Shbg and transdermals.

[Charliebizz]

I’m a low shbg guy and was a patient of dr crislers for years we tried everything we could for my low t levels except transdermals. Currently I’m at 211 total t. I have low shbg. 12-15. I did horrible on all kinds of injection protocols. I stayed away from gel because of small child and another on the way. But I’m really considering transdermals. and would be super careful using it.

Has anyone on here done well with transdermals and low shbg. Or does the delivery of exogenous t not matter when dealing with shbg ?

 

[Vince Carter]

Aside from the what was the problem you and Dr C couldn't resolve? Estrogen management, I presume?

Dr C gave me words that I live by with low SHBG, some of us can tolerate almost none, or very little Estrogen (not a quote). Too, that we piss out T very quickly even with daily shots, but do not get the same rate of clearance with Estrogen.

Just curious what your experience was.

If I were to continue having problems and I have a huge Estrogen problem but it's under control as it were but I'd want to investigate transdermal scrotum application as my sole TRT method.

 

[Sean Mosher]

As said above, I'd look into the scrotal application as well.
I have yet to hear of guys, when it's dosed properly, having problems with that method for some reason.
Seems to be a game changer for many guys.
Keep us posted if you try it please.

 

[Charliebizz]

When I first started trt. I didnt have e2 problems at all. According to labs that is. But I was in great shape and 10 years younger. 37 now. But what I did have was low normal cortisol and trt lowered my cortisol even further I confirmed it a few times through blood and saliva. However trt with Cortef was probably one of the worst times in my trt journey. A lot of which dr c had no explanation for. We tried many other things in between and it didn’t go well so I got off. Fast forward to my last few times with trt. I tried low dose lexapro because of dr Marino’s work with ssri and cortisol. And I actually was able to tolerate trt. I felt ok on it but not great but things were looking up. Then boom 6 months in I started getting mental sides. Anxiety and loss of interest and just over all grey outlook on life. Now mind you at that time I put on weight and wasn’t working out much and having my first kid. My estrogen was now high on labs and could very well be what contributed to the mental sides. Tried an a.i a few times but was never really comfortable taking them.

So long story short I’ve been through the ringer with trt and restarts and trying t3 and cortisol. Also preg cream and prog cream and just got so tired of it all. I come off cold turkey with no real issues and I could live my life like this if I have too but I am always tired libido sucks eq isn’t great. No spontaneous or nocturnal erections. And terrible workout recovery. So I would really like to fix that. But I don’t really want to waste my time. Low shbg has been a pain in the ass for me dealing with trt.


I was hoping any low shbg guys did well with cream. Because injections were just too all over the place for me

 

[Vince Carter]

You might have to be that guy. Scrotal delivery is picking up interest as the TD application site but as far as the sole application point being other than the sctorum I can't think of any active guys on the forum that are doing that. We get dominated by injections here. Some like me add cream to the injection regimen for treating DHT specifically. That does raise my DHT level's quite well.

 

[Charliebizz]

You might have to be that guy. Scrotal delivery is picking up interest as the TD application site but as far as the sole application point being other than the sctorum I can't think of any active guys on the forum that are doing that. We get dominated by injections here. Some like me add cream to the injection regimen for treating DHT specifically. That does raise my DHT level's quite well.

The other problem is dealing with finding a dr. The conventional drs by me are old school with trt. Dr rotman is by the job Site I’m on but I’m only there a few more months and I live 60 miles away. And I really do not want to spend out of pocket to start up with defy.

I really want to keep it simple and just do testosterone only. I know I’m putting my self in a box here but I’ve done all the other stuff before to try and get well. I drove 12 hours to Michigan to become dr c patient. And he was actually very cheap out of pocket and pretty easy to deal with towards the end. So I’m kind of torn.

My local endo will give me gel. But he is so old school. Like the one shot every 2 week type of dr. So i would essentially be on my own.

 

[Charliebizz]

You might have to be that guy. Scrotal delivery is picking up interest as the TD application site but as far as the sole application point being other than the sctorum I can't think of any active guys on the forum that are doing that. We get dominated by injections here. Some like me add cream to the injection regimen for treating DHT specifically. That does raise my DHT level's quite well.

Vince that’s also the thing I never meet with was raising my dht. Dr c didn’t believe in testing it and also for some reason was against me going on gel. He never gave a real explanation just always said based of my labs he said I would do better on injections.

 

[Joe Sixpack]

I stayed away from gel because of small child and another on the way. But I’m really considering transdermals. and would be super careful using it.

Just a word about using cream and the transference issue. You would not have any problems concerning transference if you use compounded cream. The amount of product you use is tiny and it absorbs very quickly. It would be difficult to transfer anything from the creams, even if you were trying to due to the small amount of product used and the fact that it absorbs so fast. IMO you have nothing to worry about in this area.

