How many of you who blasted EQ now have low ferritin?

[RockyP]

I've seen several reports from members on here who are dealing with low ferritin levels and in passing there seems to be some commonality with past usage of high-ish dosages (800+ per week) of EQ. A few members also reported that their HCT levels dropped while taking these high dosages of EQ. I've wondered if perhaps in some people high dosages / long cycles of EQ can somehow suppress endogenous EPO production (no evidence to support this - just thinking out loud). That said, even just HRT levels of test can suppress hepcidin levels. Perhaps how sensitive one is to this hepcidin suppression is genetically determined and the cause of low iron in guys on high dosages of gear?

I know this is not necessarily unique to EQ, but given EQ's association with blood viscosity (perhaps incorrectly so compared to other compounds), I was curious if any other members have had these issues with low ferritin, and if so, do you have a history of prior heavy EQ usage?

 

[Slowww]

Not personally no, even with consistent EQ use

 

[ackmack78]

Week 7 of 550/200/200 test EQ deca and got tested and my hematocrit and hemoglobin went down a little. But nothing touches my blood thickness not even anadrol @150/day. I have been dealing with low iron and ferritin for a while. At the same time on this cycle I was able to improve my ferritin and iron numbers by adding in ferrous sulfate

 

[RockyP]

Week 7 of 550/200/200 test EQ deca and got tested and my hematocrit and hemoglobin went down a little. But nothing touches my blood thick was not even anadrol @150/day. I have been dealing with low iron and ferritin for a while. At the same time on this cycle I was able to improve my ferritin and iron numbers by adding in ferrous sulfate

This is very interesting. Even 150 of Anadrol. Incredible. There’s got to be something with how the various compounds impact Hepcidin and how the iron balance (storage / release) is impacted.

 

[Tbaz192]

I am one of said low ferritin guys.

I started having issues around 600 test 300 EQ & then a few more cycles mixed with HGH as well. For probably 2 years without realizing.

I’ve attributed it to consistent RBC/hemoglobin elevation. No matter what compound.

Depending on your body. You may or may not absorb iron enough or quick enough to keep up with the constant draining of ferritin every time your body is in high demand on creating RBC. RBC creation comes from your iron etc.
other factors play a role too. GI issues. Hepecidin, inflammation.

Having been on higher doses for so long and not properly absorbing iron ended up keeping me in a VERY lowered ferritin state with normal iron / saturation etc. been months and months trying to fix it. Iron supplementation doesn’t help me.

I’m at the point of using piglet iron injections. @Photon is trying it for iron issues . Waiting to see his experience before jumping into it. As doctors don’t give a flying F about my ferritin issues or the side effects I’m experiencing which are terrible & probably awful for longevity/ health.

Where as on the other hand. Some users with EQ. Have the opposite effect and no issues with iron/ferritin. Or they have lower RBC/Hemo with messed up iron. I haven’t looked into that since it doesn’t pertain to me.

 

[Photon]

I've seen several reports from members on here who are dealing with low ferritin levels and in passing there seems to be some commonality with past usage of high-ish dosages (800+ per week) of EQ. A few members also reported that their HCT levels dropped while taking these high dosages of EQ. I've wondered if perhaps in some people high dosages / long cycles of EQ can somehow suppress endogenous EPO production (no evidence to support this - just thinking out loud). That said, even just HRT levels of test can suppress hepcidin levels. Perhaps how sensitive one is to this hepcidin suppression is genetically determined and the cause of low iron in guys on high dosages of gear?

I know this is not necessarily unique to EQ, but given EQ's association with blood viscosity (perhaps incorrectly so compared to other compounds), I was curious if any other members have had these issues with low ferritin, and if so, do you have a history of prior heavy EQ usage?

I ended up with anemic after a 1g EQ cycle.
Think there's about 4 of us on this board who experienced a drop in hgb/hct on high EQ doses.

 

[ackmack78]

This is very interesting. Even 150 of Anadrol. Incredible. There’s got to be something with how the various compounds impact Hepcidin and how the iron balance (storage / release) is impacted.

