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General discussion

FDA to ease restrictions for donating blood

Dec 23, 2014 6:27PM PST
Lifetime ban for some gay and bisexual men to be lifted

So if you say you've not had gay sex in over a year, they'll take your blood? "Pinky swear" good enough?

I find that interesting in that I was given a lifetime ban back in the early '80s for another reason. I'd been donating regularly for several years but had quit for a time while receiving chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Once my doctor gave me a clean bill of health, I returned to the Red Cross blood donation center to resume giving but was kindly informed that I could no longer donate no matter how long I'd been in remission. Maybe I should try to walk in now and see if my blood is as acceptable as that of gay men. Happy

Discussion is locked

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I can't donate any more
Dec 23, 2014 9:51PM PST

due to consuming British beef while overseas.

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I normally gave blood but came down with leukemia
Dec 24, 2014 9:37AM PST

The Red Cross called from India. I explained that I now had leukemia and the next question floored me. He asked if I wanted to be taken off of the list.

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sorry to hear that
Dec 24, 2014 11:29AM PST

my grandad died from it's cousin, multiple myeloma.

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Hoping you'll recover
Dec 24, 2014 6:11PM PST

There are so many types of leukemia and more treatments one can imagine. There are the chronic and acute types as well as something called MDS or myelodysplastic syndrome which isn't yet a condition that often becomes leukemia. Chemo to BMTs (bone marrow transplant) are the usual options. My daughter was treated for AML 3 years ago and I have a nephew with a chronic type that's also in remission. There are the better hospitals for these types of cancer including one right here in my town. That's where my daughter was treated. My nephew went to MD Anderson in TX...another cancer center. These places do the research and have access to the latest clinical trials and data. Unfortunately, not all of the best of the best are on the preferred provider for insurance purposes. There are still ways to get treatment there if needed.

It's puzzling why you'd get a call from India, however. Has the American Red Cross outsourced its call and development centers? That would be a shame. I was in my 20s when I was donating about every 6 weeks and they never called to remind me it was OK to come in again.

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I assume they outsourced the call center.
Dec 25, 2014 8:41AM PST

Mine is the chronic type and they are keeping an eye on it. They tell me I'll probably die of something else first. I take my vitamins and iron but do get tired more easily.

Thanks for the concern. As much as we argue I really like ya'll. And, in case you hadn't noticed, I do like to argue.

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I can't donate anymore either
Dec 24, 2014 4:33PM PST

I thought at first it was because of the Plavix and/or Zocor I take since my bypass.....but it's because of the large amounts of Niacin I am required to also take now (6000 mg per day compared to the 'normal' 500-1000 mg that many heart patients are prescribed). Strange that a blood thinner would make the list and not a vitamin. lol

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I've heard that big a dose can cause liver damage.
Dec 25, 2014 8:42AM PST

I assume you are keeping track of that.

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Wow 6000...so why so high a dosage?
Dec 25, 2014 9:45AM PST

What make that better than the other pills like Plavix/Zocor or other statin pill?

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(NT) Cost, I'm guessing.
Dec 25, 2014 1:22PM PST
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I have psoriasis....
Dec 25, 2014 8:20PM PST

Although I had two heart attacks and eventually by-pass surgery to replace four arteries (each had blockage with one having two blockages), my heart is actually healthy. It was a problem they finally have figured out is connected to the psoriasis I've had since I was in my early 20's. Two or three really bad outbreaks but otherwise moderate or hardly noticeable.

How it was explained to me is....psoriasis causes little 'blisters' along my vascular system and eventually start leaking causing the arteries to collapse (this was mistakenly diagnosed as 'blockages' from the usual culprit..cholesterol). Large doses of niacin (had to work my way up to that amount and will be on it for the rest of my life daily now) has been found to turn those blisters into callouses that no longer leak. It has to be the flushing type that is normally given to 'normal' heart patients or those at risk because the non-flushing type has no heart benefits at all.

Psoriasis has many side effects that doctors didn't know about for a very long time. It has its own unique form of arthritis as well (you see ads for it now called psoriatic arthritis), which I also have in my lower back and neck mostly. My hands, fortunately, are free of it.

I'm monitored every six months for signs of liver issues and have come out good. There was one time when I accidentally overdosed myself and ended up in the hospital in bad shape for three days. I take a tablet type of 250mg each in handfuls three times a day....my friend was ordering it for me one time and ordered time-released capsules of the same 250 mg without realizing it. Since they were the same dosage, I was the dummy who took them figuring it was 'the same'....but the time-release started kicking in after the third dose of the day all at the same time. Neighbor came and drove me to emergency when I could barely stand and was throwing up constantly. Local hospital couldn't figure out what was wrong even though I kept telling them so they life flighted me out at my insistence to Duke Hospital where my bypass had been done. Potassium and magnesium levels were almost non-existent and I was kept in ICU in the dark with IV tubes in my neck directly into other areas of my body to dump what I needed as fast as possible. Three days later, after being in and out (mostly out) and only aware at one point that someone was talking very softly to me (almost a cooing sound and I loved her immediately. lol) while my feet and legs were being 'manipulated' (the night nurse was putting pressure socks on me).

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I know I was taking Niaspan for a while
Dec 26, 2014 2:02AM PST

but the doctor wouldn't let me take the just plain niacin because the possibility of liver damage. I'm not taking either one now.

Had a teacher in high school. He was a good teacher. He had psoriasis (didn't know that at the time). He would look fine at the beginning of the year but by the end, he looked like a vulture. What we could see was all over his head and neck. I remember thinking that we were causing that because we were putting pressure on him and worried about him.

