Just had some blood tests back (after a touch of illness) and one of the things it identified was a low hematocrit level (40). Not quite up there with Bjarne Riis. GP is recommending a retest in 3 weeks, but during the meanwhilst (!) I was just wondering if anyone on here has ever had this sort of thing, and if there’s any recommendations to boost this at all? Red meat? Spinach? EPO?
Other numbers seemed ok (apparently, I’m no Dr), slightly high “differential: Neut Seg” (whatever that means) which I understand may be a sign of an infection?
Anyhoo, any thoughts slash abuse from the combined wisdoms of you, dear Slowtwitchies, will be gratefully received, considered and potentially actioned. Thank you.
Depending on the reference it’s within a normal range.
Without a history it’s difficult to know if this is normal for you or not. Retesting is important.
Hematocrit can be influenced by many factors, including hydration level etc.
If you want more information, post the rest of your CBC. (Red Cell Count, Hemoglobin, Mean Corpuscular Volume).
Also, post iron related labs like Serum Iron, Ferritin and TIBC.
Just had some blood tests back (after a touch of illness) and one of the things it identified was a low hematocrit level (40). Not quite up there with Bjarne Riis. GP is recommending a retest in 3 weeks, but during the meanwhilst (!) I was just wondering if anyone on here has ever had this sort of thing, and if there’s any recommendations to boost this at all? Red meat? Spinach? EPO?
Other numbers seemed ok (apparently, I’m no Dr), slightly high “differential: Neut Seg” (whatever that means) which I understand may be a sign of an infection?
Anyhoo, any thoughts slash abuse from the combined wisdoms of you, dear Slowtwitchies, will be gratefully received, considered and potentially actioned. Thank you.
I’m no expert, but what is the normal range? I know for ProTour cyclists, the “red flag” for doping was a Hematocrit level over 50, so people would dope up to that level. Which makes me think below 50 is normal. I don’t know how much below 50 is OK, versus abnormally low etc.
Move to Flagstaff or Leadville for a year. That will help.
I wish mine was 40, mine has usually been 38-39 for over 20 years, I thinks it’s pretty common in most people who workout a fair bit to have lower levels, my hemoglobin level is also low at around 12 to 13 also, my peak lung flow is also lower than expected, it never stopped me from running 5K’s in the mid 15’s or to qualify for Kona most years, but I feel like I had to train more than most people to get to that level.
There is so much going on with that number, the +/-, the test efficacy itself, your hydration at the time, your workouts the week/month prior, etc. But 40 is not a bad number, nor a good one. I would say it is average, and could go way up if you affected it negatively by any or all of the influencers. What was Lance’s true HCT %, like 43% or so? Seems he did pretty good with that, stand alone and enhanced…
During a blood examination about 1-1.5 months ago I got a hematocrit level of 44, of which the Dr said 39-49 is considered normal. Hemaglobin was 13.9 which I believe was also smack dab in the middle of the range. Not sure about the other values, I’d have to check. For reference, 27y/o, 5’7", 147lbs, varied diet, started tri 3 years ago and did mostly martial arts since I was 6…