Hct coming down

[buggies100]

Well on feb 7 i went to red cross for a threaputic phlebotomy. In the process my hgb was 20.7 Had a blood draw an lab corp a few days before that at bottom of trough and hct came back at 59.4.
i was very short of breath with minimal work, loke emptying ashes out of stove. Chest tight. So i did the standard unit draw down in the 7th and stopped takimg all T. It has been 3 1/2 weeks since a shot. Did blood work last monday and got results today, h t down to 55.2. I have been feeling better for the last 10-14 days. This is the level of hct i have loved with for the last 2-3 years. Scheduled for another draw next week. Getting closer to coming back on. I meet hematologist tomorrow to rule out any thing else. My hct has never been lower than 50 since i started keeping track in 2000, way before any form of T. Fortunately my plattlet, rdw, and mcv are all kn lower third of range. Iron as well

 

[Vince]

Some doctors recommend the use of a baby aspirin (81 mg) a day and 2,000 to 4,000 mg a day of omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil capsules) to help lower blood viscosity and prevent heart attacks. These can be an important part of most people's health regimen but they are not alternatives for therapeutic phlebotomy if the patient has polycythemia and does not want to stop testosterone therapy. It is concerning that many people assume that they are completely free of stroke/heart attack risks by taking aspirin and omega-3 supplements when they have a high hematocrit.

Although some people may have more headaches induced by high blood pressure or get extremely red when they exercise, most do not feel any different when they have polycythemia. This does not make it any less dangerous.
https://www.excelmale.com/forum/sho...ia-Caused-by-Testosterone-Replacement-Therapy

 

[buggies100]

Hi Vince,
Yeah I take 2 baby aspirin in the am and again in the pm. Also 3,600 mg of fish oil a day. I have read that posting. As painful and uncomfortable as it has been without T for the last few weeks, it is certainly better than a stroke!!! I am monitoring my BP. It is good to see my hct tracks my T dosage. Hopefully hematologist will put together a phlebotomy schedule to follow

 

[Vince]

I supplement with fish oil, when I add baby aspirin my platelets gets too low.

 

[buggies100]

Well I met the hematologist today and he had the same concern as my TRT DR did. My H&H has been high for years. HCT has not bee under 50 since 2001, 12 yawners before starting TRT. So he is ruling out primary polycythemia testing EPO, Jak2b gene problems, and for CML, some type of leukemia. Then when that comes back negative, we will move forward on a phlebotomy schedule. Going to be a long week or two waiting on those labs!!!

 

[MarkLA]

Well on feb 7 i went to red cross for a threaputic phlebotomy. In the process my hgb was 20.7 Had a blood draw an lab corp a few days before that at bottom of trough and hct came back at 59.4.
i was very short of breath with minimal work, loke emptying ashes out of stove. Chest tight. So i did the standard unit draw down in the 7th and stopped takimg all T. It has been 3 1/2 weeks since a shot. Did blood work last monday and got results today, h t down to 55.2. I have been feeling better for the last 10-14 days. This is the level of hct i have loved with for the last 2-3 years. Scheduled for another draw next week. Getting closer to coming back on. I meet hematologist tomorrow to rule out any thing else. My hct has never been lower than 50 since i started keeping track in 2000, way before any form of T. Fortunately my plattlet, rdw, and mcv are all kn lower third of range. Iron as well

55 is still high.

Also, you may feel good now, but with more time as your T level drops further, you may not feel good because of low T symptoms. 3.5 weeks you're at 1/3 or 1/4th of your peak which still might be 400-500. What a tradeoff brother...

I was high 40's before TRT and try to keep it ~48. For me, eating zero beef and less vitamin C seems to slow the rate of increase.