Safety Study for 300mg of Test a Week

[madman]

Thanks! Good points!

Looking back at my blood work, my Free T was 179.8 (range: 30-183 pg/ml), and my estrodial was 24 (range 8-35 pg/ml). So, considering this, I think you are right, and I don't truly need 200mg a week.

From what I understand, if SHBG is super low, then FT is going to be high, as a low SHBG allows the test to be free within my body. I still don't understand why my SHBG has always been low in all of the bloodwork I have ever gotten on TRT. When I see other men's SHBG, it is usually in range. I need to look further into why my SHBG is so low.

It depends on where your TT/SHBG on said dose of T sit as this is what impacts where your free testosterone sits.

Men with low/lowish SHBG will not have to drive their TT very high in order to achieve a healthy FT.

On your current protocol with 150 mg T split 3x/week you are already hitting a healthy trough cFTV 17.9 ng/dL with a trough TT 485 ng/dL.

You would never even need to push your trough TT beyond 700 ng/dL in order to hit a high trough FT.

With an absurdly low SHBG 6 nmol/L you would only need to hit a trough TT 670 ng/dL in order to hit a high trough cFTV 25.4 ng/dl.

Bumping your weekly dose from 150--->175 mg/week should easily put you there.

No way you need to bang 200 mg/week to achieve such.

Regarding your absurdly low SHBG!

Numerous reasons why one can have low SHBG, biological, nutritional and pathological factors that regulate sex hormone binding globulin.

For some men it is genetic polymorphisms.

Thread 'Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin (SHBG): Biology and Biomarker'

Sep 18, 2025

Nelson's house!

We get deep here!

Dr. Winters!

Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin: Biology and Clinical Biomarker Applications​

Presented by Dr. Steve Winters, Emeritus Professor, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Endocrinology Grand Rounds Summary

Introduction​

Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) represents one of the most clinically significant biomarkers in endocrinology, with implications extending far beyond its traditional role in hormone transport. Dr. Steve Winters, a world-renowned authority on SHBG research, recently presented...

• madman
• shbg; t/ft; dht/estradiol; biology
• Replies: 32
• Forum: Testosterone and Men's Health Articles

• 

 

[Jda016]

That free testosterone test is Labcorp's direct version, which unfortunately cannot be trusted. It does hint at the possibility that your SHBG was originally somewhat above average, which would give credence to the idea that excessive TRT dosing has crashed it. Similarly, the drop in total testosterone seen at a higher dose points strongly towards falling SHBG. If you wanted to resolve this then you would need to adjust your dosing to achieve levels that are physiological for your body. Average production for healthy young men centers around 6-7 mg per day, equivalent to 60-70 mg of testosterone cypionate per week. However, cypionate does not provide a normal diurnal variation in levels, so simply matching your healthy natural production rate wouldn't necessarily yield optimal results.

Very true. Thank you for the Info regarding Labcorp.

Unfortunately, 100mg left me feeling quite drained on Tuesday (as I injected on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday). It was so noticeable that I actually dreaded Tuesday, due to knowing I would have low mood, libido, and a general feeling of malaise. 150mg feels much better, but I was confused when my Total T was only 485 on it.

I had no idea when I started TRT that so many factors would interconnect and collide, causing such drastic variables in results.

Is having low SHBG something that I need to be concerned about from a longevity standpoint, even if I feel fine with it being low?

 

[Jda016]

It depends on where your TT/SHBG on said dose of T sit as this is what impacts where your free testosterone sits.

Men with low/lowish SHBG will not have to drive their TT very high in order to achieve a healthy FT.

On your current protocol with 150 mg T split 3x/week you are already hitting a healthy trough cFTV 17.9 ng/dL with a trough TT 485 ng/dL.

You would never even need to push your trough TT beyond 700 ng/dL in order to hit a high trough FT.

With an absurdly low SHBG 6 nmol/L you would only need to hit a trough TT 670 ng/dL in order to hit a high trough cFTV 25.4 ng/dl.

Bumping your weekly dose from 150--->175 mg/week should easily put you there.

No way you need to bang 200 mg/week to achieve such.

Regarding your absurdly low SHBG!

Numerous reasons why one can have low SHBG, biological, nutritional and pathological factors that regulate sex hormone binding globulin.

For some men it is genetic polymorphisms.

View attachment 56334

Thread 'Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin (SHBG): Biology and Biomarker'

Sep 18, 2025

Nelson's house!

We get deep here!

Dr. Winters!

Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin: Biology and Clinical Biomarker Applications​

Presented by Dr. Steve Winters, Emeritus Professor, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Endocrinology Grand Rounds Summary

Introduction​

Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) represents one of the most clinically significant biomarkers in endocrinology, with implications extending far beyond its traditional role in hormone transport. Dr. Steve Winters, a world-renowned authority on SHBG research, recently presented...

• madman
• shbg; t/ft; dht/estradiol; biology
• Replies: 32
• Forum: Testosterone and Men's Health Articles

• 

Thank you for the graph.

Looking at it, the thing that potentially jumps out at me the most is insulin resistance/high glucose. In most of my blood work, glucose is in the 90's. I have just started taking berberine along with some other supplements to help with that and ultimately change my diet. I don't generally eat sweets, but I suppose a higher-carb diet can cause higher glucose, which might impact my SHBG.

 

[Cataceous]

Very true. Thank you for the Info regarding Labcorp.

Unfortunately, 100mg left me feeling quite drained on Tuesday (as I injected on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday). It was so noticeable that I actually dreaded Tuesday, due to knowing I would have low mood, libido, and a general feeling of malaise. 150mg feels much better, but I was confused when my Total T was only 485 on it.

Don't be misled by short-term fluctuations in how you feel. Due to some kind of habituation, dose reductions are often unpleasant, and it can take as long as months to stabilize. It's unlikely you actually need 100+ mg TC/week to feel your best. That 150 mg TC/week dose is more testosterone than almost anyone could make naturally. If you haven't seen them, read through some anecdotes where men find more reasonable dosing works better. Regarding lowing the dose, @Simbarn says "At first I felt the effects of low T for some time. Over a period of months this corrected itself and I feel much better all round. I had tried this before, but given the 'low t' effect, I resumed the higher doses thinking, my dose was too low. This time I persisted and gave it more time for my body to adjust. How important this was!"

As touched on in many other threads, the main issue I have is that you apparently never had a chance to experience normal levels of testosterone, which you could have had by starting in the 60-80 mg TC/week range. Without this point of reference it's routinely assumed that subpar results with 100 mg TC/week means that more is needed, rather than less. The "evidence" is that lowering the dose hurts. But this is a short-term effect.

...
Is having low SHBG something that I need to be concerned about from a longevity standpoint, even if I feel fine with it being low?

A lot of uncertainty here. As noted, there are some negative associations with low SHBG. However, these may not be causal—meaning that the bad things may have been caused by other factors that also contributed to low SHBG. In your case testosterone overload is probably what's lowering SHBG. Of course if you're a susceptible individual then even high testosterone can have effects on longevity, particularly if you experience elevated hematocrit, lipid imbalances, afib, etc. But the direct impact of low SHBG is not well studied. Regardless, I think it's fair to say that maintaining a hormone in range is safer than not, particularly when it has been artificially perturbed by excessive medication.