Do any of the regular walkers hereabouts also give blood ? If so, have you noticed any degradation
in your performance afterwards, and for how long ?
I gave blood for many years every 3-6 months or so, and do a serious walk probably only once a
month. The two events rarely coincided. However, my last walk was only 4 days after my first go at
apheresis, where the blood is abstracted and separated and "unwanted" components returned. I gave
what is referred to as a "double dose" of red cells, that is, just about every red cell in just over
one litre of blood.
Not thinking much of it, I tootled off to the Howgills for the day on my tod. The fell ascents were
*incredibly* hard going - I didn't feel so much out of breath or tired as simply unable to work hard
for any length of time. I'm a walker who prefers to work harder rather than slow down, taking
occasional rests, but I was having to stop twice as often as usual and sweat was just pouring off
me. It was a puzzle for some time until I started to put two and two together. Red blood cells carry
oxygen to and carbon dioxide away from muscles ;-) Less blood cells, less work.
A little research revealed that red cells take about 7 days to make, so I wasn't benefitting from
any increased production. Further, it would have taken on average a month for my red cell count to
be back to 92% of its original value (without iron supplements), having been depleted to 85% after
donating. Perhaps my bone marrow needs more exercise too ;-)
Thought this would make a change from digital photography...
--
Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it.
Mail john rather than nospam...