Hematocrit elevated, causing high BP?

[dale338]

I run a TRT dosefor about three years now and I’ve never had any blood drained off. My last labs were taking about three weeks ago and my hematocrit it creeped up to about 56.5. I run 100mg weekly of test-c keeping me between 900-1200 test level.

I am currently out of town in a remote location on a construction job and was feeling a bit off and decided to check my blood pressure. Are usually monitor it a couple times per month. Well my readings were 140/100 sometimes even higher and when relaxed in bed It would typically drop back into the 120s over 80s. I’ve never had reading above 130/90-ish in my life.

So my question is if I reduce my dose all the way down to about 40-50mg per week for a good while, How long will it take for my homatocrit to drop? Now I know everybody’s probably different, but there has to be some kind of rule of thumb for this. If I go 50mg for like 8 weeks, will it drop a good amount most likely?

Thanks everyone in advance.

 

[maldorf]

I think I read once that rbcs have a life of about 90 days, so it might take a long time. I know that when I used to cycle and then cruise I figured my hematocrit would drop when got on a cruise dose but it still rose some. I was going from about 750 mg/wk down to about 250 mg/wk.

Since you are doing much lower doses I think it would probably go down, but since red blood cells have a life span of 90 days or so then it will probably be slow.

I don't recall having high blood pressure though because of high hematocrit. That's just me. I once had a hematocrit of about 61 and my BP was within the normal range.

 

[nothuman]

My hematocrit has been all over the place and I didn't see a correlation with a difference in BP, although small differences make it hard to tell.

 

[Kaladryn]

Athletes lose all extra RBCs from training at altitude in approximately 17 days. When I do 10mg/day protocol, my crit drops about 3-4 points in 2 months.

You are correct, it's probably your relatively high T level that is driving them up, but 56 is too high for that level, I suspect you may have been dehydrated also? I would retest.

BTW, you should take your BP when you are relaxed and have been sitting for 5 minutes or something similar.

BP naturally goes up with age, I have to do more and more cardio to keep it down as I get older. I use a BP med on cycle if I can't control it with cardio.

 

[Reload]

I doubt there's any relation between the two and your BP while a little elevated "on the job" is actually quite normal. You would be shocked to see what your BP is while your doing cardio or during an intense workout (squatting/deads) etc. Your elevated BP could be due to many factors as Kaladryn alluded to. Are you holding more water? Doing anything other than test? Your on the road...how's the diet? You eating a ton of fried/salty foods? I wouldn't worry to much about it. I'd try to drink more water throughout the day, especially if your out in the sun.

 

[Flex500]

Athletes lose all extra RBCs from training at altitude in approximately 17 days. When I do 10mg/day protocol, my crit drops about 3-4 points in 2 months.

You are correct, it's probably your relatively high T level that is driving them up, but 56 is too high for that level, I suspect you may have been dehydrated also? I would retest.

BTW, you should take your BP when you are relaxed and have been sitting for 5 minutes or something similar.

BP naturally goes up with age, I have to do more and more cardio to keep it down as I get older. I use a BP med on cycle if I can't control it with cardio.

Agree.

OP- Any issue with sleep apnea. I must admit I am not 100% on the biological process but I had a friend with severe, untreated sleep apnea and his crit levels went through the roof (he was natural, not even really into fitness). He actually passed out once and when bloods were pulled they were like mid 60's or higher. After a wild goose chase and a sleep study he got his sleep apnea under control and boom issue was resolved.

Maybe a non issue for you but sleep apnea (especially untreated) seems to more common in our world as bodyweight has gone up.

On the bp note my buddies high bp resolved itself after the sleep apnea issue was treated. Again, that may not apply to you at all just thought I'd mention it.

 

[maldorf]

Agree.

OP- Any issue with sleep apnea. I must admit I am not 100% on the biological process but I had a friend with severe, untreated sleep apnea and his crit levels went through the roof (he was natural, not even really into fitness). He actually passed out once and when bloods were pulled they were like mid 60's or higher. After a wild goose chase and a sleep study he got his sleep apnea under control and boom issue was resolved.

Maybe a non issue for you but sleep apnea (especially untreated) seems to more common in our world as bodyweight has gone up.

On the bp note my buddies high bp resolved itself after the sleep apnea issue was treated. Again, that may not apply to you at all just thought I'd mention it.

Yet another possible cause of high hematocrit. There really quite a few possibilities. Could even be something as rare as a bone disorder. My hematologist/oncologist once took a bone biopsy just to be sure I didn't have something going on in my bone marrow.

My hypothesis is that my heart failure might be contributing a bit to higher levels. I certainly wont ever be anemic.

 

[Ashop]

My hematocrit was high on zero AAS as well as my blood pressure. Ended up being sleep apnea and both have improved drastically since being treated.

 

[Flex500]

My hematocrit was high on zero AAS as well as my blood pressure. Ended up being sleep apnea and both have improved drastically since being treated.

For sure seems to be a trend in the bodybuilding, and even more so the powerlifing and strongman world. It is amazing how jacked up sleep apnea can make bloods and overall health.