Hematocrit Up - Asking For Thoughts

[Nashtide]

Just got back from my yearly physical. Everything was perfect except for a slightly elevated hematocrit at 53. What is the consensus best way to lower hct other than donating blood? Right now I inject 50mg Tcyp E3.5D. Would smaller more frequent injections be the way to go or is lowering dose the best method? Thanks.

 

[Vince]

I'm just wondering how long you been on trt, as you know it can take a few years before you HCT stabilize.
Nashtie as you probably know when I went to daily injections my HCT stabilized almost immediately. But I know it's not the same for everyone.

 

[Airborne Warrior]

Whether this actually works or not for everyone I couldn't say but my hematocrit has dropped by 3 points since I started on half a grapefruit a day and fish oil:

Ingestion of grapefruit lowers elevated hematocrits in human subjects. - PubMed - NCBI

 

[Nashtide]

I'm just wondering how long you been on trt, as you know it can take a few years before you HCT stabilize.
Nashtie as you probably know when I went to daily injections my HCT stabilized almost immediately. But I know it's not the same for everyone.

Vince, I’ve been on TRT 4 years and this is the first time I’ve had this issue. I’m not in love with the idea of daily injections, but will do it if it will reduce my hct.

 

[Nashtide]

Whether this actually works or not for everyone I couldn't say but my hematocrit has dropped by 3 points since I started on half a grapefruit a day and fish oil:

Ingestion of grapefruit lowers elevated hematocrits in human subjects. - PubMed - NCBI

I already supplement with fish oil. I haven’t heard about grapefruit. Thanks

 

[Sean Mosher]

Any chance you were super de-hydrated?
It's odd that you've been on TRT for awhile, should have stabilized by now and then had this one anomaly.....

 

[Nashtide]

Any chance you were super de-hydrated?
It's odd that you've been on TRT for awhile, should have stabilized by now and then had this one anomaly.....

I am a huge water drinker. I did the labs at 7:45am so I guess I could have been a tad dehydrated, but I have my fasting labs done the same way every year. I had a cup of black coffee around 6:30am that morning.

 

[CoastWatcher]

If it was me, I'd repeat the CBC. If your doctor won't give you a lab order, use Discounted Labs and pull it yourself. Do I believe the lab made an error? Probably not - they grind out CBC results all day/every day. But before tinkering with protocols and adding new elements to your diet, let alone heading to the blood bank, rule out the easy fix.

 

[Vince]

Vince, I’ve been on TRT 4 years and this is the first time I’ve had this issue. I’m not in love with the idea of daily injections, but will do it if it will reduce my hct.

That's a long time without having to donate blood. I think I would donate if I was you, hopefully your HCT will stay down and you will not have to donate again. We do have a few threads on grapefruit.

Good Hematocrit Results from Grapefruit Seed Extract but low SHBG

 

[Sean Mosher]

Gotcha.
That is unusual.

 

[Nashtide]

If it was me, I'd repeat the CBC. If your doctor won't give you a lab order, use Discounted Labs and pull it yourself. Do I believe the lab made an error? Probably not - they grind out CBC results all day/every day. But before tinkering with protocols and adding new elements to your diet, let alone heading to the blood bank, rule out the easy fix.

I’m not really worried about this, so I will probably just wait a few weeks and retest. Thanks.

 

[DragonBits]

That's a long time without having to donate blood. I think I would donate if I was you, hopefully your HCT will stay down and you will not have to donate again. We do have a few threads on grapefruit.

Good Hematocrit Results from Grapefruit Seed Extract but low SHBG

To bad, I imagine they don't allow you to donate 1/2 pint of blood.

 

[S1W]

I am a huge water drinker. I did the labs at 7:45am so I guess I could have been a tad dehydrated, but I have my fasting labs done the same way every year. I had a cup of black coffee around 6:30am that morning.

What was Hemoglobin and how did it compare to previous tests?

FWIW, I am also a huge water drinker and usually test in the afternoon before my Thursday PM injection. In a normal day, I've already had a ton of water by then. The one time I did a morning/fasting draw, my HCT was way up (also at 53, incidentally).

 

[Nashtide]

What was Hemoglobin and how did it compare to previous tests?

FWIW, I am also a huge water drinker and usually test in the afternoon before my Thursday PM injection. In a normal day, I've already had a ton of water by then. The one time I did a morning/fasting draw, my HCT was way up (also at 53, incidentally).

I usually do my TRT labs in the morning, but I don’t fast for those labs. No need to fast for CBC either. When I retest, I’ll be sure to drink enough water beforehand.

 

[DragonBits]

Just got back from my yearly physical. Everything was perfect except for a slightly elevated hematocrit at 53. What is the consensus best way to lower hct other than donating blood? Right now I inject 50mg Tcyp E3.5D. Would smaller more frequent injections be the way to go or is lowering dose the best method? Thanks.

53 doesn't sound scary high, did it jump a lot or was it close already, like was it 51 before?

You have been messing with your diet quite a bit, that is the only thing I could think of.

Iron levels has a lot to do with HCT.

• Bran (interferes with iron absorption)
• Caffeine
• Grapefruit
• Milk

Those things can bring down HCT. Running, cardio, endurance training tend to reduce HCT.

I wouldn't be too concerned until it reaches ~59, though I have no idea how a doctor would feel about it.

 

[Nashtide]

53 doesn't sound scary high, did it jump a lot or was it close already, like was it 51 before?

You have been messing with your diet quite a bit, that is the only thing I could think of.

Iron levels has a lot to do with HCT.

• Bran (interferes with iron absorption)
• Caffeine
• Grapefruit
• Milk

Those things can bring down HCT. Running, cardio, endurance training tend to reduce HCT.

I wouldn't be too concerned until it reaches ~59, though I have no idea how a doctor would feel about it.

Thanks. My diet has been pretty regular. I’m just starting a little diet but that doesn’t kick in until tomorrow. I really don’t know what it was last year, but it was wnl.

 

[jmzwy]

I’m waiting for my latest test results. I was borderline high on my previous labs (51.5). Are you taking hcg? I ask because during my first 3 months of trt I from time to time had the shooting chest pains. I ended up reducing and spreading out my hcg due to what appeared to be estrogen spikes, but interestingly the chest pain issues ceased entirely. Went from 500m2x a week to 250m3x a week. I should have my labs back in a few days and can verify then.

 

[Vince]

Because I had to donate regularly for 2 years. I checked my HCT regularly. For whatever reason I always think is going to start increasing. But for now it has held steady at around 48.0.

 

[captain]

You compare your BUN level to know if your dehydrated. BUN increases when dehydrated and will be lower when over hydrating. Look for variation from lab set to lab set. High BUN and HCT your probably dehydrated. Low BUN and high HCT you may not be dehydrated.

TRT increases metabolic rate and that would increase sweat. Your respiration rate may increase but you wouldn't notice. The higher respiration the more fluid you would breath off. TRT may cause aldosterone levels change and that regulates how much salt you retain. This and more could relate to HCT. I had a thought before that increasing your salt intake could have effect on HCT.

 

[SkyWarn]

Any chance you were super de-hydrated?
It's odd that you've been on TRT for awhile, should have stabilized by now and then had this one anomaly.....

I have had to donate to keep my HCT down and I have been on test c for 8 years. But The doe has changed several times.