I understand gels are more messy, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

 

[Charliebizz]

Just a word about using cream and the transference issue. You would not have any problems concerning transference if you use compounded cream. The amount of product you use is tiny and it absorbs very quickly. It would be difficult to transfer anything from the creams, even if you were trying to due to the small amount of product used and the fact that it absorbs so fast. IMO you have nothing to worry about in this area.

I understand gels are more messy, but I don't have any personal experience with them.

Thanks joe. It’s almost a non issue because I’m out of the house so long for work anyway and I leave at 430 a.m. just on the weekend.

 

[BigBamBoo]

I am on week three or cream. I will confirm what Joe said about the transference...or lack of.

I am pretty sure it is alcohol based....my wife was giving me head last night and said she thought she tasted alcohol when she was attending to my nuts.
It does absorb/evaporate VERY quickly.
And it says to keep the lid on it as it will evaporate.

Now...I am a high SHBG guy, so not in your shoes as far as that goes.
But, so far I have very mixed feelings about cream.

I can definitely “feel” it about an hour or two after applying it. Like a little energy bump...sort of.
But I then seem to kinda crash and I get tired about 3:00pm...I apply my first dose around 6:00am.
I apply the second dose around 6pm. Does. It seem to effect my sleep one way or the other.

Overall it gives me a way different feel. Very hard for me to articulate how it is different than injections.
Injections seem to “elevate” me but I am also very emotionally “flat” on injections.
And injections make it very hard for me to get off. No problems with erections....have never had ED...just really hard for me to finish.

So far on cream, I seem to be able to get off more easily. Maybe a bit more volume than injections.

I know I am still early in my cream protocol, but it does not seem like a game changer for me so far.

I would not be afraid to try cream. It sounds like you have not much to lose by giving it a shot.

Good luck.

 

[Vince Carter]

Transfer is a bit over sold imho

 

[Charliebizz]

I think I’m going to try it. I’m just interested in testosterone monotherepy. Is that even feasible long term ?

 

[BigBamBoo]

I stopped HCG while I was doing injections. There was some shrinkage of the nuts, but it seemed to level off after a few months and they are the same now on the cream.

Time will tell if they continue to shrink. It seems to be an individual case by case.
Some men seem to shrink way up and others claim no issues at all while on T alone.

Just keep an eye on them and if you need to down the road, you can always add in HCG.

Good luck and please follow up here if you do start with cream.

 

[Systemlord]

I remember a fellow with low SHBG (15) that was about ready to give up on TRT, he wanted to give it one more shot. He tried the scrotal cream twice daily which failed, but he wasn't ready to give just yet.

He tried a morning application only and found success, boy was he thrilled that he finally found something that worked.

I believe his TT was 720, FT was 20+ optimal anyway and his estrogen was in the low 20s.

 

[Charliebizz]

I remember a fellow with low SHBG (15) that was about ready to give up on TRT, he wanted to give it one more shot. He tried the scrotal cream twice daily which failed, but he wasn't ready to give just yet.

He tried a morning application only and found success, boy was he thrilled that he finally found something that worked.

I believe his TT was 720, FT was 20+ optimal anyway and his estrogen was in the low 20s.

I wonder how they work long term. Seems like most men end up on shots. What is the real reason behind that?

 

[captain]

Cost is one reason and myths on forums that transdermal doesn't work. The prescribing Doc may want you on compounded T injections for legal reasons.

 

[sh1973]

I agree with captain, I think it’s a lot of BS out there and the cost of course.

 

[Charliebizz]

I also think guys like higher levels. Seems like it’s too much work to get right at the top or a little over with gel.

I was the same way when I first sought out trt I was at the peak of my fitness prime. But that’s what got me in this mess in the first place. Overtraining and under eating. Even though I had low t I was mostly thinking how trt would get me back to how I felt and the. Some. Now I just want to feel normal. I admit some things in my life still hold me back from feeling 100%. I fixed diet now but only for pst few weeks. And I sleep at most 5-6 hours a night. I have a long commute and out of the hous 14-15 hours a day. But all thy said I still do not see how fixing all that can recover my t levels. I’ve had closer jobs less commuting and ate right on this journey. Sleep has always been at 5-6 hours though. And with my line of work I will probably never fix that.

 

[Systemlord]

I wonder how they work long term. Seems like most men end up on shots. What is the real reason behind that?

Being on injectable you are able to mold your protocol to work for you, you can maintain steadier levels, or let's say you need that extra E2 conversion because you have super low estrogen, you can inject a large dose infrequently. If you have low SHBG, you can inject daily to minimize E2 conversion.

You just don't have that level of control on T-gel or T-creams, on tropicals you get what you get and it isn't always a good result. When on injectable cypionate, you can order your whopper any way you like it.

 

[captain]

You can split dose transdermal like you can with injection. If you want to spike things up you may use scrotal application or just increase the dose. I have no problem getting over range with gel.