Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the fourteenth day of the month is "Control."
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In college, I donated blood regularly. I had a couple of gallon donor pins and it was easy to do because it was always right on campus and I got some Nutter Butters afterwards, so there were no downsides, as far as I was concerned.
But then there was that whole mad cow disease thing in the UK and they started restricting blood donations for people who had lived in Europe during particular years and those years included years I lived in Europe (I was born on an Army base in Germany and lived there for my baby and toddler years - I remember nothing of it), so I was banned!
I was pleasantly surprised when I recently got a letter saying that they'd rescinded those restrictions and that I could donate blood again. They just so happened to be doing a blood drive at the community center, so I registered for an appointment and last Tuesday, I ate a Kind bar and a cheese stick, downed 20 ounces of water, and headed over to donate blood for the first time in two decades.
Everything was fine! My blood pressure was great. My iron levels were right in the range. My temperature was 98.1. I passed the screening! Frankie, the nice lady in charge, gets everything set up and I was feeling like a rock star.
100 milliliters. How are you doing? Great. 200 milliliters. How are you doing? Great. Just over here scrolling through Reddit on my phone.
300 milliliters. Hm. You know what, Frankie? I'm feeling a bit woozy. Uh oh.
Next thing I know I'm flat on my back, there's an ice pack under my head, and Frankie is asking me if I know where I am.
Damn it all. Now, I have a bit of a reputation as a person who passes out. I'm VERY sensitive to changes in blood sugar. But I had prepared! I'd had food! And water! I was not doing this like I was still nineteen!
Anyway, I was asked if I'd like some juice and I asked for apple juice.
Apple juice!
I haven't had apple juice since I was seven!
It was so good!
(This reminds me of how Jenny, a sugar-free person, drank a Coke during her big race.)
This turned into a whole thing because my blood pressure wasn't going up as fast as they wanted and my pulse was super high, so I ended up staying to be watched for a long time. But they kept giving me apple juice and potato chips, so who was I to say no?
My husband thinks I should give up donating blood and accept that it's just not something that's good for me. I think next time I will just slam some apple juice during the donation itself and everything will be fine.
Do you donate blood? Have you ever passed out? Do you love apple juice as much as I did at that moment?
I thought I had heard it all for reasons why people can't donate blood until WHAT THE FRICK BECAUSE YOU LIVED IN GERMANY WHEN YOU WERE A BABY??????????????? Wow. And also fun fact that I didn't know about you;-)
ReplyDeleteMy husband would like to donate but can't because he once had a false positive on a hepatitis test. He never had hepatitis and the test was routine because he worked in a hospital at the time. I've never donated but think about it from time to time.
Because you want to be a donor, I say give it one more shot. The worst case is that your husband is right and it ends up being another apple juice and potato chip day. There's really no downside.
He's banned because he had a false positive?! Oh, no! How does he get that fixed? Or maybe he doesn't want to?
DeleteI haven't donated blood in probably 20 years - no, it must be more than that, I think it was before I was pregnant. Anyway, I used to regularly but then I fell off the habit. I used to love the cookies afterward!
ReplyDeleteI loved the Nutter Butters in college! I was disappointed in the cookie selection this time, but the chips and apple juice were nice.
DeleteI would say if you feel like you _want_ to give, try it again and see how it goes. Maybe it was just the shock to your system, and you'll adjust.
ReplyDeleteI too started donating in college, and gave gallons until they put that rule in placed (which booted me out due to a year at school in England). I never fainted, but one time I was sitting in the recovery area eating cookies and blood started trickling steadily down my arm from under the bandage! That was startling. I imagine whoever put the bandage on was new, but who knows.
I do mean to start giving again now that I can, so we'll see how it goes. I have to find an evening or weekend blood drive, surely someone does those. My favorite one, years ago, was sponsored by Ben & Jerry's: Give a Pint, Get a Pint!
Oh, man, I would LOVE a pint of ice cream. That's a dream.
DeleteWhy was your arm still bleeding? That's crazy because the needle prick is SO tiny?!
No idea! I didn't even notice right away, so there was a tiny puddle on the table. They made me stay for a while after they tightened things up.
DeleteDonated a bunch of times in my life and apart from feeling a bit lightheaded, no issues. Last time I tried to donate (2016) I got rejected since I've traveled to Chile a few months before and, apparently, that disqualified me. Maybe I'll try again next time we have a blood drive.
