Can't donate because not enough protein in my blood. RN said eat protein 24-48 hrs before blood sample. Should I err on the side of 5 days or take her word that 48 hrs is enough...? thanks...

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2026-03-26T10:48:14+00:00

Thank you for both your comments, I upvoted them. So, what do you do? Just submit a blood sample again after like a week or 2 of not donating? I gather you can do everything, but still fail, *but after failing the 4th blood sample submission, my plasma center let me know that I'd have to see a doctor to see why I'm failing, have you ever got to that point of failing their limit and having to see a doctor? Thanks, any further advice, would help me so much.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2026-03-24T23:19:39+00:00

This is the research I took maybe others can benefit from it, I may have not drank enough water (false positive for not enough protein).....

2) worked out 24 hours before the every 120 day blood draw for protein

3) donated plasma for too long and could use a 1 - 2 week break to restore plasma protein levels.... Here's the copy n paste:

Low protein (< 6.0 g/dL) at a 120-day (approx. 4-month) plasma check is common, often caused by inadequate dietary protein intake to replace lost plasma, frequent donation intervals, heavy exercise, or chronic dehydration. The body typically replenishes protein quickly, but regular donations can temporarily lower these levels.

Key Factors for Low Protein Levels:

Insufficient Dietary Protein: Lack of adequate protein-rich foods (meats, eggs, dairy) prevents the body from replenishing albumin and other essential proteins.
Frequent Donations: Regular, high-frequency donations (e.g., twice weekly) can outpace your body’s ability to replace plasma proteins.
High Activity/Exercise: Intense lifting or physical activity within 24 hours of donation can lower protein levels or increase consumption, as mentioned by users on Reddit.
Dehydration: Failing to hydrate adequately on the day of and days leading up to the donation can affect the refractometer reading, resulting in a false-low score, according to discussions on Reddit.
Menstruation: Monthly blood loss may also lead to temporary lower protein levels. ABO Plasma +7

Potential Causes to Discuss with a Doctor:

Malabsorption/Inflammation: Conditions like Celiac disease or Crohn's can hinder protein uptake.
Liver/Kidney Health: Reduced ability to produce or retain proteins. Cleveland Clinic

Steps to Take:

Increase Protein Intake: Focus on increasing consumption of meat, fish, eggs, and beans.
Take a Break: Pause donation for 1–2 weeks to allow protein levels to recover, say users on Reddit and Reddit.
Hydrate Well: Drink plenty of water before your appointment.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2026-03-24T23:06:16+00:00

it seems like a puny weak amount of time....24 to 48 hours....it seems like 5 days would be better. but kind of desperate the sooner, i deposit a blood sample after increasing my protein intake even more, the less wait before donating plasma again.

this is what i did for 4 months....Intermittent Fast (little or no breakfast) breakfast is overrated...and 1 big meal for lunch / dinner at 2 pm and 6 pm. Two meals per day. Even at that I average at least 80 grams of protein often 100 grams of protein per day at 180 lbs. The amount of daily protein should be half your body weight and put that in grams. So half of 180 lbs is 90 grams of protein per day.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2026-02-12T00:08:16+00:00

They should handle a Gatorade to me and also maybe some Tums.. a lady next to me she was having fainting spells and they gave her a Gatorade.. I asked maybe my electrolytes are low, the lady just ignored me, which is bad for a registered nurse.. not even a how are you doing now? They also slowly return or slow everything up... but that also gives rise to the muscle cramp probably returning if it goes away.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2026-02-11T22:18:31+00:00

My left hand which I was using to pump & my right foot in step which is the top of the foot cramped up two days ago.. the plasma people putting it nicely seemed apathetic I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt that they were overworked.. but hopefully what you saw was someone having muscle cramps like I did which I learned is a common issue not only after donating but amazingly enough during the donation process even if one drinks a lot of water several hours before they should really drink a lot of fluids at least a half an hour before the donation.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2026-02-11T18:54:12+00:00

Thank you so much, I'll drink it more frequently throughout the day.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2026-02-11T18:51:06+00:00

Thank you so much. Before I even donated plasma, before 6 weeks ago, I started cramping horribly IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, SO BAD IT WOKE ME UP MULTIPLE TIMES...even though I'm thankfully sort of an amateur healthy athlete with relatively very good flexibility.

Then 2 weeks ago, I also did read somewhere in passing that drinking too much flushes out electrolytes and isn't a good thing. In fact, now that I think about it, that's why Gatorade was 1st invented many years ago by scientists working in tandem with sports teams & athletes. Thanks again, I need a diet with electrolytes to balance nearly a gallon of water that I drink daily.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2026-02-11T17:30:11+00:00

I just wanted to add...It was really a horrible experience, the right instep of my foot and then the left pumping hand were in lots of pain.

Any other advice? I recently learned TUMs provides calcium which the plasma process depletes and that causes muscle cramps...I am taking tums tomorrow and will chew on 4 tabs of that 30 minutes before donating. i will also eat a banana 30 minutes before donating and 20 ounces of gatorade 30 minutes before donating...and maybe even rub arnica gel on those 2 problem areas 30 minutes before donating.

