Hematocrit. Does it really worth?

[primobolan]

I have a Labcorp about 2 minutes from my house and blood work is a few dollars so I did a little experiment. I love coffee. I want my coffee as soon as I roll out of bed in the morning. Anywhere from 2 cups to a pot, just straight black coffee, then normal hydration throughout the day. This equaled an 18.6 hemoglobin/hematocrit 55....out of range on bloodwork or high and fine for me but kind of the threshold where even informed doctors say we gotta pull back. I have been in the 60's with no symptoms as well. I have a script and this would make my doctor squirm as well if I turned this in for my 6 month bloodwork to continue my TRT.

Waited a week.

Did the same thing except before I drank my coffee but I did 500ml of water with added electrolytes (Nutricost). Same time, same everything for remainder of the day. I also took in some additional pink salt to offset sodium excretion from the coffee. Hemoglobin 15.6/hematocrit 48.

Just an example of how much these numbers fluctuate and how much hydration plays a part. Also very important; hydration isn't simply downing copious amounts of water its taking in the proper minerals and or replacing the minerals we loose from factors such as caffeine consumption, sleep and sweat. Hope this helps. You get a high number, no need to panic. Fix apnea and make sure minerals AND water are sufficient.

 

[Ranchhand]

Just an example of how much these numbers fluctuate and how much hydration plays a part. Also very important; hydration isn't simply downing copious amounts of water its taking in the proper minerals and or replacing the minerals we loose from factors such as caffeine consumption, sleep and sweat. Hope this helps. You get a high number, no need to panic. Fix apnea and make sure minerals AND water are sufficient.

Great post, thanks for sharing! I'm still struggling to get my hematocrit number down into range after 3 months. I'm definitely going to try this experiment before my next phlebotomy session. I'm at altitude, not just one mile, but two miles above sea level. It's been hell trying to get it down into range, but I have to if I want to get a legit script for HRT.

 

[nothuman]

Does anyone notice a suspicious increase in hematocrit after starting NAC? I found this small study on healthy athletes kind of surprising. There are also other studies showing NAC raises it in hemodialysis patients

N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC)

NAC triggers the production of red blood cells and increases the respiratory drive. When the body senses low oxygen it signals the kidneys to make more red blood cells. In studies NAC was shown to significantly increase hematocrit and hemoglobin by 9% in 8 days [1]. Increased VO2max and Fatigue...

brlsports.com

 

[Powerlifter]

I got blood work fasted and I was at 18.9 hemoglobin and 56 hematocrit. The next day I made sure to hydrate and got in plenty of potassium and sodium to donate blood that evening. They did the finger prick and I was at 19.2 hemoglobin. So even after being more hydrated, my hemoglobin went up slightly.

 

[Mufasa123]

I got blood work fasted and I was at 18.9 hemoglobin and 56 hematocrit. The next day I made sure to hydrate and got in plenty of potassium and sodium to donate blood that evening. They did the finger prick and I was at 19.2 hemoglobin. So even after being more hydrated, my hemoglobin went up slightly.

For what it's worth I used to get a lot of finger pick rbc/crit tests. Every single one even in same day was higher than Labcorp or Quest. Even when the machine was freshly calibrated within days. Didn't fucking matter. We are talking maybe 20x here.

I do not know why and no one else did. Maybe something to do with my blood flow dynamics in fingers/hands. No idea but the pattern was 100% so I bring this up for you.

 

[j4ever]

I got blood work fasted and I was at 18.9 hemoglobin and 56 hematocrit. The next day I made sure to hydrate and got in plenty of potassium and sodium to donate blood that evening. They did the finger prick and I was at 19.2 hemoglobin. So even after being more hydrated, my hemoglobin went up slightly.

i would not totally trust those bro, where i donate they use to do finger stick, and it would be a 3-5 point difference vs BW that was done within 48 hrs before, now they put a probe on finger for a minute, it was reading hgb 2 point lower than BW that was done within 48 hrs before.

