Blood donation (Read 966 times)

For those who have donated blood- how long before you feel back to normal. It's been a few weeks for me and I have been experiencing less stamina. Any experience with this? Just curious.

I was going to give blood the other day until I found out it would take 6 weeks to recover the red blood cells lost through donation. Considering this is what carries the oxygen through your body if you arer running "a pint low" then your running on that much lees O2. Or something to that effect. I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on tv. I'm sure if you googled the subject you'd get a much better explaination.

If you drink a lot, then you'll be back before you know it. I take a day off after donating, and then feel sluggish for a day, but after that, I feel as good as new.

At this stage, I would not think the bllod donation (unless it was the double red cell donation mentioned in the other thread) should be affecting you. I only had one blood donation that really floored me. It was my first time and my arm was burning the whole time, plus the blood was dripping out really slowly.I'd have several vials of blood taken for tests before that didn't hurt like that. I asked several times for them to look at my arm and they just kept saying the first time hurts a little more and it's different than drwing blood for a test.. I fainted right after, and was woozy for two days. Didn't give blood for three years. The second time, I explained how bad my first experience was to the red cross nurse. She immediately said they'd missed inserting the needle correctly. She very gently inserted the needle and I was fine. I donated about 12 pints after that (regularly every two months.) I didn't run at the time, but went off and swam 50 lengths the next morning with no bother. They wouldn't take my blood though any more. I come from Northern Ireland and they are worried about Mad Cow Disease. I asked if they could label it just for UK ex-pats but no, that would be too complicated to keep track of, and they can't use any of the constituant parts either. I liked the feeling of helping someone out and contributing to the bank if I needed it.

I love this site. The Red Cross has been calling me, asking me to donate, and I've been wondering how it would affect my running, and here is all this great info. I have been turned away several times in the past because of borderline levels - good enough for living, not high enough to give away - and I know I usually feel really tired for a couple weeks after I donate. The vampires like my kind of blood, though, so I think I'm just going to try to fit it in after my up-and-coming first 5K. I'm trying to remember to take my multivitamin with iron so I'm tanked up before I donate.

Well, we didn't actually have infected cows in Northern Ireland but it is part of the UK and as such I'm excluded. I always brought meat from local source butchers. But, if I was a bred and born US citizen and I or my kid got sickand I suspected donated blood, I can see where saying we allowed vegetarians and some other exceptions from the UK give blood would infuriate me. Interestingly, my husband is a vegetarian and we eat no meat at home. Our iron levels are always very high when we give blood (or when I did give blood.)

Ticks off my friend that they wont take hers. She is from the UK, but she is 42 now and she has been vegetarian since she was 13.

I am in the same boat. I have not eaten meat for 21 years, but spent 9 months in France about 15 years ago. So they won't take my blood.

i can't donate blood over here either - same reason.