Tired after blood draw?

sarahkanzalone
sarahkanzalone Posts: 192 Member
edited December 19 in Health and Weight Loss
So I went in for labs this morning for all the annual tests plus a few extras. And now I feel so tired and generally weak. I had 5 vials taken which seems like such a small amount to make me feel this way... Anyone else react this way to lab draws?

I have had a good amount of food so far today after labs and fluids but it's not helping energy levels at all. Feel like I'm going to have to skip gym tonight I'm so tired. Is there anything that will hel me feel better?

Replies

  • TuesdayMarch01st2016
    TuesdayMarch01st2016 Posts: 56 Member
    Imagine that 5 vials, being a nose bleed & that's a lot of blood.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    I get blood draws with butt load of vials taken every few months and never noticed fatigue, maybe you are coming down with something.
  • Lynnmi07
    Lynnmi07 Posts: 131 Member
    That small amount shouldn't make a difference. Probably just coincidence.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    No--that's not very much blood at all.
  • jbee27
    jbee27 Posts: 356 Member
    It's a small amount of blood that they take for labs, but were you nervous at all about the procedure? Sometimes having your blood pressure elevated, and then dropping dramatically after the draw can throw your body for a loop.

    If you aren't feeling well, take it easy, and make sure you are hydrating.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Maybe it's just because you had to get up early?
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    I always feel weak and tired after having blood taken. I usually have a jelly donut right afterward...for some reason it makes me feel better.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    sarahkanzalone wrote: »
    So I went in for labs this morning for all the annual tests plus a few extras. And now I feel so tired and generally weak. I had 5 vials taken which seems like such a small amount to make me feel this way... Anyone else react this way to lab draws?

    I have had a good amount of food so far today after labs and fluids but it's not helping energy levels at all. Feel like I'm going to have to skip gym tonight I'm so tired. Is there anything that will hel me feel better?

    Are you anemic/low iron? If so, losing blood could affect you more than the average person.

    I'm anemic and get weak during my TOM. I don't know what the volume in five vials is.
  • sarahkanzalone
    sarahkanzalone Posts: 192 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Are you anemic/low iron? If so, losing blood could affect you more than the average person.

    I'm anemic and get weak during my TOM. I don't know what the volume in five vials is.

    They are checking iron levels to see if I am anemic as part of eval... It is also TOM for me so maybe that's why I guess I'll figure it out when I get results next week
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    TuesdayMarch01st2016 wrote: »
    Imagine that 5 vials, being a nose bleed & that's a lot of blood.

    I had five vials drawn last week and asked the phlebotomist to put it in perspective for me, because it seemed like a lot. She said 25 vials was the equivalent of one blood donor bag.
  • jefferykoch
    jefferykoch Posts: 1 Member
    Just wondering if you ever got a satisfactory answer. I get fatigued after blood draws, and my internist thinks it makes no sense given the small volume. But I know my body and it is not vasovagal or the like. I have marginally low platelets, and may see a hematologist.
  • maxphia32
    maxphia32 Posts: 99 Member
    I draw blood every day, and 5 vials is really not that much blood at all. If they are checking iron levels, that can be part of you feeling that way, especially during TOM. If you were nervous about the blood draw, your body could have gone into fight/flight mode and once you came down (from anxiety), you felt weak, and that can take a lot out of you. I am assuming that you probably had to fast before your blood draw, and that can also cause weakness. There could be many reasons as to why you felt this way. You should feel better by tomorrow.
  • Meghanebk
    Meghanebk Posts: 321 Member
    5 vials is maybe up to 50ml total, shouldn't have an effect. A blood donation is around 450 ml. Was it fasting bloodwork? I often get dizzy from that from the fasting, not the blood loss.

