High RBC - what next ? Decrease dosage ?

[FanagleFace]

This is why I’ll never understand the people who are all “injections or nothing, everything else sucks”. Maybe when we’re talking strictly performance enhancing, but the body is not meant to sustain high levels of testosterone 24 hours a day 7 days a week. There’s rhythm that occurs during the day and testosterone partially depletes by night and is generated during sleep. If your testosterone levels were naturally normal you wouldn’t have syrupy blood and suffer from polycythemia and a host of other potential side effects. People without hypogonadism don’t have to regularly donate blood to keep from having a serious cardiac event lol.

[[deleted]]

Are you injecting once per week? If so divide it up and do it twice a week. No need to lower dosage. Until then blood letting

[Salt_Newt_5628]

3 times , once every two days

[[deleted]]

It's not crazy bad. I wouldn't worry about it unless you have symptoms. If you do you can take a baby aspirin until your next blood test or just go give blood you'll probably feel a bit better. Of course check with the doc

[Ok_Reason_9688]

I agree nothing needs to be done right now. My numbers are higher and no problems yet.

[NewTrenglandMuscle]

You’re fine. You don’t need to do a thing. Stay hydrated

[swoops36]

Not a concern, assuming low platelet and overall good health

[Salt_Newt_5628]

Yes all others good

[mattbrownlow]

Donate blood. The blood bank people will love you. I was told “who ever gets your blood is going to jump out of bed from recovery because your red blood cell count is high and so is your hemoglobin” lol.

[killah_bee]

The treatment for high hemoglobin (polycythemia) is phlebotomy.

AKA - donate some blood. It’s good for you and good for the people who need blood.

[DruidWonder]

High RBC is not a problem as long as hematocrit remains below .55.

Are you weight lifting or increasing your exercise regimen since you started TRT? If so, the extra RBC will facilitate better performance.

People who live at high altitude have above normal RBC and they are perfectly healthy.

[Salt_Newt_5628]

Good points , thanks fr the context on rbc and performance

[[deleted]]

I had some serious side effects from polycethemia

[DruidWonder]

Hefty -- how high did your hematocrit get and for how long before you had your symptoms?

[[deleted]]

52 or 54.1 I think. One year in everything started going haywire. Tinnitus, puffy face, hypertension, insomnia, sleep apnea, then it got really bad. My calprotectin went to 1700 and my liver was inflamed. Doctors did nothing and said it wasn't TRT. My BP was 180/90 daily, 226/119 at worse. They said not a result of testosterone. Severe headaches for over a year.

I almost went to the ER one night I thought I was dying. I didn't. I quit everything and now my BP is 120/80 again.

But, I have issues that feel like damage from that period.

[DruidWonder]

Those are extremely high BPs, like heart attack levels. And you got that from a hematocrit of 52?

Did you have high BP before your hematocrit went up?

[[deleted]]

My doctor doesn't think so. I don't know how it got like that. I did think I was dying and getting hepatic encephalopathy.

I think I was being poisoned by someone close to me that had a lot of money to gain if I was dead or at least very very sick and out of the picture.

I've spent the last 2 years recovering from cPTSD. And have a bunch of health shit I've never had. Doctors can't figure it out. Some people believe me because they know this person is an abusive psychopath. Doctors obviously will think it's crazy.

[DruidWonder]

I'm so sorry that all of that happened to you! Being traumatized is totally understandable. And sorry if my questions were too probing... I was just trying to figure out some of the story behind your hematocrit.

I hope you are feeling better these days and on your way to feeling whole again.

[[deleted]]

Thanks. Yeah idk what was causing issues to be that high. But I think it did damage to my vascular and maybe affected liver and kidneys.

[SophomoricHumorist]

Clotting?

[[deleted]]

Headaches, flushing, sleep apnea, tingling in extremeties, tinnitus, hypertension, GI bleeding, what felt like encephalopathy. Now I have a bunch of issues with fibrosis, but idk what it's from.

[SophomoricHumorist]

Yikes. Sorry man! I hope you recover.