HAPPY BIRTHDAY Johnjuanb1!!!

[chinaboy]

You never know. This could be a blessing in disguise.

Epidurals can give lasting relief as well. Despite surgery or epidurals spine health is like maintaining a car. There is no permanent fix. And successful maintenance is what keeps things working well for the long run.

 

[johnjuanb1]

You never know. This could be a blessing in disguise.

Epidurals can give lasting relief as well. Despite surgery or epidurals spine health is like maintaining a car. There is no permanent fix. And successful maintenance is what keeps things working well for the long run.

I hope i get lucky. The surgeon said sometimes the broke piece of the disk can reabsorb into the correct spot with an epidural. He said had it been just the disk bulging out then it wouldn’t work. My blood pressure was around 160/110 this morning. After taking the 500ccs of blood it’s now 144/85.
I need another few 500cc blood dumps before surgery is an option. They’ve never seen blood this thick. Haha

 

[chinaboy]

I hope i get lucky. The surgeon said sometimes the broke piece of the disk can reabsorb into the correct spot with an epidural. He said had it been just the disk bulging out then it wouldn’t work. My blood pressure was around 160/110 this morning. After taking the 500ccs of blood it’s now 144/85.
I need another few 500cc blood dumps before surgery is an option. They’ve never seen blood this thick. Haha

Ha, I almost posted that but erased it. Yes, I have heard the larger the broken off fragment the more likely it is to absorb. I hope you find this to be the case as well.

 

[johnjuanb1]

Ha, I almost posted that but erased it. Yes, I have heard the larger the broken off fragment the more likely it is to absorb. I hope you find this to be the case as well.

Thank you for confirming that. I hope it works.

 

[notorius]

I’ve lost over 30Lbs in 4 weeks since stopping AAS. I’m only 180Lbs. Crazy!!!

Oh no...lol..That must be a shitty feeling.

 

[Phidias]

My blood pressure was around 160/110 this morning. After taking the 500ccs of blood it’s now 144/85.
I need another few 500cc blood dumps before surgery is an option. They’ve never seen blood this thick. Haha ��

EACH time I went to donate blood, I IMMEDIATELY felt much better/more relaxed afterwards... like they had pumped me with a heavy dose of benzo's... LOL! Did you get that feeling too?

In any cases, goes to show how permanent RBC's changes are once you start using AAS long term, even after discontinuing them... been almost a month you've been OFF everything, and your numbers are still sky high! As Chinaboy said, maybe "a blessing in disguise indeed".

Out of curiousity, John, how high were exactly your Hematocrit and Hemoglobin? C'mon, don't be afraid to shock us...

For reference, I was denied too last time I wanted to give blood... hemoglobin at 20. And that was after no AAS either, only TRT for a long long time.

 

[little slice]

I’ve lost over 30Lbs in 4 weeks since stopping AAS. I’m only 180Lbs. Crazy!!!

it will come back so fast it will blow ur mind

 

[Mike Arnold]

Happy birthday, brother.

 

[johnjuanb1]

EACH time I went to donate blood, I IMMEDIATELY felt much better/more relaxed afterwards... like they had pumped me with a heavy dose of benzo's... LOL! Did you get that feeling too?

In any cases, goes to show how permanent RBC's changes are once you start using AAS long term, even after discontinuing them... been almost a month you've been OFF everything, and your numbers are still sky high! As Chinaboy said, maybe "a blessing in disguise indeed".

Out of curiousity, John, how high were exactly your Hematocrit and Hemoglobin? C'mon, don't be afraid to shock us...

For reference, I was denied too last time I wanted to give blood... hemoglobin at 20. And that was after no AAS either, only TRT for a long long time.

