How can one increase SHBG when it is too low?

[Vestpocket]

I've been having some serious problems with my liver's low output of SHBG. Instead of increasing and decreasing the level like it is supposed to, my liver produces one tiny amount that does not change regardless of testosterone or estrogen levels.

This leads to horrible, horrible over conversion of T to E2 and leaves me with a constant FT excess.

What in the hell do I do to get my peice of shit liver to start working properly?

 

[dallas101346]

I just lold at this

 

[Vince]

Vestpocket, I don't know how true it is and it sure would be hard for me to go veggie, hopefully someone alse will respond who's more qualified.
Vegans are shown to have much much higher levels of S.H.B.G. and S.H.B.G.-bound-testosterone than people eating the rich western diet (Allen NE. Hormones and diet: low insulin-like growth factor-I but normal bioavailable androgens in vegan men. Br J Cancer. 2000 Jul

 

[Vince Carter]

YOu can't change it, much, that I've read you can only cope with it typically through smaller more frequent T injections, as in M/W/F or EOD injections. I had a recent 12.2 reading and use the M/W/F routine. I think I do well on it.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Vestpocket

What are your actual lab values?

People with diabetes or pre-diabetes tend to have low SHBG. Have you checked your A1c?

 

[Gene Devine]

SHBG levels have an important relationship with nearly every biomarker of cardiovascular disease, from C-reactive protein (CRP) to arterial calcification.

Low SHBG is also associated with elevated triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (LDL).

Low SHBG levels are also strongly correlated with obesity.

The list goes on for low SHBG like cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, and osteoporosis...all of these conditions need to be ruled out.

What can you do to increase SHBG?


Reduce sugar consumption
A study in mice published in 2007 found that eating too much sugar in the form of monosaccharides like glucose and fructose lowered SHBG levels by down-regulating a protein called hepatocyte nuclear factor-4a which controls the function of several genes.


Include soy in your diet
A small study in Chile found that dietary isoflavones such as soy improved SHBG levels by at least 30% in post-menopausal women in just 10 weeks of drinking a small amount of soy milk each day. The women took 30 grams of a powdered soy milk divided into three servings throughout the day, estimated to provide 69mg of the isoflavones diadzein and genistein. Phytoestrogens such as those contained in soy may be worth considering if an increase in SHBG is desired, however it should be noted that diadzein and genistein have been found to inhibit thyroid function.


Include green tea and possibly coffee
A slightly larger study in Japan found a positive effect between a high intake of green tea, coffee and total caffeine intake and increased SHBG levels in premenopausal women. Green tea, but not caffeinated coffee was additionally found to be correlated with lower oestradiol levels in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycles of the subjects which may account for protective effect against breast cancer which has been noted in relation to green tea. Whilst caffeine has many negative health effects, including in relation to insulin sensitivity, regular consumption of green tea has been consistently found to be associated with positive effects, including a strong antioxidant effect and improvements in insulin sensitivity.

I must tell you honestly, trying to regulate SHBG is very difficult as it finds its own levels in both men and women baring any pathology.

 

[Vince Carter]

I get tired of hearing all the doom and gloom speculation for SHBG, all these scary diseases and conditions.

 

[Gene Devine]

I get tired of hearing all the doom and gloom speculation for SHBG, all these scary diseases and conditions.

^^^And...what's your point???

This is a men's health forum for God's sake...did you expect something else???

I don't get it?

 

[ERO]

Low SHBG

Vestpocket

What are your actual lab values?

People with diabetes or pre-diabetes tend to have low SHBG. Have you checked your A1c?

I too have low SHBG (typically 7-13 on a lab "normal" range of 20-70) but I am not pre-diabetic or diabetic and my body fat (measure via Bod-Pod) is exactly 20% and my A1C is well below diabetic or pre-diabetic range, so sometimes there is no obvious low-hanging fruit that causes it. In my case SHBG does not change with higher estrogen levels, either.

I am now injecting twice a week, but I have tried daily injections of very small amounts of Test as well - but it feels no different than the twice weekly so I went back to that for convenience.

I wish there were more studies done on this issue, but there are no incentives for Big Pharma to do any, so I am not holding my breath.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

ERO

I am still confused why anyone would be upset of having low SHBG not related to diabetes. You have more free testosterone. What am I missing?

SHBG Information on DiscountedLabs.com

 

[Gene Devine]

ERO

I am still confused why anyone would be upset of having low SHBG not related to diabetes. You have more free testosterone. What am I missing?

He aromatizing so he has elevated E2 due to the higher levels of Free T.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

So what. You can fix that with low dose anastrozole.

I would love to have low SHBG without the use of anabolics or having diabetes.

There is no such thing as fee T excess.

I have never seen anyone with free T over 5 percent of total (I have reviewed probably over 1000 blood works in 24 years)

 

[Tom Larabee]

How do these numbers compare, these were my latest:

Total Testosterone, Serum 1069 ng/dL 348 - 1197
Free Testosterone(Direct) 33.7 High pg/mL 7.2 - 24.0
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin 43.1 nmol/L 19.3 - 76.4

 

[Gene Devine]

How do these numbers compare, these were my latest:

Total Testosterone, Serum 1069 ng/dL 348 - 1197
Free Testosterone(Direct) 33.7 High pg/mL 7.2 - 24.0
Sex Hormone Binding Globulin 43.1 nmol/L 19.3 - 76.4

These are fine as long as E2 is in range.

