What does low shbg actually mean ?

[Charliebizz]

If I take dht, for example - proviron or masteron - i feel shit. I have low shbg, hence probably already high-ish DHT.

It’s funny. I’m a low shbg but when I tried the scrotal cream (2 clicks am 2 pm) my libido was rape like. And erection were absolutely amazing. I wonder if that was high dht. But I felt like shit. I wanted to snap everyone’s neck for no reason. And had so much fatigue. Lowers the dose and eq and libido lowered. On shots libido is ok but eq is like 70%.

 

[TescoValueJam]

This thread is so refreshing to see.

Similar boat to everyone here, except one could say more extreme bloods-

early thirties male, started trt 13/12 ago, pre trt shbg 11, since december 5..
doing daily enanthate with weekly dose totalling 100-120mg, daily hcg, aromasin dose tbd..

Similarly, have yet to feel "dialled" in, from my experience so far though, estrogen has been a key factor. In a 8 week block, I might have 2 weeks feeling good-very good-libido, strength, etc, and doing bloods at that time reveals an estradiol in the 20s pg/ml, and feeling crap reveals either a shut down e2 or sky high due to my experiments with aromasin dosing.

Due to low shbg, my hunch is keeping e2 in the goldilocks range is exceedingly hard and I refuse to stop HCG. currently my battle plan is this: try a twice weekly aromasin microdose of 3.25mg, diet hard reduce fat, IF/low carb, metformin, reduce weekly dosage to 100mg, all with an aim to extend goldilock range to hopefully 4 weeks. Small wins..

Back up plans are 1) if that all fails, increase dose to 150-200mg and just flood the body and see what happens 2) go onto scrotal creams. I will not accept defeat!

I think novel approaches that would could be a real winner for low shbgers would be a microdose daily AI protocol. As you can see am fixated on e2 control.

totally agree with sentiment on this thread, low shbg (at least pre trt) is really crap.

 

[TRicker]

@TescoValueJam any progress of finding something that works for regulating your E2, or a protocol that works for your low shbg?
As I mentioned earlier, I have low shbg as well, and am trying to figure out the best approach.

 

[Systemlord]

It’s funny. I’m a low shbg but when I tried the scrotal cream (2 clicks am 2 pm) my libido was rape like. And erection were absolutely amazing. I wonder if that was high dht. But I felt like shit. I wanted to snap everyone’s neck for no reason. And had so much fatigue. Lowers the dose and eq and libido lowered. On shots libido is ok but eq is like 70%.

Neither is optimal, I'll bet Jatenzo would be the best of both worlds.

 

[TescoValueJam]

@TescoValueJam any progress of finding something that works for regulating your E2, or a protocol that works for your low shbg?
As I mentioned earlier, I have low shbg as well, and am trying to figure out the best approach.

What’s your latest shbg and protocol?

@TescoValueJam any progress of finding something that works for regulating your E2, or a protocol that works for your low shbg?
As I mentioned earlier, I have low shbg as well, and am trying to figure out the best approach.

So quick answer no.. Progress though.. currently shbg sits at 8, trying slightly higher weekly test dosage of 157mg, eod ai of 1.25mg, hcg as of next week 30iu 3x week.

Recent discovery is that hcg is needed.. tried 2 month break, felt very meh, introduced again and massive difference.

 

[TRicker]

What’s your latest shbg and protocol?

My shbg is usually around 17. When I've done a few "reboots", my shbg goes up to around 25.
I've been trying lower doses with no luck, and just went to 150mg/week in one shot, and am awaiting my hcg script to come in. In the past, when I first started TRT, I was on larger single doses of test cyp, with hcg, and ai's when needed and I definitely felt better than trying smaller doses or more frequent injections. It goes against the advice for guys with low shbg, but it worked for me in the past, so I'm hoping it works again.

