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Giving blood
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 2011-01-21 4:41 PM |
Regular  157  |  Subject: Giving bloodI have always been one to give blood and plasma. I have never done it while training, however, and wonder if anyone can speak to this. Obviously the week of a race would be a bad idea, but in general what's the consensus? |
| 2011-01-21 5:49 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
| Subject: RE: Giving blood I have only given blood...never done the plasma. Generally I stay away from running or biking within 24 hours. The only thing I may do is light ST or maybe an easy swim. After 24 hours, I barely notice the difference. But then again, I have not tried to do a high volume training week after giving blood. I'm mostly in a down part of training if I do decide to give. A lot of other factors come into play. Weight primarily. People that weigh more, have more blood. And one pint is a smaller percentage of their body's total blood. Hydrating and eating well before and after giving blood will also make a big difference. Many people ignore the before part. |
| 2011-01-21 5:59 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Champion 5781   Northridge, California | Subject: RE: Giving blood I have been having frequent therapeutic blood withdrawals (for hemochromatosis) for about two years--1 unit withdrawn with 1/2 unit fluid replaced every two weeks for 12 weeks while I'm being treated--and have trained throughout. As with a previous poster, I generally don't workout afterward, but I generally do go back to training within 12-24 hours. Had one withdrawal done the week of my last sprint tri in 2010 (5 1/2 days before the race)...never thought twice about doing that and had an AG podium finish. To be on the safe side, I do try to avoid starting a 12 week cycle at a time that would coincide with an IM or marathon. Otherwise, I've never had any adverse effects (although having the partial IV fluid replacement obviously speeds up the blood volume replenishment time vs. just having a withdrawal). |
| 2011-01-21 6:46 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Extreme Veteran 454 Torrance/Carson | Subject: RE: Giving blood I try to donate regularly and recently I used the Alyx aphresis machine, which takes a double dose of red blood cells. It depends on how hard a workout you're doing and other factors, but I found that when I regularly donate I'm usually fine within 24 hours. With Alyx you might want to be more careful. I had one of my worst runs ever after doing it, but that could have been attributed to other things as well. I fast almost every Monday, so that along with Alyx might had made me feel crappy. |
| 2011-01-22 11:07 AM in reply to: #3314220 |
| 25 | Subject: RE: Giving blood I have given double red blood cells since I'm O neg. I tried working out the next day and my aerobic performance had tanked. My wife told me to drink some chloropyll mixed with water since it boosts red blood cell production. Within 2-3 days, my aerobic performance was back to normal. |
| 2011-01-22 8:51 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Extreme Veteran 694 | Subject: RE: Giving blood I give blood as well (B Positive, Negative Antigen (good for sick people)). I do not do any aerobic training for at least two days afterward and have had no problems at all. |
| 2011-01-22 9:50 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Expert 774 | Subject: RE: Giving blood I am well off my top performance for 1 - 2 weeks after a 1-unit blood donation and for over a month after an ALYX donation. I would definitely not do it within a couple of months of any upcoming event. |
| 2011-01-22 11:00 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Expert 1557 Austin, TX | Subject: RE: Giving blood I donate every few months and I try to limit my workouts for 24-72hrs afterwards. It usually takes 2-4 days for me to be back to normal. It actually hits me pretty hard and a few times I have gotten sick right after a donation. I would suggest not donating for 2-3 weeks before a race. I would try to schedule it for my recovery week about 3-4 weeks out from a race. I usually try to plan it for the week or two after a race is scheduled if I can. PS - A big thanks for donating! I really wish more people would do it. |
| 2011-01-22 11:28 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
| Expert 732 | Subject: RE: Giving blood Oy...I wish I could give blood but I just don't react to it well. Have given it twice and when I thought I was ready to stand up I wasn't and just crashed back down and started sweating/breathing heavily then took me an hour to even stand up. The second time I fainted in the blood donation area they had set up inside the hospital. I'm not doing it again unless there's a serious problem with the blood supply. |
| 2011-01-23 6:06 PM in reply to: #3315926 |
Master 2638 | Subject: RE: Giving blood JG_GreenCoast - 2011-01-23 12:28 AM Oy...I wish I could give blood but I just don't react to it well. Have given it twice and when I thought I was ready to stand up I wasn't and just crashed back down and started sweating/breathing heavily then took me an hour to even stand up. The second time I fainted in the blood donation area they had set up inside the hospital. I'm not doing it again unless there's a serious problem with the blood supply. That happens to me every time. You need to hydrate and fuel before you go (as the other poster above mentioned, it is very important to be hydrated). For example, if you go on lunch hour, eat before the donation. If you feel woozy, stay lying down and don't get up until you feel better. The blood services folks will bring you a damp cloth for your neck and apple juice to bring up your sugars if you ask for them. They don't want you to pass out either. |
| 2011-01-23 7:20 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Veteran 429 | Subject: RE: Giving blood I am a student who will be graduating from nursing school this summer. Oxygen is transported through our blood to wherever it needs to be. It rides on hemoglobin which is on red blood cells. When you give blood, you are losing these red blood cells. Therefore, you are losing your oxygen carrying capacity and as a result will not perform as well when it comes to aerobic activity or recovery for that matter. While you will probably feel better within a few days of giving blood, it actually takes your body up to a month to fully replace the blood that was lost. Everyone reacts differently to giving blood. Some people faint, while others (usually larger people who have more blood to start with) feel just fine. I have only given blood once and I couldn't run for about a week. When I would try I would not be able to catch my breath. |
