Phlebotomist use the term iron erroneously as hemoglobin. I know, I've had to correct several in the past.

Phlebotomists will also try and use the color of blood as an indicator of one's iron status. In essence, this can lead one to presume there might be a higher or lower iron content in blood. For example, light, bright or dark red color can give suspicions of anemia or high iron content. Although, a darker hue in blood can be a sign of deoxyhemoglobin (deoxygenated hemoglobin). And be portrayed as high iron. Incidentally, you can be iron deficient, with a concentration of deoxyhemoglobin, thus darker hued blood.

Hypoxia from uncontrolled sleep apnea can be a contributing factor of deoxyhemoglobin.

They would have to do a veinpuncture drawing your blood in a collection tube, then be centrifuged (spun) in order to tell you your iron levels. No body is getting that done at the Red Cross.

 

[Psych069]

It must be their protocol to say they are checking iron level. I have given blood at three different Red Cross centers and every one pricked my finger and said they were checking my iron level. They all said I am a good candidate for donating blood. LOL.

 

[DOGGCRAPP]

Like Stewie said ..... the red cross and pretty much all blood banks say this.....it can be confusing but they are looking at iron metabolism as a whole.

Just keep in mind a few things

Your hemoglobin is always going to be most likely somewhere between 13-18
(this is what they are measuring at red cross and blood banks)
Your hematocrit is going to be roughly 3 times that

Your IRON count is going to be something like 35-155 and youll only see that on blood work.

The problem is this.....Juice raises hemoglobin and hematocrit almost universally for everyone across the board....you see the TRT guys fighting to keep their hemoglobin and hematocrit down....THATS THE TRT GUYS....do you know what the hardcore juicing guys are at? Its freaking scary...it really is. Now you know why virtually every hardcore juicing guy does this --------> "I just had bloodwork (2 months after getting off) and everything is fine!"

Well no shit. What you should have done is gotten that bloodwork right smack dab in the middle of that huge Equipoise cycle you have been blasting for months.....thats when you would have been scared shitless. I would venture to say (and im not underestimating this) im basing this on all the various bloodwork ive seen of advanced bodybuilders over the years. The younger guys can sometimes get away with it but something happens over the age of 25 and guys full blown in the middle of a hardcore cycle are walking around with hematocrits at 54 to 59 constantly and sometimes up to 63......and hemoglobins at 18-20 and sometimes 21-22 <----thats scary scary stuff right there.....but by and large so many people hitting big dosages and hardcore RBC producing things like EQ and Tren, deca and even test are walking around with dangerous levels. When your young you seem to get away with it to some extent but the guys (young and old) using huge amounts who let themselves get dehydrated are the guys you see having clots and heart attacks etc. As you age you dont get the young mans rabbits foot and high hemoglobin and hematocrit push up your blood pressure and raise havoc on your endothelial linings and cardiac system...so eventually you become one of these guys who drops dead of heart attacks walking outside your gym.

I just looked at a pro bodybuilders bloodwork a few weeks back and the first thing i saw was a hemoglobin level up over 20 and my words were "bro you need to get this down pronto.....like now!".....people are walking around with this "hey i look great i must be healthy attitude" and they have no idea. You have that kind of peanut butter sludge in your veins and couple it with dehydration (diurietics, contest, or just simple dehydration).... youll put yourself in jeopardy to being on the next RIP thread

 

[gotgame]

She's referring to hemoglobin as "iron", in which is common verbiage at most blood bank facilities. Sadly, it's improper terming.

She checked your hemoglobin or hematocrit, not your iron.

Regardless, it's good to donate every now and then. Just keep an eye on your serum iron and ferritin.

Protein powders would have a miniscule effect on increasing your iron. The calcium in it will inhibit iron absorption. Not a likely cause. Steak and red meats on the other hand will help increasing iron stores.

Many things can cause acute elevations with our hemoglobin.

Sorry, she's not well versed in hematology.

Didnt read the rest, no reason to. Well said.


One thing ill add is there is some significant risks to having chronic elevated Hgb so keep it in check.