Would you donate blood with this iron level?

[Bennytrt]

Hello everyone,

Let me get straight to the point. My doctor wants me to donate blood because he says my hematocrit has been high for the past 3 blood tests. He says he wants me back to the normal range or the medical board is going to be like what is going on with this patient of yours that has not brought down his hematocrit. I previously told him my hematocrit is not high because people who live in higher elevations have hematocrit levels way higher than the normal range and they are perfectly fine. I know this based on study that I read on here. I cannot find the link to prove my statement but if anyone can find it, please feel free to attach it.

My main concern is that I do not want to drop my iron levels too low and feel like crap. Like my title says would you donate blood with my current iron level?

Side note: I was going to donate blood back in December 2019 but when the blood bank check my hematocrit it was at 47% so I said no thanks. I had already drank 1 gallon of water when they tested my hematocrit.

Here are my past 3 hematocrit results:

7.02.2020 Labcorp (I drank 2.5 liters of water before the tests)
Hemoglobin: 17 g/dl (13-17.7)
Hematocrit: 52% (37.5-51)
Iron Bind. Cap (TIBC): 269 ug/dl (250-450)
UIBC: 182 ug/dl (111-343)
Iron: 87 ug/dl (38-169)
Iron Saturation: 32% (15-55)
Ferritin: 198 ng/ml (30-400)

3.13.2020 Labcorp (I drank 2 liters of water before the tests)
Hemoglobin: 17.2 g/dl (13-77)
Hematocrit: 51.5% (37.5-51)
Iron Bind. Cap (TIBC): 274 ug/dl (250-450)
UIBC: 180 ug/dl (111-343)
Iron: 94 ug/dl (38-169)
Iron Saturation: 34% (15-55)
Ferritin: 187 ng/ml (30-400)

12.11.2019 Labcorp (I drank 1.5 liters of water before the tests)
Hemoglobin: 17.2 g/dl (13-77)
Hematocrit: 51% (37.5-51)
Iron Bind. Cap (TIBC): 246 ug/dl (250-450)
UIBC: 141 ug/dl (111-343)
Iron: 105 ug/dl (38-169)
Iron Saturation: 43% (15-55)
Ferritin: 224 ng/ml (30-400)

***UPDATE***

For those who are curious like myself and want to know how much does your iron drop after donating 1 unit of whole blood. Here are my results:

Hgb: 15.5 g/dl (13.0-17.7) Dropped 1.5 points
Hct: 48.2% (37.5-51.0) Dropped 3.8 points
TIBC: 236 ug/dl (250-450) Dropped by 33 points
UIBC: 166 ug/dl (111-343) Dropppd by 16 points
Iron: 70 ug/dl (38-169) Dropped 17 points
Iron Sat: 30 % (15-55) Dropped 2%
Ferritin: 175 ng/ml (30-400) Dropped 23 points

I decided to donate, since my doctor decided to give me a low dose of nandrolone, and he assured me my iron would be ok since I have enough a good iron store aka ferritin level. He also wanted my hct lower to give us a buffer since nandrolone increases rbc. I will not be donating again because my iron is at its lowest for proper male function.

 

[Bennytrt]

@Vince Hello Vince, I was wondering if you could help me out and give me your point of view on my dilemma. Thanks

 

[Vince]

@Vince Hello Vince, I was wondering if you could help me out and give me your point of view on my dilemma. Thanks

Whats your protocol and complete testosterone panel

 

[Bennytrt]

Whats your protocol and complete testosterone panel

I inject 0.10cc's of testosterone cypionate IM daily and 500IU's HCG 2x a week. I split my hcg dose in 4 sessions to keep my estradiol sensitve lower. I did my blood work the day of my injection and injected after my blood test. I do not take an AI. I drink 1.5 gallons to 2.5 gallons of water on a daily basis. I work out in my garage and it's pretty darn hot over here in houston,tx.

Labcorp
total testosterone: 1005 ng/dl (264-916)
free testotsterone: 30.1 pg/ml (8.7-25.1)
estradiol sensitive: 32.3 pg/ml (8.0-35)
shbg: 23 nmol/l (16.5-55.9)
albumin: 4.5 g/dl (4.0-5.0)
DHT: 70ng/dl (30-85)
Dhea S: 197ng/dl (31-701)
growth hormone 0.1 ng/ml (0.0-10)
homocysteine 4.8 umol/l (0.0-14.5)
CRP-Quantative 7 mg/l (0-10)

 

[Vince]

Actually as you probably know HCT of 52% is not really that high. Hopefully after two years or more your hct will stabilize even lower.

 

[Joe Sixpack]

Your ferritin is plenty high. There are some health providers who focus on longevity who recommend ferritin to be under 80. The theory is that ferritin is an oxidizer in the body. And you do not want too much of it. Of course you do need a minimum amount for energy production. I've had mine down below 50 and felt fine.

 

[Bennytrt]

Actually as you probably know HCT of 52% is not really that high. Hopefully after two years or more your hct will stabilize even lower.

