Free Testosterone

[Rhino 2.0]

Has anybody on here ever had low testosterone symptoms or knew somebody with low testosterone symptoms with total test in the 600's or 700's?

 

[FeelingLost]

Has anybody on here ever had low testosterone symptoms or knew somebody with low testosterone symptoms with total test in the 600's or 700's?

Nope and 6-700 is not even close to low IMO.

 

[Systemlord]

Only if their SHBG was sky high, which would feel the same as low T since all free T is inactive or non-bioavailable. High SHBG means low FT.

 

[CoastWatcher]

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but weren't some of your earlier test results suggesting a thyroid issue? Did you drill more deeply and see if that was, indeed, the case?

 

[Rhino 2.0]

I went to my primary and he said my thyroid is fine since my TSH and T4 are in normal range. I will be going to a hormone specialist though when I get a chance to. Other than that my SHBG is kind of high but its in range though. So I guess the only way to fix my SHBG is to just start taking testosterone?

 

[Systemlord]

I went to my primary and he said my thyroid is fine since my TSH and T4 are in normal range. I will be going to a hormone specialist though when I get a chance to. Other than that my SHBG is kind of high but its in range though. So I guess the only way to fix my SHBG is to just start taking testosterone?

These ranges exist because everyone is different otherwise everyone would have the exact same numbers, so guy A might feel alright with his SHBG on the high side whereas guy B feels horrible with a similarly high SHBG. Testosterone is the only thing that can affect SHBG in a meaningful way. Most doctors have a poor understanding of normal thyroid ranges, so what's normal?

The problem lies in convincing some doctors who don't believe SHBG near the top of these ranges is a problem.

 

[madman]

These ranges exist because everyone is different otherwise everyone would have the exact same numbers, so guy A might feel alright with his SHBG on the high side whereas guy B feels horrible with a similarly high SHBG. Testosterone is the only thing that can affect SHBG in a meaningful way. Most doctors have a poor understanding of normal thyroid ranges, so what's normal?

The problem lies in convincing some doctors who don't believe SHBG near the top of these ranges is a problem.

You state that "testosterone is the only thing that can affect shbg in a meaningful way" are you sure?

HIGH PROTEIN/LOW FIBER https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-lookup/doi/10.1210/jcem.85.1.6291

http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC4805039/table/t1/
http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC4805039/

 

[Systemlord]

You state that "testosterone is the only thing that can affect shbg in a meaningful way" are you sure?

HIGH PROTEIN/LOW FIBER https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-lookup/doi/10.1210/jcem.85.1.6291

http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC4805039/table/t1/
http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC4805039/

I used really poor choice of words, I've seen one case where a guy had low SHBG under 20 and through diet, alcohol detox and exercise was able to increase it substantially to other end of the spectrum. Rarely have I ever heard of someone lower their SHBG enough through just diet to where they didn't also require TRT, together with diet and TRT I imagine one could really improve his situation ten fold. I guess what I was trying to say is TRT effects SHBG pretty fast if you are on a high enough dose and the results are more immediate, easier compared to changing one's diet. I still struggle attempting to change my diet, I refuse to eat garbage food therefore my diet is limited since my cooking skills and idea of what to eat is always up in the air. Definitely easier.

 

[madman]

Has anybody on here ever had low testosterone symptoms or knew somebody with low testosterone symptoms with total test in the 600's or 700's?

Your shbg is near the high end of the range but it is not excessively high and unless your free testosterone is really low than no doctor would treat you with trt due to just your shbg number (unless as I stated if your free t was really low) and of course if you were experiencing low t symptoms -http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC4805039/

What is your shbg again with the range and values?

Conditions with high and low shbg values http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC4805039/

HPGA https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2948422/figure/fig01/

Causes of male hypogonadism whether PRIMARY/SECONDARY/MIXED(primary/secondary) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2948422/table/tbl3/

 

[lexer]

A very simplistic way of viewing your question is this.. if you have T levels between 600-700 and you still feel horrible its overwhelmingly obvious its NOT due to testosterone.
Maybe depression but certainly not T. Testostorone is not some magic potion that solves everything. You can have low energy and a low sex drive and still have excellent T levels.
far too many people think the answer to all their problems are due to a hormone.

 

[Rhino 2.0]

Madman- My shbg was measured at 40 and 47 before. The range is from 10-50. My free testosterone is 73.5pg/ml and the range for free testosterone is 46-224. I also had my free testosterone measured at 77pg/ml on a second blood test. So my free testosterone is in range but it looks to me it is near the lower end or mid lower end.

 

[Systemlord]

Madman- My shbg was measured at 40 and 47 before. The range is from 10-50. My free testosterone is 73.5pg/ml and the range for free testosterone is 46-224. I also had my free testosterone measured at 77pg/ml on a second blood test. So my free testosterone is in range but it looks to me it is near the lower end or mid lower end.

Not everyone is going to have mid or high FT within the 600-800 range, just like not everyone will have testosterone naturally near the top of the range at any point in their life. If it's one thing I've learned is everyone is truly different, some guys respond really fast to TRT (sensitive receptors) while others take many months. You could be one of those guys that just functions well with naturally mid to low FT, you definitely got something else going on.

You might try a low SHBG diet.

 

[Chuc]

LH and FSH?

Has anybody on here ever had low testosterone symptoms or knew somebody with low testosterone symptoms with total test in the 600's or 700's?

Speaking for myself, I believe the answer to you question is yes. My LH and FSH were triple the upper limit of normal and my total testosterone was 732. My endo suspected compensated hypogonadism and treated me with Testosterone. I was having difficulty sleeping, joint pain, depression, anxiety and a lot of other symptoms which disappeared following TRT. Search NIH Pubmed for references including 24774537. I'm unable to provide links here.

 

[FOX1]

I was put on TRT due to Low Free Testosterone, my total testosterone was within limits but Free Testosterone exceptionally low.
Due to injuries I had been prescribed Opioid medication for long term pain MST / OXY and over the years this had effects on testosterone, I also developed osteopenia which DEXA scans confirmed.
.
TRT & Vit-D has turned this around