Donating blood problem again!

**lovbyts** · 06-26-2011, 03:08 AM

Originally Posted by bass

my blood pressure before TRT was at 117/73 or so consistently and anytime of the day! but now its 150/75! my Systolic number went up! probably due to the thickening of blood!

Well I hope the BP machine at my gym isnt to accurate. It's one of sit down that you put your are into the cuff or should I say SQUEEZE your arm into. Normally my BP is pretty good. Today after a BRISK walk and about 20 minutes of warming up it was 175/95. LOL Yeah Ill keep an eye on it but it may be due to on cycle and I was not exactly relaxed or at rest when I took it.

**zaggahamma** · 06-26-2011, 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by bass

glad you were able to get it done! it must be California crap! BTW guys, i am very excited! i just finished drawing my own blood (1 pint), it was a so fvcking simple! anyway, i am sad though because my blood can save someones life but California fvcks do see it that way! i am a pint less now!

BTW, just for a laugh! i got the 16g needle out, hooked it up and got ready to pin, DAMN it looked so fvcking intimidating, so i trashed it and got the 18g out and it worked great. anyone wants to buy 99 16g needles?!

no but a belated birthday gift would be nice

**zaggahamma** · 06-26-2011, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by optionsdude

What did you say to them when you went in Bass? I'm in california and I had no problems. I'm REALLY glad I could donate though because I sure couldn't do it myself. You are one tough dude Bass veins freak me out. They even had nutter butter bites in the snack room. I haven't had a high carb snack in forever. My wife calls me the food nazi, I don't allow that stuff in the house,I'll eat it all if I see it.

he goes in with that wife beater and during the application he keeps muttering bang bang bang pow bang bang bang pow.....thats why they deny him everytime

**GotNoBlueMilk** · 07-23-2011, 09:00 AM

So that I don't have to make a YouTube video like bass, I decided not to wait any longer and donated blood today. When they checked my blood, they said it was 17.6. It was 16.8 3 months ago, which was also my baseline. The range according to quest is 13.2 - 17.1. Glad they still took my blood.

Hopefully I feel better after this. My heart seems to be working harder for the past 2 months. During aerobics, it really is pumping hard. Not a higher heart rate, just seems it's beating a lot harder.

**zaggahamma** · 07-23-2011, 09:37 AM

Originally Posted by GotNoBlueMilk

So that I don't have to make a YouTube video like bass, I decided not to wait any longer and donated blood today. When they checked my blood, they said it was 17.6. It was 16.8 3 months ago, which was also my baseline. The range according to quest is 13.2 - 17.1. Glad they still took my blood.

Hopefully I feel better after this. My heart seems to be working harder for the past 2 months. During aerobics, it really is pumping hard. Not a higher heart rate, just seems it's beating a lot harder.

hope you do too bro...let us know how the next 24 hours or so go....i usually feel a difference right away....and yes, the bass thing i think is rare as i've only heard of them denying donation due to being low not high....i almost got denied when i had a scrape on my arm that my black lab's leash gave me when she was being a dayam fool...they had to go get a supervisor and a supervisor get another supervisor to tell them...use the other arm......DUH

**bass** · 07-24-2011, 12:10 AM

Originally Posted by GotNoBlueMilk

So that I don't have to make a YouTube video like bass, I decided not to wait any longer and donated blood today. When they checked my blood, they said it was 17.6. It was 16.8 3 months ago, which was also my baseline. The range according to quest is 13.2 - 17.1. Glad they still took my blood.

Hopefully I feel better after this. My heart seems to be working harder for the past 2 months. During aerobics, it really is pumping hard. Not a higher heart rate, just seems it's beating a lot harder.

this is exactly what happens to me! i use it as sign, when my heart feels like its pounding hard, then its time to drain some blood! i am doing blood work Friday next week to see where my levels are, if they are still in the normal range I'll go to another blood drive that has no records on me and donate, but if levels are high I'll just do it my self again. i usually feel great within few hours!

**Script** · 07-24-2011, 12:31 AM

Bass

I donated blood last Friday. The Red Cross had a blood drive in downtown Los Angeles. I did not tell them i was on TRT. The woman pricked my finger, did her test, and said nothing. When she got up to leave so I could take the test, I looked at the little machine that is supposed to measure hemoglobin. It read HHH. Later, while giving blood, I asked her how my hemoglobin was, she said it was high. As a matter of fact, she said that her machine didn't give a number. Just HHH because it was so high. I've only been on TRT for 12 weeks. I hope I don't have to donate this often.

**GotNoBlueMilk** · 07-24-2011, 06:20 AM

Script: what was your base RBC before starting TRT? I am willing to bet your count was high then and your present condition isn't a 100% result of TRT.

Mine was 16.8 in a scale of 13.2-17.1. My doc told me when I started HRT I would definately have to donate blood. In the first 12 weeks my RBC only went up 0.1, but then in the next 16 weeks it went up another 0.7 for a reading of 17.6.

