Lab work/ high level Hematocrit, hemoglobin, RBC

[Timothy Bond]

Okay guys I'm new to this lifestyle trt replacement. I have been on test cyp 0.5ml a week for 6 weeks now, and wasn't expecting to have high levels of anything so early in treatment. Labs were reviewed with Dr. Today I have high RBC 6.70
Hemoglobin 18.3
Hematocrit 54.8
So Dr. told me i needed to donate blood and to come back for blood work in 3 weeks, and kept me on .50 a week injection of test. My free testosteron was 34.8 but for some reason the total testosteron did not show on print out just said will follow. So the Dr. Acted like he really wasn't sure what to tell me about this I asked how many times I needed to donate and he said just the one but I have read it's a on going donation as long as your on the testosteron. So I'm just starting to feel better and don't want to stop the therapy. So any thought or input word greatly be appreciated.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Stay on 100 mg per week and donate blood now. Retest your hematocrit (CBC) after donation. You may have to do it twice in the first month. The donation frequency after that tends to decrease as the body adapts. Just make sure you do not donate too frequently since that can decrease your iron and make you really tired.

Do your homework by reading this:

How to Manage Polycythemia Caused by Testosterone Replacement Therapy


Cheap hematocrit test:
http://www.discountedlabs.com/complete-blood-count-cbc-includes-hematocrit/

 

[Timothy Bond]

Nelson just wanted to thank you for the information about this, I will definitely do my homework .Also a big thanks for all you do to keep the site up and running, with all the information it has to offer.

 

[Jrleedy]

I am confused on the amount of T you are taking. I don't think it's .50 mg. If it's .5 ml then it's 100 mg if you are getting the 200 mg / ml concentration. I experienced essentially the same results on 100 mg / wk. I reduced my dosage to 80 mg / wk. T level before injection is 672, E2 is 42 and Hematocrit is 50. Also donating blood regularly will control hematocrit.

 

[Timothy Bond]

Jrleedy, Im sorry for the confusion i thought i had it correct this is the dosage off script Testosterone Cypionate 200 MG/ML 0.5 ml Intramuscular once a week. The red cross is going to let me donate next week. So I will have another blood test and see if it lowered and how much I guess will determine how often to give blood. I do appreciate you taking the time to point my mistake out,hard to get advice if info is not correct.

Thanks again

 

[Vince Carter]

Red Cross will only let you donate every 56 - 59 days. FYI. Unless you lie, no donation center is going to let you donate more than that.

Ask your Dr to prescribe a "Therapeutic Phlebotomy"....this can be a done at any lab like LabCorp or Quest location. Its similar to donating a pint but the blood is discarded.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Be very careful about frequent phlebotomies since iron can be depleted.

Warning about frequent blood donations used to decrease hematocrit.

 

[DragonBits]

I am a little confused about high hematocrit levels.

People get concerned when it is above 51%, but the typical range for healthy men living in Bolivia (High altitude) is a range of normal values was 45% to 61% for hematocrit, with the average being 52.7%.

Why don't those living in such places have more instances of Venous thrombosis or similar problems with high hematocrit? Or is high really more like 60%?

 

[Systemlord]

More frequent injections can lower hematocrit. Once weekly injections is hardly ideal.

 

[Vince Carter]

I am a little confused about high hematocrit levels.

People get concerned when it is above 51%, but the typical range for healthy men living in Bolivia (High altitude) is a range of normal values was 45% to 61% for hematocrit, with the average being 52.7%.

Why don't those living in such places have more instances of Venous thrombosis or similar problems with high hematocrit? Or is high really more like 60%?

TRT guys are the only group that's being drained because of HCT, usually due to misdiagnosis and misunderstanding of Polycythemia Vera

 

[galaxy]

What does that mean VC? Are you not in favor od donating blood with what's considered high H/H?

 

[Deleted member 16042]

If you are doing phlebotomies, get your ferritin tested. Ferritin can be depleted by frequent donations. It is an indicator of the iron stores in your body which is different than the iron in your blood serum. Not good to deplete these ferritin related stores.

 

[Vince Carter]

Yep...Im stuck in this phlebotomy and ferritin cycle...my Ferritin just last month was only 26, and I take Iron a few days per week.

 

[MarkM]

To me, the biggest issue by far with being on TRT, is the constant issue with donating blood to keep hematocrit levels below the top of the range. Like many, I had no idea for many years what this was doing for my ferritin levels. Like @Vince Carter, a lot of us, including me, tank their iron and ferritin levels because of too frequent blood donations.

High hematocrit is the only side effect I have with TRT. Regardless of my testosterone dose my hematocrit remains high, either with gels or injections, for over 13 years on TRT.

I have stopped donating and am in the process of increasing my iron and ferritin levels. This is likely only making my hemoglobin and hematocrit increase. At last check my HCT was over 54%. So I will try daily injections to see if that will help stabilize my HCT levels like it has for some.

 

[fifty]

How often would you recommend donating? Can anything lower hematocrit naturally some? Foods or exercise or???

 

[MarkM]

Three times a year is about all you should donate approximately 4 months apart. You can donate most places every 56 days and many on TRT do that..........but they get caught in this trap of donating to bring down hematocrit, then supplementing with iron to get those levels up lost from donating, and then donate again before iron has time to build up. Bad situation.

 

[Vince Carter]

I do sometimes think that the HCT is prime indicator that you're using too much Test, within limits, of course its not black and white like that but your dose should be considered if you're in this predicament of HCT.

 

[MarkM]

I have copies of my blood work going back to 1992. I did not start TRT until 2005. Below are my averages of Hb, HCT, and RBC:

The highest my Hb, HCT, and RBC was when I was on gels. When on injections it was lower than when I was on gels and not that much higher than before I started TRT. Pre-TRT I was at the upper limits.

On gels, my HCT reached a high of 65.6 while on injections the highest my HCT has been is 55.5.

I think what @Vince Carter says has merit in that in many cases if an individual has high Hb, HCT, and RBC it is due to a testosterone dose too high. Maybe I am a unicorn with high numbers even prior to TRT.

 

[DragonBits]

How long have people been on TRT before their hematocrit rose too high?

I see Timothy Bond said is was only 6 weeks, but I don't know where he started from in regards to HCT.


My hematocrit has risen in the last 5 months from 40>47.5. Does this typically keep on rising for a couple of years?

 

[Vince Carter]

No one can possibly tell you what you're HCT is going to do, or not do. No part of any of this is linear like that.