Even though my hemoglobin has always been fine, my ferritin levels won't recover if I donate more than 1-2x per year (with no supplementation). YMMV.
For an even larger (and head-scratching) price discrepancy, check how much Quest charges for the same blood tests through their direct-to-consumer business...
I had my serum ferritin checked a few years back, and it was, I recall, 263, indicating an abundance of stored iron in my cells. That the iron isn't being turned into adequate amounts of hemoglobin and red blood cells is likely at least part of the reason the ferritin is that high.
The last time I tried to donate blood, I was rejected for being anemic. Seven years later, I still am, but mine doesn't seem to have much to do with iron.
I didn't realize fasting insulin is that cheap to test. I'd been led to believe it was a lot more.
I did install the app, and it said my hemoglobin was 12.8. That is within the general range it's been in the last five years, but on the higher end. It's possible my current thyroid treatment is pushing it up a little, but more testing and data will be required.
Back when I lived in Asia, I was told that my (foreigner) blood would be kept separate from their precious indigenous blood and only offered to foreigners.
In the not too distant future, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of people will die when wet bulb temperatures exceed the inability to sweat. Those limits are being approached in many areas of SE Asia where AC is spotty. Even now, if there is a grid collapse in the American SE (Florida, Mississippi etc) due to hurricane, and people loose access to AC it will be pretty grim. Good health relies on ecosystem services: pollination and food growing, clean water cycling, clean air, and temperature regulation. The last super El Nino in the 1870s killed estimated 50 million due to drought and famine and this super el Nino shapig up to be worse. We are increasingly moving away from more stable norms to dangerous spikes which threaten to become our new norm.
Thanks for reading — I really appreciate your comments. As a personal scientist, I always ask how do you know that? Whether it’s about Goodlabs (how do I know their results are correct?) or about weather deaths in Europe, I want to know where the numbers come from. If AP News says people died from heat (as opposed to other causes), how do they know? Of course death is a serious matter and shouldn’t be trivialized, which is all the more reason we should be as precise as we can about the true causes. I thought the Trust the Evidence post was another reminder that the truth is often more complicated than the headlines.
That is much cheaper! Thank you for the recommendation!
Even though my hemoglobin has always been fine, my ferritin levels won't recover if I donate more than 1-2x per year (with no supplementation). YMMV.
For an even larger (and head-scratching) price discrepancy, check how much Quest charges for the same blood tests through their direct-to-consumer business...
...and I don't even want to think about how much Quest bills my insurance for these tests.
I had my serum ferritin checked a few years back, and it was, I recall, 263, indicating an abundance of stored iron in my cells. That the iron isn't being turned into adequate amounts of hemoglobin and red blood cells is likely at least part of the reason the ferritin is that high.
The last time I tried to donate blood, I was rejected for being anemic. Seven years later, I still am, but mine doesn't seem to have much to do with iron.
I didn't realize fasting insulin is that cheap to test. I'd been led to believe it was a lot more.
There's an app that uses your camera to check for anaemia: https://x.com/sprague/status/1685709901279240192?s=20. (I see it's since been renamed Ruby)
I did install the app, and it said my hemoglobin was 12.8. That is within the general range it's been in the last five years, but on the higher end. It's possible my current thyroid treatment is pushing it up a little, but more testing and data will be required.
Tracy, the last time I tried to donate blood, I was rejected for being British. Something to do with mad cow disease I was told.
Back when I lived in Asia, I was told that my (foreigner) blood would be kept separate from their precious indigenous blood and only offered to foreigners.
At least they were okay about accepting your red stuff.
Thanks for the heads up on GoodLabs. Looks good, as the name implies. I do think your tone about heat related deaths is somewhat trivializing. I have been following the news from Banda, India in Utter Pradesh. They routinely get temps like 118'F. Hundreds if not thousands of people have died. https://apnews.com/article/hottest-city-india-heat-banda-climate-change-d090f23b5b6a30fdde339a656e7ceddf
In the not too distant future, hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of people will die when wet bulb temperatures exceed the inability to sweat. Those limits are being approached in many areas of SE Asia where AC is spotty. Even now, if there is a grid collapse in the American SE (Florida, Mississippi etc) due to hurricane, and people loose access to AC it will be pretty grim. Good health relies on ecosystem services: pollination and food growing, clean water cycling, clean air, and temperature regulation. The last super El Nino in the 1870s killed estimated 50 million due to drought and famine and this super el Nino shapig up to be worse. We are increasingly moving away from more stable norms to dangerous spikes which threaten to become our new norm.
Thanks for reading — I really appreciate your comments. As a personal scientist, I always ask how do you know that? Whether it’s about Goodlabs (how do I know their results are correct?) or about weather deaths in Europe, I want to know where the numbers come from. If AP News says people died from heat (as opposed to other causes), how do they know? Of course death is a serious matter and shouldn’t be trivialized, which is all the more reason we should be as precise as we can about the true causes. I thought the Trust the Evidence post was another reminder that the truth is often more complicated than the headlines.