 

[Charliebizz]

My shbg is usually around 17. When I've done a few "reboots", my shbg goes up to around 25.
I've been trying lower doses with no luck, and just went to 150mg/week in one shot, and am awaiting my hcg script to come in. In the past, when I first started TRT, I was on larger single doses of test cyp, with hcg, and ai's when needed and I definitely felt better than trying smaller doses or more frequent injections. It goes against the advice for guys with low shbg, but it worked for me in the past, so I'm hoping it works again.

Seems like most people doing “more frequent” protocols are the ones who are always tinkering with trt. I don’t want to get into the “why” this whole movement started. But seems like most guys I know outside of forums on trt, take one shot a week and move on and feel good. I have a friend with similar baseline labs as me. Low shbg and all. But isn’t and over thinker and doesn’t care at all how trt works. Just takes his one shot of 160mg a week and feels good. No hcg. No a.I.

I’m not saying it’s going to work in 100% of the guys using trt. However how many of us that started trt actually tried once a week. Most of us forum type guys probably researched trt to death before we got on it. And for what ever reason the movement to “ more frequent injections for stable levels “was drilled into our heads in the web.

It’s funny my first go around with trt. With dr crisler he started me on once a week injections. And he was one of the biggest proponents of more frequent injections. That said I didn’t get to give it an honest shot. But my situation is rare. I had a extreme aversion to test cyp for some reason. I do not have any issue with enanthate but I have never tried less frequent then 3x a week on test e. I think I’m going to give 1x a week a real run. Since the more I inject a week. The worse I seem to feel

 

[Stoak]

Seems like most people doing “more frequent” protocols are the ones who are always tinkering with trt. I don’t want to get into the “why” this whole movement started. But seems like most guys I know outside of forums on trt, take one shot a week and move on and feel good. I have a friend with similar baseline labs as me. Low shbg and all. But isn’t and over thinker and doesn’t care at all how trt works. Just takes his one shot of 160mg a week and feels good. No hcg. No a.I.

I’m not saying it’s going to work in 100% of the guys using trt. However how many of us that started trt actually tried once a week. Most of us forum type guys probably researched trt to death before we got on it. And for what ever reason the movement to “ more frequent injections for stable levels “was drilled into our heads in the web.

It’s funny my first go around with trt. With dr crisler he started me on once a week injections. And he was one of the biggest proponents of more frequent injections. That said I didn’t get to give it an honest shot. But my situation is rare. I had a extreme aversion to test cyp for some reason. I do not have any issue with enanthate but I have never tried less frequent then 3x a week on test e. I think I’m going to give 1x a week a real run. Since the more I inject a week. The worse I seem to feel

I have lower SHBG while on TRT. When I was using Deca alongside my TRT dose my SHBG was 9. On 80mg test cyp + .25mg of adex + 300iu of HCG E3.5D
it's in the mid-upper teens. Off TRT it's mid 20s. My most recent trough test was 1006 TT, 22 E2, 31 Free T. I feel f*cking great. I notice things like "oh I didn't get as great an erection today as 4 days ago... or why didn't I have morning wood today" but it's usually bc of something I'm doing. I'm overtrained, I am in calorie deficit, I took a Xanax that mng. I try to avoid this bizarre tinkering rabbit hole. It's usually always bc I'm overtrained IMO and has nothing to do w my hormones. If I don't hit the gym for 3 days or so the libido and energy issues resolve. I had E2 of 4 using Primo as an additional therapy and the world didn't end. I didn't even know my E2 was low. My dick didn't shut down, I could still walk and manage to have a conversation lol.

TRT has its ups and downs but I think people have expectations that it is going to make you horny 24/7 and turn you into Superman and you'll be the happiest man alive. It's unrealistic. I like the guy from California Dr Rand who seems to think you just need to be ABOVE a certain therapeutic level. If that's 800ng/ml and you shoot once a week you just need to stay there until your next shot. He views low SHBG as a gift bc you get more "juice from the squeeze" in terms of free T. The high SHBG guys have it way way way worse IMO.

 

[ERO]

I am glad to hear that you are doing well with low SHBG. For many of us, though, we feel no real difference between the Low T we had before treatment and how we feel after going on TRT and trying every known protocol.