| 2011-01-23 8:10 PM in reply to: #3315849 |
Master 3205 ann arbor, michigan | Subject: RE: Giving blood greyg8r - 2011-01-22 10:50 PM I am well off my top performance for 1 - 2 weeks after a 1-unit blood donation and for over a month after an ALYX donation. I would definitely not do it within a couple of months of any upcoming event. My performances suffer for at least a couple of weeks after every donation. I was in the middle of a series of "performance rides" the last time I donated. For about 10 days after my sustainable watts decreased and my heart rate increased at the lower watt level. It was very discouraging but now three weeks out I am back to baseline or perhaps even better. My run pace also suffered. I always tell people that to me, it feels like training at altitude for a couple of weeks after a blood donation. My only question is; if in the long term you can get adaptation and see benefits from training with lower blood counts? Kind of like how people move to boulder to train. It would be an interesting experiment. Maybe it has already been done. Kind of like reverse blood doping? |
| 2011-01-23 8:46 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Veteran 490 Dallas | Subject: RE: Giving blood kirbde - 2011-01-21 4:41 PM I have always been one to give blood and plasma. I have never done it while training, however, and wonder if anyone can speak to this. Obviously the week of a race would be a bad idea, but in general what's the consensus? I give blood every 3 months. I've given and trained the same day and never had a problem. |
| 2011-01-24 8:46 AM in reply to: #3314220 |
Extreme Veteran 503 Central Iowa | Subject: RE: Giving blood I've never carried a very heavy training load, so perhaps my story isn't relevant. I did a sprint tri on Sunday, August 29. Moday morning, I gave blood in the company blood drive. Moday on my lunch, I went for a 2 mile walk. Wednesday, I resumed my normal training. Saturday, I went for a 50 mile bike ride with my husband. I weigh about 130 pounds. |
| 2011-01-24 8:51 AM in reply to: #3314220 |
| 53 | Subject: RE: Giving blood I wait until the week after a race when I know I'll have a break. It's like of like a gift to society after having a successful race experience! I love donating blood and plasma, but as athletes we already put our bodies through so much. Why give up a pint of blood while training hard? Plan your blood donations strategically so that it doesn't hurt your body or feel like a burden!  If it doesn't affect your training/performance you'll be more likely to keep donating! |
| 2011-01-24 5:18 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Elite 3488 Lakewood, CO | Subject: RE: Giving blood I am back to training the next day, but usually notice an affect on endurance/effort for about a week. As was noted above it takes a while for your body to replace the Red blood cells - I usually try and do it at least 4 - 5 weeks ahead of an important race, but that is just me and my opinion. Edited by peto_primo 2011-01-24 5:20 PM |
| 2011-01-24 6:20 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Extreme Veteran 1175 Langley, BC, 'Wet Coast' Canada | Subject: RE: Giving blood I have a question for the medical / exercise physiology experts on BT. How does our body adapt to the training load, with regard to blood content? By this I mean to ask if: a) there is an actual increase in the number of red blood cells b)there is only an increase in the amount of hemoglobin c)both d)neither, as in the circ. system (simply) becomes more efficient at pumping the available oxygen-carrying blood... There just seems to be so much effort put into training and then to literally give it all away through blood donation would seem to defeat the purpose, despite the benefit to society... Is the end of a racing season the best and only time to donate if both generosity and peak performance are the goals? kelly t |
| 2011-01-24 8:13 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Master 1848 Canandaigua | Subject: RE: Giving blood |
| 2011-01-25 1:33 AM in reply to: #3314220 |
Regular 113 NYC | Subject: RE: Giving blood Just gave blood today. The day was a planned rest day, so it worked out perfectly. Tomorrow I plan to get back at it like normal. |
| 2011-01-25 7:27 AM in reply to: #3314220 |
Veteran 351 | Subject: RE: Giving blood I used to give regularly. It was never a problem, I could give and continue my training the next day. Then I lost 60lbs. Every time I tried to give blood after that, I passed out. I had to stop giving because I would pass out every single time and it could take me 2-3 hours of recovery alone before I could leave the site, and then I was out of commission for a day or two afterwards, training-wise. I'm not sure if it was the weight, or maybe since I cut back on my red meat intake (and I mean two to three times a week instead of one to two times a day) my iron dropped - I'm not sure. It is a wonderful thing to do if you can do it! I would definitely suggest at least trying it and seeing how the recovery time is for you. It really does seem to be an individual thing. |
| 2011-01-25 8:15 AM in reply to: #3314220 |
Extreme Veteran 682 Canton, MI. via Detroit | Subject: RE: Giving blood I didn't read all the above so sorry if this is a repeat. I schedule my workouts so that my rest day is the day AFTER giving blood. I do a morning workout, rest, rehydrate and donate. Then I have the night off and the whole next day. After that I'm good to go. |
| 2011-01-25 11:27 AM in reply to: #3314220 |
Master 1286 Mt Pleasant, SC | Subject: RE: Giving blood Hello Unable to give blood because I served in the US Army in Europe in 1980's. There is a chance I am infected with mad cow disease from eating UK beef which was for sale in the commissary's or was that for Chernobyl radiation. Kevin |
| 2011-01-25 12:27 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Expert 1416 San Luis Obispo, CA | Subject: RE: Giving blood Timely post! |
| 2011-01-25 12:30 PM in reply to: #3314220 |
Expert 1263 Wendell, NC | Subject: RE: Giving blood I thought this thread was going to be about a really hairy cycle wipe out...or rugby |
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