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Riding After Donating Blood

Old 06-30-21, 06:21 AM
  #1  
Rdmonster69
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Riding After Donating Blood

I donated blood at work yesterday ....I have the highly desirable type O- .

Went for a 30 mile ride after .....about 94 degrees and humid as hell. I'm usually pretty slow for the first 5 miles or so but damn !! It took a long time to worm up and feel normal. A serious head wind didn't help. I was able to settle in and had a sweet tail wind the last 15 miles or so. All in all I didn't notice a huge difference.

I know...cool story bro.

Just throwing it out for anyone concerned that donating may seriously impact their performance. I feel like the first 5 miles or so were more heat and wind related than being down a pint.
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Old 06-30-21, 06:27 AM
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I typically bike to/from the blood bank ... never had an issue. I'll take it easy on the way home, keeping heart rate under 130. Next day, treat it like a recovery rider, get miles without big efforts. I will not donate 6 week prior to a major race, and I avoid donating over the summer since I have a major event most every month ... additionally, the body produces additional blood volume in the heat to help with cooling, so donating will make it harder for the body to cool off (and I struggle in the heat).

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Old 06-30-21, 08:41 AM
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I used to give blood. At the time, I'd ride my bike 1/2 mile to/from the center and could do an easy/moderate ride the next day. I finally stopped giving when I was unable to ride until the 3rd day after. Riding too soon would make me slightly nauseous and bonk prematurely. Considering the difference that donating made, I can certainly believe how much getting extra RBCs would help a pro athlete.
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Old 06-30-21, 09:50 AM
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Did they not tell you "no strenous activity for 24 hours"? I've been donating regularly since the early 90's (closing in on 100 pints) and can't recall them ever not saying that. You're losing roughly 10% of the blood in your body and that is bound to have an effect. I do long rides on the weekends and will notice the effect of a donation up to a week afterwards. I generally do not ride for any significant distance within 2 days of donating.
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Old 06-30-21, 10:18 AM
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do the ride before you give blood. I usually feel okay the next day. Sometimes I ride the trainer after, not too hard.

Also O- I'm about due for my next donation, but they haven't sent me one of these emails yet
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Old 06-30-21, 10:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Ogsarg
Did they not tell you "no strenous activity for 24 hours"? I've been donating regularly since the early 90's (closing in on 100 pints) and can't recall them ever not saying that. You're losing roughly 10% of the blood in your body and that is bound to have an effect. I do long rides on the weekends and will notice the effect of a donation up to a week afterwards. I generally do not ride for any significant distance within 2 days of donating.
They probably did .......I've donated so much I don't really pay a ton of attention and have a fast pass that gets me right in with only BP and Crit . I would have ridden before hand if possible but couldn't and it has rained here every day for a week. Hadn't been able to ride and I had to do it. I did take it fairly easy until I got my tail wind. Felt fine afterwards. I have well over a gallon donated with the red cross !!
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Old 06-30-21, 10:42 AM
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Whole blood donations have always hit me hard for several days. But I donated platelets throughout my racing days - every two weeks. First time, the Red Cross called me at work and asked it I could leave early and do the two hour donation. It was Thursday, club race day. I said yes because my dad donated forever, had deep ties in the Boston medical community (and was in fact building bone scanners at the time). Went and did the donation. Then with bandages on both arms, rode the roughly 20 miles to the race. Felt pretty woozy at first but started feeling better. Arrived in time for the start! So I lined up. Won. Rode home. A 60+ mile day with some speed work. Wow! I can do this!

Platelets - the donations for us hardcore cyclists. Losing 5 ounces of plasma slows us down not at all! We keep all the red blood cells. (And I've received benefits I've never seen from whole blood donations - heartfelt hugs from total strangers. Those strangers were there to donate for family members going through cancer treatment. We community donors were a godsend to them.)
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Old 06-30-21, 10:57 AM
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
Whole blood donations have always hit me hard for several days. But I donated platelets throughout my racing days - every two weeks. First time, the Red Cross called me at work and asked it I could leave early and do the two hour donation. It was Thursday, club race day. I said yes because my dad donated forever, had deep ties in the Boston medical community (and was in fact building bone scanners at the time). Went and did the donation. Then with bandages on both arms, rode the roughly 20 miles to the race. Felt pretty woozy at first but started feeling better. Arrived in time for the start! So I lined up. Won. Rode home. A 60+ mile day with some speed work. Wow! I can do this!

