I guess I'm not UCI legal (me, not my bike)

Triathlon Forum
1

I just got lab results back from my annual physical and my hematocrit is at 53% with my hemoglobin at 19 (ng/dl?)
Both outside the normal limits and illegal according to UCI regs.
I don’t think I was dehydrated but can’t rule it out. Sample was given at 8:30am prior to any A.M. workouts.

Had the test done last year and I remember my hematocrit being 43%

One possible explanation besides dehydration is that I suffered lung damage last year when I went a few months suffering from numerous blood clots in my lungs. It was months to diagnosis and lung tissue had died. It’s like I live permanently at altitude I guess.

Besides persistent low oxygen (living at altitude, lung damage)…can hypoxic training contribute? I know that my swim workouts are pretty intense anaerobic intervals…would that training contribute to an increase in hematocrit?

2

Shut up, cheater.
.

3

When i gave blood a few months ago mine was at 49. I guess I have better doctors
than you. :wink:

-Jot

4

that sucks man

now every time you get beat, by anybody, even contador, you know its because you are a slacker

:wink:
.

5

I thought that you were going to say that you don’t conform to a 3:1 aspect ratio.

6

I thought that you were going to say that you don’t conform to a 3:1 aspect ratio.

I’ve been told that I have a funny shaped head, but it’s not past the 3:1 ratio!

If I do well my opponents can call me a cheater and if I do poorly I can claim it’s from the lung damage. Pretty much a win, win?

It might make up somewhat for needing so much oxygen due to being a bit of a Clydesdale.

I should get my VO2 max measured…I don’t think it will be very high.

7

Are you road bike racing? I can’t really figure out why so many people care about UCI on triathlon forum :slight_smile:

8

A high hgb is not always a good thing, I’d suggest getting a medical. My hct and hgb came back as high as yours and it wasn’t a super thing…

9

Are you road bike racing? I can’t really figure out why so many people care about UCI on triathlon forum :slight_smile:

Don’t really care about being UCI compliant…just feels weird to know I’d be illegal (I guess they allow medical exemptions though).
What other sports bodies test using a hematocrit ceiling?

10

A high hgb is not always a good thing, I’d suggest getting a medical. My hct and hgb came back as high as yours and it wasn’t a super thing…

It was the physical that gave me the test results…and I consulted with my Dr. yesterday. He’s not worried. I think it’s something he will be interested in watching over time.

What was your situation? You say it wasn’t a super thing–how so? I don’t think there is any certainty about a 53% value having health implications…but if blood clotting is a concern then that’s probably not a problem in my case since I’m on Coumadin since my clotting incident last year.

11

Maybe the lab screwed up.
It has been known to happen.
Retest.

12

Don’t say “retest”
“B-sample” sounds way cooler.

13

Maybe the lab screwed up.
It has been known to happen.
Retest.
Start by challenging the chain of custody of your blood samples… Look, you’re going to need an attorney.

14

Don’t say “retest”
“B-sample” sounds way cooler.

My client believes that, due to a nearby horrific accident at the time the original samples were collected, all of his originl (A, B and C) samples were contaminated with airborne blood from an Irate cage driver. My client therefore requests that a new series of samples be collected at a time and place convienient to the arduous demands placed upon my client’s schedule by his sponsors.