ReplyDeleteThey're still really weird if you've traveled outside of the US/Canada in the last three years. I feel like it's a strange thing to do to block so many potential donators!
DeleteI have never donated blood because I've always been anemic...so there's that! But maybe in the future, now that I've hopefully dealt with the issue that caused the anemia? My best friend nearly died of a complicated childbirth and a blood transfusion is why she's alive today SO I WANT TO DONATE BLOOD!
ReplyDeleteI'm a big orange juice fan myself. I don't drink it very often, but when I do - wow it tastes good.
Generally, I would pick OJ over apple juice, but when they asked me if I wanted juice, I asked for apple juice like I'd been waiting all day for someone to ask me. It was such a weird reaction!
DeleteI have family members who are alive because of blood transfusions and I think it's really something painless I can do to help, so it has always been something important for me to do. I'm rethinking how important, though!
Wow! That sounds a little scary! Although apple juice and potato chips sound very pleasant. I give blood occasionally -- I am due to go again, but I get very irritated with the Red Cross. They bombard me with emails and texts and phone calls, all saying that there is an emergency and they need blood, but then there are no appointments locally. Sigh. This is a good reminder to take a deep breath and dive in again, though.
ReplyDeleteI get woozy if I look at blood or think about it too much, but I haven't ever gotten woozy from giving blood, except maybe the first time. Once I went to give blood with an acquaintance though and she got woozy and it ramped up her anxiety and I felt awful for her.
How cool that you were born in Germany! I had no idea!
It's weird that they don't have any drives locally for you. On the site I used, there were three blood drives in my small town in one week! Maybe we just need more blood than the average community?! The Red Cross IS annoying. I actually donated through a different organization that is linked directly to our local hospital, so maybe there's a different, less enthusiastic organization you could try?
DeleteI used to give blood quite often from high school age through college, but then I developed the same problem as you--I started the fainting thing. I have very low blood pressure. I had to give up donating blood. I haven't tried again in a long time, but I did try once when I was pregnant and felt awesomely terrific and almost like I had too much blood--like I was turgid with it or something. They said no, I absolutely could not give blood when I was pregnant and gave me a sticker that said I TRIED TO GIVE BLOOD TODAY, which was nice, but I really felt like I was at least a pint over.
ReplyDeleteHa! I think they're so protective of pregnant women AND THAT'S A GOOD THING. You shouldn't be holding such a grudge!
DeleteHahahaha.... yes, I get it!!! I can definitely imagine how good that apple juice tasted. I've never donated blood. I used to have an issue with passing out, and a doctor explained to me that it was just a physiological reaction to having my skin pierced (like I passed out once when someone was taking a splinter out of my hand, stuff like that.) I also have low blood pressure. But, I will say that over time I've overcome the fainting thing- I have to get my blood drawn twice a year to manage my thyroid, and with the help of deep breathing exercises, I haven't passed out in years. I'm still afraid to donate blood though- which I guess is kind of selfish. I should probably just give it a try.
ReplyDeleteSince it's important to you, I would give it another try- hopefully this was an isolated incident.
I have passed out a fair amount in my life, but it's almost always food/water related and I know this about myself. It's probably for the best that I don't pass out when I bleed because I am clumsy and cut/scrape myself on a very regular basis!
DeleteI think I probably will try again, but I'll warn the person taking blood what happened so they can keep an eye out on me.
I've never given blood but think I should give it a go. I've fainted a couple of times but always when I'm sick (once when I had COVID, and another after a hernia operation). I do have lowish blood pressure so I think that plays a part. MY daughter had issues when she was a teenager with fainting when she was running. She would literally be running and then wake up flat on her back. I eneded up she always had to run with someone to keep an eye on her.
ReplyDeleteHow scary to pass out while you're running! Did she ever go to a doctor about that? I feel like exercise-induced dizziness can be a sign of a lot of possible illnesses/concerns! Hopefully she's outgrown it or figured out what was causing it.
DeleteI did give blood once, but they had problems finding my veins and then it hurt so much that I couldn't squeeze the ball that I was given. So that was the last time I tried that.
ReplyDeleteI've never passed out, but when I was newly pregnant the first time, before I even realized I was pregnant, I did get really faint and dizzy one afternoon at work. It was in the middle of a show so I was really glad I didn't pass out.
Apple juice and potato chips sounds like a good time. My kids would call that lunch.
I have never had a vein problem, but I bet it is AGONIZING if you have troublesome veins. Ugh. I'm sorry you had to go through that.
