Donating blood... question about it

Just double-checked my donation history and you're totally right. Thanks for the correction.

My hemoglobin was 48 today... so I passed that easily.

I did get deferred once in my twenties for being too low once... but that was a looong time ago.

Different locations use meters with different readings, either mmol/L or g/dL. mmol/L readings are higher than g/dL, by about double. Yours were still good, but on a different scale.

And here I thought I was a superstar!

I have a related question. Because at 63 I am post-menopausal, the nutritionist at my surgeon's office told me that all I needed to take, vitamin-wise, would be 4 Bariatric Fusion chewable multivitamins every day. Four of these daily tablets contain 45 mg of iron (the type of iron is unspecified.). Based upon various comments regarding iron, it sounds as if this may be insufficient? One of the biggest fears I have about the surgery I'm about to have had to do with developing serious vitamin deficiencies. I am committed to daily vitamins for the rest of my life as well as routine bloodwork monitoring, but still.

It may be enough, it may not. The key is getting regular, complete bloodwork, and adjusting dosages. Watching trends is critical. Many of us who have been doing this for a while keep spreadsheets with all our lab results. Your vitamin D, for instance, might be in range right now. But if it has gone down for each of the last 3 labs, before long it will be too low. Tracking the trend allows you to adjust now, rather than scrambling to do so later.

Thanks, Grim. I will keep an eye on it all.

I donate both blood and platelets regularly. I had no trouble with anemia... up until a few months back, and now I'm on deferral.

They do require you to eat something after, but you can bring your own snack if you like. I usually brought a Quest bar and they were happy with it.

If iron is a concern, look into donating platelets. You get to keep most of your ferratin, you get bonus hydration from the saline they pump back into you, and since most places run very short on platelets they tend to be VERY generous with the swag.

Thanks!

I've donated platelets once, and a 'double' once as well. Both times they have me the saline back and that was such a weird feeling!!!

I am glad you responded though, because I feel better about doing it again... And I'll even consider the platelets again, that is, if I can get over that creepy feeling it gave me!

I ate a package of peanuts.... 290 freaking calories!!! Wish I would have posted this earlier, I would have dug a crusty protein bar out of my workout bag instead! Lol

Yeah, the saline definitely feels weird. But I like doing platelets because I can relax for 2 hours and watch a movie, and there's nobody to bug me! :)