Best Time to Get Bloodwork if the Goal is to Keep Higher Testosterone Dosage

[DinoTexas]

So I have been on TRT for approximately 6 months and my doctor has just requested my first official bloodwork, prior to giving me my next dosage. I realize the time that has elapsed is probably a red flag for this doctor to begin with. Having said that, I like the dosage I am getting and the changes I've gotten from the current dosage of 200MG/wk. I'm concerned with bloodwork that they may reduce the dosage. Are their any tricks here with respect to the timing of my bloodwork to try and get them to maintain or increase my dosage?

Thanks in advance

 

[CobraMustangSVT]

So I have been on TRT for approximately 6 months and my doctor has just requested my first official bloodwork, prior to giving me my next dosage. I realize the time that has elapsed is probably a red flag for this doctor to begin with. Having said that, I like the dosage I am getting and the changes I've gotten from the current dosage of 200MG/wk. I'm concerned with bloodwork that they may reduce the dosage. Are their any tricks here with respect to the timing of my bloodwork to try and get them to maintain or increase my dosage?

Thanks in advance

It sounds like he administers your shots. If he does, then it'll be pretty hard.

 

[lucius11]

If your doc administers your shot ... I have no clue. If you control the timing then ...

I'm sure this varies from person to person. The best way would have been to get an idea of your levels by running some intermediate blood work on your own. This is how I know what my levels are x days after I pin. It sounds like it's too late for that. I know that my levels are still pretty solid 1 week after I pin 100mg - say for example 800. I also know if I wait 9 days, my levels are in the perfect range for a blood test - say for example 560-600 (which is what my local doc likes to see). So you just wait x days between your last pin and the blood test. You are going to have to take a guess here. If you are really pinning 200 and you want your levels at 800 ... I would just guess you might want to wait somewhere in the 10 day range or so - others may have some better ideas since I never pinned more that 100 at a time.

Good luck

 

[DinoTexas]

Great feedback, thank you. I am pinning myself so I'm in control of the timing of both the blood test at his office and my last pin. I have two weeks left before I am out of Test Cyp and thought I would likely wait a between last pin and blood work in hopes that I will be in a reasonable range by then. I'll shoot for 10 days and see how things go.

 

[jozifp103]

you should be at your lowest on the day of pinning, but before you pin. that would probably be the best time to go to the docs. then pin once you leave

 

[jozifp103]

Although at 200mg a week your trough levels will probably be over 1000.

 

[lucius11]

you should be at your lowest on the day of pinning, but before you pin. that would probably be the best time to go to the docs. then pin once you leave ...
Although at 200mg a week your trough levels will probably be over 1000 ...

Agreed ...

Also, when your levels drop, you may experience some increase in E2 levels. It seems that as the T levels change, the E2 increases. For me, this means a little acne. I seem to control E2 better when my T levels are more constant ... which is why I pin every 3.5 days. Of course the down side for having T levels constantly at the higher end ... Hemoglobin levels are always on the rise (blood gets very thick - which is not good at all).

My local doc typically checks total T and also does a CBC (complete blood count). This means he checks my hemoglobin and hematocrit. If you show up with your Hemo levels out of range, you are also hosed. If you are not already donating blood, you need to get that done.

So ... if I were you, I would donate blood right now ... I mean in the next day or so (if you have not done so already). Otherwise, your Hemo is probably going to be too high. The blood donation will knock you down about 2.0 .... for example from 17.5 to about 15.5. Then do the blood test 7-10 days from the blood donation (10 days from your last pin). That should improve all of your numbers ... total T, hemoglobin, hematorit ...

When I do my yearly blood tests for my local doc I actually do a few donations as quickly as I can in the months before the test so that I know that my numbers are good. My last donation is ~1 week before the blood test so I have the lowest possible Hemo. Double red blood cell donations are possible, but not typically on the first visit and not when your blood is thick like 90 weight gear oil in the middle of the winter.

Good luck

 

[DinoTexas]

Great input - thank you! I will try and donate this week if possible and plan to do bloodwork 10 days after last pin. I didn't realize hemoglobin would be checked also, that's great input

 

[jozifp103]

Great input - thank you! I will try and donate this week if possible and plan to do bloodwork 10 days after last pin. I didn't realize hemoglobin would be checked also, that's great input

tbh it probably won't. a lot of doc's don't even know to check for estradiol let alone hemaglobin. but if you have a good doctor hopefully he will. either way donate blood, for your own health and you get to save a life.

also if your hemaglobin is really high, consider donating double blood. that;s what i did. they take double the amount of red blood cells and give you back the plasma.

 

[lucius11]

My doc gives me a prescription for the blood work. I know exactly what he checks. He does not check E2 (because let's face it - he is kinda useless and obviously dabbles in TRT - which is why we are here). Here is my test scheduled for this year: Test free+ total, CBC, hepatic function panel (liver), prolactin and PSA. He has always done a CBC on every blood test. PSA once a year (also need to watch this if you are older). If your doc does not do a CBC I would be kinda shocked - I mean, he/she should at least have a clue as to what happens to the body on TRT even if they are just TRT dabblers.

This first time I got blood work after being on T, I got blind sided. I had no clue as to what was going on with the Hemo level. My hemo was 17.5 (outside the normal range). The doctor was cool this time and said I should donate blood. He also said that if I can't keep the Hemo in the 15 range, the dose has to be reduced. He's not wrong. He was not saying this to be a pain in the butt ... he wants the hemo below 16 because it is truly bad for you to run the Hemo levels at 17. Do this long term, your heart will be smoked. You need to keep this in check - not just to keep your dose, but to prolong your life.

