Hematocrit on lower dose try

[malfeasance]

TRT, not "try".

Hrmph . . . getting older. Late 50s, have been on 120mg testosterone and 3 iu hgh for about forever now.

56.7% hematocrit

18.9 hemoglobin

5.89 red blood cell count


Everything else is in range (hooray!)

This is frustrating because that hemoglobin number is too high even to donate blood. I have drained my own blood in the past (can you say boldenone?) but I really do not enjoy doing so.

If I stop the hgh and either cease the testosterone or lower it down to like 75 a week, how long before this comes into range again?

This is not the result of a "cycle" or high dose testosterone. I have been taking nothing but what is listed above for many months.

 

[malfeasance]

On a positive note, my eGFR is lower now than a decade ago, so I guess my kidneys have not been harmed by my reckless steroid abuse when I was younger.

 

[Mfras]

Following this one. Lipids get funky at times but hct is usually the marker that never goes back to the 40s. It’s the reason I never played with eq.

 

[readalot]

Hrmph . . . getting older. Late 50s, have been on 120mg testosterone and 3 iu hgh for about forever now.

56.7% hematocrit

18.9 hemoglobin

5.89 red blood cell count


Everything else is in range.

This is frustrating because that hemoglobin number is too high even to donate blood. I have drained my own blood in the past (can you say boldenone?) but I really do not enjoy doing so.

If I stop the hgh and either cease the testosterone or lower it down to like 75 a week, how long before this comes into range again?

This is not the result of a "cycle" or high dose testosterone. I have been taking nothing but what is listed above for many months.

Wow. Lifetime of RBC is about 100 days. Without phlebotomy you are talking a couple months to see some movement.

Have you considered low dose aspirin (insurance) and also 10k FU/day nattokinase to modify your plasma viscosity?

Hct and plasma viscosity are main parameters that determine whole blood viscosity.

Hard to say what that Hct means for you in terms of whole blood viscosity. Very high on paper though. I wouldn't personally operate there.

 

[readalot]

Plasma viscosity: a forgotten variable - PubMed

Evaluation of plasma viscosity has been underutilized in the clinical practice. Plasma viscosity is determined by water-content and macromolecular components. Plasma is a highly concentrated protein solution, therefore weak protein-protein interactions can play a role that is not characterized...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Measurement of Red Cell Lifespan and Aging - PMC

The measurement of red blood cell (RBC) survival has a long history, and a wide variety of methods have been utilized for this purpose. Current methods are of 2 types. First, those that label a representative sample of RBCs of all ages from the ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[malfeasance]

Following this one. Lipids get funky at times but hct is usually the marker that never goes back to the 40s. It’s the reason I never played with eq.

My hematocrit number has been much lower in the past, even after EQ.

But I have not been doing any cycling of any kind. Just low dose testosterone and growth hormone. Nothing else.

My 2024 blood test showed a hematocrit of 51.4. This is still technically elevated, out of range, but barely (top of range is 50%). My doctor told me to increase my testosterone from 75mg a week, where it had been for a couple of years, to 125mg a week, due to my estradiol being single digits (7, lol).

So I increased to 120mg (math is easier with a syringe than 125).

I have not donated blood recently. Now I probably cannot.

 

[readalot]

High Hematocrit: Effect on Blood Pressure & Effect of Altitude on Hematocrit - Page 2 - Excel Male Health Forum

So Jay and Dr Nichols are doing a full court press on evidence based symptoms, saying most initial sides are basically psychosomatic and to quit being pussies and get through it, Dr Nichols wents so far a couple days ago and said pretty much the entire membership of Excel Male needs to apply...

www.excelmale.com

whole thread is decent

 

[malfeasance]

Google says Red Cross will take up to 20 on hemoglobin, so maybe I can still go there.

The other place I used to donate cuts off at 18.

 

[johnjay06]

Your doc can't write you a donation order? Mine sends one in for me to donate either every 2 months or as needed, depending on what my hemoglobin comes in at. The donor center can't turn me away due to the order. I went in a week ago and was at 19.1 hemoglobin

 

[Ateam2023]

TRT, not "try".

Hrmph . . . getting older. Late 50s, have been on 120mg testosterone and 3 iu hgh for about forever now.

56.7% hematocrit

18.9 hemoglobin

5.89 red blood cell count


Everything else is in range (hooray!)

This is frustrating because that hemoglobin number is too high even to donate blood. I have drained my own blood in the past (can you say boldenone?) but I really do not enjoy doing so.

If I stop the hgh and either cease the testosterone or lower it down to like 75 a week, how long before this comes into range again?

This is not the result of a "cycle" or high dose testosterone. I have been taking nothing but what is listed above for many months.

I just had the lowest HCT I've had in years and the only thing I really changed was I was taking 99% Naringin @600-1200 mg daily, That's the only thing that I have changed in my regiment. I've been constantly in the 53-55 range forever, just high enough to in the red, but my latest HCT was @50, idk , but its something I've been keeping a close eye on and have struggled with for years,

 

[malfeasance]

On a positive note, my eGFR is lower now than a decade ago, so I guess my kidneys have not been harmed by my reckless steroid abuse when I was younger.

LOL, I am such an idiot.

Lower is worse, not better, when it comes to eGFR.

But, it is only two points lower. It is also way higher, however, than recently. 2024 eGFR was 72. It was up to 78 by the end of 2025. So a significant increase in a short period of time, and for the better.

Almost a decade ago it was 80, which was, as I already pointed out, two points better, but I was in my 40s a decade ago.

I think the lesson here is that an eGFR score is not a reliable indicator that your kidney is suffering damage and that it is irreversible (it is not a reliable indicator of either of those two things independently or together).

I am white, but I used to review the black eGFR score (all of you know why all bodybuilders considered this the more relevant score). But I can't do that now, because it is racist, and I am probably racist even for mentioning it. Oh, my "African American" eGFR almost a decade ago was 93.

 

[malfeasance]

African American eGFR =

 

[newguy2]

This is frustrating because that hemoglobin number is too high even to donate blood.

I donated to Red Cross on my last cycle. I had basically identical numbers to you. They used an electric meter that goes on your finger with infrared. Like the oxygen sensor at the doctor. It was like 2-3 points lower than my blood test was a couple days prior. I think you'll be good

 

[malfeasance]

I donated to Red Cross on my last cycle. I had basically identical numbers to you. They used an electric meter that goes on your finger with infrared. Like the oxygen sensor at the doctor. It was like 2-3 points lower than my blood test was a couple days prior. I think you'll be good

Good info. Thanks.