Sex Hormone Binding Globulin [SHBG]

[James23]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

James23, I have read quite a lot of your posts on low SHBG. I find them
very interesting. You have tried a few things, but unfortunately I do not see
you reporting your results. Please tell us SHBG results you had from taking thyroid hormone, supplements and other stuff.

I think limiting dairy can be important as it has high amounts of igf1 which decreases SHBG.

Have you tried HCG mono therapy? That seems to increase SHBG in quite some men, whereas testosterone shots seems to decrease it on average.

I am positive liver function is vital in this matter. Have you tried liver flushes? I think lemon juice and sunflower or olive oil in combination with epsom salts are used to flush the liver.

Do you have fat around your waist? Low dose Ghrp can get rid of that fat(perhaps also liver fat) and increase shbg.

Yes, I have too much abdominal fat for my tiny 177 lb. frame. I suspected insulin resistance, but my 2 hour glucose/insulin tolerance test shows insulin to be on the low end, except my body is so sensitive to it that I got reactive hypoglycemia (glucose: 56) from 75g of glucose. My fasting glucose was 79. Insulin values were all between 2.5 and 40. Something is fucked up, but there's no standard diagnosis for such results other than RHG from "insulin sensitivity" (vs. insulin resistance.)

I've been using peptides recently and have noticed a great increase in sense of well being and strength. It could be placebo.

I tried hCG monotherapy, but it failed to produce any good results. Yeah, estrogen from hCG will boost SHBG in normal men. Low SHBG men aren't normal, and thus my SHBG output ignored estrogen completely.

I do not drink any dairy whatsoever and IGF-1 was actually low on all recent lab draws.

I have no tests that reveal SHBG while on T3, unfortunately. I am going to have some labwork done soon, and I will try to do a T3 run beforehand. I do not think it increased SHBG, as I felt no different and still had estrogenic sides from low doses of testosterone (16mg x 3 per week.)

 

[Sharpman27]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Yes, I have too much abdominal fat for my tiny 177 lb. frame. I suspected insulin resistance, but my 2 hour glucose/insulin tolerance test shows insulin to be on the low end, except my body is so sensitive to it that I got reactive hypoglycemia (glucose: 56) from 75g of glucose. My fasting glucose was 79. Insulin values were all between 2.5 and 40. Something is fucked up, but there's no standard diagnosis for such results other than RHG from "insulin sensitivity" (vs. insulin resistance.)

I've been using peptides recently and have noticed a great increase in sense of well being and strength. It could be placebo.

I tried hCG monotherapy, but it failed to produce any good results. Yeah, estrogen from hCG will boost SHBG in normal men. Low SHBG men aren't normal, and thus my SHBG output ignored estrogen completely.

I do not drink any dairy whatsoever and IGF-1 was actually low on all recent lab draws.

I have no tests that reveal SHBG while on T3, unfortunately. I am going to have some labwork done soon, and I will try to do a T3 run beforehand. I do not think it increased SHBG, as I felt no different and still had estrogenic sides from low doses of testosterone (16mg x 3 per week.)

I think skinny people who have abdominal fat, probably have fatty liver as well.

What peptides have you used, how long, what dosage and what are the positive results you think you are getting?

How high was your progesterone on blood tests? Progesterone can increase SHBG.

You can pm me if you want.

 

[WindyTents]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

I started off with low SHBG and low testosterone. When I first got on TRT I wasn't responding to it at all despite my levels being at the high end. Today 3 years later I respond great to a TRT dose of 180 mg split into two injections twice a week. The only two things that I can think of that I changed is I started taking 1 Iodoral a day which is 12.5 mg of iodine and I did 2 tren cycles. These two things may have nothing to do with it, and my body may have just needed time to adapt to testosterone, but today my SHBG is near 0 and I am definitely feeling my test.

 

[qwerty]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

WindyTrents,

1) What do you mean by 'respond to TRT'? Libido? Erections? Mood? Energy?
2) How long did it take you to start responding to TRT?
3) What are your TT, E2 levels?

Thank you

 

[Dr JIM]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Qwerty
What has been missing on the entire thread is the DETAILS.

All most all of these low shbg followers are simply FOS and will not provide you or myself with the needed information to substantiate OR refute the claims low SHBG IS the CAUSATION of "TRT unresponsiveness"

 

[qwerty]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Jim,

my shbg is 7.7 (last measure), and so far I tried testopel, cypionate, and propionate, and failed to see the results. It is a real problem, at least for me and lots of other guys. All other things look fine, thyroid, adrenals, liver enzymes. I know about some low shbg people who did find a solution. WindyTrents appears to be one of them. This is why I ask.

To be honest, WindyTrents's dosage seems too high for low shbg. With low shbg your free T tends to be high, and this can create issues as well. But if he feels good on this dose - symptoms beat numbers. Plus, I know another low shbg man who also requires high doses of test to feel well with low shbg.

 

[Dr JIM]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Look why can't some people understand the obvious? Since SHBG binds testosterone the lowering of this globular protein INCREASES fTT LEVELS.

This is a known FACT which is manifested clinically by patients with HIGH SHBG developing "low T" signs and symptoms.

Ya know I wish life and medicine was do easy to make such misinformed cause and effect relationships.

So based on your conclusion even though it's an established FACT those with considerably elevated cholesterol are at an increased risk for heart disease, those with LOW CHOLESTEROL should raise it if they have heart problems!

