High HCT - trying to decide whether to get phlebotomy

[mooseman109]

And where, exactly, does one get a phlebotomy? When I tried to donate with the Red Cross, they said my hemoglobin levels (or maybe hematocrit, I don't know) was too high and they would not let me donate. As if last weekend, my hemoglobin was 19.1 and hematocrit was 55.2.
For that matter, why can't my wife (a nurse practitioner) draw the blood at home? Where would she dispose of it? And BTW, I alternate days of HCG with days of Test, rather than the twice-a-week protocol my doctor prescribed, and it has NOT had a positive affect on my hemoglobin and hematocrit levels.

You can do it at home and dispose down the toilet. Works for me

 

[TorontoTRT]

Every guy is different. And blood tests are very unreliable. Even when fully hydrated hct and hg can be all over the place. My hemoglobin on the day of donation was 17.9. 8 days after donation it was 18.4! 4 days later 17.3. All tests in the same lab, same time of day, and fully hydrated (2 litres of water prior to going in each time). Hematocrit is only a calculation anyway. Regardless how others explain it, the true and only way labs calculate hematocrit is RBC x MCV. Don't listen to misinformation like hemoglobin x 3. That’s wrong. So anyways if your MCV slightly fluctuates and your RBC slightly fluctuate your hematocrit will be all over the map. Trust actual symptoms and blood pressure. Once my hematocrit was 56 but my blood pressure was 98/65.

 

[mooseman109]

Biggee, I am a over achiever in making of red blood cells as well. I had reached 62.3 at one point and was most definitely symptomatic. High BP, shortness of breath. It is like syrup floating around in your veins. I went on an aggressive reduction program, donating every 8 weeks for a few months, yes watching iron and ferritin.
Since then I have had two appointments with different heptoologist, and my GP, who is a internal medicine guy. They all were happy with me being at 54 and showed no signs of concerns at 56. That said all of my other blood values are in mid range, platelets, WBC..... The one cancer dr basically said your body is going to seek homeostasis, and it will come back to where it wants to be. As mentioned above. But he also said folks donate 4 times a year for the blood bank all the time and that is not a worry. He just did not want me to go all crazy and do big does of T and think a donation would solve it.
SO I switched to daily doses, which allowed my total weekly to go down. I do .12mg every morning. This keeps my total T 600-700 and free T 20-23. My Hct seems to have stabilized to about 52-54 if I do 3-4 donations a year. I typically go about 3.5-4 months between. I have not seen 56 again.

 

[TorontoTRT]

Hematocrit will go up on any dosage and any protocol. I had as high as 58 hematocrit on 80 mg a week and as low as 47 hematocrit on 125 mg a week. If one is healthy and do your research, it’s clearly explained in medical papers that even though testosterone increases red blood cell production and hence hematocrit, it also cause blood vessel dilation at the same time allowing the thicker to travel just a easy as before.