 

[gotti]

Does anyone notice a suspicious increase in hematocrit after starting NAC? I found this small study on healthy athletes kind of surprising. There are also other studies showing NAC raises it in hemodialysis patients

N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC)

NAC triggers the production of red blood cells and increases the respiratory drive. When the body senses low oxygen it signals the kidneys to make more red blood cells. In studies NAC was shown to significantly increase hematocrit and hemoglobin by 9% in 8 days [1]. Increased VO2max and Fatigue...

brlsports.com

Yeah ,me too , i read this study too …maybe this plays a role who knows… ,i start using it again after some mild flu simptoms i will do some blood work and after i quit i will do again

 

[jackedsanta]

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

Same, back when I was in the hospital to get my hematocrit down to where they wanted it they had to do two 500ml dumps - recovering from just that was a motherfucker -

 

[jackedsanta]

@nothuman

Yeah ,me too , i read this study too …maybe this plays a role who knows… ,i start using it again after some mild flu simptoms i will do some blood work and after i quit i will do again

Thanks for sharing this I had some health issues earlier this year and I've been remedying them naturally
I'm off TRT for now, dramatically lowered my body fat, fixed sleep apnea and hydration.
I brought my hematocrit down to a 46 but it's just been hanging on,

I'm gonna remove the NAC, I'll find another way to keep the liver healthy, curious if it moves the needle

 

[Mufasa123]

Same, back when I was in the hospital to get my hematocrit down to where they wanted it they had to do two 500ml dumps - recovering from just that was a motherfucker -

They did 1000ml in one sitting or same day? I've has two pints total (each pint is ~ 500ml) in 3 days. I felt that for a few days I think. That's a sizable amount to take at once.

A normal 1 pint loss, I don't think I've ever felt that even a series of weeks in a row.

 

[jackedsanta]

They did 1000ml in one sitting or same day? I've has two pints total (each pint is ~ 500ml) in 3 days. I felt that for a few days I think. That's a sizable amount to take at once.

A normal 1 pint loss, I don't think I've ever felt that even a series of weeks in a row.

I was there for six days they did 500 mil I rested one day and then they did 500 mil another day

Easily took me 30+ days just to recover from that

 

[Michaelw]

I once did 2 200ml draws and then 2 250ml draws all in the span of two weeks. So 900ml total. Did it myself lol

 

[ChaseIrons]

I have a Labcorp about 2 minutes from my house and blood work is a few dollars so I did a little experiment. I love coffee. I want my coffee as soon as I roll out of bed in the morning. Anywhere from 2 cups to a pot, just straight black coffee, then normal hydration throughout the day. This equaled an 18.6 hemoglobin/hematocrit 55....out of range on bloodwork or high and fine for me but kind of the threshold where even informed doctors say we gotta pull back. I have been in the 60's with no symptoms as well. I have a script and this would make my doctor squirm as well if I turned this in for my 6 month bloodwork to continue my TRT.

Waited a week.

Did the same thing except before I drank my coffee but I did 500ml of water with added electrolytes (Nutricost). Same time, same everything for remainder of the day. I also took in some additional pink salt to offset sodium excretion from the coffee. Hemoglobin 15.6/hematocrit 48.

Just an example of how much these numbers fluctuate and how much hydration plays a part. Also very important; hydration isn't simply downing copious amounts of water its taking in the proper minerals and or replacing the minerals we loose from factors such as caffeine consumption, sleep and sweat. Hope this helps. You get a high number, no need to panic. Fix apnea and make sure minerals AND water are sufficient.

This is what I’ve been saying for so long. Not just water, electrolytes. I have an at home hematocrit tester and the difference between morning vs afternoon when hydrated can be a 5-10 point swing. People are way overcomplicating it and if you are drinking a gallon of electrolyte water daily i think it’s a complete waste of time to even look at it. Before i realized this my hct was as high as 60 years ago. I swear drinkMOR by Chris Tuttle since adding that to all water i drink it didn’t matter if i was on 1g or 5g of gear my hematocrit floated between 49-51.