 

[Charliebizz]

I am glad to hear that you are doing well with low SHBG. For many of us, though, we feel no real difference between the Low T we had before treatment and how we feel after going on TRT and trying every known protocol.

I haven’t had it as bad as you. I have some minor improvements. But nothing life changing. It has to be deeper then just the low shbg for some of us!

 

[Anonymon]

The only thing I’ve ever done recently that raised my lowerish SHBG (25 for years) was taking Ashwagandha with my thyroid meds before bed (levothyroxine). Got it up to 31 on the last test. Free T3 was up from my prior test (3.8ish to 4.4 as I recall) and so was SHBG. T3/Liothyronine never did anything like that, nor did either on their own, or NDT with Ashwagandha. Taking it at night avoids the really bad sides I had when taking it in the morning.

Has also given me crazy libido. All I think about is sex. I don’t care if it’s an old hobo lady walking by, I’m thinking about it. Made erections progressively great and it’s seemingly the only time I can approach morning wood. I feel like I’m a sex addict now.

 

[Gman86]

I have lower SHBG while on TRT. When I was using Deca alongside my TRT dose my SHBG was 9. On 80mg test cyp + .25mg of adex + 300iu of HCG E3.5D
it's in the mid-upper teens. Off TRT it's mid 20s. My most recent trough test was 1006 TT, 22 E2, 31 Free T. I feel f*cking great. I notice things like "oh I didn't get as great an erection today as 4 days ago... or why didn't I have morning wood today" but it's usually bc of something I'm doing. I'm overtrained, I am in calorie deficit, I took a Xanax that mng. I try to avoid this bizarre tinkering rabbit hole. It's usually always bc I'm overtrained IMO and has nothing to do w my hormones. If I don't hit the gym for 3 days or so the libido and energy issues resolve. I had E2 of 4 using Primo as an additional therapy and the world didn't end. I didn't even know my E2 was low. My dick didn't shut down, I could still walk and manage to have a conversation lol.

TRT has its ups and downs but I think people have expectations that it is going to make you horny 24/7 and turn you into Superman and you'll be the happiest man alive. It's unrealistic. I like the guy from California Dr Rand who seems to think you just need to be ABOVE a certain therapeutic level. If that's 800ng/ml and you shoot once a week you just need to stay there until your next shot. He views low SHBG as a gift bc you get more "juice from the squeeze" in terms of free T. The high SHBG guys have it way way way worse IMO.

What’s ur full protocol currently?

 

[Stoak]

What’s ur full protocol currently?

80mg test cyp, 300iu HCG, .25mg adex E3.5D

 

[Gman86]

80mg test cyp, 300iu HCG, .25mg adex E3.5D

How’d u feel with the deca added in compared to how u feel now? And how many total mg’s of deca per week did u add?

 

[Stoak]

How’d u feel with the deca added in compared to how u feel now? And how many total mg’s of deca per week did u add?

I didn't like Deca. Everytime I use it I'm battling the libido hit. It put my prolactin into the mid 20s. 120-200mg.

 

[Gman86]

I didn't like Deca. Everytime I use it I'm battling the libido hit. It put my prolactin into the mid 20s. 120-200mg.

Any negatives brain function or mood wise on the deca? Or just the decreased libido?

 

[Stoak]

Any negatives brain function or mood wise on the deca? Or just the decreased libido?

When my libido decreases I'm less happy. I'd say of any variable it is the single most important one to my mood. When I am horny all the time it's like I can smell the roses again and notice beauty. I have more vigor. So while Deca really helped in the gym, I wasn't so happy from the decreased mood. Next time I experiment with it, I will be adding Cabergoline twice per week.

 

[Gman86]

When my libido decreases I'm less happy. I'd say of any variable it is the single most important one to my mood. When I am horny all the time it's like I can smell the roses again and notice beauty. I have more vigor. So while Deca really helped in the gym, I wasn't so happy from the decreased mood. Next time I experiment with it, I will be adding Cabergoline twice per week.

