My hematocrit came back at 55.5

SkyWarn · Sep 22, 2024

60 year old male here. I have been on test cyp for 15 years. I have always struggled with elevated hematocrit and I dislike donating blood.. I lowered my dose to 12mg sub-q every other day. On that dose my hematocrit stayed around 49-50 area. Been doing that for a few years but I just don't feel right. Total T is around 550 on that dose. Couple months ago I decided to raise the dose to 16 mg every other. Feel much much better the day after the dose, but the 2nd day I start feeling crappy again.
I made the switch to Defy around same time since I think I need even more than the 16mg.
Initial labs came back - my HCT at 55.6 so they won't even start treatment until I lower that number. Tomorrow I am donating blood and will retest in a week. This is bad, I don't want to be donating blood every 60 days.

HSLD · Sep 22, 2024

Have you tried cream?

Systemlord · Sep 22, 2024

HSLD said:
Have you tried cream?

Those struggling to control their hemoglobin and hematocrit levels are best choosing a delivery method with a shorter half-life such as oral testosterone and testosterone cream.

I don’t think many realize how quickly your hemoglobin and hematocrit levels approach near pre-donation levels after a donation. Usually within a week or two they’re right back near where they were before the donation and you risk crashing your ferritin levels.

Melody68 · Sep 23, 2024

SkyWarn said:
60 year old male here. I have been on test cyp for 15 years. I have always struggled with elevated hematocrit and I dislike donating blood.. I lowered my dose to 12mg sub-q every other day. On that dose my hematocrit stayed around 49-50 area. Been doing that for a few years but I just don't feel right. Total T is around 550 on that dose. Couple months ago I decided to raise the dose to 16 mg every other. Feel much much better the day after the dose, but the 2nd day I start feeling crappy again.
I made the switch to Defy around same time since I think I need even more than the 16mg.
Initial labs came back - my HCT at 55.6 so they won't even start treatment until I lower that number. Tomorrow I am donating blood and will retest in a week. This is bad, I don't want to be donating blood every 60 days.

I'm sympathetic to your issue. I started TE 8 months ago or so; I inject twice a week for a total of 84mg/week, not a big dose. Nevertheless I suspect from past blood tests that I'll be pushing HCT this time, will probably hit 53 or even 54. I'm surprised (maybe I shouldn't be) that my blood pressure has come up, now around 140/80. I'm curious Skywarn, is your blood pressure problematic at that higher hematocrit level?

Cataceous · Sep 23, 2024

As @Systemlord suggests, shorter-acting testosterone might be the way to go, whether it's testosterone nasal gel, oral testosterone, or even daily use of a propionate blend. I have long speculated that some of testosterone's benefits are tied to daily peak levels, while some of the sides effects are more linked to average or trough levels. With shorter-acting testosterone you can preserve peak testosterone while driving down average and trough levels.

Fernando Almaguer · Sep 24, 2024

Systemlord said:
Those struggling to control their hemoglobin and hematocrit levels are best choosing a delivery method with a shorter half-life such as oral testosterone and testosterone cream.

I don’t think many realize how quickly your hemoglobin and hematocrit levels approach near pre-donation levels after a donation. Usually within a week or two they’re right back near where they were before the donation and you risk crashing your ferritin levels.

I havent experienced that. As I donated they stayed low for a while

SkyWarn · Sep 26, 2024

Systemlord said:
Those struggling to control their hemoglobin and hematocrit levels are best choosing a delivery method with a shorter half-life such as oral testosterone and testosterone cream.

I don’t think many realize how quickly your hemoglobin and hematocrit levels approach near pre-donation levels after a donation. Usually within a week or two they’re right back near where they were before the donation and you risk crashing your ferritin levels.

When I started testosterone 15 years ago, I began with Androgel. I liked the gel, I got an almost immediate boost in libido within 30 minutes of applying it. I believe I was doing 4 pumps daily. I remember having to donate blood even when on the gel, but my HCT was around 52 at that time and my doc was very cautious with elevated hematocrit. Latter on when my insurance refused to pay for the gel I switched to a compounded testosterone cream that my doctor ordered for me. I had 0 absorption on that cream for some reason whereas my levels were always high on Androgel. I will discuss with Defy about the possibility of going back on it.

My hematocrit came back at 55.5

SkyWarn

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HSLD

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Systemlord

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Melody68

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Cataceous

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Fernando Almaguer

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SkyWarn

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