Blood Drawn

ivikatasha
ivikatasha Posts: 192 Member
edited October 3 in Fitness and Exercise
So I just got home from the doctors and they took 4 big vials of blood from me. I am supposed to do high intensity cardio today but I am wondering if it is safe to do after having all that blood drawn. I probably should have asked while I was there but I forgot :frown:

Anyone know if I can or not?

Replies

  • DannyMussels
    DannyMussels Posts: 1,842 Member
    I would think no.

    This is one of those rare occasions, where an excuse to not workout is actually valid.

    Rest up, eat and drink a bit, and go at it tomorrow.
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    Call them and ask.
  • DizzieLittleLifter
    DizzieLittleLifter Posts: 1,020 Member
    Call them and ask.

    This, it won't hurt to call.
    I would think that after you have a meal and plenty of water you should be fine, BUT confirm that with a Dr. or nurse.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Always take it easy after blood drawn, it takes about a day for the body to replace it.
  • bmmarti3
    bmmarti3 Posts: 53 Member
    I think it would be fine.

    If you had donated blood, I would wait a few days. A blood donation is a pint of blood, four vials is about 40 ml or 0.1 pints. I think you'll be fine.
  • kriswigg
    kriswigg Posts: 95
    I know when I donate blood they always tell me to rest and avoid excersion. Granted, that's alot more than what they probably drew. I say take the day off, maybe just go for a walk, and be sure to drink lots of water.
  • Fabnover40Kat
    Fabnover40Kat Posts: 300 Member
    No not at all!! I work for doctors and draw blood. Only take it easy if your giving blood which is a PINT the vials do not collect much about 28-30ml
  • michelegrayson
    michelegrayson Posts: 157
    When I've donated blood at Stanford they have alway told me to avoid strenuous exercise the rest of the day so I wouild take it easy!

    Good luck!
  • hm_day
    hm_day Posts: 857 Member
    It's kind of a question of how YOU feel. For example, I have severe anemia. 4 big vials of blood for me is a lot of blood, and it most likely would not be safe for me to work out. If you're otherwise healthy and feel fine, then it's your judgement call. But if you question it, call :)
  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
    They didn't take that much blood from you, probably only about 20ml. The tubes really don't hold all that much blood. If you feel like working out, then by all means, do it. If you feel faint or weak, back off, you may note a slightly higher heart rate, as your body compensates for the slightly reduced blood volume. You should be fine. Drink plenty of water.
  • pwdalt
    pwdalt Posts: 14
    Your blood loss is really insignificant in the grand scheme. Drink some extra water and resume normal activity. I worked twenty years in the laboratory and four vials is no big deal.
  • NikkiConroy
    NikkiConroy Posts: 22
    You are completely fine to do anything:) I was a phlebotomist for years and those vials don't hold much of anything (2TBSP) Your heart replaced it very quickly. Enjoy your workout!
  • Jolenebib
    Jolenebib Posts: 142 Member
    You can still do cardio, but maybe not as intense - start out slow and build up intensity. Really, just listen to your body. If you feel sluggish, chances are you should take it easy, if not, you're probably fine. I haven't had issues after getting my blood drawn.
  • Heatherbledsoe
    Heatherbledsoe Posts: 106 Member
    eat well, stay hydrates, and yes you can work out, it wasnt as much blood as you might think it was, those vials dont hold very much. The only time I would say DONT workout, is if you do donate blood, but then again each person is different, and besides that usually a pint, so WAY more than 4 little vials.
  • ivikatasha
    ivikatasha Posts: 192 Member
    Thanks everyone. I will just wait till later today to do it so I can get a few meals in before I try it. I will just stop if I feel funny though.
  • Enforcer25
    Enforcer25 Posts: 350 Member
    You should be fine, I had blood drawn in the morning and in the afternoon went for a run and I was fine, but everyone is different, so like you said, if you start to feel funny, just stop or just do a lighter workout than normal.
  • LaComadreja14
    LaComadreja14 Posts: 277 Member
    Hi there, I am a phlebotomist (I draw blood for a living) :happy:

    Do you remember the color of the vial caps? or the tests that you were having done? If so, I can tell you how much blood they took from you and if it is okay to exercise. People usually think that the SST/Tiger top tubes are big (the top is red and black splotched), they are one of the most commonly used tubes. Each one is 8.5 mL (milliliters) so thats only 34 milliliters... If you go to the red cross, they take a pint of blood and thats when you have to try to take it easy, a pint is about 473.176473 milliliters. You should be fine to do cardio, for 15-20 mins after don't do any heavy lifting (10lbs+) because you could open the vein and give yourself a nasty hematoma, but cardio should be 100% fine to do.
  • ivikatasha
    ivikatasha Posts: 192 Member
    Hi there, I am a phlebotomist (I draw blood for a living) :happy:

    Do you remember the color of the vial caps? or the tests that you were having done? If so, I can tell you how much blood they took from you and if it is okay to exercise. People usually think that the SST/Tiger top tubes are big (the top is red and black splotched), they are one of the most commonly used tubes. Each one is 8.5 mL (milliliters) so thats only 34 milliliters... If you go to the red cross, they take a pint of blood and thats when you have to try to take it easy, a pint is about 473.176473 milliliters. You should be fine to do cardio, for 15-20 mins after don't do any heavy lifting (10lbs+) because you could open the vein and give yourself a nasty hematoma, but cardio should be 100% fine to do.

    Yeah it was red and black. Also 2 purple ones, but those were really small. I was having a bunch of titers done, like 5 of them, and HCT, and one more blood test except I can't remember what it is now.
  • LaComadreja14
    LaComadreja14 Posts: 277 Member
    Hi there, I am a phlebotomist (I draw blood for a living) :happy:

    Do you remember the color of the vial caps? or the tests that you were having done? If so, I can tell you how much blood they took from you and if it is okay to exercise. People usually think that the SST/Tiger top tubes are big (the top is red and black splotched), they are one of the most commonly used tubes. Each one is 8.5 mL (milliliters) so thats only 34 milliliters... If you go to the red cross, they take a pint of blood and thats when you have to try to take it easy, a pint is about 473.176473 milliliters. You should be fine to do cardio, for 15-20 mins after don't do any heavy lifting (10lbs+) because you could open the vein and give yourself a nasty hematoma, but cardio should be 100% fine to do.

    Yeah it was red and black. Also 2 purple ones, but those were really small. I was having a bunch of titers done, like 5 of them, and HCT, and one more blood test except I can't remember what it is now.

    The SST's aren't as bad as they look, they are only 8.5 mL each. Each lav is 4 mL and 1 teaspoon is 4.92892159 mL. So in the SST's (red and black) they took about 6-7 teaspoons (6 tea spoons is 29.57352954 mL, 7 is 34.50245113 mL) So they didn't take much there. In the lavs they took under 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons are 9.85784318 mL)

    You have nothing to worry about with doing cardio :)
  • ivikatasha
    ivikatasha Posts: 192 Member
    Hi there, I am a phlebotomist (I draw blood for a living) :happy:

    Do you remember the color of the vial caps? or the tests that you were having done? If so, I can tell you how much blood they took from you and if it is okay to exercise. People usually think that the SST/Tiger top tubes are big (the top is red and black splotched), they are one of the most commonly used tubes. Each one is 8.5 mL (milliliters) so thats only 34 milliliters... If you go to the red cross, they take a pint of blood and thats when you have to try to take it easy, a pint is about 473.176473 milliliters. You should be fine to do cardio, for 15-20 mins after don't do any heavy lifting (10lbs+) because you could open the vein and give yourself a nasty hematoma, but cardio should be 100% fine to do.

    Yeah it was red and black. Also 2 purple ones, but those were really small. I was having a bunch of titers done, like 5 of them, and HCT, and one more blood test except I can't remember what it is now.

    The SST's aren't as bad as they look, they are only 8.5 mL each. Each lav is 4 mL and 1 teaspoon is 4.92892159 mL. So in the SST's (red and black) they took about 6-7 teaspoons (6 tea spoons is 29.57352954 mL, 7 is 34.50245113 mL) So they didn't take much there. In the lavs they took under 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons are 9.85784318 mL)

    You have nothing to worry about with doing cardio :)

    Thanks! :happy:
  • jgic2009
    jgic2009 Posts: 531 Member
    I went to the gym one night after donating blood that morning. The nurses and all the materials said no strenuous activity for 4 or 5 hours after donating. By the time I got to the gym, 6 hours had passed and I was feeling fine. I didn't have as intense a workout as I normally do, but I still got a quality workout in.

    Just listen to your body. If you are feeling up to it, give it a try.
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