posted Fri, 05/29/2026 - 15:14
308
+ 1 Labs are finally in but incomplete :(
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So after waiting 10 days for the results this dummy tested the wrong igf. Retesting tomorrow. Anyway!!The test was done 2 weeks after I started mastp/e and had just dropped primo and my ai right before the test. I did feel shitty for about 2 days then all was well. It appears 5 grams of sodium daily isn’t enough. Even tho I’m drinking 1.5 gallons of water I’m not hydrating properly cause I need more sodium. Hydrating will bring my hematocrit lower. Not panicking at all since everything else looks pretty good and I’m usually at 52 anyway. Also gotta add vitamin b12 back in. I had stopped cause I was supplementing to much and it was high. I just never started taking any again. Any input is extremely welcomed.
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Brother, your read on the bloodwork is mostly off in the wrong direction there are bigger things going on than the hematocrit and B12. Let me walk through what I see.
The thing you should actually be looking at: estradiol <25
That's not just "low" that's crashed. The "<25" reading means the assay can't detect anything down to 25 pg/mL, which on a male reference range (where normal is roughly 10-40 depending on assay) means your actual E2 could be anywhere from undetectable up to 25. You're either at the floor or close to it.
This matters because:
The 2 days of "feeling shitty" after dropping the AI wasn't E2 rebounding to normal it was your body responding to crashed E2 that was already crashed. Coming off an AI when E2 is already on the floor doesn't help if your test dose keeps aromatizing into nothing because the AI's effects persist.
Crashed E2 explains several things on this panel: low SHBG isn't only oral-driven (you'd expect it from primo/mast), it's also kept low by crushed E2. Low sodium can be partly E2-related because estrogen affects fluid/sodium retention. The "feeling under-hydrated despite drinking enough" sensation is consistent with low aldosterone signaling, which estrogen modulates.
Crashed E2 also drives joint pain, lipid worsening, libido issues, mood changes, bone density problems, and cardiovascular concerns. You may not notice all of these immediately but they're happening at the cellular level.
The fact that you dropped the AI right before testing tells me you were probably running too much AI on a stack that wasn't aromatizing much to begin with. Mast doesn't aromatize. Primo doesn't aromatize. If you were running test alongside these, the test was the only aromatizing compound, and aromasin/arimidex would have crushed that easily. Dropping the AI was the right move but the damage to E2 is still showing.
What you should do about E2:
Stop any remaining AI completely
Wait 2-3 weeks for E2 to recover naturally as your test continues aromatizing
Retest E2 then preferably sensitive assay if available
Manage by symptoms going forward, not by lab number especially since at this assay you can't even see how low you are
The sodium/hydration thing you raised:
Your read is partially right but you're missing the bigger picture. Sodium 134 with chloride 96 is mild hyponatremia and it's correlated with the crashed E2 estrogen plays a role in sodium and fluid balance through aldosterone modulation. Drinking 1.5 gallons of water with crashed E2 and 5g sodium might genuinely be diluting you because the sodium retention pathway isn't being supported normally.
More sodium will help short-term but the real fix is letting E2 recover. Once E2 normalizes, the same sodium intake will feel adequate.
The hematocrit at 53.5:
Real but probably not your most urgent issue. The framing "hydrating will bring it down" is partially correct but also partially misleading better hydration improves the plasma volume measurement, but actual RBC mass is still elevated. You're running mast/prop without significant erythropoietic suppression, and your previous baseline of 52 suggests you've been at the edge for a while.
Donation is the move here, not just hydration. 53.5 isn't emergent but it's the point where preventive donation makes sense. Once a year is too infrequent at these levels.
Things on this panel that are actually good news:
HbA1c 4.6, glucose 77, insulin <1 your metabolic health is excellent. The low insulin probably reflects fasted state plus possibly low-carb meal timing before draw. Nothing concerning there.
Liver panel completely clean ALT 33, AST 28, GGT 24, ALP 84, bilirubin 0.80. Mast/primo aren't liver-stressful and your numbers reflect that.
