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Blood donations

adrenaline99

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Hey I just donated blood because my BP was getting high, my hemoglobin was only 14.2 which is not high. Can my blood still be thick with a 14.2 hemoglobin? I felt instant relief after the donation so it had to have done something.
 
Test alone raises blood pressure.

Thicker blood is a contributor but not the only cause. Hemoglobin at 14.2 is low, mine is currently 16.9 and just had my BP checked today and it is 110/70. I am also on BP medicine.

How high was your BP?
 
Hematocrit is the thickness of the blood
 
So are hemoglobin and hematocrit correlated with each other? If one is high the other one will be high as well?

Yes and no. Hemoglobin is the protein molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues and returns carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs
The hematocrit , also known as packed cell volume (PCV) or erythrocyte volume fraction (EVF), is the volume percentage (%) of red blood cells in blood. It is normally 45% for men and 40% for women.
So in correlation, the higher the RBC the thicker the blood for the most part. One would think that if RBC is elevated that Hemoglobin would go up to compensate.But obviously this isnt always the case.
 
In reality whether doing basic 500mg wk test cycles or advanced cycles for long durations, donating blood is one of the smartest most pro health/heart health things you can do. You can donate whole blood every 56 days. Go as often as possible.
 
Just to add to what BTC said:

The Heart-Protecting Benefits of Blood Donation

By donating blood on a regular basis, you can prevent your blood from becoming too thick. That's because when you donate blood, your blood that remains in your body goes through a process known as hemodilution, which simply means that your blood becomes diluted or thinner. Interestingly, this same process also occurs when women menstruate, which may explain why pre-menopausal women have traditionally had lower rates of heart disease than men in their same age group. Some health experts, such as Dr. Garry Gordon, a leading integrative physician, speculate that the blood-healthy benefits of menstruation may also play a role in the fact that women also tend to live longer than men do.
There is also another important benefit that occurs when blood is donated – the formation of new red blood cells. (The fancy name for this process is known aserythropoiesis.) New red blood cells are important for a number of reasons. First, compared to older red blood cells, they are far less rigid (30 percent less rigid than older red blood cells). In addition, new red blood cells are far less likely to clump together (a process known as aggregation). In fact, research has shown that new red blood cells aggregate 80 percent less frequently than older red blood cells do.
These two reasons mean that the more new red blood cells there are in your blood, the better able your blood will be to circulate easily. This, in turn, means that your blood will be far less likely to damage the lining of your arteries and that you are at a much lower risk of developing dangerous plaque buildup and plaque rupture.
Conclusion
As the above makes clear, by donating blood you will not only be helping others, but also yourself. The key point to remember, however, is that you need to donate blood on a regular basis to gain the benefits I've described. Occasional donations of blood will not provide the same degree of benefits.
 
I always take a baby aspirin once or twice daily (AAS dose depepnant). Why not?
 
Just to add to what BTC said:

The Heart-Protecting Benefits of Blood Donation

By donating blood on a regular basis, you can prevent your blood from becoming too thick. That's because when you donate blood, your blood that remains in your body goes through a process known as hemodilution, which simply means that your blood becomes diluted or thinner. Interestingly, this same process also occurs when women menstruate, which may explain why pre-menopausal women have traditionally had lower rates of heart disease than men in their same age group. Some health experts, such as Dr. Garry Gordon, a leading integrative physician, speculate that the blood-healthy benefits of menstruation may also play a role in the fact that women also tend to live longer than men do.
There is also another important benefit that occurs when blood is donated – the formation of new red blood cells. (The fancy name for this process is known aserythropoiesis.) New red blood cells are important for a number of reasons. First, compared to older red blood cells, they are far less rigid (30 percent less rigid than older red blood cells). In addition, new red blood cells are far less likely to clump together (a process known as aggregation). In fact, research has shown that new red blood cells aggregate 80 percent less frequently than older red blood cells do.
These two reasons mean that the more new red blood cells there are in your blood, the better able your blood will be to circulate easily. This, in turn, means that your blood will be far less likely to damage the lining of your arteries and that you are at a much lower risk of developing dangerous plaque buildup and plaque rupture.
Conclusion
As the above makes clear, by donating blood you will not only be helping others, but also yourself. The key point to remember, however, is that you need to donate blood on a regular basis to gain the benefits I've described. Occasional donations of blood will not provide the same degree of benefits.

Holy crap, I will be donating every 8 weeks for the rest of my life.
 
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I always take a baby aspirin once or twice daily (AAS dose depepnant). Why not?

I take one a day and has markedly reduced those values we are talking about. I almost within range these days where I used to be blown out before.
 
My doctor said that menstruation (ie reduction in blood volume) is one of the reasons doctors believe women have lower rates of heart attack and then after menopause their risk increases. In other words healthy adults even without aas can benefit by blood donation. I just got the paperwork to my doc from the blood bank that allows me to have phlebotomies as needed due to trt. It's actually free for trt patients even if you are deferred from donating like I am.

E2 out of range can also raise BP. Also BP fluctuates widely through the day. Inwas high last week when I checked my own, but perfectly normal today at the doctor. My RBC's are WAY high right now which puts me
borderline. Essentially unless you have a reason not to, donate blood as often as you can. It's good for you and saves lives.

EDIT: Just saw Skip's post. As always "what Skip said"
 
Last edited:
Good info in here...
 
I donate whole blood every chance I get, every 8 weeks. Those who are one an aspirin regiment, watch for drug interaction especially if you're taking bp meds.
 
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