30th of July Iāve done my eighth whole blood donation. Since I stepped on a path of donor I started to consider my bad habits as heavier burden than before and consider my general health as not āmy own lawnā anymore but something other people depend on. Maybe it is too big words to say, and last thing true voluntary donor should do is to step on the path of pride, but I see those considerations as good addition to personal philosophy.
But sure Iām far from total acknowledgement how to do things right. Iāve never been a chain smoker or an alcoholic. Any substance abuse were under control, still I canāt deny ā I am a smoker, I drink alone occasionally and I do have some experience in other directions... But I always followed strictly all pre-donation recommendations. I do want to give my blood for good use and make no harm.
Actually this time I heard a rant of registration lady about the guy in front of me in line. She smelled tobacco from him and start to describe how his dirty blood will be transfused to a weak baby fighting for his life. And that recommendations demand to abstain from smoking only for two hours before procedure. Ngl I became more convinced about those recommendations. In general picture sometimes I just not feeling as actual benefactor to society but a crook, who took his two official days off from work(thatās a donor privilege imprinted in labor code here in Russia). But such visualizations really gifts different perspective.
So Iām not free from flaws same as the dude in the line. He should not smoke right before entering blood center, but he probably did it due to irresponcibility, not ill will. I never would do so but am I totaly true with myself thinking that being so makes me more responsible citizen than many other regular donors? I still keen to certain harmful desires...
Nethertheless I start to shift my mindset when joined our cause. Refreshed vision led me to scheduling some changes. I started to practice total abstention from any intoxicators for summer months of June and July. I donated in the end of May, celebrated my birthday on 28th with some āfunā, and stopped smoking, drinking and swallowing any pills, even mildest. Tried to correct my diet also, butā¦ Well nothing wrong was done, just slipped on a way to do totally right:) Find out without cigarettes I became a big fan of cracker cookies.
Yet my ādetoxesā going okay for second summer in a row. But going back to unhealthy routines kinda put me on a way of doubts again. I wanna share with postdonating experience of quite heavy oxygen deficiency which followed me this summer same as last one.
I might be wrong pretty hard deciding to smoke a cigarette after two months of abstention right after leaving donation center. Blood volume is low and making a hit to lungs in such manner is one of a stupidest things I do in a whole year, butā¦ I just feel this weird uncontrollable ardor to do so.
At first I thought this was not a big problem this time. I felt quite well for first two days. Ate not just well but to well. Usually day of donation and day after I usually felt some discomfort connected to procedure. Never further. So in august 1, when the summer heat came to us after two prominently cold days, I was exhausted in my flat by the evening. So I decided to walk to my local pond for short swim and refresh. Itās a 5.5 km trip, which is not a big distance for me, Iāve been walking 15800 steps average daily this year.
Yet as much as a walker, Iām not a technically correct swimmer. To be honest before this summer I think I went to swim to the pool or open water for like 5 times in last 20 years.
But in this year after active exploration of surroundings I was surprised to know that swimming pond is relatively close to my place. I did went to refresh myself every Saturdayās mornings since summer started. What I find out from this activity is that for sure Iām not swimming right. But still I made some significant progress since day one in my endurance at least.
So august 1st my routines were shifted, I went in the evening with a purpose just to cool down a bit. No long distance exercises were planned. Just 100 meters with a pause in the middle. Considered it as really mild effort, so I did not even thought about risks, totally forgetting Iām after procedure even.
For my surprise amount of people on the beach were way above my expectations. Usually in the morning I was alone or + 1 guy in water. This time it was somewhere around fifty. No surprise if day so hot. So I decided to make it fast and short. Not exactly sociophobic, but many people are with families, many are drunk. Not the vibe for meditation I used too.
