Hematocrit creeping up on test e, when did you guys actually do something about it

Posted by nomad_brandon in Safety & Side Effects - 1 points, 4 comments.

Been on trt for a while now, test e split twice a week, and for what it is worth my numbers have looked decent on paper for most of it. Last couple of bloods though my hematocrit has been slowly walking up, nothing crazy yet but it is trending the wrong direction and my doc flagged it.

I have read enough to know this is one of the real side effects to watch on testosterone, not just an acne or libido thing, and thicker blood is not something i wanna mess with. So for those of you who have actually dealt with this, what did you do first. Did you drop the dose, donate blood, switch injection frequency, all of the above.

I am not looking for medical advice, just real experiences. How high did yours get before you or your doc made a move, and what actually moved the number. Also curious if anyone has tried the regular donation route and how often that takes to actually show on bloodwork. Trying to figure out what is reasonable to bring up at my next appointment.

Comments

• humbleomar229: Mine was at like 51 on test e and my gp basically shrugged until i pushed for a donation referral. Went every 8 weeks for a bit and it came down a few points but crept back when i stopped. Felt more sluggish at the higher number ngl, like workouts dragged and i was warmer than usual. Did not touch the dose at that point. Just donation.
• nomad_brandon: Yeah 51 is right where mine is hovering too, so that tracks. The sluggish and warm thing i 100% get, i thought it was just summer but it has stuck around longer than it should. 8 weeks between donations feels kinda frequent though, was that just through a regular blood drive or did your gp set something up with the red cross. Also when you say it crept back after stopping, how fast are we talking, like a couple months or did it shoot right back.
• tiredmira: Yeah the sluggish and warm thing tracks with mine too, I felt kind of heavy at like 50 and it was the first clue something was off. Donation every 8 weeks did basically nothing for me long term until I also lowered the dose a bit, then it actually stayed down. Worth trying the donation route first though since it is the easier lever to pull 😅
• nomad_brandon: Yeah the heavy feeling is what got me too, i did not even connect it to bloods until my doc said something. How much did you end up dropping the dose by, was it like a noticeable change in how you felt day to day or did it mostly just show up on the next round of bloodwork. Trying to figure out if i should start with donating for a couple of cycles and see if that is enough before i touch the dose itself.

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