I also found it interesting that their website does not address male HRT. It says females on estrogen replacement is ok, but does not mention male HRT at all.

The other interesting thing I found was the symptoms you get from having high RBC: weakness, fatigue, headaches, itching, joint pain, dizziness. The ones I marked as bold are also symptoms of low Test, low/high E2. So once again, diagnosing ourselves based on symptoms is really tough. There is no substitute for blood work.

**GotNoBlueMilk** · 07-24-2011, 06:27 AM

Post donate symptom update: Donated blood at 7am Sat. About 5 pm I started feeling a slight overall good feeling. Not like a euphoria or dopamine rush but something along those lines just much less. By bedtime I was still feeling this. Was actually feeling unusually happy too. Unusual compared to how I have been feeling the past 1+ month.

Woke up Sun morning at 6:30 am. Felt really well rested, and wide awake. I did not have the morning, where-is-my-coffee feeling and pre-coffee fog. Drank coffee anyway. The coffee has hit me hard! For the past 2 months I haven't felt the normal rush when I have my morning coffee. This morning I felt it again, and felt a strong rush.

The real acid test will be tomorrow morning when I do aerobics; however, I have not had the heart pumping hard feeling I have been having whever I exerted myself. So managing the RBC levels is really looking like a huge plus. I will followup Monday on the aerobics workout results.

**zaggahamma** · 07-24-2011, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by GotNoBlueMilk

Post donate symptom update: Donated blood at 7am Sat. About 5 pm I started feeling a slight overall good feeling. Not like a euphoria or dopamine rush but something along those lines just much less. By bedtime I was still feeling this. Was actually feeling unusually happy too. Unusual compared to how I have been feeling the past 1+ month.

Woke up Sun morning at 6:30 am. Felt really well rested, and wide awake. I did not have the morning, where-is-my-coffee feeling and pre-coffee fog. Drank coffee anyway. The coffee has hit me hard! For the past 2 months I haven't felt the normal rush when I have my morning coffee. This morning I felt it again, and felt a strong rush.

The real acid test will be tomorrow morning when I do aerobics; however, I have not had the heart pumping hard feeling I have been having whever I exerted myself. So managing the RBC levels is really looking like a huge plus. I will followup Monday on the aerobics workout results.

thanks for the update GM

**zaggahamma** · 07-24-2011, 10:21 AM

Originally Posted by Script

Bass

I donated blood last Friday. The Red Cross had a blood drive in downtown Los Angeles. I did not tell them i was on TRT. The woman pricked my finger, did her test, and said nothing. When she got up to leave so I could take the test, I looked at the little machine that is supposed to measure hemoglobin. It read HHH. Later, while giving blood, I asked her how my hemoglobin was, she said it was high. As a matter of fact, she said that her machine didn't give a number. Just HHH because it was so high. I've only been on TRT for 12 weeks. I hope I don't have to donate this often.

it is beneficial for men to donate blood bro...read up on it...i read where the percentage of stroke, heart attack, etc. go way down in men that dontate regularly...every 50 days

**Script** · 07-24-2011, 11:12 AM

GNBM,
I'm looking over my labs now. Before TRT:
RBC 5.16 (4.69-6.13)
Hemoglobin 15.9 (14.1-18.1)
Hemocrit 47.7 (43.5-53.7)

JPK,
Yeah, I knew I would be donating blood due to TRT, but I was thinking maybe 2-3 times a year. But every two months???

**zaggahamma** · 07-24-2011, 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by Script

GNBM,
I'm looking over my labs now. Before TRT:
RBC 5.16 (4.69-6.13)
Hemoglobin 15.9 (14.1-18.1)
Hemocrit 47.7 (43.5-53.7)

JPK,
Yeah, I knew I would be donating blood due to TRT, but I was thinking maybe 2-3 times a year. But every two months???

i look forward to it

go as often as you can/need

**blacksmoke** · 07-24-2011, 09:38 PM

Originally Posted by jpkman

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it is beneficial for men to donate blood bro...read up on it...i read where the percentage of stroke, heart attack, etc. go way down in men that dontate regularly...every 50 days

I just took your advice and made a call. I donate tomorrow at 540 p.m.

**GotNoBlueMilk** · 07-25-2011, 05:29 AM

Did my stair climber aerobics this moring. For the past month at about 15 mins my heart felt like it was going to explode it was pumping so strongly. My heart rate was not increasing, just felt like my heart was working a lot harder. This morning I never hit the 15 min wall with my heart, and at the end (20 mins), my heart was still fine. I guess the thicker blood from the increased RBC was making my heart beat harder, and now that the blood is thinned out some I am back to what I was before.

I'm going to have to become a 60 day regular for donating blood. Oh well, it's for a good cause, I can do it on a Saturday morning, and it helps me too.

