Should one supplement with Iron after Blood donations?

[Pranayama]

Hello, I had a question as to whether it is prudent to supplement with Iron after blood donations, due to increased levels of hematocrit from testosterone therapy. About 18 months ago I was tested for iron after two recent blood donations and it was low. I did supplement with iron, but the catch 22 is iron increases red blood cell production. Any advice or experience with this appreciated.

Im leaning towards its best to supplement with the iron...

 

[maxadvance]

Eat your spinach dude

 

[Pranayama]

Thanks for the advice.

 

[maxadvance]

Thanks for the advice.

There's an ongoing argument about iron supplementation, to the point where some think it''ll kill you. Read this article to get that side of the discussion.

Here's a relevant excerpt,

"[h=4]Blood Donors Are Healthier Than Non-Donors[/b]Blood donors lose large amounts of iron with each donation, and they also have lower rates of heart disease, as much as 88% lower."

https://medium.com/@pdmangan/why-ir...ated-factor-in-health-a36e2db37258#.oeb1n9nly

 

[Pranayama]

That's an interesting article. Thanks for sharing.

 

[ERO]

If you really wanted to fine-tune this, you could take iron supplements for a short time (perhaps 2 weeks, but that is a guess) after donating and then stop until after the next donation. Give yourself a boost but not overdo it.

 

[ERO]

There's an ongoing argument about iron supplementation, to the point where some think it''ll kill you. Read this article to get that side of the discussion.

Here's a relevant excerpt,

"Blood Donors Are Healthier Than Non-Donors

Blood donors lose large amounts of iron with each donation, and they also have lower rates of heart disease, as much as 88% lower."

https://medium.com/@pdmangan/why-ir...ated-factor-in-health-a36e2db37258#.oeb1n9nly

Great article - thanks for posting it!

 

[Pranayama]

That makes sense. Thanks . I think that would be a good balance. I'll ask Dr. Saya also about that during our consult in June.

 

[gallan]

The only way to know is having ferritin levels tested. Funny that max complains about people destroying his threads when he posted nothing about that issue.

 

[Pranayama]

Yes that's true. I do know my iron gets low after donating because of labs I did after in the past. Maybe get a lab after a week of taking iron after blood donations would be a good idea to see where I was at with the iron level.

 

[Dr Justin Saya MD]

Pranayama - with how high your HCT levels are (donating tomorrow right?), I wouldn't touch any iron until we have our first consult. Gallan is also right, checking a ferritin level would give a much better idea of your overall iron status. If it is within your budget and you've had issues with low iron in the past (and now elevated HCT) it would be worthwhile to get a more complete panel: serum iron, TIBC, % saturation, ferritin.

Call the office if you want my staff to order those for you (or can order through discountedlabs - just make sure to forward the results to me).

 

[maxadvance]

The only way to know is having ferritin levels tested. Funny that max complains about people destroying his threads when he posted nothing about that issue.

lol, I posted 2 threads, one about Iron supplementation being viewed as a death sentence, one about lowered iron levels after donation being looked upon as beneficial. Both relevant. Got 2 big thank yous from posters. Actually gave some personal input, and didn't post some stupid generic article that took a dozen screens to scroll through. But hey, you sound like you know what you're talking about.

 

[Pranayama]

Yes Dr. Saya, donating after work tomorrow since they do the therapeutics on Tues, We'd, Thur. Ok, I will do those iron labs you advised 7 to 10 days after the donation and see where I am at. I will do them the same time I do the RBC labs that I will be sending to you. No iron for me anytime soon and I will let you decide if it is ever needed. Thanks again.

Says on the form up to 3 days after fax to process, but last weeks form for the regular whole blood only took one day. So, the double blood cell form was faxed Monday. I hope it's ready Tuesday so I can do the double cell donate.

 

[Pranayama]

Update: Called the blood bank and I can do whole blood donation and 3 days later do another one. They do not allow double red donation for therapy but you can come back 3 days later and do another whole blood one. Thats fine for me. So I will do the whole blood donation today and then since they are only tues, wed, thur for it I can come back next tuesday and do another one. Puts a delay on things but no other choice. At least I will be getting the hematocrit down.