5. Shortness of Breath
When you don’t have enough EPO, the resultant low red blood cells mean you won’t feel as though you’re getting enough oxygen to your brain, muscles and organs.
The body’s response to this is to make you start breathing faster and more heavily and you might find that you are constantly out of breath as a result. This is the opposite effect of taking additional EPO – which is how some athletes illegally cheat – which gives you boundless energy.
This is also the result of a build-up of unwanted fluid in the body, which can end up affecting the lungs.