Low SHBG - Labs inside - Improvement! Protocol adjustment

[Robotics]

Protocol: 9mg daily = 63mg a week IM. Labs were 28 hours since last injection(below trough)

Total Testosterone: 536 ng/dl (230-835)
Free Testosterone: 592 pmol/L ( 175-700)
SHBG 16 nmol/L (10-55) Increased most likely due to 5mcg cytomel added, really happy about this
Estrogen 39 pg/ml (0-44) (non sensitive)
Cortisol am 442 nmol/L (170-500) higher than before
progesterone 1.1 nmol/L (0-0.5) High
DHT: was above range on my last protocol. assuming it still is

New Protocol Considering: going to 6mg daily = 42 mg a week
- to get my free test just under 500 and hopefully my estrogen a lot lower. These labs were taken 28 hours from my last injection(below trough).

any advice?

 

[fifty]

Advice: no changes

 

[Robotics]

Advice: no changes

Libido and sexual function not good. trying to get that resolved with reducing E2.

 

[Vince]

Your estrogen really isn't too high. Too bad it's not the right estrogen test. There's nothing wrong with adjusting your protocol. It does take time to get dialed in.

 

[Vince Carter]

I admire that you're pushing the envelope here. When I tried it I got to 10mg/D and just didn't feel good, Estrogen was still high.

I think there's several problems here, the wrong Estrogen testing, you can't (should not) use that test as a part of your plot to make adjustments. Cortisol is a very poor blood serum test, better tested and more accurate is 4 tube saliva.

At some point you have a diminishing return whereas you reduce the T to what amounts to a level that is below therapeutic value. At some point you might get the E knocked down but then you're bridging a low T state so you'll have some trade off and suffer libido and erectile function because of low Test.

If an AI is necessary then you should take a run with that.

UltraSensitive LC/MS/MS is the proper E2 testing. Too, if it's affordable for you I like to recommend for low SHBG guys (like me) to include a second test, "Estradiol, Free" to get another picture of where your estrogen is.

 

[S1W]

In my experience, and we are all different, I'm not sure that E2 is always a net negative for libido and sexual function. I experimented with going to an EOD protocol from E3.5D, which did help lower E2, and noticed diminished libido/sexual function.

Sure it certainly could have been something else, but if looking at E2 in isolation...

Have you tried addressing the issues you're having by increasing TT/FT?

 

[Robotics]

I admire that you're pushing the envelope here. When I tried it I got to 10mg/D and just didn't feel good, Estrogen was still high.

I think there's several problems here, the wrong Estrogen testing, you can't (should not) use that test as a part of your plot to make adjustments. Cortisol is a very poor blood serum test, better tested and more accurate is 4 tube saliva.

At some point you have a diminishing return whereas you reduce the T to what amounts to a level that is below therapeutic value. At some point you might get the E knocked down but then you're bridging a low T state so you'll have some trade off and suffer libido and erectile function because of low Test.

If an AI is necessary then you should take a run with that.

UltraSensitive LC/MS/MS is the proper E2 testing. Too, if it's affordable for you I like to recommend for low SHBG guys (like me) to include a second test, "Estradiol, Free" to get another picture of where your estrogen is.

There is no sensitive test available in Alberta Canada unfortunately. I do however know that my E2 on the non sensitive was consistently 14 prior to TRT, right now it is 39

The point of diminishing returns makes sense. how low would you say is too low generally for troph on daily injections for Free and total T?

I am going to give it one more run in decreasing dose before jumping on AI (will be complicated with now sensitive E2 test), I am now thinking about instead of going all the way from 9mg to 6 mg daily, and instead perhaps 7mg daily. I am also going to try and get my cytomel increased and hopefully increase my shbg further.

 

[fifty]

Why do we automatically thing marginally high in-range e2 is the problem for libido and sexual function? There are plenty of guys with sky high e2 that have good libido. Might be the problem...might not.