**sirupate** · 07-26-2011, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by Script

GNBM,
I'm looking over my labs now. Before TRT:
RBC 5.16 (4.69-6.13)
Hemoglobin 15.9 (14.1-18.1)
Hemocrit 47.7 (43.5-53.7)

JPK,
Yeah, I knew I would be donating blood due to TRT, but I was thinking maybe 2-3 times a year. But every two months???

You may also be able to donate double red cells when you give and as a result, you give half as frequently. I think I am being told every 8 weeks when donating whole blood and every 16 weeks for double red cell donations.

**bass** · 07-26-2011, 12:24 PM

Originally Posted by GotNoBlueMilk

Did my stair climber aerobics this moring. For the past month at about 15 mins my heart felt like it was going to explode it was pumping so strongly. My heart rate was not increasing, just felt like my heart was working a lot harder. This morning I never hit the 15 min wall with my heart, and at the end (20 mins), my heart was still fine. I guess the thicker blood from the increased RBC was making my heart beat harder, and now that the blood is thinned out some I am back to what I was before.

I'm going to have to become a 60 day regular for donating blood. Oh well, it's for a good cause, I can do it on a Saturday morning, and it helps me too.

exactly how i feel, in fact once i start noticing my heart pumping hard i know its time to donate/draw! i just did blood work this morning, its been 30 days since i drew one pint, and i just started to feel my heart pumping hard. it will be interesting to see if my blood got thicker! deca make the blood thicker fast, and i am on 300 ew! so i wouldn't be surprised if my RBC is high!

**bass** · 08-02-2011, 11:45 PM

well! i donated blood today, they don't care about how high my iron is, they only care if its low! i guess every blood drive has their own rules! i am happy now i can donate...

**GotNoBlueMilk** · 08-03-2011, 05:53 AM

That's great for you, bad for us: no more YouTubes for us.

**Sledgehammer1** · 08-03-2011, 05:15 PM

Hey GotNoBlueMilk, when u said u were going to do aerobics I got a vision of a guy with leg warmers, high tops, and a headband, LOL, I'm sorry my brain is fried. I'm in week 4 of cutting and all the additional cardio has me exhausted. Anyway, I know I need to donate blood after my last labs but have been so busy and been putting it off. I cant anymore. After reading about the sides of weakness and fatigue, I cant afford to add to what I'm already feeling. My question is on the day u donate, should u plan on taking the day off from training? Is it best to go in the morning? By the way Bass, I see u changed ur profile pic, looks like u did well with your blast.

**rebel70** · 08-03-2011, 05:28 PM

I finally donated blood and am on their auto donor list every 60 days.As far as cardio after.Well I did about 2hrs after donating.I could not go all out,would start to get a little dizzy.And I had the same symptoms of my heart pounded so hard I swear people could hear it across the room.And the people were just concerned about low iron.They never even seemed to care about high RBC.They even gave me a new gym shirt.

**bass** · 08-03-2011, 07:41 PM

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer1

Hey GotNoBlueMilk, when u said u were going to do aerobics I got a vision of a guy with leg warmers, high tops, and a headband, LOL, I'm sorry my brain is fried. I'm in week 4 of cutting and all the additional cardio has me exhausted. Anyway, I know I need to donate blood after my last labs but have been so busy and been putting it off. I cant anymore. After reading about the sides of weakness and fatigue, I cant afford to add to what I'm already feeling. My question is on the day u donate, should u plan on taking the day off from training? Is it best to go in the morning? By the way Bass, I see u changed ur profile pic, looks like u did well with your blast.

thanks! i am still blasting for another 4-5 weeks!

**bass** · 08-03-2011, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by rebel70

I finally donated blood and am on their auto donor list every 60 days.As far as cardio after.Well I did about 2hrs after donating.I could not go all out,would start to get a little dizzy.And I had the same symptoms of my heart pounded so hard I swear people could hear it across the room.And the people were just concerned about low iron.They never even seemed to care about high RBC.They even gave me a new gym shirt.

LOL! yea the blood drive i went to took a blood sample and squeezed a drop into a light green liquid, the blood sank pretty quick and that was it. so i asked the guy who took the sample how does the test work, he simply said all we care about is that you have enough iron, if my iron was weak then the drop will stay up or sink very slow, and that would disqualify me for that day, he said there is no limit to high iron!

**zaggahamma** · 08-03-2011, 07:45 PM

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer1

Hey GotNoBlueMilk, when u said u were going to do aerobics I got a vision of a guy with leg warmers, high tops, and a headband, LOL, I'm sorry my brain is fried. I'm in week 4 of cutting and all the additional cardio has me exhausted. Anyway, I know I need to donate blood after my last labs but have been so busy and been putting it off. I cant anymore. After reading about the sides of weakness and fatigue, I cant afford to add to what I'm already feeling. My question is on the day u donate, should u plan on taking the day off from training? Is it best to go in the morning? By the way Bass, I see u changed ur profile pic, looks like u did well with your blast.

it would be best not to go intense after giving blood....although i have...lil light headed...best to workout well before, imo