Lipids better than your last panel implied. Total 188, HDL 45, LDL 135, trigs 41. LDL is elevated but trigs are great, HDL is adequate. With Lp(a) <10 (low genetic CV risk), your cardiovascular profile is actually reasonable. Better than most guys on cycle.
hs-CRP 0.50 low inflammation, low CV risk by this marker
Kidney function normal, prolactin normal, vitamin D adequate, PSA fine, iron panel balanced
The white count and lymphocyte numbers:
WBC 3.1 with lymphocytes 0.90 is mild leukopenia/lymphopenia. Several possible causes:
AAS-induced (high androgens can mildly suppress some immune cell lines)
Recent illness or stress
Some labs run slightly lower normal ranges than others
Could be related to the dropped primo if you'd been on it long
Not emergent at these values but worth retesting in your next panel to see if it's a trend or a snapshot. If it persists or drops further, that's worth medical attention.
RDW elevated:
Red cell distribution width slightly high (15.8) with normal hemoglobin and slightly elevated hematocrit. Usually reflects variation in RBC size can happen with recent rapid erythropoiesis (which fits your cycle), recent blood loss followed by regeneration, mild iron status changes, or B12/folate issues. Given your story of stopping B12 supplementation, this might actually be the marker showing the B12 effect, not a deficiency per se but the body's adjustment.
The B12 thing:
You stopped because it was high. B12 has very long body stores (years in the liver). Going from "high" to "normal" takes a long time, not weeks. So your concern about adding B12 back in to address something on this panel is probably misplaced your stores are likely still fine. The RDW elevation is more likely cycle-related erythropoiesis than B12 deficiency at this point.
If you want to check, get a B12 + folate level next panel. Adding B12 back supplementation now is fine but probably not addressing anything urgent.
Priority order of what to actually address:
Get E2 retested in 2-3 weeks to confirm it's recovering. If it's still <25 after 3 weeks off the AI, something else is suppressing it. If it climbs to normal range (20-40), you're back to baseline.
Donate blood hematocrit 53.5 with trending upward is the point where donation makes sense as a preventive measure, not just reactive.
Watch the sodium/hydration thing resolve as E2 recovers. If it doesn't, then increase sodium to 6-7g daily and retest.
Lipid management is fine for now LDL 135 is elevated but with HDL 45, trigs 41, and Lp(a) <10, your overall CV risk profile is moderate. Citrus bergamot, fish oil at proper dose (3-4g EPA+DHA), and time will likely bring LDL down post-cycle.
Recheck WBC and lymphocytes next panel to see if the leukopenia is a trend or snapshot.
The framing problem:
Your post focused on the hematocrit and B12, which are minor or non-issues compared to the crashed E2, which you didn't mention at all. This is a common pattern focusing on the visible/expected issues while missing the more important finding. The E2 is the headline of this panel, not the hematocrit.
The good news is that the underlying metabolic and organ health markers are clean. Your liver, kidneys, glucose handling, inflammation markers, and cardiovascular markers (apart from elevated LDL) are all in good shape. Once E2 recovers, most of the abnormal findings here will normalize on their own.
Don't add the AI back unless symptoms specifically warrant it. You probably never needed it on a primo/mast/test stack that's a stack that aromatizes very little.
Whathappened2018Thanks alot for your input bro. I have 6 weeks to go I’ll get blood work at the end of it also. The e2 is def the issue. I was trying to cram as much info as I could in that post. Thanks for taking the time out to school me some. I also did lower my test from 250 to 210 cause I do aromatize a lot but that def made the e2 worse. I was titrating down on the ai but then pulled it completely. i think 210 maybe my sweet spot. I can never push test high without ai even when I’m running primo at 700. I’ll update this with my igf first and then in another 6 weeks. Again thanks bro. Oh and the b12
I stopped a year ago. That s why I mentioned that.
Makes sense on all counts brother, and the extra context clears up a few things.
The B12 a year ago detail actually resolves the RDW question if you stopped a year ago and it was high then, your stores would have been gradually normalizing over that year. The slightly elevated RDW is almost certainly the cycle-driven erythropoiesis (rapid RBC production creating size variation in your red cells), not a B12 issue. So you can stop worrying about the B12 angle entirely adding it back wouldn't address anything on this panel. If anything, the RDW + elevated hematocrit + your aromatizing tendency all point back to the same place: your body is responding strongly to the androgen load, making lots of RBCs, and the E2 situation is the thing actually needing attention.