 

[Robotics]

Why do we automatically thing marginally high in-range e2 is the problem for libido and sexual function? There are plenty of guys with sky high e2 that have good libido. Might be the problem...might not.

low shbg guys are more sensitive to higher e2. because more of it is free. Higher/normal shbg guys can get away with high e2

 

[fifty]

Have you considered trying calcium d glucarate or DIM? I am surprised you libido is slow low (due to estrogen) given your above range DHT as DHT usually aids libido and opposes estrogen.

 

[teehee]

You say you improved on paper, but it looks like your symptoms aren't better. If you have any sign of metabolic syndrome, may want to try berberine or metformin to raise SHBG. It sucks to have low SHBG, even TRT doesn't help. I'm jealous of dudes who just do a weekly injection and feel great all the time.

 

[Vince Carter]

You say you improved on paper, but it looks like your symptoms aren't better. If you have any sign of metabolic syndrome, may want to try berberine or metformin to raise SHBG. It sucks to have low SHBG, even TRT doesn't help. I'm jealous of dudes who just do a weekly injection and feel great all the time.

There's nothing wrong with low SHBG when you can wade thru the uninformed that think a 39 is not high or will not lead to libido or erection problems, among other problems. and then learn that you can NOT raise SHBG, you're rather misinformed about Berberine and Metformin in that regard.
Too most guys that claim a d weekly injection and feel great all the time, you're just being faceitous and they are usually not telling the whole truth.

 

[Cataceous]

First off, is it a test of estradiol as opposed to (total) estrogen? The non-sensitive test can be used to determine relative estradiol. But for absolute numbers it should first be calibrated against the sensitive test.

If you're somewhat adventurous then there may be a way to continue to lower the dose of testosterone—and therefore estradiol—without suffering low T symptoms: You make up for the lower testosterone by adding in mesterolone (Proviron) and a SARM such as ostarine (enobosarm). The mesterolone is dosed to provide adequate androgenic effects, while the ostarine supports anabolic effects.

 

[Bjjpapi]

38 Year old, started TRT beginning of June.

My 6 week labs came back and I too had low shbg but high estradiol. My TT was 611, FT 17, sensitive estradiol was 51, prolactin 15. I was taking 60mg Test Cyp we/week, 500 IU of HCG 3x /week.

Zero libido or erection issues, erections have been better (sensation wise than ever before) but my pressure has been through the roof on that combo/dose.

Not really advice, just throwing my experience in there maybe it helps.

 

[Vvs1]

Protocol: 9mg daily = 63mg a week IM. Labs were 28 hours since last injection(below trough)

Total Testosterone: 536 ng/dl (230-835)
Free Testosterone: 592 pmol/L ( 175-700)
SHBG 16 nmol/L (10-55) Increased most likely due to 5mcg cytomel added, really happy about this
Estrogen 39 pg/ml (0-44) (non sensitive)
Cortisol am 442 nmol/L (170-500) higher than before
progesterone 1.1 nmol/L (0-0.5) High
DHT: was above range on my last protocol. assuming it still is

New Protocol Considering: going to 6mg daily = 42 mg a week
- to get my free test just under 500 and hopefully my estrogen a lot lower. These labs were taken 28 hours from my last injection(below trough).

any advice?

My shbg made a huge increase after trying a vegan diet. So being vegan and possibly lowering calories.

Went from 56 to the 80s on vegan.

 

[Vvs1]

38 Year old, started TRT beginning of June.

My 6 week labs came back and I too had low shbg but high estradiol. My TT was 611, FT 17, sensitive estradiol was 51, prolactin 15. I was taking 60mg Test Cyp we/week, 500 IU of HCG 3x /week.

Zero libido or erection issues, erections have been better (sensation wise than ever before) but my pressure has been through the roof on that combo/dose.

Not really advice, just throwing my experience in there maybe it helps.

What do you mean by pressure through the roof? Like the need to release feeling?

 

[Bjjpapi]

What do you mean by pressure through the roof? Like the need to release feeling?

Sorry, I missed a comma or period somewhere in there. I should’ve been more specific...my blood pressure has been through the roof