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Hematocrit

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sxkol

sxkol

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Hi, everyone. I have a question about hematocrit. Whether it's donating blood or having blood drawn, how long does your hematocrit stay low afterward, and is that a long-term solution?
And aside from donating blood and staying hydrated, is there anything else that reliably lowers your hematocrit by a few points?
i am on TRT with testogel daily aplication, no sleep apnea and my hematocrit is around 52 always and my doc doesnt want to do anything to lower it, but i would want to lower it to around 50.
Thanks for any advice.
 
No guarantees, but it's possible that it will get lower if you lose more weight, I saw in your other post that you are in that process. Excess weight can also drive hematocrit up, as it makes oxigen needs increase. Or was it lower before TRT? Because in that case, I may be wrong regarding your outcome.
 
Falcon said:
No guarantees, but it's possible that it will get lower if you lose more weight, I saw in your other post that you are in that process. Excess weight can also drive hematocrit up, as it makes oxigen needs increase. Or was it lower before TRT? Because in that case, I may be wrong regarding your outcome.
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Yeah, i am in that Process. That's interesting. My research so far has shown that sleep apnea is actually most likely to occur in overweight people on TRT. My weight loss is going pretty well, and I'd like to start building muscle now while losing fat, but I'm worried that my hematocrit will rise even further when i start using ped's more than in my TRT.
 
sxkol said:
Hi, everyone. I have a question about hematocrit. Whether it's donating blood or having blood drawn, how long does your hematocrit stay low afterward, and is that a long-term solution?
And aside from donating blood and staying hydrated, is there anything else that reliably lowers your hematocrit by a few points?
i am on TRT with testogel daily aplication, no sleep apnea and my hematocrit is around 52 always and my doc doesnt want to do anything to lower it, but i would want to lower it to around 50.
Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...
i actually would really recommend upping your daily water intake first and dropping weight can be helpful too sure, for any ancillary supplement i would really recommend nattokinase and turmeric since they both work really well
 
sxkol said:
Hi, everyone. I have a question about hematocrit. Whether it's donating blood or having blood drawn, how long does your hematocrit stay low afterward, and is that a long-term solution?
And aside from donating blood and staying hydrated, is there anything else that reliably lowers your hematocrit by a few points?
i am on TRT with testogel daily aplication, no sleep apnea and my hematocrit is around 52 always and my doc doesnt want to do anything to lower it, but i would want to lower it to around 50.
Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...
You don’t need to do anything about a hematocrit of 52%. That’s a perfectly normal level for a man on TRT. Take care of your lipids and glucose levels — that’s what matters. If your hematocrit rises above 54%, then it should be considered as potentially increasing risk. Send your bloodwork here and I’ll help you figure it out.
 
Hello, I am a 35-year-old competitive bodybuilder from Italy with previous experience using AAS.

I am considering a new competition preparation and I am looking for professional guidance focused on both performance and harm reduction.

My main concern is hematocrit. During a previous period of AAS use my hematocrit reached approximately 57%. Because of this elevated value, I underwent a therapeutic phlebotomy (bloodletting/salasso). I am therefore particularly concerned about managing this risk carefully during any future preparation.

I have recently completed a PCT and I have new bloodwork available, including testosterone, LH, FSH, estradiol, prolactin, kidney and liver function, glucose and lipid profile. I can attach the results if useful.

I am not looking for a generic recommendation. I would like to understand how an experienced specialist would approach someone with my history, which blood tests and cardiovascular parameters should be monitored, how frequently they should be checked, and what findings would require modifying or stopping an AAS-based preparation.

I am also interested in understanding whether your experts provide ongoing individualized supervision or only general advice.

Thank you.
 
Marcopt said:
Hello, I am a 35-year-old competitive bodybuilder from Italy with previous experience using AAS.

I am considering a new competition preparation and I am looking for professional guidance focused on both performance and harm reduction.

My main concern is hematocrit. During a previous period of AAS use my hematocrit reached approximately 57%. Because of this elevated value, I underwent a therapeutic phlebotomy (bloodletting/salasso). I am therefore particularly concerned about managing this risk carefully during any future preparation.

I have recently completed a PCT and I have new bloodwork available, including testosterone, LH, FSH, estradiol, prolactin, kidney and liver function, glucose and lipid profile. I can attach the results if useful.

I am not looking for a generic recommendation. I would like to understand how an experienced specialist would approach someone with my history, which blood tests and cardiovascular parameters should be monitored, how frequently they should be checked, and what findings would require modifying or stopping an AAS-based preparation.

I am also interested in understanding whether your experts provide ongoing individualized supervision or only general advice.

