To give blood to find out omit I'm anaemic

[SunshineAutumn]

Phoned my GP on Monday as I'm breathless and exhausted. Suspect I'm anaemic.

Haven't been to GP for about 4 years. Was told on the phone to phone back next week to book an appointment and will be seen in 3-6 weeks.

Am I wrong in giving blood tomorrow to find out if I'm an anaemic? Is the test as accurate as a blood test.

I'm at my wits end. I hate my GP surgery!

This crashing exhaustion is affecting my life.

Sorry to find out if I'm anaemic.

The test to give blood isn't the same as a test for anaemia. It only tells you if your blood iron is too low to donate, and the threshold is much higher than if you were anaemic, especially for women. Why not just start on some iron supplements in the meantime, whatever the highest you can get from a pharmacy, and wait?

You can buy a test online for less than a tenner.

Might be quicker and less hassle than going through all the stuff to give blood.

Just take iron tablets in the meantime.

1 x 210mg Ferrous Fumurate tablet twice a day. One hour before breakfast, one hour before dinner. Have it with a glass of orange juice as vitamin c helps absorption. Try to avoid taking it with food as you only absorb 50% of the tablet that way.

Don’t take iron tablets for 24 hours before the test as it will give a false high reading for iron.

they just do a quick test to see if you have enough iron to donate. You will not get a number, and it won't be set off to the lab. besides, you have to fill in a long medical form where you should be honest and declare that you feel exhausted and breathless. They will rule you out on that basis. Overall, it's a pretty stupid idea. Keep ringing the GP and ask for an emergency appointment if you feel really unwell. But don't waste the blood services time. I am a regular doner and it's hard to get appointments (at least where I am). Don't waste the spot of someone who is able to donate.

Loads of pharmacies can test your iron levels for you very cheaply - some Boots branches do it, for example, and independent high street pharmacies often can to. And you can also buy a testing kit in a pharmacy to do at home for around £7-£10. Boots, Superdrug, Tesco pharmacies etc all sell them.

Don't use the blood donation service like this; it's not what they're there for and you'll be wasting their time. And the test won't tell you if you're anaemic, only if your iron levels are below the donation threshold (which doesn't mean you're anaemic).

I saw the tests online but the reviews were very hit and miss.

I take on board the comments about giving blood and will have a hard think about whether to go or not.

I've been wanting to start giving blood again for months. Haven't been since before lockdown. So this was a good kick start.

Thanks all!

This is a terrible idea. You should only give blood if you are fit and well. If you go and don't pass the test you have wasted an appointment that someone else could have had, if you go and pass the test and donate there's a high chance it could make you worse. Plus you'd have to lie on your donor intake form as they do ask you if you are unwell or have been unwell in the last two weeks.

Please don't do this.

Also, as PPs have said, you can take iron supplements for now to see if it makes a difference.

Just make sure you stop taking them a few days before you see your GP in a few weeks' time, so they can see what your natural iron levels are when you're not on supplements.

Also if I just pay for B12 will that help even if it's just my ferritin leaves that are low?

You could just taken iron anyway. I keep liquid iron in when I go through a brown rice phase due to it making it hard for your body to absorb iron thing.

I wouldn't go and give blood if you're feeling rubbish

With the symptoms you describe they may not accept you for donation and refer you back to your GP. All the test at the donation centre will do if tell you if there is sufficient iron to donate - it isn’t a binary yes / no you have anemia. Don’t forget giving blood can give you symptoms of tiredness for 24 hrs or so and it will reduce your overall iron levels as you have just donated blood. Based on you already being exhausted and breathless not sure giving blood ( even if they let you) wold be the most sensible thing for you to do at this moment - get checked out with your GP first

they just do a quick test to see if you have enough iron to donate. You will not get a number, and it won't be set off to the lab. besides, you have to fill in a long medical form where you should be honest and declare that you feel exhausted and breathless. They will rule you out on that basis.

This. Though if you fail the copper sulphate, does it sink or float test, they will take another pinprick and put it in a machine that gives a number.

The blood service's threshold is higher than the GP's. If they reject a donation for this, they will give you a leaflet with your reading and other info. If it's a bit low, they'll just tell you to eat leafy green veg and other food high in iron. If it's lower than that, you'll be referred to your GP.

I have had low iron a few times when giving blood (over 30 years, about 56 donations, some of which were rejected.) My GP isn't very interested (though I do get full blood count taken every year for an unrelated long term condition and ended up with a surprise B12 prescription through that.) I have been prescribed ferrous sulphate a couple of times, and now tend to get it over the counter and take it when I'm bleeding. However, peri menopause this year has resulted in far fewer and lighter periods (since a humdinger at Christmas) and this seems to be reflected in my iron results at blood donations.

Basically, you need to go back to your GP, unfortunately. Good luck.

FFS, you shouldn't have a hard think about it wether to go or not. Don't go! Not sure what you don't understand.

In addition to the other reasons listed, if you do want to give blood in the future it's a bad idea to go when you're possibly anemic. If you fail the haemoglobin test (i.e. 'low iron') you have to wait 3 months to go again, and if you fail it 3 times, you're banned for life.

Also, it's embarrassing if you faint at the end of a donation (says person who fainted at the end of a plasma donation on Saturday...) and that's more likely if you're already tired and breathless.

(The nurses were all brilliant and kind, but as a long time donor, I was embarrassed, because I should have drunk more that morning; it was avoidable.)

Hard to get appointments? I get emails and texts sent weekly asking me to book in to donate

I think it can depend on your blood group - a friend who is O- is on speed-dial from them. A+ (me) less frequent contact (though usually I book in as soon as I can after the last one. But it can be months ahead.)

If you're feeling like that then she shouldn't be donating. Don't waste their time. The levels for iron are different to that of the gp.

I think it depends if you're near a permanent donor centre or have to wait for the mobile centre to do the rounds. When I used a mobile centre, it was really hard to get an appointment (despite the frequent reminders to book). Now I use a fixed donor centre and they usually have multiple appointments free even the same day, or at least at a few days' notice.

Me too. And then I try to make the appointment (I was a blood donor for years in another country) and they say, "Oh - you lived in Africa - no thanks."

This is a common current complaint; regular donors being sent lots of requests to make sure we've booked an appointment but then either struggle to find one, or (annoyingly) make an appointment for it only to be cancelled often on the day you're due to donate. The service is under great pressure and understaffed. The recruitment campaign department seems to be firing on all cylinders though!

me too but when I want to book something, there is always very little and usually during working hours. Not sure if it's a local issue.

This is me in reverse. Banned from donating in two other countries I've lived in because of having spent time in the UK in the 1990s (when CJD was prevalent). A huge number of countries don't want UK donors. Some have relaxed it relatviely recently (like Australia and Canada).

Could you call back and ask for an appointment with a nurse instead to get your bloods done? That way when your GP appointment comes around they'll already have your results and you won't need to wait another week or so for that. If the results come back very low it may well trigger an earlier appointment. Despite advice here I wouldn't take an iron supplement until you've had your bloods done. If it comes to that I'd recommend spatone liquid sachets because they are much gentler on the stomach than the tablets.