Injection frequency & SHBG levels

[kafahmy]

Hey TRT fellows,

I’m still struggling to get the best out of my trt journey and have a question that I can’t seem to find a definitive answer for:

Is a SHBG of 24.2 nmol/L considered low ? And Would u go with an ED or EOD protocol with a SHBG level similar to mine ?

Thank you

 

[Cataceous]

There's not a definitive answer, but I wouldn't consider that SHBG to be low. I think of 25-35 nMol/L as optimal in some ways, based in part on the nominal value of 30 for men in their prime. My impression is that in the teens is where SHBG may start to be problematic. You might still have better subjective results with more frequent injections, but there's less pressure to do that if you find those protocols to be burdensome.

 

[stx359]

Just curious what in particular about your TRT therapy you are struggling with. Although daily injections may have originally been prescribed as a solution for patients with low SHBG they may be of benefit to men with normal SHBG as well. After digesting all of the information on this forum and reading Dr. Saya's luxury car analogy around dosing frequency I moved to Defy and have been on dailies for months with positive results. For some it comes down to whether or not you find injecting unpleasant or not. One thing about dailies is that the volume is so low that you can use a small needle (in my case a 29 gauge) and inject sub Q.

 

[kafahmy]

Thank you for the replies Guys. I am currently on an EOD protocol as well, moved from Twice/week injection to 3X week and now been on EOD for the past 3-4 month. It's been a hit and miss lately, even without making any changes in the protocol, I would feel great one day and like shit the other day. Dr. Saya proposed dailies as well to try but I am keeping this as a last resort. I travel a lot and even-though I use insulin syringes (30 gauge for HCG subQ and 29 gauge for Test IM in the shoulders) I feel that my shoulders are already getting tired of pinning.

MY SHBG was around 31 nmol/L prior to TRT but now has dropped to 24nmol/L which is expected and I am hoping that this is the lowest it will get.

From my research on this forum, I noticed low SHBG guys tend to have a lot of issues with HCG. They also do better on a lower dose of Testosterone since their Free T tends to shoot higher than normal SHBG patients.

To add to the complexity of my case, I am also an over responder to the anastrozole so even a 0.05mg EOD is a bit too much for me. I had to increase my HCG to 280iu EOD and my testosterone to 50 mg EOD to help my E2 a little. I also tend to aromatize badly without the anastrozole so I can't get rid of it.

It's been a week now since I raise my dose and I will hold on it for 2 more weeks and get tested to see where I stand but I can already tell that my E2 isn't where it should be .

So this is the reason, I wanted to check if my SHBG level is considered low. I have seen people with SHBG as low as 9nmol/m so I figured mine should not be that terrible to requires a dailies protocol or eliminate HCG usage.

If you have any insight or recommendation based on the above please ....please don't hesitate to help

Thanks again !

 

[Vince]

I don’t have low shbg and I do daily injections. It’s hard for me to think of going back to twice a week or three times a week injections. It so much of a routine now, injecting every day. I like how it feels and It keeps my Hct in a good range.

 

[kafahmy]

I don’t have low shbg and I do daily injections. It’s hard for me to think of going back to twice a week or three times a week injections. It so much of a routine now, injecting every day. I like how it feels and It keeps my Hct in a good range.

VINCE, were you on an EOD protocol before switching to Daily ? what benefits are you seeing from this ? was the change made mainly due to the Hct range ? are you following an IM or subQ approach ? finally, are you also using anastazole? if Yes, how would you incorporate it with a daily routine ?

the thing is I see most people on a twice/ week injection and loving it, I thought the EOD would give me a super stable levels mainly due to half-life of the compounds

 

[Vince]

VINCE, were you on an EOD protocol before switching to Daily ? what benefits are you seeing from this ? was the change made mainly due to the Hct range ? are you following an IM or subQ approach ? finally, are you also using anastazole? if Yes, how would you incorporate it with a daily routine ?

the thing is I see most people on a twice/ week injection and loving it, I thought the EOD would give me a super stable levels mainly due to half-life of the compounds

I inject with the 29 g 1/2” syringe for a shallow IM. I also inject 500 iu of HCG twice a week. The reason I went to daily was to lower to lower my hct. For me it worked or maybe it was just longevity on trt. I didn’t know if I was Disciplined enough for daily, now I’m just hooked on it.

I’ve never had to use an AI.