Hello - am grateful to find this forum.
I am 58 year old man with Addison’s Disease, Herditary Hemochromatosis H63D homozygous variant, with hypothyroid. Dr. put me on TRT 100 mg Test Cyp in Aug 2025, once a week pin. Trough after 12 weeks was 334 Total T and 66.3 free T.
Dr. Doubled dose to 200mg and pinned twice a week. Total 12 weeks later at trough 535, Free T = 99.3.
Switched to Test Enanthate because insurance covered and has different carrier oil. Am still having slight rash on upper arms and sides. With both Test Cyp (cottonseed oil) & Ent (sesame oil). Also started to pin daily and now 6 weeks later I sit at Total T = 1378, Free T = 290.8. All bought from directly from same pharmacy via insurance covered.
My hematocrit raised significantly to 53.2 on 100mg a week. At 200mg it raised to 54.1. Had two phlebotomies as of 4/20/26 and now ferritin is 19 as of 5/19/26. Today I started 1st of 5 iron infusions with same hematologist that gave me a phlebotomy when my ferritin was at 34. Changing doctors this week as I am struggling with being cold, tired, diminished work capacity, brain fog, sore muscles and larger joints are extremely sore.
Obviously struggling with high hematocrit and phlebotomy dumping ferritin cycle. At 200mg a week before my last phlebotomy I felt best I have in years, until a week before my last phlebotomy as I started getting pressure headaches in back of my head, my work capacity diminished significantly, was easily out of breath with any significant physical exertion, and lightheaded/dizzy.
Question is can one work through this period of high hematocrit and adapt like an athlete can while training at altitude? Hematologist says no.
I am 6’3”, 205 at about 15% bf and am in very good cardio shape with recent cardio testing. I do about 180-250 minutes of zone 2 per week, lift 4 times a week and HIT cardio @ 40 minutes a week. All on average pending travel and work schedule.
See primary prescribing doctor tomorrow. He believes high hematocrit needs to level off before phlebotomy but hematologist says he is wrong. Yet she has me on a 5 week iron infusion protocol at 200mg once a week via IV. Cannot even get consensus amongst my own doctors.
I am 58 year old man with Addison’s Disease, Herditary Hemochromatosis H63D homozygous variant, with hypothyroid. Dr. put me on TRT 100 mg Test Cyp in Aug 2025, once a week pin. Trough after 12 weeks was 334 Total T and 66.3 free T.
Dr. Doubled dose to 200mg and pinned twice a week. Total 12 weeks later at trough 535, Free T = 99.3.
Switched to Test Enanthate because insurance covered and has different carrier oil. Am still having slight rash on upper arms and sides. With both Test Cyp (cottonseed oil) & Ent (sesame oil). Also started to pin daily and now 6 weeks later I sit at Total T = 1378, Free T = 290.8. All bought from directly from same pharmacy via insurance covered.
My hematocrit raised significantly to 53.2 on 100mg a week. At 200mg it raised to 54.1. Had two phlebotomies as of 4/20/26 and now ferritin is 19 as of 5/19/26. Today I started 1st of 5 iron infusions with same hematologist that gave me a phlebotomy when my ferritin was at 34. Changing doctors this week as I am struggling with being cold, tired, diminished work capacity, brain fog, sore muscles and larger joints are extremely sore.
Obviously struggling with high hematocrit and phlebotomy dumping ferritin cycle. At 200mg a week before my last phlebotomy I felt best I have in years, until a week before my last phlebotomy as I started getting pressure headaches in back of my head, my work capacity diminished significantly, was easily out of breath with any significant physical exertion, and lightheaded/dizzy.
Question is can one work through this period of high hematocrit and adapt like an athlete can while training at altitude? Hematologist says no.
I am 6’3”, 205 at about 15% bf and am in very good cardio shape with recent cardio testing. I do about 180-250 minutes of zone 2 per week, lift 4 times a week and HIT cardio @ 40 minutes a week. All on average pending travel and work schedule.
See primary prescribing doctor tomorrow. He believes high hematocrit needs to level off before phlebotomy but hematologist says he is wrong. Yet she has me on a 5 week iron infusion protocol at 200mg once a week via IV. Cannot even get consensus amongst my own doctors.
