Hematocrit. Does it really worth?

[musclemuscle]

This is absolutely incorrect reasoning. What difference does it make whether your blood became thick from polycythemia vera or from TRT? It's a strain on your blood vessels, vascular damage, cholesterol plaques, blood pressure, and hello to heart attacks, strokes, etc. Yes, there are people who don't feel the symptoms of a high hematocrit, and that's the worst thing.

• Underlying Cause: PV is a primary clonal bone marrow disorder (neoplasm). TRT erythrocytosis is a secondary, functional response to high exogenous testosterone.
• Blood Cell Lines: PV often increases all blood cell lines (erythrocytes, leukocytes, platelets). TRT-induced erythrocytosis primarily increases only red blood cells (erythrocytosis).
• Genetic Marker: PV is associated with the JAK2 mutation (~95% of cases). TRT-induced cases will not have this mutation.

 

[specter]

1 cap of OTC iron got me back up in a month. That`s not hell or even hard. Maybe it`s hard for people with other health issues. Now I donate every 14-16 weeks, daily iron and my entire CBC is great, iron/ferritin good, no BP issues or meds.

The problem is always donating and tanking your iron. Then you get a rebound effect, still have high rbc/crit, probally low MCV, high RDW, low blood oxygenation, gasping for air. You have to fix the entire CBC, not just one factor or it will never work.

My comment was in relation to donating back to back, that was what fucked me over personally and several other people on the board, there is several old threads about this very issue. So its not just me trying to be a smart ass

 

[hogan87]

My comment was in relation to donating back to back, that was what fucked me over personally and several other people on the board, there is several old threads about this very issue. So its not just me trying to be a smart ass

I get it. All of you got hyper focused on bringing down hematocrit and ignored the rest of CBC and iron levels. Then say donating is bad. Y`all were just doing it incomplete but then say donating is bad which is FALSE. I did it too, listened to bro`s and tanked my iron. I`m a bit wiser now and have better labs while still donating yet a little less frequently

 

[BAZZ BEAT]

I get it. All of you got hyper focused on bringing down hematocrit and ignored the rest of CBC and iron levels. Then say donating is bad. Y`all were just doing it incomplete but then say donating is bad which is FALSE. I did it too, listened to bro`s and tanked my iron. I`m a bit wiser now and have better labs while still donating yet a little less frequently

Absolutely

 

[nothuman]

I get it. All of you got hyper focused on bringing down hematocrit and ignored the rest of CBC and iron levels. Then say donating is bad. Y`all were just doing it incomplete but then say donating is bad which is FALSE. I did it too, listened to bro`s and tanked my iron. I`m a bit wiser now and have better labs while still donating yet a little less frequently

Yes, the dosage of blood donations makes the poison. An occasional donation here and there that doesn’t tank ferritin is probably a net positive. Doing it too much is definitely a net negative.

 

[e95932]

I've read Nichols' stuff. The distinction between secondary erythrocytosis and polycythemia vera is real, but most doctors don't know the difference. They just see 55% and panic. I've run at 54-56 for years with no issues. No clots. No strokes. Normal platelets. I donate blood when I feel sluggish. Otherwise I ignore the alarmists.

 

[primobolan]

I hit 61 when I used to run test/deca/eq for extended periods. Felt fine. No blood pressure effect, red blood cell count in normal range, platelets normal. I have sleep apnea but APAP basically fixes the issue, episodes around 2 maybe 3 an hour.

 

[nothuman]

I hit 61 when I used to run test/deca/eq for extended periods. Felt fine. No blood pressure effect, red blood cell count in normal range, platelets normal. I have sleep apnea but APAP basically fixes the issue, episodes around 2 maybe 3 an hour.

I have always felt fine at 60% too

 

[Powerlifter]

I just got my blood work back and on 300mg test a week I'm at

5.98 RBC
18.9 hemoglobin
56 hematocrit

Took the blood test early in the morning and got about 32oz of water in beforehand.

Any suggestions on bribing this down?

 

[specter]

I have always felt fine at 60% too

Guessing normal/small particles and well hydrated ?

 

[Mufasa123]

I just got my blood work back and on 300mg test a week I'm at

5.98 RBC
18.9 hemoglobin
56 hematocrit

Took the blood test early in the morning and got about 32oz of water in beforehand.

Any suggestions on bribing this down?

Just FYI on hydration. It takes time, not purely water volume, for you to hydrate especially after sleeping. I don't care how much water you drink at once beforehand.