I don’t know how high my numbers are. I asked but forgot to write them down. They took 500ccs of blood and they said I’d need several of those because it’ll only drop about 3 points off my hemoglobin and hematocrit per 500ccs. I don’t care what people think. Yes, blah blah I’m dying tomorrow. Heard that for years from every doctor. Bring it on!
This surgeon is the first doctor i like. He knew it was just from AAS. He didn’t judge. He wants to help me even if i take AAS. He wanted to just drain out every bit of blood into a container in the pre-op room but fucking Obama and all the stupid new regulations say only a special group they outsource can come and take a maximum of 500ccs once I’m admitted to the hospital which is a minimum of a thousand dollars. I asked my surgeon to be my primary care physician but he said that’s not his expertise. I finally found a cool doctor. He would have done the surgery but the anesthesiologist said no way. I really had a bad feeling about her anyway, like i would die if she was in charge.
I can’t say if i feel better physically after the blood draw because I’m pissed off they kept me there 16 hours just to take blood. I got home at 2am. This will cost me thousands of dollars because my shitty blue cross insurance that costs $700/month has a $5,900 deductible. Anyway, there must be a strong correlation between super thick blood and high blood pressure. I went in with bp of around 160/110. After the blood draw it was 145/84. It’s 4:30am and i can’t sleep. I took a Percocet but i swear my sciatica hurts more now. Wtf???
I was able to walk further today without crutches so we’ll do an epidural injection most likely Thursday since surgery isn’t an option. Maybe God will have mercy on me and it’ll work. My left leg no joke is the size of my shrunken arms now. The funny thing is i kind of don’t want to take AAS again. I can actually go all day without urinating as opposed to ever hour of two. My heart feels better. But my dick is a limp noodle. I think i can pull off the Rambo III look naturally. The skin on my stomach looks like it needs to be trimmed off after dropping so much weight.
I swear, opiates give me energy. I’m wired from that Percocet.
Oh well, they say things happen for a reason. Without this hiccup today you all know my dumb ass wouldn’t do a damn thing about my critically high hemoglobin/hematocrit. The past two times i went to the doctor going back 2 1/2 years, both doctors i saw said i could die any day from a stroke. I just don’t like going to doctors ever. I have irrational fears of doing many things in life. I’m a total loner, and i like to handle all of my issues on my own. But this surgeon is unlike any I’ve ever known. I look forward to seeing him because I’ve been 100% real and himest, and he was most concerned with keeping my AAS use between us. He’s whispering about it in the pre-op so the nurses and anesthesiologist didn’t hear. He whispers, “I’ve seen this several times. It just the testosterone. You’re not dying.” Haha such a cool man!

Thank you guys all for being so nice time. It really makes me smile inside. This forum had a lot of really good people. I appreciate you guys so much. Typically, i get real down on my birthday, especially turing 50 and all alone in pain. This thread from everyone helped me a lot. Thank you!!!

P.S. How do i get rid of my blood when no one will take me with nimbers so high? My doctor didn’t even know. The phlebotomist said they only do it if I’m admitted to the hospital. No way am i spending thousands of dollars every week to get my blood dumped. My doctor is calling around for me. I had the phlebotomist teach me how to do it myself. I just need the 500ml bag and some 3 prong thing with a syringe off the side. I didn’t get it. I told her to use a 17 gauge needle because 18 wouldn’t cut it. So she used a 17.

 

[chinaboy]

Over time the hematocrit should lower on its own. Staying hydrated, staying as active as you can, avoiding alcohol and coffee, healthy lifestyle and diet. It should go down on its own. I just read a grapefruit a day can lower it. But ultimately time away from AAS.

 

[Elvia1023]

How long do you think it will be until you can get the surgery? My hct/hgb have been high in the past but over the last 7 or so blood tests they have been in range. I have never given blood. I think if I start I will have to do it frequently as the body seems to regulate itself back to where it was when it comes to blood volume. You are obviously an anomaly in the fact you need half your bodies blood drained

Flex is barking so time to take him on a walk

 

[Reload]

Pretty damn simple JJ. I'm just putting it out there. The goal would be to make sure not to remove too much blood at one time or to frequently. You don't want to become hypovolemic.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI9Q1HjIdPk"]Self Bleeding! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[nothuman]

Must be weird going in expecting surgery and going home without it. My hematocrit dropped like 25 points when I had surgery, putting me in the 30s. I was pretty excited about that lol. Kind of sucks they couldn't just do the surgery since that would surely lower those H/H numbers but I guess they considered it risky for reasons beyond my knowledge.

