Bloodwork and Health

BellaMasculine said:

When doing blood work:

• All 4-6 weeks is good or at least every 2 months.
• In the morning on empty stomach
• no cardio before
• no supplements, peds , ... before

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Another useful suggestion that I live by is drinking atleast 2L of water before getting my blood drawn

This is the first time I see that you can do a blood test for Myostatin.

Einherjar said:

This is the first time I see that you can do a blood test for Myostatin.

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Same for me. Vigorous Steve wanted to test it and said he'd have to pay 10k, so he didn't go through with it.

I would add to this list a blood test for homocystein

dr. Doping said:

Another useful suggestion that I live by is drinking atleast 2L of water before getting my blood drawn

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2L isn't necessary but a glass of water - 1L is good yeah.

Einherjar said:

This is the first time I see that you can do a blood test for Myostatin.

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It is if you ask for and the doc/lab is offering it, no additional costs for me in that case.

Einherjar said:

I would add to this list a blood test for homocystein

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Not necessary for me, like Myostatin , it's a nice to have but not a must

BellaMasculine said:

2L isn't necessary but a glass of water - 1L is good yeah.

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Probably depends on the "size" of the person. But I did talk to the lab technicians at the lab where I do my bloodwork and they did say 1.5-2L of water

These are mine Parameters, I think you have to many, so your tests become uneccessary expensive.

Blood Tests & Monitoring

Before Cycle Start (Baseline):

• CBC, CMP, lipids, PSA, hormones (testosterone, LH, FSH, SHBG, estradiol, DHT, prolactin, cortisol)
• Thyroid panel (TSH, free T3, free T4)
• Insulin, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c
• CRP

During the Cycle (every 8–12 weeks):

• Testosterone, estradiol, DHT, SHBG, PSA, hematocrit, lipid profile, liver enzymes, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose

Post-Cycle & After PCT:

• LH, FSH, testosterone, estradiol, SHBG, PSA, prolactin, DHT, hematocrit, lipid profile, liver enzymes, thyroid panel, HbA1c, CRP

BellaMasculine said:

2L isn't necessary but a glass of water - 1L is good yeah.


It is if you ask for and the doc/lab is offering it, no additional costs for me in that case.

Not necessary for me, like Myostatin , it's a nice to have but not a must

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Honestly, even a single liter of water can noticeably lower your hematocrit — it drops.

Back in the day, before I knew how dangerous high hematocrit levels could be, I ran a cycle with a good amount of boldenone and pushed my hematocrit all the way up to 60%. When I was told my blood was basically the consistency of sour cream, I freaked out and started drinking a ton of water. I had about three liters that evening, and by the next morning, my hematocrit had dropped to 57%

saintxseiya said:

These are mine Parameters, I think you have to many, so your tests become uneccessary expensive.

Blood Tests & Monitoring

Before Cycle Start (Baseline):

• CBC, CMP, lipids, PSA, hormones (testosterone, LH, FSH, SHBG, estradiol, DHT, prolactin, cortisol)
• Thyroid panel (TSH, free T3, free T4)
• Insulin, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c
• CRP

During the Cycle (every 8–12 weeks):

• Testosterone, estradiol, DHT, SHBG, PSA, hematocrit, lipid profile, liver enzymes, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose

Post-Cycle & After PCT:

• LH, FSH, testosterone, estradiol, SHBG, PSA, prolactin, DHT, hematocrit, lipid profile, liver enzymes, thyroid panel, HbA1c, CRP

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Getting a blood test for cortisol is often pointless because levels fluctuate heavily throughout the day and are influenced by tons of variables — sleep, stress, food, even how you got to the lab. The only meaningful way to assess cortisol is through salivary tests taken at multiple times (like morning and evening) or stimulated stress tests under medical supervision. A single blood draw gives limited info and can easily be misleading.

Einherjar said:

Honestly, even a single liter of water can noticeably lower your hematocrit — it drops.

Back in the day, before I knew how dangerous high hematocrit levels could be, I ran a cycle with a good amount of boldenone and pushed my hematocrit all the way up to 60%. When I was told my blood was basically the consistency of sour cream, I freaked out and started drinking a ton of water. I had about three liters that evening, and by the next morning, my hematocrit had dropped to 57%

Click to expand...

For me there was never a difference between 1L, 2L or even nothing tbh and I do bloods all 4-6 weeks

BellaMasculine said:

For me there was never a difference between 1L, 2L or even nothing tbh and I do bloods all 4-6 weeks

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If your hematocrit is 54% (like mine), drinking 1–2 liters of water before a blood test can temporarily lower it by 2–6 points — down to around 48–52%. This happens due to hemodilution, meaning the plasma volume increases and "dilutes" the red blood cells.

Hematocrit is the percentage of red blood cells (RBCs) in total blood volume. If it’s 54%, that means 54 ml of RBCs per 100 ml of blood.

