Donating Blood. How long does it take to recover

[SirEddy]

I always used to regularly donate blood but have fallen out of the habit in recent times.

I thought about starting it again, if only because they tell you your haematocrit % (at least I think they do) which could be useful to know, but also because I may need some extra blood one of these days so had better make sure I do my bit to help the cause.

The problem is that a friend of mine who is a Nurse, reckons it takes about a month to recover from physically. Is that true?

Thanks

[asphaltdude]

I heard somewhere that it takes 6 weeks until your hematocrit level is back to normal....

[efahl]

That six weeks sounds about right. I used to get colds every time I gave blood so I stopped, then a friend of mine that works for American Red Cross told me that I shouldn't bother anyhow as they ended up tossing out AB because it is almost never used.

[Ypsylon]

a friend of mine that works for American Red Cross told me that I shouldn't bother anyhow as they ended up tossing out AB because it is almost never used.

Lucky you!

I've got 0 with all minor letters and negative whatever those monkeys are called and even more negative what do I know, and I'm told to be the perfect donator. So at least in fall and winter I do donate, even though I can forget about real training.

Very slow riding is ok, but I have to be very careful and eat smaller amounts but more frequently and regularly while riding or I'll have to stop and wait to recover. If you donate the first time or after a larger break make sure to go riding with a (very patient) friend for the next couple of days. That's what I'd recommend.

[toofine]

Who are you donating to?? Floyd? Tyler?

[Ypsylon]

Who are you donating to?? Floyd? Tyler?

LJ

[RTW]

..

[Ypsylon]

http://fairwheelbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1729



My bet. Besides not being funny it was probably impossible to get my "joke" for anyone not located in my mind. Sorry about that. I apologize. But that won't keep me from donating!

[Irish]

In the late eighties I gave blood the morning of a race. I drank plenty of water during the day and felt ok in the race until about 2 laps to go when I made a big effort to get to the front for the finale, I suddenly felt all "floaty" & started seeing stars.I eased up & managed to finish the race but was F@#*^D for 3 days afterward.NOT RECOMMENDED

[therkildsen]

You hematocrit will recover quickly (about 2weeks). Actully there have described some kind of supercompensation after donating blood ( slightly increased performance 2-3 weeks later)

Who are you donating to?? Floyd? Tyler?

or maybe just himself...

[iliveonnitro]

I donated 2 days ago, took the next day off, and rode 37mi today and felt pretty good. I drank lots of water and ate red meat and stuff with iron and vitamin B in it.

I never felt dizzy or anything despite some hard efforts, but I do feel extraordinarily hungry.

It will take 56 days to recover all of your red blood cells. It doesn't have much impact on training, but it does on racing.