I’m the same exact way. Libido and mood correlate to a huge degree for me. I just feel like whenever my libido is at it’s best it’s my body’s way of telling me everything is working properly and my DNA is in prime condition to be passed on, so it ramps up my libido to make me want to pass on my healthy DNA lol. And when libido is low it feels like the opposite. Just feels like I’m not functioning properly in multiple areas. Like energy, brain function, mood. When libido is higher I feel like those things improve along with it

Btw, selegeline might be a healthier option to control prolactin, just an fyi. Caber’s just not the best to take long term. I’m currently taking test and deca, as well as very low dose primo to control E2 and low dose selegiline to possibly control prolactin a bit. But controlling E2 alone is a good way to control prolactin, due to estrogen being the main stimulator of prolactin in males. Deca doesn’t increase prolactin directly. Deca increases the aromatization rate of test into E2, which then stimulates prolactin to increase. Think deca also sensitizes estrogen and prolactin receptors. So the same amount of estrogen and prolactin in the body can have a greater effect when deca is in the mix. Deca solo has been shown to either have a neutral effect on prolactin, or even lower prolactin in some studies. Only other variable is that deca is a progestin. But as far as I know, progesterone has been shown to lower E2 and prolactin, not increase prolactin. So u might be able to curb the increased prolactin with just some E2 inhibition. Again, my preferred method is very low dose primo. Has been surprisingly effective at lowering E2. I knew it would lower E2, but didn’t expect it to do so at such a great degree with low doses

Last set of labs prolactin came back at 6 just for reference. That’s while using 125mg of deca per week

 

[Stoak]

I’m the same exact way. Libido and mood correlate to a huge degree for me. I just feel like whenever my libido is at it’s best it’s my body’s way of telling me everything is working properly and my DNA is in prime condition to be passed on, so it ramps up my libido to make me want to pass on my healthy DNA lol. And when libido is low it feels like the opposite. Just feels like I’m not functioning properly in multiple areas. Like energy, brain function, mood. When libido is higher I feel like those things improve along with it

Btw, selegeline might be a healthier option to control prolactin, just an fyi. Caber’s just not the best to take long term. I’m currently taking test and deca, as well as very low dose primo to control E2 and low dose selegiline to possibly control prolactin a bit. But controlling E2 alone is a good way to control prolactin, due to estrogen being the main stimulator of prolactin in males. Deca doesn’t increase prolactin directly. Deca increases the aromatization rate of test into E2, which then stimulates prolactin to increase. Think deca also sensitizes estrogen and prolactin receptors. So the same amount of estrogen and prolactin in the body can have a greater effect when deca is in the mix. Deca solo has been shown to either have a neutral effect on prolactin, or even lower prolactin in some studies. Only other variable is that deca is a progestin. But as far as I know, progesterone has been shown to lower E2 and prolactin, not increase prolactin. So u might be able to curb the increased prolactin with just some E2 inhibition. Again, my preferred method is very low dose primo. Has been surprisingly effective at lowering E2. I knew it would lower E2, but didn’t expect it to do so at such a great degree with low doses

Last set of labs prolactin came back at 6 just for reference. That’s while using 125mg of deca per week

My E2 was 40 when my prolactin came back 25. Same dose of test without Deca nor AI puts me at 30 E2. What is low dose primo to you? I used primo once and it tanked my E2 to 4 at 2 amps a week. 240mg.

 

[Gman86]

My E2 was 40 when my prolactin came back 25. Same dose of test without Deca nor AI puts me at 30 E2. What is low dose primo to you? I used primo once and it tanked my E2 to 4 at 2 amps a week. 240mg.

Ya 200mg of primo dropped my E2 a bit too low for my liking. Think in the 20’s. Have to go back and check. But now currently doing 100mg of primo per week. Haven’t had E2 rechecked, but plan on checking it soon.

But ya ur E2 is already pretty much perfectly in range, so u don’t want to lower it just to try and lower prolactin. Caber will obv do the trick, just don’t think I would be comfortable running it long term. Luckily Selegiline can help lower prolactin to a degree, and supposedly is actually beneficial to ur health to use indefinitely