Sucks all this is costing you a fortune. Also just speaking out loud here, I don't see how a light TRT of 10mg daily would hurt you despite your H/H issue considering how that lone has lowered people's H/H by a good deal, but I guess it's best to play it safe. Once you have surgery and everything is normalized, you can probably just do light TRT and re-gain some muscle while being healthier. You might like it. It's not so bad

Hope all this gets sorted out. I know what it's like to have to deal with insurance issues standing in the way of proper affordable medical care. Actually dealing with it now myself for these light headed and belching symptoms I am having that are bad.

Keep us posted.

P.S. I'm with Phidias (who must be thrilled France is in the semi finals of the World Cup) with wanting to see you shock us with your hematocrit and hemoglobin numbers

 

[Thebigone]

Thank you very much everyone for your kind words!
I’m in the hospital now. The anesthesiologist and surgeon decided to cancel my surgery while i was in pre-op. This place has never seen hemoglobin and hematocrit as high as mine. I have a phlebotomist about to drain 500ccs of blood which will only get my numbers down about 3 points which isn’t even close to the amount of blood they will have to remove in order to get me in a safe range for surgery. My surgeon said we will find a way to remove 500ccs of blood weekly until I’m in a safe range. He is going to give me an epidural injection next week. My pain has slightly diminished the past 2 days so maybe epidurals will do the trick. He can’t consider surgery for awhile until my blood is normal. So, i get to go home after they dump this blood. I just want to get home and eat some protein bars and watch BETTER CALL SAUL.
I’ve lost over 30Lbs in 4 weeks since stopping AAS. I’m only 180Lbs. Crazy!!!

Wait wait wait what am I missing here? Did you make a post about what happened you?

 

[brutus69]

i had the opportunity to go back on doctor-monitored trt last year but i didnt. because i didnt want to see how bad my numbers are from elevated test levels for the past 3 years. 1500 minimum, should be 600 or 700 average.
ur situation is a little scary. and really should be to others too.
i feel bad for you, u sound like me, i keep shit to myself, dont rely on anyone else, society aint for me.
hope u get it all worked out and this bump in the road disappears in yr rearview.

 

[johnjuanb1]

Over time the hematocrit should lower on its own. Staying hydrated, staying as active as you can, avoiding alcohol and coffee, healthy lifestyle and diet. It should go down on its own. I just read a grapefruit a day can lower it. But ultimately time away from AAS.

I don’t drink alcohol or coffee. My diet is super strict especially now because i don’t want to gain body fat. I can’t stay active. I can walk about 50 feet maximum right now. I drink at least a gallon of water a day. I hope the epidural this week helps. I’d like to do push ups and band work for biceps and delts at home pretty soon. I’ll order grapefruit with my next Vons food delivery. Thank you

 

[johnjuanb1]

How long do you think it will be until you can get the surgery? My hct/hgb have been high in the past but over the last 7 or so blood tests they have been in range. I have never given blood. I think if I start I will have to do it frequently as the body seems to regulate itself back to where it was when it comes to blood volume. You are obviously an anomaly in the fact you need half your bodies blood drained

Flex is barking so time to take him on a walk

Hahaha Flex wants to go chase squirrels in the park.
My surgeon is trying to find places that will allow me to remove blood. Nobody wants my blood. Since surgery can’t be done until they do several more blood dumps, he’s going to give me an epidural injection this week. Maybe that will get me walking again. If it helps i may just be good getting epidural injections. I hope that’s the case.

 

[johnjuanb1]

Pretty damn simple JJ. I'm just putting it out there. The goal would be to make sure not to remove too much blood at one time or to frequently. You don't want to become hypovolemic.
Self Bleeding! - YouTube

I was doing self blood dumps. I’m terrible at it. My arms looked like a heroine addict all bruised up.

 

[johnjuanb1]

Wait wait wait what am I missing here? Did you make a post about what happened you?

I have injuries all over from bodybuilding like all of us. My disk got injured 30 years ago while doing bent barbell rows. I always dealt with it. In mid March i got a flu-like virus that attacked all my old injuries. That’s when the sciatica started. It gradually got worse. I bought an inversion table to try to heal it but hanging upside down really irritated the disk and it got so bad i couldn’t walk. The pain was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. My pain got better the past few days. I can walk about 50 feet now. My left leg has atrophied so much the muscles can barely hold my body weight. Things are feeling slowly better. I cut my pain medicine way back. Hopefully it gets better and i can skip surgery.