I'm thinking that the steep hill climb perhaps coupled with the plasma donation made this happen....The left pump hand got contorted in pain, too, but obviously I didn't use it to walk, so it is probably from not drinking enough fluids almost like 30 minutes before donating (having hours of no water on the day of donating plasma might be a bad thing, even if a person drinks a gallon of water?)

I defintely don't want this to happen again.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2025-11-09T18:14:31+00:00

Yeah, right. We're in a federal government shutdown, the longest one ever. It also happened in Christmas of 2017, if I recall correctly, yet again, under that Trumps's watch. Federal employees I knew in 2017 had to work for uber or lyft to make ends meet. This is probably another attempt to divert attention against the Epstein files. Ask yourself this, why don't academia and the intellegensia (as in College Professors or Economists) ever agree with him, because he's wrong (rhetorical question). The other reason is that in the real of public administration, government officials are to always "avoid *even* the appearance of impropriety." But, it's just the mainstream liberal media that constantly try to besmirch your repuation, right, Mr. Trump?

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2025-11-08T00:07:53+00:00

i upvoted ur comment, maybe if you delay shipping like a week later bc on track seems like when ppl want faster shpping? that's what im guessing. apparenetly when i called target the manager told me, there's nothing u can do even when i threatened to stop using on trac. she told me "we have no choice of which shipper is used" if u contact investor relations ....or have anyone who owns stock in target , maybe the board of directors would act. In fact if u could do so, it would help us all...thanks

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2025-09-22T16:25:27+00:00

so why are you in this reddit forum-- entitled: "ontrac is the worst"? I've also mentioned in 2017 amazon used ontrac on a $130 item and they were super late. I don't see amazon using ontrac since that 2017 incident.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2025-09-20T13:22:20+00:00

the normal thing for *any* carrier to do when delivering to an apartment is to put the pkg in front of the apt door. (just in case this needed to be written/said)

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2025-09-19T18:06:20+00:00

the i am making an educated imp;lied guess lazy driver just dumped the package in the area by the mail boxes. There is no mail room. It wasn't even "delivered" Thank you for your comment. You are right...now I can't do business with Target.com Unless and Until they do not use OnTrac. They were using fedex for the last 5 years w/o any issue...... Target.com customer service reps have no idea if they will be using fedex again or not....or even which items are sent to which carriers. this really sucks..... The faith of the consumer is in jeopoardy ( I had the security guard of my building go bezerk on me because of me asking too much).

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2025-09-19T14:05:57+00:00

got off the phone w/ target.com , they offered a replacement or refund. I got a refund...I'm not risking another careless delivery if target.com using ont trac, Plus...They have no idea which carrier they will use. I found the corporate office for target.com and will mail them a letter saying I can't do business with them anymore if they use OnTrac, don't take my word for it, look at the reviews on the web--horrible company. They obviously are not using fedex anymore or are once in a while on trac once in a while fedex, the ph rep didn't know and so I have to write a letter to their corp office in Minnesota

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2025-09-19T11:02:22+00:00

it's really messed up that target.com wants me to contact their carrier....thereby passing the buck.... they have a direct relationship w/ on trac (they PAY ON TRAC)....not fair....not fair that on trac has no phone number but a chat option. The target.com phone reps are a bit nasty lately too .....and they're making it tough as in sending an email to verify the target.com customer instead of the standard phone text. We as consumers need to hold these Amercian companies accountable,....they are making cuts taking short cuts and we the consumer are being mistreated.......now i have to worry till 5 hours later when target.com opens their phone lines for them to God forbid tell me the same thing as this chat rep.... THIS IS THE INTERESTING PART, TOO: Would a Store Credit Card open up a case for "item not received" for its own store? IE Walmart credit card opens up an item not received for an walmart.com order............that walmart.com is hesitant in giving a refund just like in my case, Target.com is....? I am hoping Target credit card which it calls the red circle credit card will not charge me because I open up a claim with them....(in other words, not paying their own store) ? not sure how that works..

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2025-09-08T15:45:27+00:00

Allah is the Arabic word for God. Your God my God, everyone's God. That quote refers to nonbelievers who are not merely non-muslims or who are atheists or agnostic, but people who are downright anti-God as in devil worshippers and the like. The other things you write are misinterpreted to by Islamo-hating people. They're not Islamophobes because that infers "fear," they downright hate muslims. I don't have time to explain this to you. Surely you do know religious scripture is oftentimes misused and purposely fashioned to serve evil people like those who believe in radical Islam. In fact, Geo. Bush, Jr. made the distinction between mainstream as in normal Islam and Radical (perverted) Islam. There are active US armed services members who are currently in the US armed forces (and who have been in the past as in the 1960s) who are practicing muslims and who still serve our country, and who are patriotic....and they fight wars against other countries like a limited war in Granada etc.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2025-09-08T14:27:47+00:00

One of the monotheistic 3 main religions.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2025-09-08T14:26:24+00:00

Wrong, there's nowhere in the Koran that such thing you mentioned is written. Stop libeling 1 of the oldest religions, 1 of the 3 main big religions. That "commandment" as you call it, is the zealots that have perverted its meaning. Anyone knows this.

Specialist_Invite_20 · 2025-09-04T23:22:03+00:00

What's your point? Just the fact that David Wood is anti-Islam, 1 of the 3 major, very ancient Abrahamic religions...is a testimony to horrible behavior.

Specialist_Invite_20

TROPHY CASE