T Nation

High Rbc, Low Mcv And Mch. High Rdw

T Replacement
#1

Been on trt for approx 2 years and struggle with high red blood cell count. I try to donate blood every couple months but half the time they don’t allow me because my hemoglobin comes back in the 18’s.

I was denied twice in a row in 1 week. I went to my dr to ask what he thought so he tested my blood and according to quest my hemoglobin was 16.5. Tested the day after the donation center said it was 18.4. But my rbc was 6.3 (4.2-5.8) mcv 78.3 (80-100) mch 26.2 (27-33) rdw 17.2(11-15)

I’ve done a LITTLE research and found that when mcv and mch is low it can be iron deficiency. But how could that be if rbc and hemoglobin are high? Any thoughts on these results?

I don’t eat red meat, drink, or smoke. I take 100-125 mg/ wk dosed EOD

#2

How does your cholesterol values look?

WOuld your doctor prescribed a therapeutic phlebotomy to address the concerns?

TRT is known to elevate RBC.

#3

chol is not good. total = 210 ldl = 125 hdl = 24 trig = 330. I can’t take statins they make my joints hurt! why do you ask about cholesterol?

Dr. is talking about phlebotomy. He wants me to go see hematologist…

#4

My Dr wrote me a script for monthly blood donating. I give every 4-5 weeks and if I wait any longer it gets higher. Last time I gave my rbc was at 20 so I try to give every 4 weeks, plus they charge me 25 bucks a pop…:frowning:

#5

your TRIG’s are insane man…you really need to look at diet factors to get that under control. HDL is also low.

I thought I remembered a correlation between lipids and RBC, and that maybe high RBC would exacerbate those conditions, but I don’t remember for sure or if my wires are getting crossed.

Yeah I would definitely go look at donating blood.