High SHBG/Low oestriadol

[bignose999]

Good evening from the UK, had my bloods done and it looks like my testosterone is normal but my SHBG/Albumin are through the roof and my Oestradiol/FSH are through the floor, any ideas why this is happening and how I can correct it? I'm 42, 5'10", 12st(76kg), keep in decent shape. My sleep is pretty poor though, I think about sex a lot but feel a disconnect between and mind and my penis in that I'm only up for sex once or twice a week and only once a night when I do, struggle a bit getting rock hard, constant brain fog, tiredness etc. I've tried boron but it doesn't do much, if anything, I'd rather find the root cause though. Any ideas would be helpful

 

[Systemlord]

You need more testing, a comprehensive metabolic panel is a good place to start. The liver makes SHBG and albumin.

Estrogen helps regulate sleep.

A thyroid panel is also recommended.

Certain supplements can inhibit estrogen metabolism. List all supplementation if any.

 

[Cataceous]

It looks as though your free testosterone was calculated with the Vermeulen method, which is good. However, I think their normal range is a bit optimistic. Your level is about where I would put the cutoff for normal and healthy, so I think it is possible to have issues there. That said, I would not risk conventional TRT at this level. A possible alternative is to run a trial with a testosterone nasal gel, such as Natesto. This is a less disruptive way to determine if more testosterone would be helpful.

I wouldn't say your estradiol is "through the floor", but it is a little on the low side, both in absolute terms and relative to testosterone. I would not try to manipulate it just yet. Raising it is usually going to suppress the HPTA, reducing testosterone further.

Both LH and FSH are delivered in pulses in response to GnRH pulses. Consequently, the information you can get from a measurement at some random time is limited. That is, the levels can appear low if the measurement did not occur relatively soon after a GnRH pulse. However, in hypogonadism the absence of a high level at any time suggests a secondary—pituitary or hypothalamic—origin rather than a primary—testicular—origin.

 

[Gman86]

High SHBG and low free T is a tough one. I’m a health freak, and I’m ALL about figuring out and treating the root causes to issues, instead of using meds as bandaids, but when I was 26-27, I had a SHBG right where ur is, a total T around where urs is, and a free T right around where urs is. I felt like crap. For a long time I tried every supplement that had the potential to lower SHBG, and increase free T, and spent A LOT of money doing so. Had no luck, unfortunately. I also tried Danazol, and it did lower my SHBG a bit, but it also lowered my total T, and didn’t do much to increase free T, and did nothing to improve how I felt. After trying everything I could, for months and months, I ended up going on HCG monotherapy. Ended up feeling better, but my nipples felt like they were on fire, and eventually had to stop it. Tried clomid, which raised my total and free T levels, but felt the worst I ever felt in my life on that stuff. And when I stopped, my levels went back to exactly where they were prior to taking the clomid. After that i did TRT, and everything has been much much better since. I just turned 38.

Hopefully u can figure out what the root cause of ur high SHBG is, and get it down, get ur free T up, and feel better. But if all else fails, don’t be afraid to give HRT a go. Going on it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. But I do think taking exogenous hormones, to resolve a hormone imbalance, should be a last resort. Js that if it does come down to that, for u, don’t be too bummed about it. There’s pros and cons to everything in life. Definitely a lot of pros to being able to control ur hormone levels exogenously

 

[bignose999]

High SHBG and low free T is a tough one. I’m a health freak, and I’m ALL about figuring out and treating the root causes to issues, instead of using meds as bandaids, but when I was 26-27, I had a SHBG right where ur is, a total T around where urs is, and a free T right around where urs is. I felt like crap. For a long time I tried every supplement that had the potential to lower SHBG, and increase free T, and spent A LOT of money doing so. Had no luck, unfortunately. I also tried Danazol, and it did lower my SHBG a bit, but it also lowered my total T, and didn’t do much to increase free T, and did nothing to improve how I felt. After trying everything I could, for months and months, I ended up going on HCG monotherapy. Ended up feeling better, but my nipples felt like they were on fire, and eventually had to stop it. Tried clomid, which raised my total and free T levels, but felt the worst I ever felt in my life on that stuff. And when I stopped, my levels went back to exactly where they were prior to taking the clomid. After that i did TRT, and everything has been much much better since. I just turned 38.

Hopefully u can figure out what the root cause of ur high SHBG is, and get it down, get ur free T up, and feel better. But if all else fails, don’t be afraid to give HRT a go. Going on it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. But I do think taking exogenous hormones, to resolve a hormone imbalance, should be a last resort. Js that if it does come down to that, for u, don’t be too bummed about it. There’s pros and cons to everything in life. Definitely a lot of pros to being able to control ur hormone levels exogenously

When you say you did 'TRT', what did that involve? Injections or gels? Was that through your doctor? I doubt a doctor would prescribe it for me here in the UK sadly