Example - 2 tests blood drawn at exact same lab location 2 days apart. Nothing different in diet or physical between.
1) late afternoon with solid but moderate water all day (making sure I drank but not a priority). Crit was 47
2) mid morning drinking a shit ton of water starting 4hrs before. Crit was 51 and out of range.

Fucking crazy. Nearly a 10% move despite mega water for hours.

You can see a similar confirming impact on a bodyfat scale. Before bed will always be your lowest of the day. Much more than waking (highest) and more than midday (middle). You can even stay up all night not starving yourself of water and post a very low crit test or bodyfat measurement on those scales. I've done it.

You lose a shit ton of water when you sleep and it takes your body time to replenish regardless of acute consumption levels.

 

[nothuman]

Just FYI on hydration. It takes time, not purely water volume, for you to hydrate especially after sleeping. I don't care how much water you drink at once beforehand.

Example - 2 tests blood drawn at exact same lab location 2 days apart. Nothing different in diet or physical between.
1) late afternoon with solid but moderate water all day (making sure I drank but not a priority). Crit was 47
2) mid morning drinking a shit ton of water starting 4hrs before. Crit was 51 and out of range.

Fucking crazy. Nearly a 10% move despite mega water for hours.

You can see a similar confirming impact on a bodyfat scale. Before bed will always be your lowest of the day. Much more than waking (highest) and more than midday (middle). You can even stay up all night not starving yourself of water and post a very low crit test or bodyfat measurement on those scales. I've done it.

You lose a shit ton of water when you sleep and it takes your body time to replenish regardless of acute consumption levels.

Exactly it fluctuates a lot day-to-day and moreso the time of day. That’s why it’s always bullshit when someone says they take nattokinase and claim it dropped their hematocrit a few percentage points and say that is the reason why when it’s not

 

[Powerlifter]

Would you suggest keeping everything the same and getting another blood test later in the day? See if that makes a difference in my numbers?

 

[Mufasa123]

Would you suggest keeping everything the same and getting another blood test later in the day? See if that makes a difference in my numbers?

If you want sure. I don't recall if you said there was a specific purpose to the testing. Hydration can move a lot of numbers as many are volume based. Crit is a huge one though (obviously RBC too but that is near perfectly correlated for obvious reasons).

I don't think you'll be under 50 (at least in my experience it maxes around 10%) but whatever. Just book as late as you can and drink water throughout the day. I'd be interested in what comes back before/after if you do so please post it.

 

[Onemind1body1]

Tell you what. I was 22% with hemoglobin @ 7.2 after surgery in Feb and I can tell you 9 weeks later I sure wish the process of recovery was faster and I was higher. So for this one I’m going to say both hands down it’s definitely worth.

 

[bkow26]

There's a lot of controversy surrounding hematocrit. Some doctors and people are alarmed when it exceeds 52-54%, while others tend to say they're not too concerned.

But which side is right? According to Dr. Keith Nichols, there's a big difference between polycythemia and secondary erythrocytosis (common in test users), and people often confuse them. Many believe that a high hematocrit is linked to blood clots, but he says more risk factors are needed, such as high platelet counts. What are your thoughts, and what do you do about it?

I had high hematrat

Telmisartan is a overall better blood pressure drug than Enalapril for a few reasons but Enalapril has a better chance to lower hematocrit

I use benicar

 

[Powerlifter]

If you want sure. I don't recall if you said there was a specific purpose to the testing. Hydration can move a lot of numbers as many are volume based. Crit is a huge one though (obviously RBC too but that is near perfectly correlated for obvious reasons).

I don't think you'll be under 50 (at least in my experience it maxes around 10%) but whatever. Just book as late as you can and drink water throughout the day. I'd be interested in what comes back before/after if you do so please post it.

It was just part of routine blood work. Thanks for the help.

 

[hogan87]

I just got my blood work back and on 300mg test a week I'm at

5.98 RBC
18.9 hemoglobin
56 hematocrit

Took the blood test early in the morning and got about 32oz of water in beforehand.

Any suggestions on bribing this down?

How about the rest of your CBC?

 

[Powerlifter]

How about the rest of your CBC?

Everything else was normal. Platelets were 218.

 

[hogan87]

Everything else was normal. Platelets were 218.

"normal" meaning in range, it`s not lit up red? Big difference between Mid range or 2 pts off the bottom. Imagine your test was 400 and doctor said "you are in range". There is always an optimal range. If your MCV is not tanked yet, or bottom of range. RDW is edging up? Go donate and check iron/TIBC next time