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Very high HCT - now what

seamusmagoo

seamusmagoo

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I'm 5 months into TRT at 150mg/week. No prior PED use. I am responding well, seeing total/free T go from 461/13 to >1500/29. Estradiol is manageable, but my HCT has been as high as 57.4. Tried some common approaches to reduction without success ( Natto, daily sub-q, ultra-hydration daily and pre-blood draw, plenty of fasted cardio), and I'm back at nearly HCT of 57 2.5 months after a double red donation. I wouldn't be too concerned except that I have been symptomatic - headaches, dizziness, audible pulse, tinnitus. All mild but nonetheless present. I also need clean bloodwork at my annual and cardiology appointments. All other markers are great (improving actually), BP optimal, and heart was blessed by cardiologist last spring via stress test and echo. Age is 52. Blood donation just doesn't seem like a sustainable solution.

I'm looking to add some lean mass and was going to rely on Test-C as my primary and possibly only source. In addtion to the 140/week of test-c I also take low dose Reta and 3iu/daily GH.

I just paused my TRT but the plan is to resume and drop to say 105mg/week. Is there something else I can take alongside test that will help with some reasonable gains but not spur my rbc production? My original plan was just to cycle test. Advice is appreciated.
 
seamusmagoo said:
I'm 5 months into TRT at 150mg/week. No prior PED use. I am responding well, seeing total/free T go from 461/13 to >1500/29. Estradiol is manageable, but my HCT has been as high as 57.4. Tried some common approaches to reduction without success ( Natto, daily sub-q, ultra-hydration daily and pre-blood draw, plenty of fasted cardio), and I'm back at nearly HCT of 57 2.5 months after a double red donation. I wouldn't be too concerned except that I have been symptomatic - headaches, dizziness, audible pulse, tinnitus. All mild but nonetheless present. I also need clean bloodwork at my annual and cardiology appointments. All other markers are great (improving actually), BP optimal, and heart was blessed by cardiologist last spring via stress test and echo. Age is 52. Blood donation just doesn't seem like a sustainable solution.

I'm looking to add some lean mass and was going to rely on Test-C as my primary and possibly only source. In addtion to the 140/week of test-c I also take low dose Reta and 3iu/daily GH.

I just paused my TRT but the plan is to resume and drop to say 105mg/week. Is there something else I can take alongside test that will help with some reasonable gains but not spur my rbc production? My original plan was just to cycle test. Advice is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Are you sure that you are truly hydrated? I always drink a gallon of water with electrolytes before getting blood work. I just get busy a couple hours before I get jabbed. My HTC is always 2-3 points lower when I’m properly hydrated
 
Swole76 said:
I would give naringin a shot.
Click to expand...
I will. Was a little concerned about interactions. It can increase or decrease the potency of meds. Will order some now.
Akhunter said:
Are you sure that you are truly hydrated? I always drink a gallon of water with electrolytes before getting blood work. I just get busy a couple hours before I get jabbed. My HTC is always 2-3 points lower when I’m properly hydrated
Click to expand...
I genuinely am and even more so on the day of bloods. I usually schedule it late morning so I can hydrate thoroughly.
 
I had the same thing as you, although my HCT was 55. But after I deliberately drank 1 liter of water before having my blood taken on an empty stomach, my HCT was 52. Still not perfect, but I think 3 points in a short time is good. I now deliberately drink a lot more, at least 4 liters of water per day. (4 Liter = 1.05 US Gallons)

Do you smoke? How's your Iron and Ferritin Levels?
 
mae_geri said:
I had the same thing as you, although my HCT was 55. But after I deliberately drank 1 liter of water before having my blood taken on an empty stomach, my HCT was 52. Still not perfect, but I think 3 points in a short time is good. I now deliberately drink a lot more, at least 4 liters of water per day. (4 Liter = 1.05 US Gallons)

Do you smoke? How's your Iron and Ferritin Levels?
Click to expand...
No I'm a good boy, I don't even abuse caffeine anymore. I likely drank nearly a gallon before my most recent bloods. I am 1.5-2 gallons daily. No idea on iron or ferritin as I've never had them explicitly tested. But no signs of anemia and HCt was never an issue until I started pinning test.
 
Also. How is your blood pressure. I am of the mind set that if your BP is on point the HCT isnt a big deal
 
dht derivatives have a less significant impact on your hct than other aas. might want to bank on them for the majority of your anabolic load. not sure how to fix what u got going on though
 
Akhunter said:
Also. How is your blood pressure. I am of the mind set that if your BP is on point the HCT isnt a big deal
Click to expand...
Great at 110/70. My concern is I was having some actual symptoms of high hematocrit probably once I crossed over 55. I also can't have such elevated RBC, hemoglobin and HCT numbers on my bloods through insurance. I'm happy to lower test if I can compensate with a synthetic.
 
