Donating blood

[pne]

Looks as if I survived. I still feel a bit weak, though, even after having eaten and drunk and rested a bit.

Comments

[missysedai.livejournal.com]

Is this the first time you've ever donated blood?

[ilia-yasny.livejournal.com]

How much did you donate? I felt absolutely normal after 400 ml :))

[pne.livejournal.com]

Kind of.

I had gone to a German Red Cross donation drive before (they were the ones who carried out this one, too), but they said that my veins were too small or something, so they only took a small amount of blood to test for blood type and diseases and stuff. That was in 1993, apparently (at least, that date was on my file when the person pulled it up this evening).

I had donated once in Greece, though (and there I remember feeling dizzy when I got up--I think I wasn't quite blacking out but not feeling too good, and had to lie down for a bit again).

[pne.livejournal.com]

How much did you donate?

500 ml.

I felt absolutely normal after 400 ml :))

Yes, others felt just fine, too! I didn't :)

Every body [sic] reacts differently. I suppose I'm a bit more sensitive in that respect or something.

[missysedai.livejournal.com]

Huh. It's not uncommon to feel a little woozy after giving blood, but the feeling usually passes quickly (and sometimes doesn't happen at all if you drink juice or something while you're donating).

Usually, feeling really awful after indicates that your blood pressure is a little low. You should probably see your doc to make sure.

[pne.livejournal.com]

Usually, feeling really awful after indicates that your blood pressure is a little low.

Well, it wasn't "really awful", just a bit... off. (Might even be a bit imagined.)

My blood pressure before donating was 120/70, apparently; I don't know whether that's high or low, though.

[missysedai.livejournal.com]

Normal is 120/80, so that's right about normal. It may be that you were just a little dehydrated, then.

I hope it's easier for you next time!

[pne.livejournal.com]

It may be that you were just a little dehydrated, then.

That's quite possible; I often forget to drink regularly when I'm at home.

I hope it's easier for you next time!

Thanks!

[robnorth.livejournal.com]

Sigh. I miss donating blood. For a lot of time I couldn't donate 'cause I was living way up north in Yellowknife, and there's nowhere to process the blood there, so you can't donate it. (No point flying it all the way down to Edmonton for processing and then have it flown all the way back.) And now I can't donate, because I had a TMI (transient ischemic attack, or "mini-stroke") 2 years ago, and I recently found out for some weird reason that they won't accept donations from me any more. (I guess they're worried inserting the needle and perhaps causing another one, or a real stroke, or some fool thing.)

It was a community service thing I didn't mind doing. I had lots of injections as a kid (allergies; therapy was "take everything you're allergic to, stick it in a vial, and inject it weekly for 6 years"), so taking a great bloody huge needle once every couple of months was no problem. Used to fill the bags up fast, too; typically 5 minutes from "insert needle" to "full". Oh well.

[pne.livejournal.com]

allergies; therapy was "take everything you're allergic to, stick it in a vial, and inject it weekly for 6 years"

Did it help?

I had hyposensitivisation therapy (is that what it's called) as well as a kid, though I think it wasn't for six years -- maybe three. Not sure whether it helped much, though I read somewhere once that the success rate is about 50%, so I figured I was simply one of the unlucky 50%.

It did accustom me to needles, as you said, and since the white goo they stuck in me was pretty viscuous, they needed fairly big needles, too. (Once, they used one that was too small and the person administering it pushed and pushed and the syringe flew apart rather than injecting it into me.)

I remember going to a vaccination once and hearing a child cry while waiting my turn. Then, when it was my turn, I looked at the amount of substance in the syringe and at the needle and thought, "That's it?" That was peanuts for me, and I was expecting much worse.

[robnorth.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if it worked. We started it while we were living near Ottawa, where there is much plant life and pollen and stuff. But then we moved up to Yellowknife, which is quite barren. I didn't suffer from allergy problems up there, but there wasn't much to be allergic to, either.

Now that I'm back in temperate climes (British Columbia), I do suffer allergy symptoms, but nowhere near as bad as when I was a kid. I use a corticosteroid nasal spray (Nasonex) and some kind of eye drops (Alocril) to alleviate the symptoms.

[pne.livejournal.com]

Heh, funny. I use Nasonex, too, especially to get to sleep sometimes when my nose is a bit stuffy.

And during the summer, I buy loratadine tablets (the active ingredient of, for example, Claritin) against itchy eyes and runny nose.