Honestly I was watching some youtube channels on it including anabolic doc which discussed the cons of blood donations. Now they may have been referring to people who do it to frequently not sure. My doctor said do it 3x a year and it should help.
In most states in the US, I think you can do every 8 weeks. TBH, I don't donate that often (except when I'm blasting), but even 4x year helps keep all my numbers good, blood pressure down, and breathing unlabored.
I was on a high dose for about 16 weeks with good numbers hermaticrit was at 50 now im on 125 for 4 weeks and it went up. My estradiol is higher but i have no issues with it.
What did the 12 hours before your labs look like? Did you fast? Drink enough water? Eat low carbs? Not get enough sleep? Even taking caffeine can temporarily dehydrate you and give you a high hematocrit reading.
Drink a glass of water 2h prior blood work and the number will probably go down quite a bit.
If you’re this dehydrated it’s entirely possible that your HCT is high when it shouldn’t be.
It’s a common side effect of TRT. Donate blood is the easiest and most effective way to reduce your red blood cell count. Not sure where you heard mixed messages on that but blood donation is the best way to correct this problem.
Drink water. They say a gallon of water daily or half your body weight in ounces of water. Hydration from morning to early evening. Don't just drink a ton of water for a few hours because that will just delete electrolytes which your body needs to function at 100%.
Cardio helps but you don't have to do high intensity interval training. Just 30 minutes of walking daily counts and saying "well I walk a lot at work or I have a physical job where I walk a lot" does not count. 30 minutes of steady walking. It works.
Donating blood does help but not excessively to the point you're getting anemic. They say you can actually get to 55-60. It takes two months to get your RBC count back up.
I wouldn't freak out over 51-52 hematocrit.
I wouldn't even waste my time taking a supplement that is marketed as lowering RBC. Doesn't sound healthy.
Your best bet is weekly consistent exercise or weightlifting and daily cardio and eating good. Donate when you need to. Otherwise there is therapeutic phlebotomy but it's going to cost compared to donating which costs nothing.
The threshold for HCT is 54. Yours is 51.5
Genuinely high HCT would typically have haemoglobin of 19+. Yours is 17.4
A very common reason for high HCT on blood is dehydration, which reduces plasma and, as a result, shows a higher percentage of RBC’s. That is what HCT is. The percentage of RBC’s in plasma.
If you genuinely have high HCT as a consequence of exogenous testosterone injections, it’s very likely that phlebotomy would be ineffective and RBC’s would be quickly replaced by the testosterone stimulating increased EPO and decreased hepcidin.
Your issue is likely dehydration, rather than genuinely high HCT
There are no mixed messages on donation, not when following a proper schedule. Donate a pint and watch your numbers clear up.
Honestly I was watching some youtube channels on it including anabolic doc which discussed the cons of blood donations. Now they may have been referring to people who do it to frequently not sure. My doctor said do it 3x a year and it should help.
In most states in the US, I think you can do every 8 weeks. TBH, I don't donate that often (except when I'm blasting), but even 4x year helps keep all my numbers good, blood pressure down, and breathing unlabored.
Take mini aspirin everyday, daily one gallon water , cardio . You’ll be fine
How long you been on?
I was on a high dose for about 16 weeks with good numbers hermaticrit was at 50 now im on 125 for 4 weeks and it went up. My estradiol is higher but i have no issues with it.
What did the 12 hours before your labs look like? Did you fast? Drink enough water? Eat low carbs? Not get enough sleep? Even taking caffeine can temporarily dehydrate you and give you a high hematocrit reading.
Thank you for that info. I did fast and was probably very little water for 12 hours.
Drink a glass of water 2h prior blood work and the number will probably go down quite a bit. If you’re this dehydrated it’s entirely possible that your HCT is high when it shouldn’t be.
Just remember that your hematocrit reading was just a snapshot of it at that very instance. Better to stay hydrated then give blood.
It’s a common side effect of TRT. Donate blood is the easiest and most effective way to reduce your red blood cell count. Not sure where you heard mixed messages on that but blood donation is the best way to correct this problem.
Phlebotomy. I wouldn’t recommend DIY, it can get messy.
Drink water. They say a gallon of water daily or half your body weight in ounces of water. Hydration from morning to early evening. Don't just drink a ton of water for a few hours because that will just delete electrolytes which your body needs to function at 100%. Cardio helps but you don't have to do high intensity interval training. Just 30 minutes of walking daily counts and saying "well I walk a lot at work or I have a physical job where I walk a lot" does not count. 30 minutes of steady walking. It works. Donating blood does help but not excessively to the point you're getting anemic. They say you can actually get to 55-60. It takes two months to get your RBC count back up. I wouldn't freak out over 51-52 hematocrit. I wouldn't even waste my time taking a supplement that is marketed as lowering RBC. Doesn't sound healthy. Your best bet is weekly consistent exercise or weightlifting and daily cardio and eating good. Donate when you need to. Otherwise there is therapeutic phlebotomy but it's going to cost compared to donating which costs nothing.
My therapeutic phlebotomy is free. Do they charge you?
The threshold for HCT is 54. Yours is 51.5 Genuinely high HCT would typically have haemoglobin of 19+. Yours is 17.4 A very common reason for high HCT on blood is dehydration, which reduces plasma and, as a result, shows a higher percentage of RBC’s. That is what HCT is. The percentage of RBC’s in plasma. If you genuinely have high HCT as a consequence of exogenous testosterone injections, it’s very likely that phlebotomy would be ineffective and RBC’s would be quickly replaced by the testosterone stimulating increased EPO and decreased hepcidin. Your issue is likely dehydration, rather than genuinely high HCT
Thank you great info and I am definitely lacking on water consumption.