Advice from those who know please.

B

bcwill250

New member
Hey folks,

I'd really like some others opinions as I am a bit lost with all of this.

I'm now 35 beginning a few years ago I noticed my libido was basically non existent.
I let it go for a long time, but it has caused major issues in my life.
I've also the past 2 years been noticing all the other signs, constant fatigue, no energy mild depression and anxiety.

I finally was tested a year ago and my numbers were quite low in my opinion (though the dr says they're within range...)

I was referred to an endocrinologist who suspected that a head injury back in 2010 and the ensuing run of opiates was part of the reason.

He was concerned about my Hemoglobin levels as they were quite high back then 170g/l
He didnt want to put me on any sort of TRT as he was concerned that this would boost my hemoglobin even higher and put me at risk for everything that goes with that.
He eventually agreed to put me on 5/mg androderm patches for a couple months for a trial, which were essentially worthless. and had no noticeable effect at all.

Now my hemoglobin is still high at the very top of normal range scale from the lab that did the work at 162.
I donate blood every 6 weeks in the hopes of bringing that down a bit and doing some good at the same time.

I've reached the end of my rope where I just don't want to go on living like this, I've done tons of reading and am going to approach my dr and beg him to prescribe me as high of a dose as possible weekly or every 5 days injection. which I am perfectly comfortable doing myself (as I have to do b12 shots anyway)

I'm hoping that I can also convince him to set me up with frequent testing for hemoglobin / crit to keep an eye on those levels, as well as a standing prescription that if those levels go over a certain amount (whatever is safe) that I can get therapeutic phlembotomy

Can anyone else tell me if they've had similar circumstances and had some success or problems?

What else should I be asking for a prescription for to prevent other side effects, I want to keep the estrogen down, and would like to keep my nut size.

If I can't convince this doctor I'm going to have to shop around for someone who is more well informed and or look at finding other means to get these things in Canada, but it's going to be a lifelong thing so I'd really prefer to go the legit way.

The reason my hemoglobin is so high is likely due to being a long term smoker, and I've tried but really struggled to quit in my current state, and its a bit of a catch 22 because I'm pretty confident that if I can get feeling good and get some energy that I'm going to want to start getting fit and taking advantage of the health aspects of TRT.

Any advice, experiences and information appreciated. this is ***ning my life, relationships and everything else.
I was basically a walking hormone from 13-29.. this took a fast dive and has been very hard on me

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Ha, welcome to the board :wavey: Well i''m always following the guys before me m in the know. Lol

So This ^^^ and I might add it seems you need to begin doing some educational reading on TRT and the safe use of AAS. There are many educational sticky threads found where you came to start you own thread, they are labeled. So as we work with you and you get your labs up, please start reading.
 
Thanks. I've done a fair bit of reading. I guess I was hoping to hear from someone else who's started TRT with high hemoglobin.
 
Thanks. I will be donating regularly as frequently as possible which is every 6 weeks in Canada.

Is that frequent enough?

My Dr just prescribed for me today. 50mg of test E every 3.5 days.

He actually just prescribed the vials and left doesage frequency up to me. He trusts that I have researched well and is willing to request labwork as often. As I want.

How frequently should I be getting labwork you begin with.

He was leery of prescribing an aromatase inhibitor as all he could find was reference to it being used by breast cancer victims and body builders.

Can anyone direct me to information I can show him with regards to it being used for regular TRT?

I will post labs and hope that more experienced guys can chime in.

Thanks for the responses.
 
The goal of donating every 6 weeks is that my hemoglobin is up around 160+ before starting test. So the goal is to maintain that or lower it.

Is that not reasonable?
 
Never donate just because, you will end up with low iron.

If your HCT is going up too high try to counter it with lowering your dosage a tad. Yea if your HCT keeps climbing then yes you have to donate, but if you donate just to donate your gonna get low iron.

Understand for those of us on TRT our HCT is going to be a bit higher, thats what testosterone does, it increases blood cells. Thats one of the reasons it gives us more endurance, just like when cyclists take EPO to purposely increase their cell count to gain endurance.

So no, do not donate just to donate. Only donate if HCT is a recurring problem. And if it is a recurring problem try lowering your dosage.
 
a person who does not have polycythemia vera should not donate blood regularly. Your H/H being high with low testosterone indicates the presence of an abnormality in your sleep. During hypoxia the kidneys secrete erythropoitein which tell the bone marrow to make red blood cells. I would take a low low dose of clomid every day or every other day until you find out what is wrong with your blood and why your hematocrit keeps going up. There is probably a good reason why your body keeps making blood, and getting rid of it is just exacerbating the problem. Its likely somewhere in the sleep apnea/sleep hypoxia department. You can get a data logging pulse oximiter from amazon, cms 50d+, they are cheap, tape it to your middle toe with athletic tape, and upload it to your computer, and start really looking at what your average o2 level is during your sleep. 88% is clinical, but really it should be over 95% for most of the night. As far as apneas, you will need a sleep study unless you are feeling adventurous, and buy a cheap APAP from craigslist and get an airfit p10 nasal pillow, and moniter your sleep that way. The machine collects data which can be uploaded via a program called sleepyhead. It seems like a lot but i suspect if you fix your sleep your Testosterone will go up, specially with the clomid.
 
Interesting perspective, however the first thing my doc did last year when I began dealing with all this was to order a sleep test with the device I had to put on finger while sleeping. I didn't get to see the results however was told they didn't indicate any issue at all.

My hemocrit level is fine. It's the hemoglobin that has been high.
Hemocrit is 45 with range being 40-50.

I however will be going to a sleep lab regardless as I rarely wake up feeling rested.

Doc suspects 22 years of smoking being the reason for high hemoglobin.
And it's my first goal now that I've gotten on test.
Much easier to quit when feeling happy and motivated.
 
Your docs exacly right, smoking will largely affect hemoglobin only. Very rare to become anemic or iron deficient from donating q4 months


Dr b
 
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