9 days,1 unit of blood! Will it be enough?Will i need it?

[fitiani33]

Well i went for my blood donation for the 3rd time and was denied again!!! I was only able to donate the first time and only 1 unit. The 2nd and 3rd time i was too low on the count. I bumped up the iron with extra tablets and foods but not enough.I have 9 days till surgery and no more donations. I have to still bring up my count for the operation. How many out there had to use their blood during surgery and how may units? I am worried i might need it and not have enough. Also, on my last thread ( blood to low to donate! ) I named a bunch of iron rich foods to add to diet, got it from the blood donation office, i wish i had added them sooner or had more. If someones gonna donate ask your dr. if you can add some to your daily foods to help avoid this happening to you! The foods are on the other thread. Good luck and God Bless! Hopefully the 1 unit will be enough, or i hope i don't need any at all.

Stephanie

[CorkScrew]

On my first surgery (the long one - 8 hours), they only used 1 unit (I donatd 3). I didn't catch if they had to use any for my second surgery 5 days later. My doc said he would be using some drug (I don't recall the name) that slows bleeding...I guess it worked for me. Good luck!

[Suzy]

Amount of blood needed

Hi Stephanie, I asked my Dr. if he thought I really needed to give blood and he told me he usually doesn't need it for kids and young adults. Older patients he always needs some. I at 43 was in the middle and he said it was up to me. He had asked for 2 pints as a precaution. (I was giving my own blood and had to pay out of pocket.) I compromised and gave 1. He did not end up using it during surgery, but I needed it 2 days later. My option if I had needed more then 1 pint during surgery was to get the other out of the blood bank. ( I checked % of problems using donated blood and it was not an issue.) I gave my own blood because you heal better with it. I suggest you call your Dr. and ask if he thinks you will need more based on your age and his past experiences during surgery. Donated blood is a good option (you already have 1 pint of your own) if you needed 2 or more. Best wishes.

[mattie]

When I had my surgery the first one and two days later the rest of it, I had to have three pints of blood. I never gave any of my blood because I did not have enough time. The Dr. assured me I didn't need to donate my own blood and I would be safe. The Dr. told me they hooked me up to a machine that recycles your blood. I don't know how it works, but it is suppose to help with blood loss. I think the reason I had to have so much blood was because my surgeries were so long. Between both I think it was 12 hours. My third time I had surgery I had to have one pint of blood but my surgery was only 6 hours long.
Good luck.

[lelc2002@yahoo]

I'll be donating blood in July, 3 wks in a row & my Dr. requires 3 pints of mine & one of a family member. My surgery is ant/post so sure to be a long one... Ly

[katblack]

I donated 4 and used all 4.

[CurvySAT05]

I donated 2 pints for myself. He didnt need any of it in surgery. He was able to recycle any of the blood that I lost rather than using the stored blood. 2 days later my hemoglobin dropped REALLY LOW and i had to get both units back in me as fast as possible. So, I did end up using both of them.

[SpineWhine]

I was able to donate 2 of the 3 times that I went. However, they never ended up using any of it during my surgery.

[sweetness514]

First surgery-donated two and they at least used one-4 hour surgery.

Second surgery-donated none, and they almost didn't want to perform the surgery b/c I was anemic and they didn't tell me from my pre op tests, and so here I was in the OR almost begging them to perform surgery but they were going to anyways since it was only an hour long and I took iron pills for months after.

Third surgery-donated two and they used none, but was borderline anemic afterwards and they told me that I had a choice to ask for my blood but it wasn't that necessary and there could be unpleasant side effects so I declined. 3 hour surgery. Again took iron pills after.

It depends how much you bleed, how long the surgery is and they also recycle the blood most times.

[JoAnn5]

I didn't pre-donate or require any during my 3 separate surgeries... I didn't take iron pills either... Isn't it funny how everyone is so different??

[sweetness514]

Yes it is. Some people eat once a day and they don't have anemia or hypoglycemia and then so many women have to eat well and often to keep their health in check. That's why I always say that every case in the medical world is so unique and not even doctors can be right 100% of the time. Same goes for pain and how we tolerate it.

[fitiani33]

blood donation

Thanks for all the replies, i feel a little more calm now ( considering i only have 6 days till surgery). I never knew about blood recycling, it's news to me. Anyway, i still take the iron 3x's a day and even though there is no hope of donating i hear it has to be up for surgery. I think this forum is great!!! I was so concerned with this blood thing worrying i would need it and not have enough. Now i see i may not need it and even if i do there are other options and they seem to work fine. My surgery is only 1 and should be about 5 hours. I am working on convincing the hubster to check in with everyone for updates begining the day of ( Monday June 5th ). I loved reading the up to date info on the recovery and i would love to post the same . We'll see how it goes. Take care and good luck!!!!!

Stephanie
awaiting surgery
Monday June 5,2006

[lelc2002@yahoo]

good luck-stephanie.....Keep us posted........Lynne

ant/post-aug 1st
http://lynnebackattack.blogspot.com

[JoAnn5]

Good luck and God bless you during your surgery... I'll be saying a prayer for you that day. Please do convince hubby to keep us informed step by step... Amazing how we can learn to care so much for each other thru this board online.... (((((hugs)))))

JoAnn

[fitiani33]

Recovery Info.

Well, so far so good. The husbie agreed to help out. He said hes gonna check and see if the room at the hospital has any internet connection and he'll bring our laptop there. ( i can just feed him information ) Otherwise i am trying to familliarize him with this site. He hasn't been on here EVER. (not like me......ohhh everyday! ) I put this page in my favorites so it will be easy to find. We might try a "practice post" so he gets the idea. ( even though its not really hard ). I tried to explain how valuable the information was to me and how i wanted to help ease others. Sooooo, we have only a few days to go! I am hoping that once i get home i will be able to maybe do them myself or at least relay the info and let him do the work.

Stephanie