Correct, a HCT of 52% is not high. I have been on HRT for 6 years. Out of those 6 years, I have been 3 years on the above protocol. I usually stay between a HCT of 51 to 52%. I will try the grapefruit diet and see what happens. Do you know by any chance, how much would my iron drop? If I decide to donate? I have looked online at a conversion chart, but no luck. All I found... was that you lose 220 to 250 mg of iron per unit of blood. However, my iron is in UG/DL.

 

[Bennytrt]

Your ferritin is plenty high. There are some health providers who focus on longevity who recommend ferritin to be under 80. The theory is that ferritin is an oxidizer in the body. And you do not want too much of it. Of course you do need a minimum amount for energy production. I've had mine down below 50 and felt fine.

I have read that on study and was considering to donate. I also found on the stop the tyroid madness website that the optimal level for men is 110 ish.

 

[Vince]

Correct, a HCT of 52% is not high. I have been on HRT for 6 years. Out of those 6 years, I have been 3 years on the above protocol. I usually stay between a HCT of 51 to 52%. I will try the grapefruit diet and see what happens. Do you know by any chance, how much would my iron drop? If I decide to donate? I have looked online at a conversion chart, but no luck. All I found... was that you lose 220 to 250 mg of iron per unit of blood. However, my iron is in UG/DL.

Approximately 14 million units of whole blood are collected annually by blood centers throughout the United States. As a result, approximately 3.5 tons of iron is removed from whole-blood donors each year. This loss of iron is evident in the decrease in the iron stores as mea- sured by serum ferritin that is associated with whole blood donation.12 Garry and coworkers2 demonstrated that serum ferritin concentration decreases steadily through five blood donations and then stabilizes at a mean concentration of approximately 20 ng per mL. During the course of these donations, it appears that daily iron absorption gradually increases to the point that the donor’s iron needs are met without further depletion of stores. However, there is individual variation in the ability to absorb dietary iron, and many frequent donors are deferred for low Hct. Superdonors are a self-selected population able to repeatedly donate whole blood without being deferred for low Hct despite having depleted iron stores, indicating that they have higher than expected absorption of dietary iron."

High serum iron with low ferritin on TRT patients

I have posted this elsewhere but given Nelson created this forum to ask questions for specialists and I couldn’t find an answer elsewhere here we go. Myself like many other people on TRT have to donate blood in order to control hematocrit. A lot of times this might lead to low ferritin levels...

www.excelmale.com

 

[Vince]

Iron deficiency affects up to one-third of the world’s population, and is particularly common in elderly individuals and those with certain chronic diseases. Iron excess can be detrimental in cardiovascular illness, and research has now also brought anaemia and iron deficiency into the focus of cardiovascular medicine. Data indicate that iron deficiency has detrimental effects in patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure (HF), and pulmonary hypertension, and possibly in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Around one-third of all patients with HF, and more than one-half of patients with pulmonary hypertension, are affected by iron deficiency. Patients with HF and iron deficiency have shown symptomatic improvements from intravenous iron administration, and some evidence suggests that these improvements occur irrespective of the presence of anaemia. Improved exercise capacity has been demonstrated after iron administration in patients with pulmonary hypertension. Iron deficiency and cardiovascular disease - PubMed

Conclusions of https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/ATVBAHA.117.309757 —This Mendelian randomization study supports the hypothesis that higher iron status reduces CAD risk. These findings may highlight a therapeutic target

 

[Vince]

Wheat and grain consumption is a very common and powerful cause of iron deficiency anemia. That’s because of phytates. Farmers and agricultural scientists have selected strains of wheat that have higher phytate content. That’s because phytates are also pest resistant — they fight off fungi, and rusts, and pests.
Wheat and iron deficiency anemia | Dr. William Davis

www.wheatbellyblog.com/2019/04/wheat-and-iron-deficiency-anemia/

 

[Bennytrt]

Approximately 14 million units of whole blood are collected annually by blood centers throughout the United States. As a result, approximately 3.5 tons of iron is removed from whole-blood donors each year. This loss of iron is evident in the decrease in the iron stores as mea- sured by serum ferritin that is associated with whole blood donation.12 Garry and coworkers2 demonstrated that serum ferritin concentration decreases steadily through five blood donations and then stabilizes at a mean concentration of approximately 20 ng per mL. During the course of these donations, it appears that daily iron absorption gradually increases to the point that the donor’s iron needs are met without further depletion of stores. However, there is individual variation in the ability to absorb dietary iron, and many frequent donors are deferred for low Hct. Superdonors are a self-selected population able to repeatedly donate whole blood without being deferred for low Hct despite having depleted iron stores, indicating that they have higher than expected absorption of dietary iron."

High serum iron with low ferritin on TRT patients

I have posted this elsewhere but given Nelson created this forum to ask questions for specialists and I couldn’t find an answer elsewhere here we go. Myself like many other people on TRT have to donate blood in order to control hematocrit. A lot of times this might lead to low ferritin levels...

www.excelmale.com

Thank you, for your great feedback. I will read all of these throughout the week.