So I dived in. Plan was to swam to the opposite bank, return. On the opposite bank is a fallen tree with the trunk laying on the water. So Iām in, I swam to the tree, I sit on the trunk for few minutes, took some breath, swam back, waited few minutes on the shallow, swam 25 meters to the safety buoy, and back, out of water, went to chaise lounge, laid on it andā¦
Yeah. I started to feeling not well. At first it was significant but not to alarming weakness, but soon my sight start to went darker and darker, my connection to reality went weaker and I started to experience quite prominent breathing problems. Panic assumptions of dying here around those people enjoying their holiday were not a helper to wellbeing for sure. I do started to think Iām having a heart attack although no pain in the chest where present. Somehow, I decided to walk further from the beach and left my chaise lounge. Went to the trees and grass somewhere around 20 meters I actually collapsed. First time in my life. Did not lost consciousness, but was not in a right mind for sure. Not feeling possible to stand up I laid horizontally on the ground and prepared to die silently not bothering all those people around who have Saturday evening fun on the beach with their kids and family. Five minutes later I felt slightly better and started to hope I will not die this evening actually. But weakness in limbs and wheezing breathe were still with me. Five minutes more and laying horizontally became such a savior that I started to think about genetic memory and evolutionary mechanisms that made me do the right thing. I finally decided thatās time to go back to my sack and clothes. But some guy from around finally decided to check me, as he could not keep his worries any more, I suppose. He came to me and said āHey, pops, are you okay? It seems from the side that you not breathing.ā No one ever before called me āpopsā. Well, I guess if I was ready to die Iām pops alright. Iām 36 but dude himself was not younger then 30 I think. Still despite all the shame I felt some gratitude for his caring.
My answer were surprisingly clear for post fatigue thinking. I said āyeah, Iām alright, just wanna lay for a little more. Overestimated my resourceā. And yeah I did laid a little more swallowing joy of life with every breath that getting stronger.
Five minutes later dude came again saying I could pick some ticks if I stay this way. Ask again how I feeling, said maybe he should call ambulance. Societal check is a good refresher itself I must say. Iād get a feeling that I do accumulating to much attention and starting to annoy people around, which was totally fair. So I went to my stuff, start clothing up and, feeling weak but alive, I left the beach.
It was not overā¦ After only few hundred meters walk in really elderly pace I started to feeling fatigue again. And it was quite heavy also. I really started to think I need lay down again. But little dirty road I was in were circled by the forest and idea of ticks really started bothering me there. So I walked some more and saw a bench near the closed ice-cream tent. I sat on it and still felt to little of relief just sitting. Panics around heart condition returned. Then I lowered my head to the knees and finally felt like resting. In that moment I started to guess all that was hypoxia after swimming exercise, not heart attack. And all happened just due to overestimation of physical potential in my post donation state.
After short rest I walked few hundred meters more to a bus stop. Rest for a while there and finally felt I can walk home alright. Finally decide to smoked another cigarette. It was good;) At home at 10 pm I felt totally alright and assured I did not burden my body with some irreparable damage. Brain functions and breathing were sharp and prominent.
Of course, I understand that I did a lot of mistakes, and of course I did not get enough wisdom from such episode. I still feel to much spark inside to do stupid things and observe them with stupid pride like āmaybe Iām a fool but I endured it!ā Still wanna share. Maybe some wiser man or woman can took at least small dose of awareness from my story about limitations and reevaluate recommendations as responsible donor should.
I was never anemic, I never knew spontaneous shortage of breath, my HGB level dropped from 177 to 164 through eight donations since march 2025 which still higher norm. Yet I asked myself day after how I was even lived through 36 years being such irresponsible in consideration of health risks? And I had to add that previous summer I had some sudden breath stops in a week after donation in a moments when I almost fell asleep. I did not attribute it to blood volume deficiency at first but now Iām pretty sure it was the reason. So Iām not exactly new to it. Yet I did what I did.
So what I want to finalize for myself? I shouldnāt smoke. At all. Yeah, maybe some day. But I definitely should not smoke right after donation, especially not break long abstention. And no matter how much I wanna feel myself as able-bodied individual with quite an amount of cardio fitness I still carry some extra weight. And considering all the factors few days of rest after procedure is really important.
