Iron Panel

[gallant]

Everything is high except for ferritin. Hematocrit is high as well at 51. Donated blood a month ago. I suppose with these numbers the only thing to do is nothing and hope things balance out?

 

[FunkOdyssey]

Interesting mix there of short-term indicators of iron overload and long-term deficiency. I suppose testosterone suppression of hepcidin is at work here increasing iron absorption, perhaps combined with a high iron diet or supplementation, while the donation depletes ferritin. I think we can safely say that adjustments need to be made.

 

[gallant]

I lowered my TRT dose from 150 a week to 100. Other than that I don't know what to do. Some folks recommend nattokinase and I have been taking that but doubt it has much positive effect.

 

[FunkOdyssey]

I lowered my TRT dose from 150 a week to 100. Other than that I don't know what to do. Some folks recommend nattokinase and I have been taking that but doubt it has much positive effect.

The effective options I'm aware of for hematocrit control are dose decrease, injection frequency increase, treat apnea if present, and supplement naringin if you aren't taking drugs it interacts with. I don't know how long ago you reduced your dose, but if that was recent, that may be enough by itself to avoid further donations.

 

[gallant]

I lowered the dosage 2 weeks ago. Another thing..there was a protocol posted here about raising ferritin without raising hematocrit. I did this exactly as described a month ago the day after my last donation. It only had a negative response to my latest labs in fact my hematocrit has never risen that quickly after a donation while my ferritin didnt go up at all. At least for me N=1 iron supplements are a big no.