Let’s say you weigh 100 kg (like mine) → around 7 liters of blood:
(RBCs: 3.78 L and Plasma: 3.22 L)

Scenario 1 — you drink 1 L of water and it all enters your bloodstream:
Plasma = 4.22 L
New HCT = 3.78 / (3.78 + 4.22) ≈ 47.25%

Scenario 2 — you drink 2 L:
Plasma = 5.22 L
New HCT ≈ 42% — although in reality that’s unlikely, since not all the water ends up in circulation immediately.

Of course, this is theoretical. In practice, your body regulates fluids more dynamically, so the drop may be less dramatic.
From my personal experience - when I didn’t drink anything before bloodwork — not even a glass of water in the morning — my hematocrit consistently came out higher.

Einherjar said:

If your hematocrit is 54% (like mine), drinking 1–2 liters of water before a blood test can temporarily lower it by 2–6 points — down to around 48–52%. This happens due to hemodilution, meaning the plasma volume increases and "dilutes" the red blood cells.

Hematocrit is the percentage of red blood cells (RBCs) in total blood volume. If it’s 54%, that means 54 ml of RBCs per 100 ml of blood.

Let’s say you weigh 100 kg (like mine) → around 7 liters of blood:
(RBCs: 3.78 L and Plasma: 3.22 L)

Scenario 1 — you drink 1 L of water and it all enters your bloodstream:
Plasma = 4.22 L
New HCT = 3.78 / (3.78 + 4.22) ≈ 47.25%

Scenario 2 — you drink 2 L:
Plasma = 5.22 L
New HCT ≈ 42% — although in reality that’s unlikely, since not all the water ends up in circulation immediately.

Of course, this is theoretical. In practice, your body regulates fluids more dynamically, so the drop may be less dramatic.
From my personal experience - when I didn’t drink anything before bloodwork — not even a glass of water in the morning — my hematocrit consistently came out higher.

Click to expand...

BellaMasculine said:

For me there was never a difference between 1L, 2L or even nothing tbh and I do bloods all 4-6 weeks

Click to expand...

Einherjar said:

Getting a blood test for cortisol is often pointless because levels fluctuate heavily throughout the day and are influenced by tons of variables — sleep, stress, food, even how you got to the lab. The only meaningful way to assess cortisol is through salivary tests taken at multiple times (like morning and evening) or stimulated stress tests under medical supervision. A single blood draw gives limited info and can easily be misleading.

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Yeah could be, but I run fine on testing it, especially using HGH ... mine are pretty stable.

In the end it was just a heads up on the opener of the post, that he might get to many markers... as here in Germany we pay per marker ...

If we could do an experiment – before and after – then we’d actually be able to determine if there’s a difference. Everything else is just our assumptions. I’ve just outlined how it should work in theory

saintxseiya said:

Yeah could be, but I run fine on testing it, especially using HGH ... mine are pretty stable.

In the end it was just a heads up on the opener of the post, that he might get to many markers... as here in Germany we pay per marker ...

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This is what I do: every 6–8 months, I get a fairly extensive blood panel done. Then, every 6 weeks, I do only the tests that I typically need to adjust and that are the most important. Occasionally, I add a rare marker for experimentation purposes.

Einherjar said:

This is what I do: every 6–8 months, I get a fairly extensive blood panel done. Then, every 6 weeks, I do only the tests that I typically need to adjust and that are the most important. Occasionally, I add a rare marker for experimentation purposes.

Click to expand...

Have you posted your bloodwork somewhere ? couldn't find it ...

I would say that the first things to keep an eye on are the kidneys and the heart, these are the two organs most at risk... obviously also a cholesterol and triglyceride control which goes hand in hand

So much has been written, but you don’t need to do a huge amount of blood tests. Everything from the list is individual, I won’t go into details. About water and hematocrit: for each 1 kg of body weight, you need to drink about 30–40 ml of water; if you’re on a steroid cycle, better 40 ml. Some people even drink 45–50 ml. Water doesn’t solve the problem, it just hides it—it makes the blood circulate faster through the body so it’s not too thick. To keep blood from getting thick, you need to drink plenty of water, stay active, and take some supplements. At the very least, the supplement glucosamine chondroitin & MSM—it’s mainly for joints, but it also helps thin the blood.

And there are people who, no matter what dosage of anabolic steroids they take, always have high hematocrit—whether half a gram of oil or 2 grams, it will still be high. And others can have normal hematocrit on small doses, but on higher ones it shoots up to the maximum. In such cases, only bloodletting helps if you don’t want heart and vascular problems.

Doing such a big list of blood tests all the time, I think, is unnecessary. A full panel should be done once every 6 months to a year, and the most important tests every 2–3 months. But that’s just my personal opinion.