I was able to double my ferritin and iron with just 65mg of ferrous sulfate a day in 8 weeks. Neither were low but both were on the very low end of normal. My iron saturation went from critical at 7 to low at 12. I pretty much started the iron supplement at the same time my cycle started. I'm now taking 65 mg twice a day one mid day with vitamin C and the second dose before bed no vitamin C.

 

[sionnach]

I've wondered if perhaps in some people high dosages / long cycles of EQ can somehow suppress endogenous EPO production (no evidence to support this - just thinking out loud).

This is an interesting theory, since boldenone is known in the short term to stimulate the production of erythropoeitin.

Some possibly related info regarding exogenous EPO:

Overview of Decreased Erythropoiesis - Hematology and Oncology - Merck Manual Professional Edition

Overview of Decreased Erythropoiesis - Etiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, signs, diagnosis & prognosis from the Merck Manuals - Medical Professional Version.

www.merckmanuals.com

Long-term use of exogenous EPO can thus lead to a sustained suppression of endogenous EPO production, which may result in a sudden decrease in red blood cell production if the exogenous agent is discontinued, potentially leading to anemia.

 

[xrayphoton13]

I am one of said low ferritin guys.

I started having issues around 600 test 300 EQ & then a few more cycles mixed with HGH as well. For probably 2 years without realizing.

I’ve attributed it to consistent RBC/hemoglobin elevation. No matter what compound.

Depending on your body. You may or may not absorb iron enough or quick enough to keep up with the constant draining of ferritin every time your body is in high demand on creating RBC. RBC creation comes from your iron etc.
other factors play a role too. GI issues. Hepecidin, inflammation.

Having been on higher doses for so long and not properly absorbing iron ended up keeping me in a VERY lowered ferritin state with normal iron / saturation etc. been months and months trying to fix it. Iron supplementation doesn’t help me.

I’m at the point of using piglet iron injections. @Photon is trying it for iron issues . Waiting to see his experience before jumping into it. As doctors don’t give a flying F about my ferritin issues or the side effects I’m experiencing which are terrible & probably awful for longevity/ health.

Where as on the other hand. Some users with EQ. Have the opposite effect and no issues with iron/ferritin. Or they have lower RBC/Hemo with messed up iron. I haven’t looked into that since it doesn’t pertain to me.

Did you try the vorck protocol? Fixing High Hemoglobin or Hematocrit and Low Ferritin While on TRT

 

[BP_6]

I have had low ferritin as I have gotten older and been on for very long periods of time. Usually it is in the lower end of normal. Have talked to my doctor about it and they have ran many test and it doesn't seem to be causing me any issues at all so I am just monitoring it. Iron supplementation doesn't seem to do much if anything at all, either negatively or positively.

Kind of has been stated, it appears to happen sometimes to long term AAS users as they get older. Just a theory as that is often the case when I have talked to others about it.

 

[RockyP]

Thank you guys for all your responses so far.

Just to be clear, were any of you long term / repeat blood donors also?

 

[Photon]

Thank you guys for all your responses so far.

Just to be clear, were any of you long term / repeat blood donors also?

On dut, can't donate.
Ill probably pull EPO labwork on my next blast to see how it changes with EQ added in.

 

[Raiders789]

I am one of said low ferritin guys.

I started having issues around 600 test 300 EQ & then a few more cycles mixed with HGH as well. For probably 2 years without realizing.

I’ve attributed it to consistent RBC/hemoglobin elevation. No matter what compound.

Depending on your body. You may or may not absorb iron enough or quick enough to keep up with the constant draining of ferritin every time your body is in high demand on creating RBC. RBC creation comes from your iron etc.
other factors play a role too. GI issues. Hepecidin, inflammation.

Having been on higher doses for so long and not properly absorbing iron ended up keeping me in a VERY lowered ferritin state with normal iron / saturation etc. been months and months trying to fix it. Iron supplementation doesn’t help me.

I’m at the point of using piglet iron injections. @Photon is trying it for iron issues . Waiting to see his experience before jumping into it. As doctors don’t give a flying F about my ferritin issues or the side effects I’m experiencing which are terrible & probably awful for longevity/ health.