302 said:
Rookie numbers😂
Drink More water, do more cardio
Keep Bp in range
Supplement grapefruit
Microdose your injections
And get your test in a trt range.
Greater then 1500 on 150wk. Test👀
Did I read that right?
Maybe take 100mg wk.
Give it some time.
Click to expand...
I know, I'm like a super-responder. This is on clinic supplied and source supplied test with no difference. You are right with the time recommendation. You start seeing positive changes and it's easy to get impatient.
 
Valdosta said:
dht derivatives have a less significant impact on your hct than other aas. might want to bank on them for the majority of your anabolic load. not sure how to fix what u got going on though
Click to expand...
I assume you are pointing me towards Masteron. That's the only dht derived synthetic that I am even vaguely familiar with.
 
seamusmagoo said:
I know, I'm like a super-responder. This is on clinic supplied and source supplied test with no difference. You are right with the time recommendation. You start seeing positive changes and it's easy to get impatient.
Click to expand...
Took me 3 months for hct to go from 60-49
Hemo 20-17.
 
seamusmagoo said:
Great at 110/70. My concern is I was having some actual symptoms of high hematocrit probably once I crossed over 55. I also can't have such elevated RBC, hemoglobin and HCT numbers on my bloods through insurance. I'm happy to lower test if I can compensate with a synthetic.
Click to expand...
You just gotta get out of that supraphysiological range.
I get headaches and dizzy low energy over 55 as well. I thought I had a brain aneurysm.😁
 
seamusmagoo said:
I assume you are pointing me towards Masteron. That's the only dht derived synthetic that I am even vaguely familiar with.
Click to expand...
thats a decent option. u could consider trying 50test 100mast and see if that feels better than trt
 
302 said:
You just gotta get out of that supraphysiological range.
I get headaches and dizzy low energy over 55 as well. I thought I had a brain aneurysm.😁
Click to expand...
60! Agreed, time to step down on the test.
 
Akhunter said:
Are you sure that you are truly hydrated? I always drink a gallon of water with electrolytes before getting blood work. I just get busy a couple hours before I get jabbed. My HTC is always 2-3 points lower when I’m properly hydrated
Click to expand...
I tested this theory. My hematocrit wasn’t going down from 3 therapeutic phlebotomies. It was over 60 at first. I typically fast until noon, so my blood was taken while fasted. Plus, my diet is very low in sodium so I urinate all the time drinking my 1.5 gallons of water a day. So, to test the theory, I ate an entire pizza with peanut butter on the crust (so yummy! Try it! Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter )the night before my blood draw, and drank a half gallon of water with it. The next morning I drank a half gallon of water and got my blood drawn fasted at 10am. My doctor said there’s no way dehydration will drop hematocrit more than a half point. He said it’s because I listened to him and quit taking testosterone. I was also taking deca: 210mg test prop/140mg deca. My hematocrit went from 54.4 to 50.8 in a 2 days by sodium loading with a ton of water. Then, I got my hematocrit tested a couple weeks later with none of the sodium and water loading, and it went back up to 52.9. My doctor says it went down because I stopped taking AAS two months ago. But if that was true it wouldn’t have gone back up on the test taken two weeks later with the AAS having 2 more weeks to get out of my system. I haven’t talked to him since the last blood test showing it going back up. I just needed to get my hematocrit below 54 for my upcoming spine surgery.
The past month I’ve been taking 10,000 FU’s of Nattokinase and 500mg-1 gram Naringin extract daily. I’ll drop them, along with other blood thinners next week for the surgery, but after I plan to stay on them long term.
I think when I go back on TRT I’ll only do 10mg testosterone daily. And no deca. I was told deca is the main culprit In elevating hematocrit.
It sounds like we both just have issues with blood thickening, even on low does. I’m hoping if I keep the TRT no higher than 100mg/week, that my hematocrit stays in normal range, because having no testosterone in my body for the past 2+ months feels like shit! I have no sex drive! I’m ultra sensitive and get anxiety easily. It sucks!
 
seamusmagoo said:
I will. Was a little concerned about interactions. It can increase or decrease the potency of meds. Will order some now.

