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Sign my name.
It took two needles, but the second one worked, and I got to give blood today. I always think of it like that these days, getting to give blood. It's a privilege to be able to do it, and I don't take that lightly.
My iron was 14, my blood pressure 110/70, I was told my blood is also Code 96, and probably because my veins weren't cooperating it took over six minutes thirty seconds to fill a bag. If I could figure out a good hydration and exercise schedule for the days leading up to a donation, I might be able to manage another rapid tap. I scheduled my next session for July before I left, eight weeks to the day, so I'll take those early July days to try increasing my liquid intake even more. It should give the nurses more volume to work with.
I haven't done many other things today, and having done this one important thing is carrying me forward.
My iron was 14, my blood pressure 110/70, I was told my blood is also Code 96, and probably because my veins weren't cooperating it took over six minutes thirty seconds to fill a bag. If I could figure out a good hydration and exercise schedule for the days leading up to a donation, I might be able to manage another rapid tap. I scheduled my next session for July before I left, eight weeks to the day, so I'll take those early July days to try increasing my liquid intake even more. It should give the nurses more volume to work with.
I haven't done many other things today, and having done this one important thing is carrying me forward.
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I haven't in years, one part problematic veins, one part sheer terror.
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I like the thumb method for iron detection - I don't know why, but the finger prick method always came up with a lower number for me, and I could only donate about half the time no matter how much meat and iron supplements I tried.
Until they come up with a better synthetic blood (and man, they are trying), this is good for other people and also I like the "mini checkup" for me every couple of months.
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