 

[Crazy_jay]

I was there for six days they did 500 mil I rested one day and then they did 500 mil another day

Easily took me 30+ days just to recover from that

We're you having symptoms or did your dr just freak out? Ive tested rbc 6.05, hemo 19.3, hematocrit 56.8. I have all the symptoms of erythrocytosis but still think its something else or something else driving it. But at that particular time, my biggest problems were, dehydration, feeling hyperthyroid, some stomach pain(spleen?)

My dr wasnt overly concerned and wanted to retest in a week. One week later. Rbc 5.62, hemo 18.1, hematocrit 53.4, platelets 213.

How'd I feel then, I dunno, more hydrated.

I can get low or high blood pressure with those numbers.

 

[jackedsanta]

We're you having symptoms or did your dr just freak out? Ive tested rbc 6.05, hemo 19.3, hematocrit 56.8. I have all the symptoms of erythrocytosis but still think its something else or something else driving it. But at that particular time, my biggest problems were, dehydration, feeling hyperthyroid, some stomach pain(spleen?)

My dr wasnt overly concerned and wanted to retest in a week. One week later. Rbc 5.62, hemo 18.1, hematocrit 53.4, platelets 213.

How'd I feel then, I dunno, more hydrated.

I can get low or high blood pressure with those numbers.

No I went in for something else I thought I was having some gastric issues from the GLP3 I was taking, while they're the pain started increasing exponentially it went from stomach pain to what the fuck is going on, so they did a CT scan and lo and behold I had a blood clot inside my mesenteric portal vein in my liver....

 

[Powerlifter]

No I went in for something else I thought I was having some gastric issues from the GLP3 I was taking, while they're the pain started increasing exponentially it went from stomach pain to what the fuck is going on, so they did a CT scan and lo and behold I had a blood clot inside my mesenteric portal vein in my liver....

Did they think this was from elevated hematocrit or something else?

 

[jackedsanta]

For sure polycythemia, but it became a problem because I have a vascular constriction in my left calf they believe it likely broke off from there,

 

[gotti]

Thanks for sharing this I had some health issues earlier this year and I've been remedying them naturally
I'm off TRT for now, dramatically lowered my body fat, fixed sleep apnea and hydration.
I brought my hematocrit down to a 46 but it's just been hanging on,

I'm gonna remove the NAC, I'll find another way to keep the liver healthy, curious if it moves the needle

Maybe milk thistle or tudca will help with liver detox

 

[jackedsanta]

Maybe milk thistle or tudca will help with liver detox

I'm headed in that direction, there are so many supplements out there that have the potential to impact hematocrit.

Apparently Astragalus which I've been using also has a similar potential, so I've eliminated those two things

I'll let it flush out of my system for the next 3 to 4 weeks and then I'll retest.

But I'm think once I can get below 10% body fat that's also gonna change for the better. I've been @ maintenance for a the past 30 days just letting my body relax, headed into my last big push to get rid of this last little bit of body fat.

Hopefully the combination of those things moves the needle and then I can revisit TRT (this time legitimate TRT less super physiological doses)

 

[Mufasa123]

I'm headed in that direction, there are so many supplements out there that have the potential to impact hematocrit.

Apparently Astragalus which I've been using also has a similar potential, so I've eliminated those two things

I'll let it flush out of my system for the next 3 to 4 weeks and then I'll retest.

But I'm think once I can get below 10% body fat that's also gonna change for the better. I've been @ maintenance for a the past 30 days just letting my body relax, headed into my last big push to get rid of this last little bit of body fat.

Hopefully the combination of those things moves the needle and then I can revisit TRT (this time legitimate TRT less super physiological doses)

For what it's worth I take astragalus and have used it on/off with tests. Great on improving creatinine and resulting egfr (cystatin c is rock solid always) but I've never once seen it matter to my rbc or crit.