Why of course NOT because there are MANY factors involved in the development of heart disease that are not. being considered in my proposed "low cholesterol and HD relationship scenario"

The same issue is MOT being taken into account with this LOW SHBG discussion and I guarantee it fella!

 

[qwerty]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

I am not here to argue what is truth about shbg. I am looking for the answer to my problem. A lot of people are in the same boat. It is my standpoint that you either need to be constructive and help people who need help or just stay away from such discussions. If you have constructive input - please, post, it is welcomed. If you want to get aggravated and start throwing accusations - please do not.

It is practically universal across many posts from low shbg people - it is a problem, there is no response from TRT. So there is statistical correlation there. Why it happens - nobody knows, there are a lot of speculations, even some medical pubs. But it appears to be a real problem.

If you want, I can post my labs, what I tried, and what happened. Based on that you can try to help. This would be constructive, not to mention greatly appreciated.

 

[Dr JIM]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Hey what I posted is EVIDENCE based and is also a reflection of my practice.

You say there are a "lot of people" with a similar problem NOT.

Yours and others are no more than contextual misjudgments based on anecdotes period.

Perhaps rather than becoming so defensive when opposed by the FACTS you will devote more time to researching this topic and posting ANY evidence which confirms your assertions or refutes mine, I'm "all ears".

However what I will not do is sit back and allow this crap to be posted, unopposed, when it's contradictory to existing MEDICAL SCIENCE.

Now that's Dr Jim being as "constructive" as possible, .considering the subject material of this thread.

 

[James23]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

I started off with low SHBG and low testosterone. When I first got on TRT I wasn't responding to it at all despite my levels being at the high end. Today 3 years later I respond great to a TRT dose of 180 mg split into two injections twice a week. The only two things that I can think of that I changed is I started taking 1 Iodoral a day which is 12.5 mg of iodine and I did 2 tren cycles. These two things may have nothing to do with it, and my body may have just needed time to adapt to testosterone, but today my SHBG is near 0 and I am definitely feeling my test.

That sounds highly suspect. Perhaps you are leaving something out.

If you take 180mg of T per week and your SHBG is near 0, you either have extremely high estrogen to go with that T, or you have an aromatase deficiency, or you are using an anti-estrogen that you forgot to mention.

 

[hardrlz]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

I started injecting sustanon everyday but i dont see any improvements. I will try to find propionate and see how it goes with ED injections. Also next week i am visiting the best andrologist in my country so i will ask about other possible causes of low SHBG except IR and hypothyroidism and post here what he has said.

 

[hardrlz]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Also James imo if you can find a legit source and buy some propionate you should try to see how it goes. As i said on another forum one guy who has low shbg as well said that he didnt respond to any other testosterone except small everyday propionate injections. He said that he injected around 7-8 mg a day which made him feel the benefits of TRT. He also said that he had spoken to other low shbg guys who responded well to ED small propionate injections.

 

[James23]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Also James imo if you can find a legit source and buy some propionate you should try to see how it goes. As i said on another forum one guy who has low shbg as well said that he didnt respond to any other testosterone except small everyday propionate injections. He said that he injected around 7-8 mg a day which made him feel the benefits of TRT. He also said that he had spoken to other low shbg guys who responded well to ED small propionate injections.

7-8mg makes sense. That's a natural daily replacement dose, and the half life of propionate is 1 day, so it all seems to work out in theory. My question to him would be, "Why didn't Androgel work for you?" considering that Androgel also delivers the same amount of testosterone over a 24 hour period

 

[hardrlz]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Well he didnt mention anything about gels but i assume he has tried and idk maybe it wasnt absorbed well or smthg.

 

[Blazerone]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Also James imo if you can find a legit source and buy some propionate you should try to see how it goes. As i said on another forum one guy who has low shbg as well said that he didnt respond to any other testosterone except small everyday propionate injections. He said that he injected around 7-8 mg a day which made him feel the benefits of TRT. He also said that he had spoken to other low shbg guys who responded well to ED small propionate injections.

As previously posted - I too had/have low shbg and did not respond to cypionate and enanthate (even with great lab reports). It felt like I was crashing in between injections, no matter how often I was dosing. Androgel worked well for a few weeks before I started experiencing absorption problems. I switched to propionate at 17mg/day and haven't looked back; It was a night and day difference. I believe the long acting esters don't work with people with low shbg.

Doc - are there any reports/data that might support this?

 

[James23]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

What is your TT at 17mg/day?

 

[Blazerone]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

What is your TT at 17mg/day?

TT=622 (250-1100)
FT=218 (46-224)
Why are you more concerned with TT?

 

[James23]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

TT=622 (250-1100)
FT=218 (46-224)
Why are you more concerned with TT?

17mg sounded like overkill since it delivers 14 mg of T per day based on the molecular weight of propionate, but the half life may extend this over two days. I suspect that you are using an AI with a FT that high?

 

[Blazerone]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

17mg sounded like overkill since it delivers 14 mg of T per day based on the molecular weight of propionate, but the half life may extend this over two days. I suspect that you are using an AI with a FT that high?

I started at 15mg/day but at that dose I do not feel the TRT benefits near as much and feel a bit of a crash before the next injection. I have an AI on hand but I rarely need it since switching to propionate.

Why are you more concerned with TT rather than FT?

 

[qwerty]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Blazer, how recent is your TT/FT?