Anyone Successfully Lower HCT by Reducing T Dose?

[SkyWarn]

My last blood test Hct came back at 53 back in March. Then this coronavirus hit and I haven't had a chance to recheck it. I am not having symptoms other than feeling very itchy. The last time I donated blood I had a very hard time. Felt lightheaded and short of breath for a day afterwords. I am trying to avoid donating again, especially with the current virus and hospital situation. I wouldn't want to do anything that might require a trip to the ER (I live in NYC).
I inject 10cc of Cyp (20 mg testosterone) every other day. I am thinking of cutting it in half to force the HCT down. Any thoughts?

 

[Sly]

I went from 200mg once a week to 40mg 4 times a week to lower my HCT. That was 2 months ago. I’ll have a blood draw next month to see if it was effective. I’ll report back then. I have been donating every 2 months and just barely make the cutoff to donate each time .

 

[Vince]

Lowering your testosterone dose may help lower HCT also longevity of trt should help lower HCT. When I went to daily injections and lowered my dose, I no longer had to donate blood. I don't know if it was because of daily injections or just longevity.

How to Lower High Hematocrit Caused by Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT)

High Hematocrit Caused by Testosterone Replacement Therapy By Nelson Vergel, B.S.Ch.E., M.B.A. High hematocrit occurs when there is an excessive production of red blood cells. High hematocrit can cause the blood to become very viscous or "sticky," making it harder for the heart to pump. High...

www.excelmale.com

 

[SkyWarn]

I have been on T for 10 years. I had to donate every 3 months to keep Hct down below 52. Last year I switched from twice weekly (45mg X 2) to EOD sub-q (20mg eod) and added HCG 250 units twice weekly. The last time I had to donate was February 2019. I thought I finally found the solution to the frequent donations and low ferritin. But the last few months my Hct started creeping back up. I'm not sure why, nothing has changed. So now I am switching from 20mg T EOD to 14mg (7cc) eod to see if that helps.
Maybe I should try daily shots instead?

 

[Vince]

I have been on T for 10 years. I had to donate every 3 months to keep Hct down below 52. Last year I switched from twice weekly (45mg X 2) to EOD sub-q (20mg eod) and added HCG 250 units twice weekly. The last time I had to donate was February 2019. I thought I finally found the solution to the frequent donations and low ferritin. But the last few months my Hct started creeping back up. I'm not sure why, nothing has changed. So now I am switching from 20mg T EOD to 14mg (7cc) eod to see if that helps.
Maybe I should try daily shots instead?

You may want to try daily injections, to lower your HCT. It doesn't work for everyone. You're on a pretty little dose of testosterone already. I don't think you need to lower it more then 10 mg daily.

 

[Cataceous]

I've floated the general idea that some of the problematic aspects of TRT could be more closely tied to average testosterone levels, while more of the benefits may relate to peak levels. It's pure speculation, but I'd like to interest guys in testing the idea with something easily quantified, such as hemoglobin and hematocrit.

The way it works is you start with frequent injections of a longer ester, such as cypionate. This should result in pretty stable serum levels. At this baseline H&H are measured, along with testosterone and SHBG. The next step is to experiment with daily doses of propionate, or a combination of propionate and a longer ester. The doses are adjusted so the daily testosterone peaks are similar to what was achieved with the longer ester alone, but the average is lower. For example, if TT of 800 ng/dL was achieved on cypionate alone, then with the ester combination one might have a peak TT of 800 ng/dL, an average of 650 ng/dL, and a daily trough of 500 ng/dL. Will H&H go down on the lower average dose without a return of low-T symptoms?

I've run both protocols myself, with the data trending the opposite of what is hoped for. But there are confounding factors in my case, such as variations in training intensity.

Edit: Nelson posted an article on sleep apnea and polycythemia. The first sentence says "Polycythemia (erythrocytosis) is a known side effect of testosterone (T) replacement therapy (TRT) and appears to correlate with maximum T levels." If true, it contradicts my premise with respect to this particular side effect. So far I haven't found the full article text to see if there's a strong basis for the statement.

Edit2: This study is more supportive of my suggestions. It compares testosterone undecanoate, testosterone enanthate, and pellets. If hematocrit were more dependent on peak values then you might think that enanthate would fair the worst. However, the pellets gave the highest values, and the authors "conclude that, T..., stimulates erythropoiesis in a dose dependent manner."