polycythemia

[wifor]

All,

A few weeks ago my RBC came back at 20....which is high. My doc referred me to an endo who looked at my results and immediately said 'You have to stop test and can never do it again.' as you have developed polycythemia which could cause a cardiac event. I was taking 100ml of test cyp on a weekly basis. Maybe this seems to be a too high of a dose and I should back down to a .5 or .75 weekly. But stop cold turkey....that is nuts....i'm not doing it. Before I met with this woman endo....I gave a pint of whole blood and after I did that the major symptoms of polycythemia subsided but some of the little symptoms are still showing....red hands and feet and a little fatigue. My question is if I gave whole blood on 6/5 does just giving platelets (not whole blood) remedy this issue? I can't give whole blood again until 7/31 but I am able to give just platelets now. Should I?

wifor

[wifor]

no takers....huh?

[warchild]

i dont know man

[Coach 44]

I don't know bro. I'm going through the same thing. Wish I could give blood, tried but iron was too high. Now I'm waiting for the latest test results to come in before seeing the hematoligist. I'm close to drawing the blood myself, but don't want to f*ck up. Keep us posted.

[wifor]

I'm pretty sure just giving platelets is not going to help the situation. I'm going into the dr. office for a blood test. starting to feel symptomatic again.

wifor

[nonotone]

----

[lovbyts]

I don't know bro. I'm going through the same thing. Wish I could give blood, tried but iron was too high. Now I'm waiting for the latest test results to come in before seeing the hematoligist. I'm close to drawing the blood myself, but don't want to f*ck up. Keep us posted.

??? My iron being high is the reason my doc said I should give blood.

[wifor]

Koneteh, thanks for the confirmation of what I was thinking. After doing some reading I concluded just giving platelets was a bad idea and did not do it. I also went in to get another blood count, I should get the results in a few days. I told my family doc what the endo said and he agreed with me and doesn't see the need to stop the testosterone just back down the dose from 100ml /wk to 50ml /wk. My last injection was 6 days ago and I pushed 80ml into my thigh. I am going to hold off for several more days before injecting any more and then lower the dose again to the 50 ml dose. The more I think about it, this woman endo really made me mad....how would she like it if all the estrogen was sucked out of her body for the rest of her life? How would she feel? Freaking Moron! I'll keep everyone up to date.

wifor

[wifor]

Test results from 6/4/2009
<Testosterone level was 623. Hb 20.1 and Hct 62.1 which are high showing signs that you are receiving too much testosterone. Normal electroyltes, liver and kidney function. Normal Thyroid function. Lipid panel showed elevated LDL at 163, low HDL at 28, high TG's at 223, and high cholesterol at 236. Normal PSA test. Will recheck in 1 year at annual physical.> Note from Wifor: this sample was drawn 5 days after a 100ml injection of test cyp. I felt like crap!

Test results from 6/17/2009
Hb-19 and Hct-56.7. Testosterone Level is 793.
Note from Wifor: This sample was taken 5 days after an 70ml injection of test cyp and a whole blood donation of 1 pint. A week has gone by and I am not as symptomatic as I was earlier in the month just fatigued. It has been 13 days since my last injection and I was going to shoot 50ml tomorrow but I think I am going to hold off several more days maybe a week. Any ideas or comments?

wifor

[wifor]

Well, here is an update. My doc cut my test dose to .50 ml/week. I was going to mention that I didn't really feel that was enough and was going to bargain for an increase in dosage to .75. The Polycyhemia symptoms had not been present. Then last week, I go to donate blood and my hemoglobin was 19.3. They refused my donation and said go talk to your doctor. So I did and he examined my results. We decided on a plan....do another hemglobin test, then inject .50 of Testosterone then do the hemoglobin test again a week later.
It seems to me that if the hemoglobin was high on .100 ml of Test C and it was still high on .50 ml of Test C ....then....either control it with phlebobotomies OR go back to a gel or other transmission vehicle. I am wondering if other transmission vehicles...patch or pellets would be better than Androgel? Anyone have any experience with those? I think I could handle phlebotomies every 2 or 3 weeks but not weekly. And if it's hemoglobin is high at .50 ml of test then why not go back up to .100? it is going to be high either way.

Wifor

[Coach 44]

I don't know why there is a hesitation to address this issue. Donate blood every 60 days and all syptoms SHOULD subside. Your doctor knows best. But if any doc puts you on trt and tells you to eliminate completely, they are an idiot. Your body will tell you if your dose is too high. Be aware that if that is the case, you need to reduce it before you donate blood. Just because if your iron is too high, (at least here in Calif.) they won't accept your donation.

[wifor]

Something I didn't mention....you are right the Indiana Blood Center will reject a donation of hemoglobin if the levels are not in the following range 11 to 18.2. Below or above those numbers and you are out of luck and I got rejected last week because of this....mine was 19.3. The 19.3 number sent me to my doctor because back in June my numbers were in the 19s also. So my doc wrote me a script that states I can donate anytime my levels are above 11.
I went into the clinic yesterday and tested....I was at 19.3 again. (So I bet I am going to be in that area ....low 19's when on HRT) So I donated a pint or 500ml. I am going back in today for a finger stick hemoglobin test and if it is still real high I will probably donate again but that will be a game time decision. More as I live it!

Coach44...talk to your doc and see if he will write you a script to take to the donation center it can't hurt.

wifor

[wifor]

Well, unusual events occurred. My doctor changed the blood draw script without telling me. So this made me look like a fool at the blood center....like I was trying to do something I shouldnt be doing. I hate that! Yesterday, the directions read withdraw blood as needed so if my counts were still high then I could withdraw again the next day. So I go in and check my hemoglobin and it is 18.8. That is not much of a drop from 19.3 the previous day. I thought that being high would mean another donation but the doctor changed the script from as needed to weekly. I still don't know if 18.8 is a problem.

[zaggahamma]

really weird but the last two times i went to donate blood...my iron was TOO LOW...to donate????...in the beginning of my trt i had a few blood tests reveal a high rbc and starting donating shortly after...never really got a chance to do more bloodwork other than wut you get when you donate blood

[wifor]

Well, I had my hemoglobin checked 3 times since my phlebotomy. I started at 19.3 before the draw. I was at 18.8, 2 days later and 18.9, 4 days later. I injected .50ml of Test C 6 days ago. I have a dr. appt today for blood tests (test and RBC). .50 ml is not really enough to get me through the week. We'll see what happens.