    Tis the season for colds and flu, maybe you're coming down with something. Fatigue is usually my first symptom.
  • gaebler1
    gaebler1 Posts: 1 Member
    edited October 2019
    Have you got the HPV vaccination? I'm asking because my son got the HPV vaccination and since then he is fighting fatigue. Now it got much better, almost normal again, but yesterday he got blood drawn and right after it he felt as fatigued as in the beginning.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,415 Member
    I am also low iron/anemic at the moment and while my blood draws don't usually make me feel weak and tired, my last TOM did, and you only theoretically lose 80mL of blood then, too. During my last TOM when I'd only been under treatment for low iron for a week, I ended up with a headache and annoying weakness that lasted for about 5 days. (The headache lasted that long, anyway. The weakness probably only 3? The headache was substantially more annoying, so I'm more sure of that timeline.) If it turns out you ARE low in iron and anemic, then both TOM and the blood draw were likely a bit more than your system could handle all at once. Go to bed a bit earlier and be gentle with yourself for a couple days, and remember to get your fluids in, and maybe ask the doc about it when they call you back with your lab results if it hasn't resolved by then.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited October 2019
    ElizabethKalmbach wrote: »
    I am also low iron/anemic at the moment and while my blood draws don't usually make me feel weak and tired, my last TOM did, and you only theoretically lose 80mL of blood then, too. During my last TOM when I'd only been under treatment for low iron for a week, I ended up with a headache and annoying weakness that lasted for about 5 days. (The headache lasted that long, anyway. The weakness probably only 3? The headache was substantially more annoying, so I'm more sure of that timeline.) If it turns out you ARE low in iron and anemic, then both TOM and the blood draw were likely a bit more than your system could handle all at once. Go to bed a bit earlier and be gentle with yourself for a couple days, and remember to get your fluids in, and maybe ask the doc about it when they call you back with your lab results if it hasn't resolved by then.

    I have very heavy bleeding. When I was fighting with the VA to get them to prescribe tran exemic acid it was important for me to be able to quantity that. I have a 30 ml capacity menstrual cup and if I empty it 40 times that's 1200 ml, so 15 x the normal amount of 80 ml :(

    My period also wakes me up several times throughout the night, so between blood AND sleep loss, it's a rough few days, despite me getting 400 x the RDA of iron between food and supplements.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited October 2019
    i typically get tired after a blood draw of 3 vials or more
    ETA: not anemic
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    TuesdayMarch01st2016 wrote: »
    Imagine that 5 vials, being a nose bleed & that's a lot of blood.

    I had five vials drawn last week and asked the phlebotomist to put it in perspective for me, because it seemed like a lot. She said 25 vials was the equivalent of one blood donor bag.

    When I donate blood they take 5 vials as well as the bag!

    I second that your iron could be low.
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,024 Member
    i usually have no problem unless the tech can't find my vein and starts digging around...then they better get ready for me to pass out HAHA
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    This is primarily dependent on your blood volume - your body mass. The larger you are the less impact.

    Second to this is how used you are to getting blood drawn/donating.

    Take it easy today. Hydrate - drink a V8 or something similar and see how you feel tomorrow.
  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,513 Member
    I know this is a zombie thread, but people still seem to be interested, so I will contribute. I sometimes have a vasovagal response to having blood drawn. I'm fine while it's being done, but as soon as the needle is removed I get extremely lightheaded and close to passing out. Then I feel exhausted for the rest of the day.
  • geraldaltman
    geraldaltman Posts: 1,731 Member
    I don't recall having any untoward reaction to blood draws. I have one coming next week. It will be the first one since my renewed exercise mode. I have read (Web M.D. I think) that as well as fasting for twelve hours prior that it's advisable to suspend exercise for twenty four hours before the draw. Can anyone confirm?
    Please note that regardless of answers, this is something I will do under the guise of "better being safe than sorry". Thanks.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    geraldaltman wrote: »
    I don't recall having any untoward reaction to blood draws. I have one coming next week. It will be the first one since my renewed exercise mode. I have read (Web M.D. I think) that as well as fasting for twelve hours prior that it's advisable to suspend exercise for twenty four hours before the draw. Can anyone confirm?
    Please note that regardless of answers, this is something I will do under the guise of "better being safe than sorry". Thanks.

    This is something you should ask of the person who ordered the test.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,415 Member
    Mouse_Potato wrote: »
    I know this is a zombie thread, but people still seem to be interested, so I will contribute. I sometimes have a vasovagal response to having blood drawn. I'm fine while it's being done, but as soon as the needle is removed I get extremely lightheaded and close to passing out. Then I feel exhausted for the rest of the day.

    Ugh. I missed that. The revnant question was about HPV vaccine.
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