I genuinely am and even more so on the day of bloods. I usually schedule it late morning so I can hydrate thoroughly.
Click to expand...

seamusmagoo said:
I will. Was a little concerned about interactions. It can increase or decrease the potency of meds. Will order some now.

I genuinely am and even more so on the day of bloods. I usually schedule it late morning so I can hydrate thoroughly.
Click to expand...
It is added to some pre workouts to increase absorption. I usually just mix it with 600 mg of powdered NAC and water. A warning though, it has a strong unpleasant flavor.
 
What I do is drop TRT for a month. at week 3 I donate a pint. Then after week 4 I go on a lower TRT. Doing that my hCT goes from 56 to 47 roughly. Also, your test is pretty high. TRT would put you around 800 ng/dL at the trough. At that level I can go for a long time without HCT issues and feel great. Bottom line is you are over dosing TRT and need to get a system in place that helps you manage your red cells. 56% is as high as I let mine go.
 
JJB1 said:
I tested this theory. My hematocrit wasn’t going down from 3 therapeutic phlebotomies. It was over 60 at first. I typically fast until noon, so my blood was taken while fasted. Plus, my diet is very low in sodium so I urinate all the time drinking my 1.5 gallons of water a day. So, to test the theory, I ate an entire pizza with peanut butter on the crust (so yummy! Try it! Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter )the night before my blood draw, and drank a half gallon of water with it. The next morning I drank a half gallon of water and got my blood drawn fasted at 10am. My doctor said there’s no way dehydration will drop hematocrit more than a half point. He said it’s because I listened to him and quit taking testosterone. I was also taking deca: 210mg test prop/140mg deca. My hematocrit went from 54.4 to 50.8 in a 2 days by sodium loading with a ton of water. Then, I got my hematocrit tested a couple weeks later with none of the sodium and water loading, and it went back up to 52.9. My doctor says it went down because I stopped taking AAS two months ago. But if that was true it wouldn’t have gone back up on the test taken two weeks later with the AAS having 2 more weeks to get out of my system. I haven’t talked to him since the last blood test showing it going back up. I just needed to get my hematocrit below 54 for my upcoming spine surgery.
The past month I’ve been taking 10,000 FU’s of Nattokinase and 500mg-1 gram Naringin extract daily. I’ll drop them, along with other blood thinners next week for the surgery, but after I plan to stay on them long term.
I think when I go back on TRT I’ll only do 10mg testosterone daily. And no deca. I was told deca is the main culprit In elevating hematocrit.
It sounds like we both just have issues with blood thickening, even on low does. I’m hoping if I keep the TRT no higher than 100mg/week, that my hematocrit stays in normal range, because having no testosterone in my body for the past 2+ months feels like shit! I have no sex drive! I’m ultra sensitive and get anxiety easily. It sucks!
Click to expand...
Can you fire your Dr. He sounds like a fuckwhit.
 
Glycomann said:
What I do is drop TRT for a month. at week 3 I donate a pint. Then after week 4 I go on a lower TRT. Doing that my hCT goes from 56 to 47 roughly. Also, your test is pretty high. TRT would put you around 800 ng/dL at the trough. At that level I can go for a long time without HCT issues and feel great. Bottom line is you are over dosing TRT and need to get a system in place that helps you manage your red cells. 56% is as high as I let mine go.
Click to expand...
That’s a lot of truth. I am too rigid in my thinking sometimes. That was my plan except I was considering only taking a weeks vacation from test. I am starting to recognize that the sustainable path forward doesn’t involve constant correction for sides. I’m learning.

I appreciate everyone willing to share their experience.
 
Swole76 said:
It is added to some pre workouts to increase absorption. I usually just mix it with 600 mg of powdered NAC and water. A warning though, it has a strong unpleasant flavor.
Click to expand...
I got it yesterday and mixed it with my other morning powders, one of which is very sweet, and it overpowered all of them. Very strong grapefruit taste. Thanks for the recommendation.
 
Glycomann said:
What I do is drop TRT for a month. at week 3 I donate a pint. Then after week 4 I go on a lower TRT. Doing that my hCT goes from 56 to 47 roughly. Also, your test is pretty high. TRT would put you around 800 ng/dL at the trough. At that level I can go for a long time without HCT issues and feel great. Bottom line is you are over dosing TRT and need to get a system in place that helps you manage your red cells. 56% is as high as I let mine go.
Click to expand...
I have to admit it has been very hard for me not to pin any Test. It's only been a few days and I of course feel fine, maybe even better. But my mind if fucking with me, just as it would if I skipped workouts. Abuse, or at least the potential for it, is a real thing with ped's.
 

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