On the test reduction making E2 worse this is the key insight and you've already spotted it:
You're right, and it's worth understanding why because it'll help you dial this in long-term. When you dropped test from 250 to 210 AND pulled the AI around the same time, you changed two variables simultaneously. The test reduction means less aromatization substrate, but the AI removal means whatever's aromatizing now converts freely. The net effect on E2 depends on the balance, but the timing of both changes at once is why your E2 reading is confusing.
Here's the thing about your specific situation though: you said you "aromatize a lot" and "can never push test high without an AI even running primo at 700." That tells me something useful. If you're a heavy aromatizer, then at 210 test with no AI, your E2 should actually recover to a reasonable level over the next few weeks your strong aromatization is now an asset because it'll pull E2 back up from the crashed state without needing exogenous estrogen.
So the prediction: at 210 test, no AI, with your aromatizing tendency, your E2 should climb back into normal range within 2-3 weeks. If it overshoots into high range (which it might given how readily you aromatize), THEN you reintroduce a tiny amount of AI but much less than before. The mistake before was probably AI dose being too aggressive relative to what your aromatization actually needed.
The "210 might be my sweet spot" instinct:
This is probably right for you, and here's the logic that supports it. A heavy aromatizer running high test is constantly fighting E2 with an AI, and AI dosing is hard to get right too much crashes E2 (where you ended up), too little lets it run high. Running a more moderate test dose where your natural aromatization produces a reasonable E2 without needing much or any AI is a cleaner equilibrium. Less pharmacological tug-of-war.
At 210 with primo at 700, you've got a strong anabolic stack where the primo is doing a lot of the work and the test is more of a base. Primo doesn't aromatize, so your E2 is entirely driven by the 210 test. For a heavy aromatizer, 210 test might produce perfectly adequate E2 on its own. That's actually an elegant setup let the test handle E2 and libido and base androgenic function, let the primo handle the anabolic lifting, skip the AI tug-of-war entirely.
What to watch over your remaining 6 weeks:
E2 recovery by your end-of-cycle bloods, E2 should have climbed back. If it's in normal range (roughly 20-40 on a sensitive assay, or detectable and reasonable on standard), your 210-no-AI equilibrium is working. If it's crashed still, something else is going on. If it's high, you might need a touch of AI.
Symptoms as your real guide since you crashed E2 once, you know what low feels like for you. Watch for the recovery: libido returning, joints feeling better, mood lifting, that general sense of wellbeing coming back. Those tell you E2 is recovering before the bloods confirm it.
Hematocrit still want you donating. 53.5 trending up doesn't fix itself, and your strong response to androgens means it'll keep climbing. Donate before your end-of-cycle bloods so you're not sitting at the edge for the rest of the run.
Sodium should improve as E2 recovers. If it doesn't, bump sodium a bit. But I'd bet it normalizes alongside the E2.
The IGF retest:
Good that you're getting it redone. Just for context IGF-1 is your actual readout of whether the GH is doing what it should. If you're running GH and IGF-1 comes back low-normal, your GH might be underdosed or your product questionable. If it's appropriately elevated, the GH is legit and working. The IGFBP-2 they ran (73, normal range) isn't the same thing IGF-1 is the marker that matters for assessing GH effect. Make sure the retest is specifically IGF-1.
Bottom line for you:
You've correctly identified that E2 is the issue and that 210 might be your equilibrium. Your heavy aromatization, which has been a problem when running high test, is actually going to be the thing that rescues your E2 now let it work, don't reintroduce AI unless you overshoot into high range. The B12 thing is a non-issue (year-old stores are fine). The hematocrit needs a donation. Everything else on the panel was clean.
You're dialing this in well. The instinct to find the test dose where you don't need an AI is the right long-term play for a heavy aromatizer it's a more stable setup than perpetually fighting E2 with anastrozole. Get the end-of-cycle bloods, confirm E2 recovered, and you'll have found your equilibrium.
Whathappened2018God damn my brother what’s your YouTube channel lmao. I was literally smiling while reading this. Everything was so concise and very very understandable. Good shit and Thanks again !!
Thanks my dude. I'm just a big nerd with a loads of time on my hand ! Always a pleasure to help a fellow brother in his enhanced journey !
My man people like you are why this community is great. A wealth of knowledge dropped just because you could.