DeleteI get dizzy just about every day. LOL. The fact that it happened to you ONCE is shocking to me. Isn't it crazy how we just adjust to what's normal for our own bodies?
Yay for apple juice! I have low blood pressure and have passed out occasionally after a too-hot shower and once after a glucose test in pregnancy first thing in the morning, so I know that blood sugar crash feeling well. I am glad the apple juice did the trick!
ReplyDeleteI used to have low blood pressure, but now it's normal. I still get that rush/dizzy/spinning feeling regularly, but I actually RARELY pass out. My husband tells me that he's never passed out, though, so the fact that I have actually done so is amazing to him!
DeleteGood for you for donating and I am glad the AJ helped! You should totally try again and pregame with it! I haven't done it yet - I keep meaning to ask if I can donate with the syndrome I have!
ReplyDeleteIf I pregamed, I'd have to BUY apple juice and I'm not sure I'm up for that commitment. But maybe drink it while the donation is happening?
DeleteI used to give blood all the time and never passed out, although once they pressed too hard on the site afterwards and caused a JET of blood to squirt out, which made me a little squicky.
ReplyDeleteI don't like apple juice, except when I'm in the hospital in labour or immediately post-delivery (hardly ever happens nowadays), and the apple juice with a lot of ice is the best thing in the world.
The apple juice was a total surprise to me. I guess we only crave it in medical situations past a certain age.
DeleteOh wow! That's very scary; I'm glad all was well in the end. Sadly, I've not given blood in a long time and I'm not sure why. My Mom went all the time, as does my MIL and Aunt. I should get on the bandwagon.
ReplyDeleteI think it IS harder to find drives these days, so that could be one reason you don't do it as much. You have to go out of your way to find one and that's a challenge.
DeleteI haven't given blood in a while due to (travel, low BP, other stuff). I should put a drive or two on my to-do list in the summer!
ReplyDeleteYou may still be restricted because of travel - doublecheck before you head out to donate!
DeleteOof, that is a rough experience! And the crappy thing is that they throw out the blood you did donate if you don't get to the amount they collect (I can't remember what the amount is). I used to donate blood when I was in HS/college/early 20s. There was a blood center across the street from where I worked, so I set up a regular appt to donate blood. Now I am on so dang many drugs, I haven't tried to donate in a long time. My mom has donated a crazy amount of blood. She could tell you how many gallons but it's A LOT. I would often get rejected due to low iron or my bp or pulse being too low, or a combo of those issues. I learned that I needed to hold a warm bottle of water in my hand to keep the blood flowing consistently.
ReplyDeleteI think if I was you, I would be nervous to give blood again after passing out!!!
Oh, they DID get enough. The minimum is like 420 or something and they were able to get it before they took the needle out! I would have been irate if they wouldn't have been able to use it!
DeleteI am nervous to donate again, but fortunately you can only donate every eight weeks, so I don't have to make a decision about it for another couple of months.
I did not know you were born in Germany, Engie! What a new piece of information.
ReplyDeleteI haven't donated blood but I once needed a transfusion (due to iron-deficiency anemia) and I am thankful for anyone who donates!
I love apple juice, btw. I usually mix it with sparkling water for a refreshing summer drink... like an apple-lemonade :)
I was born in Germany, but it feels like a cheat since I don't really remember any of it.
DeleteI'm wondering if I shouldn't treat myself to apple juice more often. It does sound good with a bit of sparkling water added!
I haven't given blood in such a long time. I really hate the finger poke to test iron, lol. Plus, sometimes I have to get poked multiple times because my iron can sometimes be just on the cusp, so they'll test it on a different finger. I should set up a regular blood donation appointment, though. It's important!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the finger prick part from when I donated before, but it wasn't so bad. I can see how it would be annoying to have it done to multiple fingers, though!
DeleteA coupe of random thoughts for you - try hydrating the day before, too. You can use water the day before - or AJ, if you prefer, of course! And make sure that you're not doing cardio the morning of donation. In other words, do as much as you can to up your blood volume (via increasing amount you drink) and decreasing the amount you sweat. :) But yes, apple juice during - with a potato chip chaser - does sound good. I can't give anymore - long story, like most of my crap - but wish I could. I have great veins, never pass out, and don't flinch when I get poked. I drive them bonkers by watching, actually. Ha. I'm a pain in so many fun, unique ways. ;)
ReplyDelete