Hematocrit creep on TRT, how fast does it usually climb?

Posted by sleep_coastal in Safety & Side Effects - 2 points, 0 comments.

Anecdotally I noticed my hematocrit drifting up after about 4 months on test cypionate at a pretty standard TRT dose. Nothing crazy, went from like 46 to 52 percent. Not over the line yet but the trend was obvious and it got me thinking about timing. For me the creep seemed to stabilize around the 6 month mark but I know guys who hit 54 or 55 and had to donate blood. Just my own experience though, could be totally different for someone else.

The thing I keep wondering about is whether splitting the dose more frequently actually helps keep hematocrit lower or if it is just total exposure that matters. I have seen people claim both. The profile page on test cypionate lists erythrocytosis as a known side effect but does not really get into whether injection frequency changes the risk. Anyone here actually tracked hematocrit across different injection schedules? Like same weekly total but once vs twice vs three times a week?

Also curious if anyone has looked at whether the longer esters like undecanoate are gentler on hematocrit because of the flatter levels. Seems plausible but I have not seen anything solid. If you are running TRT and not getting periodic bloodwork you are flying blind on this one. Elevated hematocrit is not something you are gonna feel until it is a problem.

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