Thank you.
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Hey bro, with a previous hematocrit of 57%, I definitely wouldn’t treat this as something to ignore or simply solve with repeated blood donations. I’d first focus on reducing or removing the factors driving epo production: lowering the androgen load, avoiding compounds that increase RBC production, staying properly hydrated and checking for contributors like sleep-disordered breathing.
If hematocrit remains elevated, especially around 54% or higher, I’d pause the idea of another prep and discuss therapeutic management with a doctor rather than trying to push through 💪
 
sxkol said:
Hi, everyone. I have a question about hematocrit. Whether it's donating blood or having blood drawn, how long does your hematocrit stay low afterward, and is that a long-term solution?
And aside from donating blood and staying hydrated, is there anything else that reliably lowers your hematocrit by a few points?
i am on TRT with testogel daily aplication, no sleep apnea and my hematocrit is around 52 always and my doc doesnt want to do anything to lower it, but i would want to lower it to around 50.
Thanks for any advic
Click to expand...

sxkol said:
Hi, everyone. I have a question about hematocrit. Whether it's donating blood or having blood drawn, how long does your hematocrit stay low afterward, and is that a long-term solution?
And aside from donating blood and staying hydrated, is there anything else that reliably lowers your hematocrit by a few points?
i am on TRT with testogel daily aplication, no sleep apnea and my hematocrit is around 52 always and my doc doesnt want to do anything to lower it, but i would want to lower it to around 50.
Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...
Good afternoon, I normally donate blood every three months, and two weeks later, I get blood work done to check my levels. My dosage is 150mg split into two doses per week, and at this level, my hematocrit usually doesn't reach those high values. I recommend doing cardio—about 30 minutes—after your weight training sessions. However, if your hematocrit is high, you can ask your doctor to take a closer look at the situation! How is your blood pressure?
 
But by using AAS can you still donate blood? I don't know where you're from but here in Italy it's not legal
 
Marcopt said:
But by using AAS can you still donate blood? I don't know where you're from but here in Italy it's not legal
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In almost every country, you shouldn't do it, but the questions asked of any donor are basic and focus more on other issues. I can use my own case as an example: I take medication for type 2 diabetes, yet they are more concerned with sexually transmitted diseases. A few days later, you receive an email with the results of the tests performed on the sample they run tests before your blood is actually used.
 
Marcopt said:
I understand so do you think it could be a plausible solution to donate blood regularly?
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It might not be the best solution for lowering hematocrit if levels remain high even at that dosage, it is worth investigating the cause. Some people find their levels return to the same point just two weeks after donating blood. It is a silent issue, so it is advisable to check your blood pressure morning and evening for about seven consecutive days to see if a different form of intervention is needed.
 
My pressure is regular both when the blood count is high and when it is in normal values I have never noticed that I suffer from sleep apnoea so I assume it is only a problem related to the use of AAS
 
Marcopt said:
My pressure is regular both when the blood count is high and when it is in normal values I have never noticed that I suffer from sleep apnoea so I assume it is only a problem related to the use of AAS
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Marco, this is exactly where I want you to change the way you think about the problem.

You’re asking whether regular blood donation could make the hematocrit manageable. I’d ask a different question: why are we planning the workaround before we know whether your body is telling us that the androgen load itself is too much?

You already reached 57% once. That is very different from somebody sitting consistently around 51 to 52%. You also needed a therapeutic phlebotomy. I wouldn’t build a prep around repeatedly draining blood every time the number climbs and then calling the problem solved.

And normal blood pressure is GREAT news, but it doesn’t cancel the hematocrit issue. Same with sleep apnea: “I’ve never noticed it” unfortunately doesn’t exclude it.

If you were my athlete, I’d want a proper baseline first: CBC including Hb/Hct/RBC, ferritin and iron status, BP trend, kidney function and ideally proper assessment of possible sleep-disordered breathing if there’s any suspicion. Then we establish how quickly your hematocrit actually responds when androgen exposure changes.

There’s another reason I don’t love repeated phlebotomy as the master plan: eventually you can start chasing hematocrit at the expense of your iron stores. That’s a terrible trade for a competitive bodybuilder. You can end up with a prettier hematocrit number while recovery, performance and general wellbeing move in the wrong direction.

You’re clearly taking this seriously, and that’s good. So let’s treat you like an athlete, not like a laboratory number.

I would suggest to control the cause first. Use medical intervention when medically indicated. Don’t design the prep around constantly repairing what the prep is doing to you.

That approach gives you a much better chance of actually reaching the stage healthy enough to perform when it matters.

Shark
 
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