Please help me understand hematocrit increases!

My new doc (endo) is a little concerned, and wants to lower my test intake. What I didn't tell him is I am also running a var cycle at 70mg/day, and have been for over a month, so I'm not sure how much the var is impacting my blood levels. Anyways, here is the conversation, and his recommendation. If you could help me understand a little better? And maybe I should just finish the var cycle for awhile and keep the test levels up? Take a look.... (and what exactly are the risks if they remain high for too long a period?)

Testosterone shots can be administered weekly, every 2 weeks, or every 3 weeks. The longer the time is between injections the more "up and down" the testosterone level will be. For most men an every 2 week injection schedule is the best compromise for efficacy and convenience, especially if the injections are being done at the clinic. Since you will be doing a self-injection program it would certainly be possible to do the injections weekly at a lower dose.As you note your testosterone level is on the high side. This is likely contributing to the increase in your hemoglobin and hematocrit levels. The Endocrine Society guidelines for testosterone therapy recommend stopping testosterone therapy if the hematocrit increases to > 54%, and then resumption of treatment at a lower dose when the hematocrit is back down to a safe level. Your hematocrit is 53.8%, nearly at this level.It would be my recommendation for you to not get a testosterone shot this week because of your high hematocrit level. I recommend that you wait 3 to 4 weeks before you resume treatment, and resume treatment at a reduced dose of 160 mg every 2 weeks (0.8 ml) or 80 mg weekly (0.4 ml). It would be advisable to have your blood count rechecked 1 to 2 months after resuming treatment. How does this sound?
Sincerely,

hematocrit= how many red blood cells (actually the % of blood that is red blood cells)
hemoglobin - oxygen carrying protein in the red blood cell
causes of high hematocrit - can be as simple as dehydration (in this case prob increased rbc count production due to steroids)
most common danger - high blood pressure

all i can say is read some of my posts as i know what your talking,been there done that...follow link.explains all..http://thebloodconnection.org/produc...ic-phlebotomy/

Give blood regularly TR. Problem solved most of the time. Can't imagine your doc not going that route.

You would have to do it every 2 weeks........prob more often to keep levels at what apparently his doc deems as safe....
dont see anywhere allowing that...

Well, mine has been up to 57, and I can feel it, I give every 6 weeks and it usually comes in around 40-45. I know about the time it takes to build back up - but giving every 6 is better than nothing.

Besides, you have a long term script, right TR? and then a source over there? I don't see any way to avoid it taking what you are taking, so as long as it is not causing problems and as long as you can give as often as you can, tell those Kaiser boys to FO.

My Hemotocrit was high before I even started TRT, it measured at 49. So the doc sent me to a Hemotologist who ran a battery of tests to see if he could diagnose the problem, however all my other tests came back in range.

He monitors my hemoticrit every month, he wanted me to donate blood every other month and visit his office for testing on the off months and if need be they will draw blood at that time. However do to my high blood pressure I rarely am able to donate at the blood bank so I end up going to the center where they test my hemoticrit level and bleed me if necessary on a monthly basis.

This in conjunction with seeing him quarterly seem to work out well for me...as far as controlling my hemitocrit level.

I wish I could find an endo who could treat my low test problem with half as much dedication and knowledge as this guy.

does/will var contribut to this?

btw... I'm banned from giving blood. I lived in europe in the 80's, and when that comes up in the questioneer, instant "no-go". Evidently, I may have been exposed to mad cow's desease (according to them).

But I could just bleed myself? Hmmm.... sounds strange. So this is why you mates are always talking about donating blood?

Is this as easy as drawing a pint once a month? I'll have to learn how to do that (the right way)

There was a thread a long time ago in the peptide/hgh forum where the dude talked about bleeding himself, it was wicked and funny at the same time, but you are a tough bastard TR, and I am sure you will be looking for things to do over there - just tell the story when you do it!

Also, If you can get a doc's script for it you can donate at a lab and they will discard the blood.

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Originally Posted by Times Roman

does/will var contribut to this?

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yes..it does. Not only like most aas, but even more so as it stimualtes the synthesis of epo

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Originally Posted by jimmyinkedup

yes..it does. Not only like most aas, but even more so as it stimualtes the synthesis of epo

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as I was thinking. and since at the end"ish" of my var cycle, my levels were up. I'm thinking i stay off var for awhile and things should calm down? Plus I need to find a medic that will bleed me.

btw... just shipped 8 x 1.75 litres of evan williams today... that should be worth something?

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Originally Posted by flatscat

There was a thread a long time ago in the peptide/hgh forum where the dude talked about bleeding himself, it was wicked and funny at the same time, but you are a tough bastard TR, and I am sure you will be looking for things to do over there - just tell the story when you do it!

Also, If you can get a doc's script for it you can donate at a lab and they will discard the blood.

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I gotta chuckle outta that one =)

Maybe you could come clean with your doc and tell him you were just finishing up the var cycle. He might be able to give you the best answer. When you start doing things like bleeding yourself, it seems like you are headed in the wrong direction.

I'm going to email my doc now and see if "giving blood" regularly would help. I'm not going to fess up to the var. I'll let you know what he says.
Thanks mates!

This is what my endo said when I asked the question about donating blood to alleviate the symptoms...

You could certainly donate blood. However, the fact that your blood count has gone up out of the normal range still means that the testosterone treatment dose is excessive - an optimal treatment dose shouldn't cause your blood count to go up excessively.
Sincerely,

Dear Doc,

Umm, what if I was somehow taking more than the optimum level? Would this account for the problem? It is possible a competitor spiked my drink, or I rubbed up against someone that was on a test cream. Or maybe it was a supplement I was taking. I have stopped drinking from open containers, rubbing against people and taking supplements, so I am sure my levels will fall back into line. Let's just give it a little time.

If my levels come down, I can start adding the things above back into my routine one by one so we can identify the cause. Starting with rubbing up against people.

My appologies for the confusion,

TR

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Originally Posted by Times Roman

This is what my endo said when I asked the question about donating blood to alleviate the symptoms...

You could certainly donate blood. However, the fact that your blood count has gone up out of the normal range still means that the testosterone treatment dose is excessive - an optimal treatment dose shouldn't cause your blood count to go up excessively.
Sincerely,

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I think that means donating blood should do the trick without saying you have permission to keep your levels that high. So, bleed brotha!