You have been on the max dose for 6 months (which is great) ... but dude your blood probably is thick as hell unless you have some damn fine genetics. Why get blind sided. Get your donation done now and they will check your Hemo for you (along with blood pressure and temperature). They will do a finger prick, take a drop of blood, load it into a plastic holder and load it into a little machine. Be cool check the little display after it beeps, check out the reading - that's your hemo level. The Red Cross worker may not say anything. But be prepared and don't even flinch if they tell you your Hemo high is like 19 ... just say yeah, the iron levels can get pretty high. Also if they ask whether you have hemochromatosis (genetic condition) - you simply say no, your iron levels just run a little high so you try to donate regularly. We all know why your hemo is high - it's the testosterone. These places really need the blood, so they will not likely say much to you about high iron levels. If you are at like 17, the person checking you out probably won't say anything about it.

Good luck

 

[DinoTexas]

Thx!! I have an appointment to donate tomorrow, and my blood test is exactly 10 days from today. Just to clarify, I want to donate whole blood right? Not platelets? The blood bank was trying to get me to donate platelets and said they really need them right now. But that won't work if I understand this correctly. I am 40 yrs old by the way.

 

[lucius11]

Thx!! I have an appointment to donate tomorrow ...

Great, it will help your blood work a lot regardless of your current hemo level.

Whole blood (or double red blood cell) is what you want. I have never done platelets so somebody would have to chime in. You may be able to do both. You need to do some form of red blood cell donation to lower your hemo. You may have to donate fairly often (or very often) so I would be a little hesitant to donate platelets as well.

I donated today as well. I have to donate every 2 months ... that's 6x per year. That's a lot of platelets and other blood components. My Hemo was 16.3 today which is pretty good for me at donation time (but it will not stay low for very long). My platelet numbers have been OK ... but TRT does not seem to increase platelet production ... just red blood cells.

 

[Mprtz]

In theory, donating platelets shouldn't lower HCT all that much, but in my experience (and others) it produces a comparable drop of 2 to 3 percent - similar to donating whole blood.

An advantage is that platelets can usually be donated more frequently and there is a high demand for platelets for surgery and chemo.

 

[lucius11]

I just hoping the OP's hemo is in the 17 range when he donates today. Finger's crossed .... if so, he will be looking solid when he does his blood work next week.

Also, I do not mention that I'm on TRT when donating. I don't think they would turn you away, but I just don't go there. They do not seem to care what your testosterone level is. I have donated with my T levels at the very upper end of the scale and they were happy to have the blood. My local doc said it would not cause any problems and was not even sure the extra testosterone would even make it through to the recipient since they process the blood pretty heavily before using it.

 

[DinoTexas]

This place is a tremendous wealth of info - many thx. Will report back with the results from blood donation today as well as bloodwork with doctor when it happens

 

[lucius11]

I just about completed this whole drill. Gotta keep the local doc happy.

I religiously keep up with regular blood donations every 2 months throughout the year (this is just mandatory for me). Then I start at least a month before any blood work for the local doc (which happens once per year). Reduce the T dose from 100mg 2x per week to 80 2x per week. Gotta get those T levels down a bit. Then I donate blood about a week to 10 days before the blood test. I waited 8 days from my last pin (skipped my regularly scheduled pins on Monday morning and Thursday afternoon) and got my blood drawn today for my checkup for my local doc. I also made sure to stay nice and hydrated the day before the blood draw.

This presents the local doc with blood work that is real nice. Total T will be about 560, hemoglobin will be solidly in the normal range ... and all is right with the world. All the other levels should be on the money. I know my total cholesterol was 178 since I got an email from the folks that took my blood donation a week ago. I also know my hemo was 16.3 at the time of donation so hemo should be about 14.5 today. In two weeks, I'll review the blood work with the local doc and I'm good for another year. This also lets the body reset a bit before I go back to my regular dose of 100mg 2x per week. Do I notice the drop in T levels ... no I do not. Cannot even tell the levels are below 600 today ... since 600 is still a nice solid level.

If I did not do this the total T and Hemo would be too high for my local doc tastes ... and we cannot have him messing with my protocol.

 

[lucius11]

I know there was some question about platelets in this thread. My platelet count was 158 (ref range: 155-379) in my last blood work in early June. I typically do some blood work about 2 months before doing bloods for the local doc, I check E2 since he does not, just so I know where I'm at. Not sure what is going on there, but I can see from a Google search that platelets are replaced in about 2 days. So even though I donated whole blood a week ago. I'm pretty sure the platelet levels will bee around 158 again in the bloods I did today. Not sure why they are so low ... certainly don't have any problems clotting.

 

[DinoTexas]

Ok, so this board is money in the advice department. In response to the thread above, I gave whole blood and then waited a full 10 days before my blood test with my TRT doc. They said everything looked fantastic, Testosterone level was 700 which I realize is still pretty high considering my ten day lull and a blood donation. Hematocrit was great, as was estradiol, and all other functions.

Now, I have embarked on a new journey. I have officially begun my first cycle of test by adding 300ml p/w of Test Cyp to my existing TRT dosage of 200ml p/w of Test Cyp. That cycle will go as long as it can while still ensuring my TRT doc doesn't get suspicious through my bloodwork in three months. I have another blood test in three months with my TRT doctor. After this cycle, I will go back to my TRT dose of 150/200 p/w for a while. My question is, when do I need to back off this cycle to ensure my blood test goes alright? Or maybe a better question is, when should I go get bloodwork done on my own, to ensure I know when to back off this cycle to ensure my TRT doctor doesn't get suspicious? Thx in advance!