high RBC but normal HCT - anything to worry about?

[AverageMan]

Crap - can't edit title . Meant to say high RBC but normal HCT.

Just had TRT bloods done and RBC came back at 5.7 (5.5 is the high end of normal. HCT was a normal 43% with high end of the range of 51%, so not even close.

I donate blood 4-5 times a year.

Anything to worry about or keep an eye on?

 

[Milton]

Crap - can't edit title .

fixed it for you, next time GO ADVANCED and you will see the option to edit title.

 

[AverageMan]

Should have asked about tren or HGH - responses would have been through the roof.

 

[Teutonic]

Now I know how to too Mr . Milton Burle !

Aside from trt med s are u on any other AAS OR blood altering med s like thinner s (cumiden ?) or say is your diet heavy on red meat s ?
Taking fish oil s or niacin or ....?
What s ur endo or trt rx er say ?

I know Anadrol will spike the -it out of rbc s ...did mine as well as give me ungodly headache s from e2 skyrocketing aka blood pressure off the scale.
Ur just barely out of range...do you do aero s or do think a dietary change may assist ?

Google it bro " Lower my RBC..."

 

[AverageMan]

Just my TRT protocal - .4ml cyp 2 x a week and .5 adex with each injection. I'm not on anything else. No blood thinners etc. E2 was at 40 non sensitive, which my TRT doc says is good.

My endocrinologist is good with my numbers. Just wondering about which is more important to track - HCT or RBC ?

 

[Mprtz]

Assuming there is not a lab error, it could mean that you have a large number of immature RBCs and and your HCT will soon rise as these grow.

Did you get a full CBC? What was your MCV?

 

[AverageMan]

Assuming there is not a lab error, it could mean that you have a large number of immature RBCs and and your HCT will soon rise as these grow.

Did you get a full CBC? What was your MCV?

MVC was low as well - my value was 76 with a lower end range of 80

I do donate blood often -5x a year

 

[Mprtz]

Have you ever tested your ferritin levels? Was MCH low as well?

 

[AverageMan]

Have you ever tested your ferritin levels? Was MCH low as well?

MCH is slightly below range as well. I've not had ferritin checked, hemoglobin is always very good at 16-17 gm/dl

 

[Mprtz]

MCH is slightly below range as well. I've not had ferritin checked, hemoglobin is always very good at 16-17 gm/dl

I would be surprised if ferritin were not low. The first time I checked it, mine tested at 11 (20-300), and I was having some health issues (arrhythmia) that I suspected may have been caused by that. Now I'm not entirely sure, it's possible that low E2 could have been a factor.

In most situations, low ferritin is correlated to low hgb, but TRT drives erythropoiesis and the conversion of ferritin into hemoglobin, which then has to be drained off at a rate that is difficult to replace by dietary iron intake.

 

[AverageMan]

I would be surprised if ferritin were not low. The first time I checked it, mine tested at 11 (20-300), and I was having some health issues (arrhythmia) that I suspected may have been caused by that. Now I'm not entirely sure, it's possible that low E2 could have been a factor.

In most situations, low ferritin is correlated to low hgb, but TRT drives erythropoiesis and the conversion of ferritin into hemoglobin, which then has to be drained off at a rate that is difficult to replace by dietary iron intake.

Thanks for the responses - sounds like I may be in a pickle. Eat more iron rich foods (spinach / red meat) and possibly iron supplementation? What have others done?

 

[Mprtz]

I tried iron supplementation for a while, but got the impression (unscientific) that it did more to accelerate raising my HCT than it did to raise my ferritin levels.

I don't want to alarm you, am relating my experience and speculating that yours may be similar, but everyone is different. Test your ferritin if you get the chance. Dont' freak out if it's low if you don't have any symptoms... probably a lot of us that donate blood regularly have low ferritin. It may even help put a limit on how much HCT rises. Probably not entirely healthy but the precise effects are unclear to me.