Hello, I’m your not so typical Chronically Ill chick who doesn’t think before she does stuff at the worst times.
I have Ulcerative Colitis (among other fun party favors) and I literally had ulcers so bad that when I went in to have them cauterized, I woke up in quarantine because the specialist had never seen ulcers so bad without C Diff being involved. It thankfully had nothing to do with C Diff and I was started on IV infusions of powerful medication.
So, after the first infusion, I start feeling better, good, right?
Now, I work at a church. A good one that’s pro LGBT and actually has charities to help the community. One of our charities is a partnership with the Red Cross where we hold blood drives every two months. This charity project is one of my responsibilities.
We normally have a pretty good turnout and the Red Cross says we’re one of their best drives. But this time around, our numbers were low, and some of our regular donors got deferred for low hemoglobin.
So, I decided that, since my insides aren’t hemorrhaging anymore, I’ll donate a pint to help out. So I go over and get hooked up and give my donation.
I get off the table feeling okay and am immediately called over to the registration desk because the church volunteers need some supplies. So I head off to get them.
Suddenly, I feel lightheaded and I’m floating sideways. Then I just remember waking up laughing at the realization I passed out. I’m on the floor, and my volunteers who are mostly in their 70s to 90s are crowded around me almost in tears.
The Red Cross techs get me up on a table, give me a juice and crackers, and tell me to lie there and rest. The whole time I’m kinds laughing at how stupid I was.
Long story short, I recovered, and one of our regular donors walked me back to my office to eat something.
But poor Mrs Jody and Mrs June were really upset. They’re the sweetest elderly ladies and they almost cried when it happened. And I felt like a total dickasaurus Rex for scaring them.
My mom chewed me out. My sibling who lives half the USA away chewed me our. My gastroenterologist read me the absolute riot act.
In short, I am really really dumb.
But my blood saved a life in Bacon County. So somebody benefitted.
TLDR: Gave blood with a condition that causes blood loss and nearly scared two sweet elderly ladies half to death when I passed out and hit my head.
Comments
Very malzeno of you
No matter…you are still a hero and lived to tell about it
Bravo. 👏👏👏👏💐
Haha UC is no picnic, hope you feel better!
I do badly when I donate blood, and this one time the nurse is yelling at me going “Why do you do this if you know you’re going to be so sick like this???” I just shrug and say “Because in an hour I’ll be fine. If someone else has to go an hour without the blood, they might not be.”
I would double check that you’re even allowed to donate blood with your IV medication. I get IV immunosuppressants for Crohn’s and I can’t donate blood because of it; the blood is essentially tainted and would cause problems for someone. Glad your GI doc knows now!
Remember, friends: Good intention should never compromise personal health. But hey, kudos for trying to save a life even if your method was a little… iron-deficient.
Taking ‘giving till it hurts’ to a whole new level! Take care of yourself first, your generosity’s not needed in the ER!
I used to give blood all the time, but I had a couple episodes fainting after donation so I don’t do it anymore.
My doctor suggested that I cut back to three donations a year instead of six at most last year after I got a low ferritin test back. I did skip two last year but I’m back to going as often as I can. I think the low ferritin was probably just because I mistakenly thought I could get away with just taking iron supplements for a week before and after each donation. Now I just take a supplement every day and I feel fine.
My wife once donated blood a few hours before we went to a wine tasting. Bad idea.
I’m on the other end of the spectrum. My hemoglobin is so high, my doctor wants me donating on a regular schedule. I’m also a somewhat rare blood type, so the Red Cross loves me.
I nearly fainted once without any other conditions. Not really sure why. They did overshoot the vein that time, then readjusted the needle right before.
I passed out the first time I gave. I don’t think your UC probably played a big role in it. Some of us are just fainters. Now I tell them up front I need to have my feet elevated and head down to donate and I’m fine!
Fainting gracefully to save lives? Very main character energy. But yeah… maybe next time let your doctor, not your guilt, decide if you’re ready to donate 😅 Glad you’re okay — and Mrs. Jody too
As soon as I was old enough I was so excited to donate blood. I worked at the mall and I got there early and thought I could fit it in before my shift. It was easy! They said rest for a half hour, don’t smoke in that time. Eat something fast and make it something good. It took longer than I expected though.
I immediately went outside; smoked a cigarette and then turned up for my. Saturday-at-the-mall job, ten hour shift, no breaks. I had to call my ex husband to come get me after 40 minutes. After I got home, he asked me “aren’t you on your period?” I was like Ohh… So I’m just a perfect asshole
I haven’t donated blood in at least 10 years because of how I reacted the last time.