I remember my doctor doubled my blood pressure medicine because it wasn't bringing my blood pressure down. I was mowing the church lawn and trimming the hedges when I almost passed out. I went home and laid down and went back to the original dose and called the doctor on Monday. He decided that something else was wrong. I told him it was probably that I needed a job and hadn't worked for two years and was running out of money.

I'm glad you're okay now.

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Couldn't take the Niaspan
Dec 26, 2014 3:12AM PST

First there wasn't enough dosage for me.....but main reason was because it didn't play well with the other niacin I would have to continue to take to get the right dosage.

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So have you done any reading on "vegan" diet?
Dec 26, 2014 8:05AM PST

Some says we (heart/cancer patients) should be on a vegetarian life style. Meat and especially fat from meat is just plain bad. I am not certain if that will help or not but both my wife and my brother-in-law died of cancer. So now I am watching what I eat pretty closely.

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I'm meat and potatoes
Dec 26, 2014 6:58PM PST

but do eat lots of veggies that I grow in my own garden with no chemicals and can/put up what I grow. I've had two husbands die of cancer at very young ages (27 and 4Cool....but psoriasis is hereditary (mother, sister, and now my daughter) all have it. No diet change will fix that. I'm nearly 70 now with few vices left to have fun with.....food isn't comfort for me so I'm not overweight....and I eat what tastes good and enjoy it while I still can. LOL

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I have what's called "dysphagia"
Dec 26, 2014 9:38PM PST

It's lesser symptoms are part of the normal aging process but radiation treatments to my neck area when I was 34 (more than 30 years ago) have caused scaring and muscle damage. A later surgery to remove my thyroid didn't help. Dysphagia is the inability to swallow properly. The muscles just don't work like they should. I need to eat slowly and consume a lot of liquids while eating. I've found that some foods are nearly impossible to eat and some I have very little problem with. I am finding that most meats cause me a great deal of difficulty so I am considering removing them as much as I can from my diet. Fish is doable but the fortunate part for me is that I have absolutely no trouble with cookies! Tis' the season...My season. Happy

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Heather has
Dec 26, 2014 9:58PM PST

had her thyroid removed because of cancer and has had difficulty swallowing food for a couple of years now....she's found that fatty meats (marble in shank or chuck roasts) actually go down much easier. (She's also a cookie eater..lol)

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I can't donate anymore either.
Dec 25, 2014 1:26PM PST
Wink

In case of many surgeries, blood thinners go from beneficial to dangerous. It's important that the patient and surgeon know, which they won't in the case of third-party drug. It's a matter of information. Includes good ol' ordinary aspirin as well.
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see, that would affect me
Dec 25, 2014 1:30PM PST

I can't have aspirin or any salicylates. When I'm lucky I throw it up. When not I suffer for 3 days afterwards, maybe 4. Oddly no problem with tylenol even though it's chemically similar.

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Right. Many are allergic; too bad, because
Dec 25, 2014 2:00PM PST

it's the gold standard for ordinary pain and inflammation relievers. I don't recall the chemistry of Tylenol, but I believe it is different and doesn't help inflammation.
Anyway, aspirin is a blood thinner, which is why "baby aspirin" is recommended for some at risk for clots and stroke. I used to take it because of my age, being careful to list it on my Medical Directive, but I stopped when CDC released newer information. Risk the same, reward for my class is less.

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Two basic ways painkillers work
Dec 25, 2014 6:22PM PST

One type actually blocks pain and the other just raises one's threshold tolerance. Aspirin and Tylenol are used for both that and for fever reduction. Tylenol, in larger doses, can cause liver damage and aspirin can affect clotting. Name your poison. My doctor has me taking the 81 mg maintenance dose to help reduce the possibility of stroke and heart attacks that come with aging. She says it's shown to be somewhat beneficial to men but not as helpful to women. Go figure. I don't know why the 81 mg is such a magic number but I do know that the cost per pill is much greater than the higher dosage pills. Go figure that as well. I don't know why I can't just get the 200 mg size, break them in half and sand off part of the edge to bring it closer to 81...or just take the 100 mg 6 days a week and take Sunday off. Happy

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Or...
Dec 30, 2014 7:17AM PST

grind 'em up and repackage. Except the stress from that would give you...

81 mg is called baby aspirin because it suits their body weight, except: Never give aspirin to babies! I used to get mine from Costco; cheaper.
What the CDC said recently is that it's of little value to men who have never had heart or clottting problems. Same risk, less benefit.

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BTW if all you had was vomiting, you
Dec 25, 2014 2:02PM PST

dodged a big bullet. The reaction can kill. Happy

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I suppose it could get that bad
Dec 25, 2014 2:36PM PST

It makes you like someone that's autistic for a few days. Everything is "too much". Noises are too loud, smells too strong, food tastes are too strong, you want to stay inside from the sun, you want to be left alone, an odd feeling for sure.

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I remember you! You're a punch line!
Dec 30, 2014 7:19AM PST

'Doc, it hurts when I do this.'
'Then don't do that!'
Happy

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Followed by
Dec 30, 2014 7:26AM PST
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(NT) Good page!
Dec 30, 2014 10:31AM PST
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Don't you love when they talk about side effects,
Dec 26, 2014 2:07AM PST

one of them is death?

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I love it more when some lawyer's TV commercial
Dec 26, 2014 3:10AM PST

ask you to call them if either a loved one or yourself has suffered injury or death from some medicine. Calling from the grave here...can you get me some money? Happy

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Like Steve's comment:
Dec 30, 2014 7:20AM PST

'Be sure to call your doctor if you die.'

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No...call your lawyer first
Dec 30, 2014 7:57AM PST

Your lawyer will get his people to contact your doctor. I love it when TV commercials ask something like "Have you been hurt in an accident? If so, call this number first." (law firm # goes here) Wait a minute, shouldn't you be calling for an ambulance rather than an ambulance chaser?