 

[Tom Larabee]

E2 was 102 on ultra-sensitive so I am back on .25 weekly AI.

I will have to find the conversion tool to see if my Free is above the 5% that Nelson is referring too!

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Yours is 3.1 %

33.7/1069

 

[Tom Larabee]

isn't one in pg/ml and the other ng/dl so you wouldn't just do the division would you, don't they need to be converted to similar values first?

 

[Gene Devine]

E2 was 102 on ultra-sensitive so I am back on .25 weekly AI.

I will have to find the conversion tool to see if my Free is above the 5% that Nelson is referring too!

The link to the conversion calc is now a sticky on the Testosterone forum Tom.

 

[Vestpocket]

Please note:

Low SHBG values that most of the posters who think it is a good thing are talking about is the low SHBG that one gets from taking very high doses of testosterone.

This is NOT the same as the condition we are talking about in my post.

If you have normal SHBG to start, and you drive it down with medications, that's your body responding naturally to what you've done by accelerating testosterone metabolism.

In my case, and in EROs's case, SHBG does not change and does not "find its own level." That's the issue. A liver that refuses to balance hormones - at all. It's low when it's supposed to be low and low when it's supposed to be high and low no matter what you do, even with greatly elevated estrogen.

Vestpocket

What are your actual lab values?

People with diabetes or pre-diabetes tend to have low SHBG. Have you checked your A1c?

I've checked A1C and it is normal. I had a fasting 3hr GTT and it turns out that I have insulin sensitivity (hypoglycemia from 75g glucose, but no excess insulin at all — insulin was low-normal the whole time.) Fasting insulin is 0 (below detection range.)

Here are my labs as of last week:

TT: 484 [348-1197] ng/dL
SHBG: 13 [16-55] — LOW
FT: 25.22 [5-21] — HIGH
FT%: 5.21 [1.50-4.20] — HIGH
DHT: 47 [30-85] ng/dL
Estradiol, Sensitive: 15.4 [8-35] (thanks to A-dex)

Regimen:
80mg t-cyp weekly
1.25mg Arimidex weekly

Result:
Feel like absolute shit.

I am still confused why anyone would be upset of having low SHBG not related to diabetes. You have more free testosterone. What am I missing?

The type of diabetes that lowers SHBG can be treated to an extent. Having unexplained low SHBG cannot be fixed.

Let me tell you from a decade of experience: more free T is worthless unless everything else is in balance.

So what. You can fix that with low dose anastrozole.

I would love to have low SHBG without the use of anabolics or having diabetes.

There is no such thing as fee T excess.

I have never seen anyone with free T over 5 percent of total (I have reviewed probably over 1000 blood works in 24 years)

Not low dose for my case. Free T excess exists when you have so much free T that you need breast cancer medication and when the free T fraction is abnormal.
You've now seen someone with over 5%.

The problem is:
- At 484 ng/dL, I'm already over range on E2 and FT. This causes feedback on the hypothalamus and therefore keeps my natural testosterone <350 ng/dl. Any TRT at all creates estrogen havoc.
- SHBG also binds E2 (30%), so if there isn't enough SHBG to bind T properly, it creates an excess of free E2. (I have labs somewhere to back this up.)
- I suffer from ED and inability to gain muscle, despite this "wonderful" condition, that no one who actually experiences it ever raves about.

There's a case study in the literature of a man who produces no SHBG. He doesn't have awesome gains and he doesn't have an awesome sex life. He has normal (but delayed) secondary sexual characteristics, but suffers from hypogonadism, erectile dysfunction and muscle weakness.

In short, the reason I need higher SHBG is so I can have normal lab values. Without enough SHBG, my FT and E2 (and therefore Arimidex dose) are going to be insane.

The problem with TRT and low SHBG is:
- E2 and FT are already cranked by 480 ng/dL TT.
- Adding more testosterone creates bizarre estrogen imbalances.
- I currently require 1-1.25 mg of Arimidex per week to keep my E2 in check at a mere 484 ng/dL TT. I'm not fat. I'm not old. I'm not diabetic. I don't want to have to take this drug at all, in the first place, let alone high doses of for life. That's why I want normal SHBG.
- I feel awful, and so do many men with impaired SHBG production.

Low SHBG might be nice if you're loading up with T, but if you're on a normal TRT dose, you're screwed.

"m0ar free T" is not magic. Balance is.

 

[ERO]

ERO

I am still confused why anyone would be upset of having low SHBG not related to diabetes. You have more free testosterone. What am I missing?

Because the extra high Free T is not helping your body - Guys with low SHBG don't "feel" the benefits of T like people with normal SHBG. I cant build any muscle, my libido is for sh*t, and I dont feel that much better than I did with low T.

Google "Low SHBG and TRT" and you will get hundreds of guys that will say the same thing.