How much reduction in hematocrit would be expected with a blood donation???

[Gman86]

I agree, I would love to see a poll on this as well

 

[madman]

Ouch, I'm a little bit afraid for this information about ferritin. I don't know what are my ferritin level now after the phlebotomy.

My iron level in blood is good because it has been tested but ferritin levels have not been tested.

Is there any relation with these two things??? I mean, if iron level is good (75 microg/dL Range 37-170), would ferritin level be good too???

Oh, my god...

http://theironmaiden.ca/the-progression-of-iron-deficiency/
.
http://theironmaiden.ca/signs-symptoms-of-iron-deficiency/
.
http://theironmaiden.ca/supplementation-options-for-adults/
.
http://theironmaiden.ca/are-you-a-blood-donor-you-may-need-to-replenish-your-iron/
.
http://theironmaiden.ca/diagnosing-iron-deficiency-what-tests-can-you-expect/

 

[madman]

Results/Conclusion:

- compared with participants who did not receive iron supplementation, those who received iron supplementation had shortened time to 80% hemoglobin recovery in both the low-ferritin and higher-ferritin groups

- recovery of iron stores in all participants who received supplements took a median of 76 days (IQR, 20-126); for participants not taking iron, median recovery time was longer than 168 days (IQR, 147->168 days; P < .001)

- without iron supplements, 67% of participants did not recover iron stores by 168 days

- among blood donors with normal hemoglobin levels, low-dose iron supplementation, compared with no supplementation, reduced time to 80% recovery of the post-donation decrease in hemoglobin concentration in donors with low ferritin (< 26 ng/ml) or higher ferritin (>26 ng/ml)

 

[Tron]

Let's suppose a guy makes a blood donation of 500 ml each 4 months to maintain a good HCT. If this person stars taking iron supplementation (for example 100 mg of polysaccharide-iron complex per day) then how much time would it take to recover his ferritin previous leves??

And the second a more important question: The fact of taking iron supplementation would it mean that his HCT is going to increase faster too???

 

[MarkM]

It's hard to say because everyone is different. It could take you 60 days or more to get back to the previous levels then you just the process all over when you donate. You will always be chasing a hematocrit number and trying to get your iron and ferritin back up.


I am going to hold off donating blood until I get my ferritin levels back to at least 150. Instead of donating blood right now I am going to do cryotherapy to help reduce my hematocrit. I had my first session recently and it brought my hematocrit down from 51.0 to 48.0 and from everything I have researched it doesn't negatively impact iron or ferritin levels like donating blood does. Supposedly they remain unchanged. I do not know that for sure but I know the cryotherapy reduced my hematocrit. My next blood work is in mid July and I am going to have another cryotherapy session the day before my blood work to see for sure if the cryotherapy has an impact on the iron and ferritin. I actually prefer donating blood because it helps others and might help save a life but at the same time I need to keep myself healthy. If the cryotherapy doesn't negatively impact the iron and ferritin I might have found an answer to this vicious circle for myself.

 

[Gman86]

Ya I think i’d have to agree with you. Unless u are symptomatic, I don’t think i’d worry about it too much. I mean what about all the people that live at elevation and have above normal HCT levels while not on any TRT. Obviously they’re not all out giving blood on a regular basis.

 

[FeelingLost]

Let's suppose a guy makes a blood donation of 500 ml each 4 months to maintain a good HCT. If this person stars taking iron supplementation (for example 100 mg of polysaccharide-iron complex per day) then how much time would it take to recover his ferritin previous leves??

And the second a more important question: The fact of taking iron supplementation would it mean that his HCT is going to increase faster too???

Tron, I stopped all blood donations back in January when my Ferritin crashed to 15 range 30-400

I started taking Feosol Carbonyl daily and eating 4 boiled chicken livers Monday thru Friday.

I re tested my ferritin 6 months later.



Once you've crashed your ferritin it is so hard to get it back up over 100 I don't believe you can donate blood.
You are forced to drop your T injections it is the only thing that stops your HCT from going up.

 

[HealthMan]

Tron, I stopped all blood donations back in January when my Ferritin crashed to 15 range 30-400

I started taking Feosol Carbonyl daily and eating 4 boiled chicken livers Monday thru Friday.

I re tested my ferritin 6 months later.



Once you've crashed your ferritin it is so hard to get it back up over 100 I don't believe you can donate blood.
You are forced to drop your T injections it is the only thing that stops your HCT from going up.

I would stop supplementing iron at this point

 

[Tron]

It's hard to say because everyone is different. It could take you 60 days or more to get back to the previous levels then you just the process all over when you donate. You will always be chasing a hematocrit number and trying to get your iron and ferritin back up.


I am going to hold off donating blood until I get my ferritin levels back to at least 150. Instead of donating blood right now I am going to do cryotherapy to help reduce my hematocrit. I had my first session recently and it brought my hematocrit down from 51.0 to 48.0 and from everything I have researched it doesn't negatively impact iron or ferritin levels like donating blood does. Supposedly they remain unchanged. I do not know that for sure but I know the cryotherapy reduced my hematocrit. My next blood work is in mid July and I am going to have another cryotherapy session the day before my blood work to see for sure if the cryotherapy has an impact on the iron and ferritin. I actually prefer donating blood because it helps others and might help save a life but at the same time I need to keep myself healthy. If the cryotherapy doesn't negatively impact the iron and ferritin I might have found an answer to this vicious circle for myself.