I started the day at lunch with my family, but didn’t stay long because of the blood drive. I think I ate a little bit, but not a lot.
I wore this cute little dress because I was going to go to meet up for a friends birthday after.
I’ve always had a fear of needles and seeing blood taken from me makes me panic but this time I was calm while they were taking the blood. I was laying down the whole time on what I guess was a stretcher?
Well right after they finished, while still laying down I ended up fainting. I felt it coming on which made me more nervous. I ended up waking up (who knows if it was 5 seconds or 5 minutes) drenched in sweat. The nurses there seemed un concerned and told me to just hang out till I felt better.
I think I stayed there for an hour drinking juice and eating cookies.
I want to be able to donate blood but every time I do I end up fainting at some point. But that one scared me. I was by myself and was too worried to leave until I could safely drive myself.
Good for you for at least trying! If you do decide to try again, maybe make sure to sit for a long time before getting up
You can donate blood on immunosuppressants?
I was a regular blood donor for decades but my dr told me to stop after being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Wish I could still help.
Holy shit this is my least favorite type of writing style
I’m O- but not allowed to donate because of my UC have even needed blood transfusions because my body hates itself so much so thank you for donating thank you for giving this gift to people who need it
Bizarre that your doctor got mad at you
At least you fainted yourself! I tried about ten years ago to give blood (was politely informed afterwards that my veins are too narrow and please never come back) and I took a friend with me for moral support as I hate needles.
Anyway I’m there doing my best to ignore the sharp thing in my arm and suddenly my friend is being told to put her head between her knees and being carted off to a bed to lie down. She didn’t even give blood 😂😂😂
I was told when diagnosed with Crohn’s that I wasn’t allowed to give blood any more, and I also had to be taken off the bone marrow donation register. I guess things have changed, or maybe that’s just the UK rules. It was explained to me that people who need blood are at a vulnerable point in their lives, so they need blood without any issues, and I guess mine with the Crohn’s, RA and various medication just isn’t what is best for them at that point.
I give blood donations, but I’m in the UK, so it’s all organised through the NHS.
It’s still random venues for the donations, but the point is it’s pretty organised in terms of prior and post donation care.
To lower the chances of people passing out, they have you drink a pint of water before hand, and then directly after you get off the table, they send you over to a table with a bunch of snacks and give you another pint of squash to drink.
The first time I gave blood I felt light headed, but since they specifically have you sitting down eating some snacks and having a drink, you just stick around until you’re feeling better and then off you go.
Given your story and the story of others, I’m guessing the aftercare is less present in the US(?)
Your blood could still end up discarded. A lot of places batch test and if one is bad they’re all tossed
People with crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are not allowed donate blood in Canada. It’s not really a good idea to donate blood if you have biologic immunosuppressants coursing through your veins.
So per your comment, you waited two weeks post infusion to give blood? So how does having ulcerative colitis equal you passing out after donating blood? Did the medication not heal your ulcers and you’ve been actively bleeding for the past two weeks prior?
I was told I wasn’t allowed to donate as I have UC since they weren’t sure if the autoimmunity could be transferred. That was a good 10 years ago though so maybe things have changed?
Your condition didn’t cause you to pass out, that just happens to some people more than others. One of my favorites was when a coworker was sitting at the table next to me after donating and she suddenly went forehead down on the table (she was fine after a minute). Being smaller, nervous and or dehydrated can all influence passing out after donating. Or even during donation lol, please try not to do that! They should’ve checked your hemoglobin to make sure donating wouldn’t make you so low you’d be prone to passing out. Thank you for donating! Blood on the shelf really helps patients in need, inventory is always lower in the summer so your donation was extra helpful. Be sure to eat well and hydrate before your (hopefully) next donation.
Damn! They let people with UC/CD donate blood in the States? I’m in Canada and can’t donate because of all the funky drugs in my system. Even if I was unmedicated it’s a disqualifying condition.
To be fair, it’s really not uncommon to faint after donating, even if you haven’t in the past. It might not have had anything to do with your health issues.
You lose a fair amount of salt when you donate, and put together with the drop in your blood volume, your blood pressure can bottom out, especially if you get up quickly.
I’m a platelet donor. When I’m done and they unhook me, I sit there for a minute. Then I turn and hang my legs over the side of the chair for a minute or two. THEN I’ll stand up. Getting up in stages like this helps your blood pressure to normalize, and you’re less likely to get light headed and faint.
I also recommend Gatorade before you donate. The salt is really helpful.
This is why they make you sit for at least 15 minutes right after donation. I don’t think it had anything to do with your UC, you probably just tried to do stuff too fast after donating.