Platelets - the donations for us hardcore cyclists. Losing 5 ounces of plasma slows us down not at all! We keep all the red blood cells. (And I've received benefits I've never seen from whole blood donations - heartfelt hugs from total strangers. Those strangers were there to donate for family members going through cancer treatment. We community donors were a godsend to them.)
I'm also a long time platelet donor. It's the way to go: keep your RBCs, still get to eat all the cookies you want.
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Old 06-30-21, 10:58 AM
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The weight loss should help you on the hills.
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Old 06-30-21, 11:02 AM
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Originally Posted by unterhausen
do the ride before you give blood. I usually feel okay the next day. Sometimes i ride the trainer after, not too hard.

Also o- i'm about due for my next donation, but they haven't sent me one of these emails yet
wth?
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Old 06-30-21, 11:17 AM
  #11  
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I'm O+, so I get the weekly bum rush from the Red Cross. 161 units donated to date. I used to donate platelets when VIrginia Blood Services was doing it. They had Trima machines. It was around 82 minutes to do a double. The Red Cross bought them out and use different machines. 2+ hours now to give platelets. Homey don't play that!(for that length of time) Back to whole blood. The only time I had a problem was right after doing a Jumbo. No energy and had to lay low until bed time.
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Old 06-30-21, 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney

Platelets - the donations for us hardcore cyclists. Losing 5 ounces of plasma slows us down not at all! We keep all the red blood cells. (And I've received benefits I've never seen from whole blood donations - heartfelt hugs from total strangers. Those strangers were there to donate for family members going through cancer treatment. We community donors were a godsend to them.)

I certainly understand and endorse this as all blood components are needed. When you donate whole blood they sometimes spin it into packed red cells and platelets/plasma . Blood in trauma situations is often given as whole blood as all the blood components are needed. ICU and cancer type care will often use platelets or PRBC's as it may be specifically needed that is what is needed. Near 30 year veteran of trauma, ICU and critical care transport. I've seen the red stuff running out of people as fast as we can pump it in. Whenever they show up at my campus I donate.

As a bonus all the cycling I have done in the last 3 years has lowered my BP by 25 points systolic and dropped my resting HR by about 15 BPM !!
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Old 06-30-21, 11:26 AM
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In my US Army days, we would donate blood to save money on beer. We called it "getting a quart low", and would then feel the effects of alcohol sooner, thus saving a buck or two on our meager salaries.

ETA- Our hangover cure was equally unorthodox. We would keep all of the expired 1 liter IV (Ringers Lactate) bags and jam them up. Stick the needle in, open the valve, and then sit on the bag. Pretty much a 100% reliable hangover killer.

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Old 06-30-21, 11:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Rdmonster69
I'm usually pretty slow for the first 5 miles or so but damn !! It took a long time to worm up and feel normal.
I think they took too much blood if you felt normal after worming up. But, who am I to judge?
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Old 06-30-21, 11:41 AM
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The only time I had an issue after donating blood, was after donating double red blood cells. 5 days later I went on a ride with a strong riding friend, heading into a stiff wind and mid 80's at 8:30 when we started. I totally forgot about donating the red blood cells and I bonked really bad at about the halfway point. It was a long, hard ride to get home, with numerous stops in shady areas and a near crash. At about 5 miles to go, I had to stop again and was not sure I was going to make it home. I did make it and a couple of hours later it hit me that I had done the double red cell just 5 days before. Not because of that, but I no longer do the double red as it wipes me out.
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Old 06-30-21, 12:12 PM
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Originally Posted by tomato coupe
I think they took too much blood if you felt normal after worming up. But, who am I to judge?
Lol....missed that !!
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Old 06-30-21, 01:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Erzulis Boat
In my US Army days, we would donate blood to save money on beer. We called it "getting a quart low", and would then feel the effects of alcohol sooner, thus saving a buck or two on our meager salaries.

