RBCs Too High?


So my recent lab results show that my RBC, Hematocrit, and Hemogolobin have jumped up recently and are approaching the upper limit of the range. I plan on donating blood tomorrow before the problem gets out of control. I’ve attached an image of my “tracking chart” which shows my blood test results tracked against my symptoms and protocols. In the last three months I increased my vitamin C intake and started eating more red meat (grass fed beef) which may have elevated my serum iron levels >>> which may have contributed to a sharp increase in blood count. Thoughts??

I’d like to adjust my lifestyle/protocol if possible to prevent having to donate blood every 60 days. My thoughts are to decrease intake of red meat (possibly eliminate it) and no more cooking in cast iron skillet. I’m thinkging I should also decrease my anastrozole by about 30% to bring my E2 up to the mid 20s. That should reduce my Total and Free T into a closer-to-normal range, which should help with the blood count. I’ll even go as far as reducing my Testosterone dosage by 10 or 20% if it means avoiding constant blood donations. I’d just hate to lose the benefits I’m getting from my current prototcol. Any suggestions on this?

BTW - my diet is 80/20 Paleo. Mostly meat and vegetables, some fruit, some nuts. I’m getting about 40/40/20 Protein/Fats/Carbs.

Once again, thanks for any insight you might be able to provide!

Any feedback would be helpful. I’m concerned with my RBCs creeping up to the end of the range. Any experience with managing this? Should I be concerned at this point?

[quote]Surfer78 wrote:
Any feedback would be helpful. I’m concerned with my RBCs creeping up to the end of the range. Any experience with managing this? Should I be concerned at this point?[/quote]

There is NO need for your Total T and Free T to be so high…
Drop your T dose by some and keep injecting twice a week…
You’ll likely fix all issues as well as needing less AI…
Also you may feel better with lower T numbers… (some do)

Thanks Macmathews,

I plan on trying this and seeing how I feel. I guess like many on here, I have a mental block regarding lowering my dose. Let’s see what happens!

Drop your T dose down. At your weight, you can more than likely get by with 100mg/wk. I weigh 212-215 and only take 80-100mg/wk, and my TT hovers around 700-800 in a valley, peak is higher. FT is always at the top end of the range or flagged high.

Do two 50mg injections per week and see how you feel. Having TT/FT above range can be just as bad as low, in regards to health issues. It should reduce your water retention some too.

You should also be able to drop your AI dose in half, or thereabouts. Any hcg in the protocol?

Thanks Catfish.

Okay. I am going to reduce my T dose. Do you think I should wean down by cutting down maybe 20% every three weeks to see how I feel, or just jump right into the a 100 mg/wk dose? This may sound naive and/or paranoid, but is there any chance of experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the high dose I was on until my brain chemestry readjusts? Or, is it likely that I may start to feel better as my T falls into the “sweet spot.”

Oh, and I’m not taking HCG at the moment. I am considering it though. So far, my testes have only gotten only slightly smaller if at all. Its hard to tell. I would add it for the additional benefits I hear it provides such as an increased sense of well-being.

Thanks again!

I don’t see a problem with your RBC/Hct levels. It’s high side normal and a fairly common range to be in on T especially @>1500TT. I’m at the same levels and my endo said he would be comfortable with letting it go much higher. If it goes above 54% maybe some response would be appropriate but until then I’d wait til next labs.

Thanks C27!

It’s good to know that My hematocrit is still at safe level… And by several points. I think I’m still going to lower my T dose slightly and retest in 6 weeks. When I donated blood yesterday they told me my blood pressure was 130/96. I’m thinking the thicker blood might be causing the higher blood pressure.

I really appreciate everyone’s insight!

Low dose aspirin and donating will keep you ok

Thanks TexMed.

I will try the aspirin. Will that also help with lowering my blood pressure as a result of “lubricating” my blood cells?

You don’t have to taper down your dose, just start with the lower dose. I would certainly recommend getting on HCG. The high BP is likely due to your high T levels, bringing down your T to a “normal” level will likely resolve that issue. T

I believe titration of doses is more effective than changing doses dramatically. I would lower the dose over at least 4 weeks. If you’re at 200, you could go 200-175-150-125-100. A sudden drop in levels will create too many responses in a short amount of time. I think it could be an uncomfortable experience.

Out of curiosity, do you feel better on the higher anastrozole dose and correspondingly lower E2 than you did on protocol 1?

Thanks Catfish and C27 for your feedback. I have decided to titrate my dose and see how I feel as my levels drop. I’be been at 180 mg per week for almost two weeks now and I’ve already noticed a decrease in water retention in my face (or maybe I’m imagining it).

I’m inclined to take my blood pressure at this dose and if it is less than 120/80, I may stay here for a couple of months and do new labs. At that point, if my RBCs look good, and everything else is normal, I may stick to this dose or an equivalent T + HCG protocol. However, if my blood pressure remains high, I will continue lowering my dose until it is consistently in a healthy range… and then do new labs.

kair0S,

I did feel better with the higher anastrozole dose and lower E2. At higher E2, I tend to get some anxiety and I feel moodier overall. Even at e2 = 39, I actually had some nipple sensitivity as well, so I know I was beyond my tolerable threshold.

I’ve recently decreased my anastrozole to about 17 mgs/day (liquid) in an attempt to get my e2 to around 22. I made the switch about two weeks ago along with lowering my T dose to 180 mg/week. I definitely feel a boost in libido, but I’m also noticing some anxiety creeping back. I might be passing through the sweet spot. I may up the anastrozole slightly if needed.

I believe I’m very sensitive to e2 levels and it is just as important to dial in the e2 as it is the T.

i think you fail to address the most glaring difference between the data you present- the LDL rise. not this is necessarily terrible, but statistically, it appears to be the biggest change.
in terms of what you do address-your crit and rbc aren’t in a dangerous range. another lab test will show if they are on a downward (upward?) spiral.

giving blood bimonthly and doing the daily baby aspirin is a more reasonable solution than cutting the T in half. your T levels are still reasonable for a young guy, if you were 65 it’d be different. overall i think you should be pretty happy with your numbers, 95% of men would kill for them.

Another option to consider, what about keeping the test at 100 mg per week and throwing in 50-100 mg of masteron per week- will help with bloat, and your potential need for hcg will drop even further.

Thanks for the feedback crawford,

I attribute the rise in LDL to both my high T level and my diet. I switched from eating a 1/2 lb of chicken breast almost everyday for lunch to a 1/2 lb of grassfed ground beef almost everyday for lunch. I wanted to experiment with it to see if I could raise my HDL with the grassfed beef… which I did… just not as drastically as my LDL. This definately poses a challenge. How do I keep my LDL low while safely raising my HDL. The search continues. My plan for this go around is to go back to the chicken breast, almost entirely elliminate grassfed beef, and increase my intake of fishoil through suppliments and, well, eating more wild-caught salmon.

As for the Masteron idea. You’ve piqued my interest. It looks promising. It will definately throw another factor into the mix for balancing out my e2, but I agree, I will require less anastrozole as I understand the masteron does not aromatize and it can act as an “anti-estrogen.” Maybe I will try this down the road after I dial-in my current protocol and do some more research.

Good luck getting a prescription for masteron. I wouldn’t want to base my TRT protocol off something I had to source from a gym buddy.

Lots of compounds are promising, but getting a prescription for them is next to impossible.

Your creatinine make me think you are a little dehydrated at the time of this test. Dehydration can make your H & H a little higher. Donating blood is always good but those numbers aren’t too concerning.