ResearchSafe

HCT jumped from 44 to 51 on test prop, how worried should I be

Posted by leah_vo2max in Safety & Side Effects - 2 points, 4 comments.

Been on test prop pinned EOD for about 10 weeks now, doses in the typical research range you see discussed. Just got bloods back and my hematocrit went from 44 baseline to 51. RBC count is up too. BP has crept up a bit but nothing crazy.

To be fair I was kind of expecting something, I respond heavy to anything that bumps RBC, even moderate altitude training pushes me up a few points. But going from 44 to 51 in 10 weeks is a bigger jump than I wanted to see.

No head rushes, no blurry vision, no weirdness during training. Feeling fine honestly, which is what makes me uncomfortable about it because the whole thing with high HCT is you usually dont feel anything until something bad happens.

I know the standard advice is donate blood and recheck, which I am doing this week. But at what number do you actually start considering coming off or switching esters? Sustanon for example would be way less convenient but smoother on bloods supposedly.

Anyone else dealt with a jump this steep on a short ester specifically? Curious if it leveled off for you or kept climbing.

Comments

  • cycles_dad: Yeah that jump in 10 weeks is a lot, even if you already knew you were a high responder to RBC stuff. 51 isnt panic territory but its not comfortable either, and youre right that the scary part is feeling fine... Thats exactly why it sneaks up on people. Have you checked your estradiol and shbg alongside the HCT? Sometimes a steep hematocrit climb on test prop lines up with E2 running higher than people think, and that can feed the whole viscosity picture. Also worth looking at ferritin because
  • leah_vo2max: Yeah E2 came back at like 52, shbg was on the lower side around 28, ferritin was 180ish so plenty of fuel there. Good call on checking those together, I didn't really piece together how much E2 feeds the viscosity thing. The sustained release angle is what I'm chewing on now honestly. If the spike profile is half the problem then swapping esters actually makes sense instead of just donating every 2 weeks forever. How long would you typically give a switch like that before retesting HCT to see i
  • rachel_ketogen: Yeah ferritin is a good call, mine was sitting up there too when my HCT did the same thing a couple years ago. E2 was the bigger driver for me honestly, once I got that sorted the HCT stopped climbing so fast. You already know youre a high responder so its just a matter of stacking every intervention youve got, donate blood, hydrate, check the estrogen angle, and pull bloods again in 4 weeks to see if its actually bending. Dont wait longer than that with a 51.
  • leah_vo2max: Ferritin actually came back at 280 which surprised me, I didn't realize how high it had gotten. E2 is in the upper third of range too so you might be onto something there. Going to look into getting that dialed in alongside the donation. Appreciate the 4 week recheck reminder, I was kinda thinking 6 but yeah with a 51 waiting longer than I have to is dumb.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.