Please, could you explain what a cryotherapy session is and how or where to do it???

Thanks

I was thinking that to decrease HCT it would be good to do some sessions in an hyperbaric chamber because it is known the HCT is reduced breathing big oxygen quantities but I don't find any relation in between cold and HCT.

Edit: I've found it

https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?15226-Cryotherapy-Miracles-For-Your-Health

 

[Tron]

Tron, I stopped all blood donations back in January when my Ferritin crashed to 15 range 30-400

I started taking Feosol Carbonyl daily and eating 4 boiled chicken livers Monday thru Friday.

I re tested my ferritin 6 months later.



Once you've crashed your ferritin it is so hard to get it back up over 100 I don't believe you can donate blood.
You are forced to drop your T injections it is the only thing that stops your HCT from going up.

How many times you donated blood and during how much time to crash your ferritin in such a way???

 

[MarkM]

Please, could you explain what a cryotherapy session is and how or where to do it???

Thanks

I was thinking that to decrease HCT it would be good to do some sessions in an hyperbaric chamber because it is known the HCT is reduced breathing big oxygen quantities but I don't find any relation in between cold and HCT.

Edit: I've found it

https://www.excelmale.com/forum/showthread.php?15226-Cryotherapy-Miracles-For-Your-Health

I see you found the previous post. When I went through the session I was unaware that it would reduce the hematocrit like it did. I somewhat found that out, by surprise, after the fact and then researched it more. I initially went to see if it would help some other ailments I had; tendinitis and plantar fasciitis. It is VERY cold, almost unbearable but it only last for 3 minutes. Once your out of the chamber you begin to feel refreshed.

 

[Vince Carter]

THings you can do to aid iron absoprtion is to supplement concurrently with 2g of Vitamin-C, and about 1-2g of L-Lysine. Also address any gut issues you might have like indigestion, reflux, etc etc That has worked to get my Ferritin back up in the past.

But yes someone posted about getting in iron supplementation and then how that may spur the HCT/HGB side of things and that's how I felt at the time when I say I was stuck in this cycle of having to do all this that one was just making the other worse.

 

[MarkM]

I was fortunate to not completely crash my ferritin. My ferritin was running right at 150 ng/ml on average and before I knew it he blood donations had brought it down to 52 ng/dl. I was scheduled for a donation with Red Cross a week ago but cancelled it once I found out my ferritin had dropped so much and had I donated it would have probably brought my ferritin down below acceptable levels. I am supplementing now and will see how long it will take to bring it back up to a minimum of 80 ng/ml but my ultimate goal is to get my ferritin levels back to the 150 ng/ml range. I'm taking Pure Encapsulations OptiFerin-C and Cardiovascular Research Ferritin.

 

[FeelingLost]

How many times you donated blood and during how much time to crash your ferritin in such a way???

I was donating 1 pt whole blood every 56 days I did this for 6 months so 3 donations before my ferritin tested low. I have never tested ferritin
before and only tested it because I was troubleshooting my thyroid. I would have never known and continued to donate. I feel pretty dam lucky I caught this on my own.
I don't know what happens if your ferritin goes to ZERO. Maybe you die.

 

[Gman86]

"Maybe you die" lol. Well glad we didn't lose you, it was close one haha

 

[FeelingLost]

I would stop supplementing iron at this point

Not until I see a ferritin number over 100. I've discussed this with Dr Saya on this forum. I believe he is going to give me a little slack on my HCT because I live near Denver @ 6000 feet above sealevel. My pre-TRT HCT was 49
I've cut my T dose from 150 to 130 and now to 110mg/wk until my ferritin returns to normal. I'd love to see >150.

 

[Gman86]

Don't forget to supplement with vitamin c and lysine to increase absorption of the iron. Also yellow dock is supposed to help as well.

 

[FeelingLost]

Don't forget to supplement with vitamin c and lysine to increase absorption of the iron. Also yellow dock is supposed to help as well.

I don't take lysine but I do take over a gram of C a day. I also eat a lot of chicken liver. I have another big blood test for Defy coming up at the end of July so I will be looking at my ferritin again/ With 3 data points I should be able to calculate how long it will take to get my ferritin up in the 150 range.

 

[MarkM]

I am taking both lysine and vitamin c along with my iron supplements to help with absorption. Ate a whole plate full of chicken livers last night that my wife made up for me.

 

[Tron]

I was donating 1 pt whole blood every 56 days I did this for 6 months so 3 donations before my ferritin tested low. I have never tested ferritin
before and only tested it because I was troubleshooting my thyroid. I would have never known and continued to donate. I feel pretty dam lucky I caught this on my own.
I don't know what happens if your ferritin goes to ZERO. Maybe you die.

I would have expected much more donations than 3 donations.
I explain you why:
If you have, lets say, 6 liters of blood in your body and 3 pts are 1.5 liters then 1.5/6 = 0.25 or 25%. It means that you couldn't lose more than 25% of your ferritin with 3 donations. If your ferritin had crashed only with 3 donations it means it was very low before you started donations.