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Hemochromatosis

Posted , 5 users are following.

philx
philx

Hi all

I had my second venesection today,again as with the first I feel

Washed out with fuzzy head,I wasn't told I would get this but

Reading up on it some people encounter these symptoms, others get

Nothing, so please anyone who hasn't started venesection please be

Aware you my get these symptoms, then it's a bonus if you don't get

Them,luckily I'm retired so I can have time to relax and recover and

I will be doing this every time I have venesection.

I hope you are all OK today

Cheers philx

1 like, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • haircrazydaisy
    haircrazydaisy philx

    Posted

    Hi Phil,

    My first venesection was fine but I passed out after my second one & subsequent blood donations make me dizzy and I feel ill for a couple of days.

    I was told to clench & unclench my buttocks throughout the process - it does help a bit. Sounds weird but that & crossing & uncrossing your legs keeps the blood flowing, apparently.

    • philx
      philx haircrazydaisy

      Posted

      Hi daisy

      Sorry to hear you passed out,and subsequent sessions ,

      Yes strange they have you doing that with your buttocks??

      But if it works try anything, I am clenching my fists,flexing my

      Legs .I do wish they had informed me this could happen I felt

      Something had gone wrong??? I did mention it to the plabotomist

      Today but even she said no body had mentioned it before.

      I am going to have to arrange going out with friends well after each

      Sessions.I hope you don't endure much problems in future

      Cheers philx

  • mike80628
    mike80628 philx

    Posted

    Hi Phil. I've just come back from my first blood donation after a year of venesections where they've thrown my blood away! I'm going every six weeks at the moment with regular monitoring of my ferritin. If it's staying low, I hope to go just four times a year. Secret to feeling well for me after each venesection is to drink pints of fluid a good few hours before. Eat a good meal before, and a nice bar of chocolate during! Seemed to do the trick for me. I didn't do this for the first few months and did feel quite weak, esp the next morning....anyway, good to hear from you. Take care, and keep us posted...Mike.

    • philx
      philx mike80628

      Posted

      Hi mike

      Sorry to hear that they couldn't use your blood I remember you

      We're looking forward to giving blood, so some use could be made

      Of your blood instead of them throwing it away, you must feel down.

      I drank 3 pints of water before and at least 3 after ,re chocolate

      I'm a bit of a chocoholic and tend gorge 2 or 3 bars at one go,so I

      Am trying to avoid it not had any for weeks.

      Please dust yourself and start again I am sure it will sort itself out

      Cheers philx

    • mike80628
      mike80628 philx

      Posted

      Hi. They COULD use my blood! Think I may have written it incorrectly. So, I was delighted yesterday....
  • Mrs._Z
    Mrs._Z philx

    Posted

    When first diagnosed, I told my Dr. I was needle phobic, so she gave me Atavan (something to relax me) before going for the first and each venesection forward.  I also left very fatigued and thought alot of it was to blame because of the medication I took beforehand.  I learned that was part of the process and learned to schedule things around my fatigue afterwards.  I believe a lot of this was due to the frequency of the blood extracations. After four months, I had my first venesection since being on the maintenance program and did not suffer the same type of fatigue even though I still took the medication.  I also became anemic during the weekly draws and then had a couple weeks off so my body could recuperate. After having difficulty a few times with the blood flowing, I started taking an apirin a day (after advice from this group) and it really seemed to help.  I continue to drink lots and lots of water prior to draw, keep my arms warm and try to relax which is a big help.  Good luck to you. 
  • Katy8103
    Katy8103 philx

    Posted

    Hi Philx, 

    sorry to to hear you are not feeling too good. 

    I used to to feel like this after venesections, so much so that the doctor swapped me to fortnightly venesections and I only give 350 ml of blood. I still felt bad though. 

    However, about 6 months into venesections one of the nurses advised me to try taking folic acid every day. I did so and now I am back to weekly venesections and feel absolutely fine. No fuzziness or fatigue. I'm on my 24th venesections and hope to be in maintenance soon. 

    I would definitley recommend giving giving folic acid a try. I think you have to allow some time for it to build up but the benefits are astounding. 

    Good luck 

    Katy

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