 

[Thebigone]

I don’t know how high my numbers are. I asked but forgot to write them down. They took 500ccs of blood and they said I’d need several of those because it’ll only drop about 3 points off my hemoglobin and hematocrit per 500ccs. I don’t care what people think. Yes, blah blah I’m dying tomorrow. Heard that for years from every doctor. Bring it on!
This surgeon is the first doctor i like. He knew it was just from AAS. He didn’t judge. He wants to help me even if i take AAS. He wanted to just drain out every bit of blood into a container in the pre-op room but fucking Obama and all the stupid new regulations say only a special group they outsource can come and take a maximum of 500ccs once I’m admitted to the hospital which is a minimum of a thousand dollars. I asked my surgeon to be my primary care physician but he said that’s not his expertise. I finally found a cool doctor. He would have done the surgery but the anesthesiologist said no way. I really had a bad feeling about her anyway, like i would die if she was in charge.
I can’t say if i feel better physically after the blood draw because I’m pissed off they kept me there 16 hours just to take blood. I got home at 2am. This will cost me thousands of dollars because my shitty blue cross insurance that costs $700/month has a $5,900 deductible. Anyway, there must be a strong correlation between super thick blood and high blood pressure. I went in with bp of around 160/110. After the blood draw it was 145/84. It’s 4:30am and i can’t sleep. I took a Percocet but i swear my sciatica hurts more now. Wtf???
I was able to walk further today without crutches so we’ll do an epidural injection most likely Thursday since surgery isn’t an option. Maybe God will have mercy on me and it’ll work. My left leg no joke is the size of my shrunken arms now. The funny thing is i kind of don’t want to take AAS again. I can actually go all day without urinating as opposed to ever hour of two. My heart feels better. But my dick is a limp noodle. I think i can pull off the Rambo III look naturally. The skin on my stomach looks like it needs to be trimmed off after dropping so much weight.
I swear, opiates give me energy. I’m wired from that Percocet.
Oh well, they say things happen for a reason. Without this hiccup today you all know my dumb ass wouldn’t do a damn thing about my critically high hemoglobin/hematocrit. The past two times i went to the doctor going back 2 1/2 years, both doctors i saw said i could die any day from a stroke. I just don’t like going to doctors ever. I have irrational fears of doing many things in life. I’m a total loner, and i like to handle all of my issues on my own. But this surgeon is unlike any I’ve ever known. I look forward to seeing him because I’ve been 100% real and himest, and he was most concerned with keeping my AAS use between us. He’s whispering about it in the pre-op so the nurses and anesthesiologist didn’t hear. He whispers, “I’ve seen this several times. It just the testosterone. You’re not dying.” Haha such a cool man!

Thank you guys all for being so nice time. It really makes me smile inside. This forum had a lot of really good people. I appreciate you guys so much. Typically, i get real down on my birthday, especially turing 50 and all alone in pain. This thread from everyone helped me a lot. Thank you!!!

P.S. How do i get rid of my blood when no one will take me with nimbers so high? My doctor didn’t even know. The phlebotomist said they only do it if I’m admitted to the hospital. No way am i spending thousands of dollars every week to get my blood dumped. My doctor is calling around for me. I had the phlebotomist teach me how to do it myself. I just need the 500ml bag and some 3 prong thing with a syringe off the side. I didn’t get it. I told her to use a 17 gauge needle because 18 wouldn’t cut it. So she used a 17.

It’s a double edge sword because ferritin levels can tank from too many phlebotomies. Let us know what your numbers were when you remember that will tell a lot. Many doctors have no idea about hemoglobin and just go off the scale. They think 17 is a high number when in reality it’s not at all. If I had to guess I would say you were probably at 20 or 21 and they just freaked out over that but dehydration plays a huge role. You will probably drop two points from just a gallon and a half of water. You can also get a script for phlebotomy is or if you’re careful you can do it yourself but be very careful. I personally think 500 mL is too much so I take out 300 every two months or so.

**broken link removed**