All my numbers look perfect except my Hemoglobin is the highest it’s been at 19.1, hematocrit 56 and RBC 6.94. I don’t have any side effects. Other than anxiety reading online posts about this. Should I donate blood even though my ferritin is lower range at 29? Is flying in a commercial airline dangerous with these numbers? Can anyone here confirm they flew with high hematocrit? Thanks guys.
I can not answer your question as I know nothing about your history. But my guess is when this thread gains traction, you will be told “yes”.
But here is a thread for you to look over.
That’s my old thread lol. Just ended up doing a donation today. First one ever. How much does your hemoglobin drop after a donation?
I agree with these guys in the video. But even they must have an upper limit no?
We no longer confuse Polycythemia Vera with trt-driven Erythrocytosis, which is harmless and actually good for your endurance, etc.
Unless your platelets are rising - in which case there is an increase in clotting factors, etc. - there is no reason whatsoever to donate, unless you want to.
If your iron stores are low, please do NOT donate until they are at a normal level; and even then, only if you wish to.
Look into the work of Dr. Neal Rouzier. This should be a sticky. This issue comes up a lot.
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Looks like all 3 of those are above range.
My cardiologist told me he gets concerned when hemoglobin gets to 18.
I understand if hct is in the low 50s, but u also have high RBC and hgb
If you are running over the range free t , you might want to rethink that.
Look into the work of Dr. Neal Rouzier.
I saw his video. ALL THREE ARE WAY HIGH.
Different specialist have different views. You can’t dismiss the thinking of a cardiologist in a top heart hospital in the country.
Many doctors - even “top cardiologists” - proceed by non-evidence-based medicine.
Ask him why he believes that hemoglobin above 18 is “concerning.”
I didn’t ask. I would think he would look at the bigger picture and look at other data in the CBC. Or run additional tests.
But I agree. We have a valid reason -trt- that causes these values to run higher. It is not because of disease like sickle cell.
I’d ask him directly. A good doctor will take your question seriously and provide reasons based in evidence.
Don’t think that he’s “thinking of the bigger picture” or whatever. Doctors for the most part are very busy; and this is especially true at a “top heart hospital” etc. And what they do, very often, is administer protocols, which may or may not be sound.
For millennia, large populations of people at high elevations have lived with erythrocytosis & high RBC levels. And there is zero evidence that they have higher mortality rates; actually, quite the opposite.
High RBC - by itself - does NOT mean increased viscosity. Please provide evidence showing otherwise.
High RBC with high platelets, on the other hand, is indeed a cause for concern precisely because of increased clotting factors.
I will absolutely read it, if I can find it.
If you would like to education yourself, I suggest listening to Rouzier’s lectures - not his interviews - at the AMMG CME Conferences.
Still, I have to ask you:
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how would you explain this: “For millennia, millions of people at high elevations have lived with erythrocytosis & high RBC levels. And there is zero evidence that they have higher mortality rates; actually, quite the opposite.”
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And for the millions now who live at high elevations and have, therefore, high red blood cell counts - often far higher than the average TRT patient: so, should we be carting them off *en masse" *to give blood every month? If not, why not?
What I notice which is very interesting, the higher the RBC rises, the lower the platelets go for me. So for my highest recorded RBC, I also have the lowest recorded platelets. It’s the like body adjusts accordingly. I donated 488 ml yesterday anyways. What’s the best time to run another blood test now? 72 hours after donation the numbers should reflect new hct/rbc/hg?
Both are mediated by Erythropoietin. I’m not even aware that we know why the body increases erythropoietin in the presence of higher serum testosterone. I could be wrong but you don’t seem clear on this either. It seems a jump to assume what you’re assuming in the highlighted sentence. It may turn out that the body requires more oxygen in the presence of higher serum test and all of the implications for that.
So, if someone who’s ancestors lived in Bangladesh were to move to a remote community in the Swiss Alps, and - like everyone else in that community - developed high levels of red blood cells, they should start donating blood regularly?
As for the bolded sentence, I am not saying (nor was Dr. Crisler, nor is Rouzier) that we should just let all the numbers go wild and not pay attention to them at all. What IS to be avoided, rather, is the knee-jerk reaction that just because your RBC is a bit above the normal values, that we should start giving blood every 6 weeks or so.
I can say with personal experience that this was totally counterproductive in many ways; when my RBCs at one point came in at slightly higher-values than normal, I began (at the behest of Dr. Crisler) to donate blood. And my numbers climbed higher; and so I donated blood monthly. But the more blood I gave, the more my numbers climbed.
And then I met Dr. Rouzier, who convinced me that I shouldn’t be doing this. And when I stopped doing it, guess what? My RBCs subsided quickly to very normal levels. In other words, the elevated RBC was likely transitory; and by donating blood every month I was sending my body into some sort of hyper-erythropoietin state.
Uh, what? My last post was an entry in my training log. I haven’t posted in this thread.
I think you tagged the wrong dude here, which is ironic.
Ok, I see how I misread the line I quoted, but I’m still not sure why I was tagged. If you have relevant info to share that abides by forum policy, of course go ahead.
One thing I’d appreciate, and I believe others in here in the TRT forum would too, is a super-quick intro before dishing out a ton of advice. I’ve previously suggested someone start a “Credentials”-type thread for everyone to post in.
A bad habit I’ve been noticing is people speaking very definitively about complex topics when they’re still learning themselves - beginners teaching beginners, essentially. With TRT, that’s a dangerous and confusing game.
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Why is this even a debate? If a trained professional recommends you to donate blood, do so. The downside risk is completely immaterial, and the upside benefits are potentially life saving.
Not just life saving for you, but for the person who is going to benefit from your donation. You can literally save a life by giving 10 minutes of your time. Folks can get caught up in semantics and academics…there are thousands of chemo kids sitting in hospitals all over the country that need a transfusion NOW. There is a blood shortage. Folks are literally going to die because they don’t have access to a blood transfusion.
We sit here and squabble about should we/shouldn’t we…guys put this entire topic in perspective and you’ll quickly realize how ridiculous this conversation is. At the end of the day take care of yourself, and take care of those in need.
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While cancer or its treatment can cause anemia, if you are donating for cheomtherapy patients, they need platelets. RedCross calls them gold.