BP and Hemocrit question, didn't want to hijack other thread.

[505jules]

So I am in the middle of my cycle and doing my best to stay hydrated and watch my levels. I just had bloods run and Im looking good, my hemocrit was getting a little high so I donated. My question is if my hemocrit ends up to high to donate, I know the next option is a prescribed blood letting (didn't remember medical term please don't flame me lol), but how do you broach that with a doc? Would I go to an urgent care and lie to them, saying I'm on prescribed test and couldn't get in to see me doc? Preferably would hope to use insurance. Also preferably I hope this just doesn't happen all together, but it has been a fear of mine. Thanks guys!

 

[Uso]

Well seems like you stay on top of blood work so I doubt that it will just sneak up on you. You could state that you are on over the counter supplements(prohormones). Or if its so high I would imagine your doctor would address the issue with you; or you bring it up to him that you feel its a risk and should be addressed.

I had a pretty high HCT level at one point and suspected that I might be too high. So I went to donate blood and before I went I took vaso-dilators and Excedrin(aspirin/caffeine) not sure if this at all lowered my levels but figured hell their gonna destroy my blood anyway.

 

[Mprtz]

Well seems like you stay on top of blood work so I doubt that it will just sneak up on you. You could state that you are on over the counter supplements(prohormones). Or if its so high I would imagine your doctor would address the issue with you; or you bring it up to him that you feel its a risk and should be addressed.

I had a pretty high HCT level at one point and suspected that I might be too high. So I went to donate blood and before I went I took vaso-dilators and Excedrin(aspirin/caffeine) not sure if this at all lowered my levels but figured hell their gonna destroy my blood anyway.

Why would you assume they are going to destroy your blood?

 

[505jules]

I mean I am pretty strict about staying on top of my blood work, but life happens and I just don't want to get caught with my pants down because Im definitely not just going to ignore the problem if it comes up and just finish the cycle and stroke out lol.

 

[Uso]

I assume that they test all blood they receive and don't just take the word of whoever is donating. They test for the obvious, but also for anything unexpected with rbc.

They ask if you're on any medications not prescribed by a doc? inj. yourself? etc etc which majority of us lie about. Then you have the people saying its wrong to donate our "tainted" blood.
But my point with the assumption of disposal is that if anything were to be wrong with my blood, proper testing would expose it.

 

[Mprtz]

I assume that they test all blood they receive and don't just take the word of whoever is donating. They test for the obvious, but also for anything unexpected with rbc.

They ask if you're on any medications not prescribed by a doc? inj. yourself? etc etc which majority of us lie about. Then you have the people saying its wrong to donate our "tainted" blood.
But my point with the assumption of disposal is that if anything were to be wrong with my blood, proper testing would expose it.

I can categorically state that testing to expose lies told during the interview does NOT take place. The FDA mandates what is tested for and blood banks tend to not go beyond what is mandated because it makes them uncompetitive. I have personally toured the facility and spoken to the people doing the testing.

There is heavy reliance on donor honesty in the interview - don't fool yourself.

Call them the day after donating and tell them you came down with the flu.

 

[Uso]

What would you deem unsafe or harmful to a patient? That the normal AAS user has in their blood.

 

[Mprtz]

What would you deem unsafe or harmful to a patient? That the normal AAS user has in their blood.

I certainly wouldn't lie about any medications on the deferred list (propecia, etc.)

I wouldn't lie about taking aspirin products.

They do test for HIV (and hepatitis). They still ask questions about sexual history or needle use because you can be considered at increased risk for infectious diseases. They will defer you for interview answers even if testing shows you don't have either. Why? They are being as conservative as possible. If you test "indeterminate" on an HIV test they will defer you permanently even if you take 100 HIV tests afterwards that show you don't have it.

Regarding the hormones themselves, they don't seem to pose too much of an issue - I wish I understood the reasons better. Probably isn't dilution because pooling of blood is kept to a minimum for safety reasons. Maybe the processing deactivates a large portion.

 

[Duke30]

You could do it yourself ..it's called self-phlebotomy

No one would know.just be careful not to pass out letting too much blood out

 

[carverelli]

You could do it yourself ..it's called self-phlebotomy

No one would know.just be careful not to pass out letting too much blood out

My preferred option. I'm on warfarin for an artificial heart valve to thin my blood. Other than that, I'm healthy as a horse. Evry 8 weeks I donate 3 cups of whole blood to my toilet. No fuss, no muss!

 

[halfwit]

I mean I am pretty strict about staying on top of my blood work, but life happens and I just don't want to get caught with my pants down because Im definitely not just going to ignore the problem if it comes up and just finish the cycle and stroke out lol.

You would have to seriously let it go for some time before you got to the deferral point. I believe the cutoff is something to the tune of 19.8 hB or 59.4% HCT. I'd imagine that most folks running at that high of a hematocrit would start to feel the ill effects before it became too late. I'm not shy when it comes to needles or performing minor "surgery" on myself, but doing a therapeutic phlebotomy on yourself is one of those things I'll leave to the pros.

My .02c

 

[505jules]

Maybe it was it was just the guy at the red cross, I was close to 50 and he made it sound like I was dangerously close to the cut off, so I figured I better know what I have to do if it came down to it. Although I would prefer not to have to do the phlebotomy myself lol. Thanks guys!