ETA- Our hangover cure was equally unorthodox. We would keep all of the expired 1 liter IV (Ringers Lactate) bags and jam them up. Stick the needle in, open the valve, and then sit on the bag. Pretty much a 100% reliable hangover killer.
Back when I lived in Dublin, I used to donate at Pelican House, the National Blood Transfusion Board headquarters (we had a national blood transfusion service, not affiliated with the Red Cross). At the end of the big ward was a cafe where, after you had donated your unit of blood, you could sit down for tea and cookies or, if you preferred, a pint (Guinness being full of iron, supposedly). There would be a nurse in full uniform pulling pints, which was a sight in itself. I used to go every three months with a good friend (motorcyclist - we were both pretty sure he'd need the blood some day). Usually we'd manage to cajole the nurse into giving us a second pint, after which we'd likely write off the day and head to the pub for the afternoon/evening. Back then, if you made a minimum number of donations, you'd get a certificate and a gold lapel pin, presented by the President of the country. My old man, who was a life-long donor, has a pic on the wall of him receiving his cert and pin from Mary Robinson, the President at the time. Don't know if they still do that - don't know if they still give you beer (I suspect not).
Anyway, after I moved to the US, it turns out that my blood can no longer be used because of the risk of Mad Cow - overblown, IMO - I haven't moo'd at the moon in years....
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Old 06-30-21, 01:15 PM
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I would never miss a chance to donate if I got some chocolate and a Guiness !!
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Old 06-30-21, 01:23 PM
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I've heard that donating blood raises your natural levels of EPO. Don't know if there is anything to it, but might be incentive for others to donate.
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Old 06-30-21, 01:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Litespud
Back when I lived in Dublin, I used to donate at Pelican House, the National Blood Transfusion Board headquarters (we had a national blood transfusion service, not affiliated with the Red Cross). At the end of the big ward was a cafe where, after you had donated your unit of blood, you could sit down for tea and cookies or, if you preferred, a pint (Guinness being full of iron, supposedly). There would be a nurse in full uniform pulling pints, which was a sight in itself. I used to go every three months with a good friend (motorcyclist - we were both pretty sure he'd need the blood some day). Usually we'd manage to cajole the nurse into giving us a second pint, after which we'd likely write off the day and head to the pub for the afternoon/evening. Back then, if you made a minimum number of donations, you'd get a certificate and a gold lapel pin, presented by the President of the country. My old man, who was a life-long donor, has a pic on the wall of him receiving his cert and pin from Mary Robinson, the President at the time. Don't know if they still do that - don't know if they still give you beer (I suspect not).
Anyway, after I moved to the US, it turns out that my blood can no longer be used because of the risk of Mad Cow - overblown, IMO - I haven't moo'd at the moon in years....
When you walk in to the lobby of the Puget Sound Blood headquarters in Seattle you see a stone wall with an outline of a tree on it. The leaves are in brass. Each one has a 100 times donor's name engraved on it. I'm there. (Roughly 75 platelet and 75 whole blood donations.) Those donors got invited every year for a thank you dinner for donors and volunteers. Went one year. Just one of hundreds. But the moment that made it all worthwhile- listening to a young woman thanking us for the 19 pints she received during the surgery to replace her heart and liver. An issue since birth that was going to end her life.
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Old 06-30-21, 02:16 PM
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My mom had a heart transplant 2 years ago and they pumped her full of whole blood. That was a long haul but the old gal has pulled through in amazing fashion. She took me aside a few months ago and stated in a worried tone, " I'm worried I might outlive your father now". I laughed my ass off....told her we would worry about that in 20 years or so when he will be 100. Both his Parents made it to 100 and my Dad is strong as an ox.

Anyway ...donating makes me feel like I am helping others and us 0- folks are in high demand.
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Old 06-30-21, 10:32 PM
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Donated blood for years, many of which while bike commuting. My commute was 14 miles one way with a big climb in the middle and the other 5 with a 700’ climb toward the end. I noticed on donation days, climbing took more effort which gradually lessened after 5 days.

Use to donate platelets in college and was a runner. No difference in pace times.
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