Where as on the other hand. Some users with EQ. Have the opposite effect and no issues with iron/ferritin. Or they have lower RBC/Hemo with messed up iron. I haven’t looked into that since it doesn’t pertain to me.

I've been having issues with this too -

Never used eq but on my last test/primo cycle my iron, transferrin/sat, and ferritin all dipped below the reference range. They budged up a tiny bit when I transitioned to a cruise despite religious iron +vitc suppelementiton.

I heard theres some science behind taking iron + vitamin c every other day being more effective than every day, so I've been trying that for the past month and going to get bloods soon to see if that has any effect. But I'm planning another high test/primo cycle soon and would really like to get this figured out before, I've been looking into IM injections as well so please keep us updated on how those work out!

 

[RockyP]

I've been having issues with this too -

Never used eq but on my last test/primo cycle my iron, transferrin/sat, and ferritin all dipped below the reference range. They budged up a tiny bit when I transitioned to a cruise despite religious iron +vitc suppelementiton.

I heard theres some science behind taking iron + vitamin c every other day being more effective than every day, so I've been trying that for the past month and going to get bloods soon to see if that has any effect. But I'm planning another high test/primo cycle soon and would really like to get this figured out before, I've been looking into IM injections as well so please keep us updated on how those work out!

Did you have any symptoms of low iron or did it just come up in your labs?

 

[Tbaz192]

I've been having issues with this too -

Never used eq but on my last test/primo cycle my iron, transferrin/sat, and ferritin all dipped below the reference range. They budged up a tiny bit when I transitioned to a cruise despite religious iron +vitc suppelementiton.

I heard theres some science behind taking iron + vitamin c every other day being more effective than every day, so I've been trying that for the past month and going to get bloods soon to see if that has any effect. But I'm planning another high test/primo cycle soon and would really like to get this figured out before, I've been looking into IM injections as well so please keep us updated on how those work out!

Yeah my hematologist suggested EOD. The science behind iron can overload your body and it won’t absorb it everyday he said.

Granted I never looked into it, could’ve be nothing but BS. And was just another thing for me to try.

But it didn’t do jack. I’ve tried a few protocols. nothing. Multiple sources of iron too.

We’ll see what my ferritin is on 50mg Test cyp x2 a week no HGH.
versus 250 total a week & HGH for months and months if not years lol.

 

[Tbaz192]

Thank you guys for all your responses so far.

Just to be clear, were any of you long term / repeat blood donors also?

Never donated but once when my HGB was very high year ago ish. Ferritin 36 after and tanked months later

 

[Raiders789]

Did you have any symptoms of low iron or did it just come up in your labs?

My situation was a little unique because I (although I didn't know it at the time) was starting to develop long covid induced hypovolemic POTS which has very similar symptoms to low iron. I knew something was wrong and suspected iron first but after lots of testing/doctor visits the iron wasn't really much of a factor.

I was always a touch below the reference range in my iron studies, and now that I can better manage my POTS I don't get those symptoms anymore while still having essentially the same iron studies values.

I'm interested to see how my body responds to my next test/primo cycle; last time my iron studies were all borderline and my hct was 44% on pretty high doses. Hopefully I can feel normal and get the benefit of not having to worry about my hematocrit, but I guess we're gonna see

 

[Ateam2023]

Did you try the vorck protocol? Fixing High Hemoglobin or Hematocrit and Low Ferritin While on TRT

I did this protocol with good success raising ferritin, but it also raised my rbc, hct, hemoglobin into the red, hct went from 53 to 57% , so its a double edge sword it seems, Ferritin went from 30 to 80 though

 

[exx]

On dut, can't donate.
Ill probably pull EPO labwork on my next blast to see how it changes with EQ added in.

you cant donate blood on dutasteride? First time im hearing this

 

[Photon]

you cant donate blood on dutasteride? First time im hearing this

Causes birth defects.
No donations for 6m after last dose.

https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/how-to-donate/eligibility-requirements/eligibility-criteria-alphabetical.html