TRT induced Low SHBG and TRT dosage?

[BillyJ03z]

Ok, I just read through the entire Low SHBG sticky thread and have been researching all over this forum regarding low SHBG and Trt dosing... I was able to pull a lab test from 12 years ago prior to starting TRT and I had a SHBG of 44 (lab corp range)... Since starting TRT my SHBG has dropped and fluctuated between 8 and 24 (but majority of time stays between 10-17) labcrop reference range.....

My TRT dosage has been modest, too modest imho, as I have been doing 3x wk IM (120mg test cyp total) M,W,F @ 40mg.. which has put my TT at 400-500's trough, FT at 25 (over top range), E2 28, SHBG 12....

I believe I need to increase to a straight EOD protocol @ 50mg Cyp.. M, W, F, Su, Tue, Thur, Sat, etc.... as I need to get my Total T higher.. from what I researched is that Low SHBG guys do better on more frequent protocol and more test..

Thoughts???

 

[TLawyer]

Ok, I just read through the entire Low SHBG sticky thread and have been researching all over this forum regarding low SHBG and Trt dosing... I was able to pull a lab test from 12 years ago prior to starting TRT and I had a SHBG of 44 (lab corp range)... Since starting TRT my SHBG has dropped and fluctuated between 8 and 24 (but majority of time stays between 10-17) labcrop reference range.....

My TRT dosage has been modest, too modest imho, as I have been doing 3x wk IM (120mg test cyp total) M,W,F @ 40mg.. which has put my TT at 400-500's trough, FT at 25 (over top range), E2 28, SHBG 12....

I believe I need to increase to a straight EOD protocol @ 50mg Cyp.. M, W, F, Su, Tue, Thur, Sat, etc.... as I need to get my Total T higher.. from what I researched is that Low SHBG guys do better on more frequent protocol and more test..

Thoughts???

On my last labs, I had a SHBG of 11. I switched from twice a week about 3 months ago to ED, and it has been much better. Much more level, and my testosterone levels shot up on a comparable weekly dose.

 

[BillyJ03z]

On my last labs, I had a SHBG of 11. I switched from twice a week about 3 months ago to ED, and it has been much better. Much more level, and my testosterone levels shot up on a comparable weekly dose.

are you IM or SQ???

 

[fifty]

Ok, I just read through the entire Low SHBG sticky thread and have been researching all over this forum regarding low SHBG and Trt dosing... I was able to pull a lab test from 12 years ago prior to starting TRT and I had a SHBG of 44 (lab corp range)... Since starting TRT my SHBG has dropped and fluctuated between 8 and 24 (but majority of time stays between 10-17) labcrop reference range.....

My TRT dosage has been modest, too modest imho, as I have been doing 3x wk IM (120mg test cyp total) M,W,F @ 40mg.. which has put my TT at 400-500's trough, FT at 25 (over top range), E2 28, SHBG 12....

I believe I need to increase to a straight EOD protocol @ 50mg Cyp.. M, W, F, Su, Tue, Thur, Sat, etc.... as I need to get my Total T higher.. from what I researched is that Low SHBG guys do better on more frequent protocol and more test..

Thoughts???

50mg EOD is a big jump. That is 175mg/wk.

 

[BillyJ03z]

50mg EOD is a big jump. That is 175mg/wk.

Imho, going from 120mg to 175mg/wk may seem like a big jump but based on my labs with various Cyp doses over the years (I initially started out at 200mg/wk when I first got on TRT) I feel that this would be able put me at the best range to immediately gauge how I feel... At some point during the ramp up I should hit a sweet spot, even if its a for a few days or so, rather than wasting months and months doing minor incremental bumps. My goal is actually gauge how I feel rather than look at numbers, because following the numbers has done nothing for me over the past 10 years... UGHH!

 

[TLawyer]

are you IM or SQ???

SQ, 30 gauge insulin needles

 

[bochinit]

Or your gear may be underdosed..

 

[Cataceous]

Conventional wisdom says that guys with low SHBG should be using less testosterone, not more. In your shoes I would be really interested in knowing peak testosterone levels. If you're a fast absorber then they could be relatively high. What bugs me in cases like this is that the daily dose of pure testosterone is 12 mg, which is well above the 3-9 mg made by natural men. Where is it going? High post-injection peaks could be one explanation. If you're curious then you might try measuring testosterone a few hours post-injection, e.g. 4-6. On daily propionate I'm seeing quite high values even at 2-3 hours post-injection. It's possible things are a little delayed with cypionate.

 

[BillyJ03z]

Conventional wisdom says that guys with low SHBG should be using less testosterone, not more. In your shoes I would be really interested in knowing peak testosterone levels. If you're a fast absorber then they could be relatively high. What bugs me in cases like this is that the daily dose of pure testosterone is 12 mg, which is well above the 3-9 mg made by natural men. Where is it going? High post-injection peaks could be one explanation. If you're curious then you might try measuring testosterone a few hours post-injection, e.g. 4-6. On daily propionate I'm seeing quite high values even at 2-3 hours post-injection. It's possible things are a little delayed with cypionate.

FWIW, I wasn't naturally low SHBG, prior to trt I was mid 40's SHBG... only after starting TRT did my SHBG drop to very low, even on low doses of Test my SHBG stays low.. However, I did do a 4 month trial of 20mg Cyp ED SubQ and my trough was TT 745, FT 26 and SHBG raised to 28, and my E2 also doubled to the 50's....

 

[S1W]

My experience with more frequent injection protocols seems to be the opposite of what I often read here.

From a fair amount of trial and error with different protocols, here is the effect that different protocols had on my SHBG, in order from most impact on SHBG to least:

Pre-TRT: low-mid 30s
1x day cream (100mg total): upper 20s
2x day cream (150mg total): mid 20s
2x/week cyp (120mg/week total): low 20s
Daily and EOD cyp (119mg/week total): mid to upper teens

Note again that the above is not a progression/timeline, but merely in order of effect on SHBG.

I also learned that I do not do well on daily or EOD injections (I've tried various doses too). My SHBG went down, E2 went way up, and TT/FT were down both as absolute values and relative to E2. Those more frequent injection protocols were also the least effective in terms of symptom resolution, too.

 

[BillyJ03z]

My experience with more frequent injection protocols seems to be the opposite of what I often read here.

From a fair amount of trial and error with different protocols, here is the effect that different protocols had on my SHBG, in order from most impact on SHBG to least:

Pre-TRT: low-mid 30s
1x day cream (100mg total): upper 20s
2x day cream (150mg total): mid 20s
2x/week cyp (120mg/week total): low 20s
Daily and EOD cyp (119mg/week total): mid to upper teens

Note again that the above is not a progression/timeline, but merely in order of effect on SHBG.

I also learned that I do not do well on daily or EOD injections (I've tried various doses too). My SHBG went down, E2 went way up, and TT/FT were down both as absolute values and relative to E2. Those more frequent injection protocols were also the least effective in terms of symptom resolution, too.

I guess I'm on the opposite spectrum from you as I have been on a fairly low to moderate doses my entire 10 plus years on TRT (100mg or under per wk) and I have never felt great mood/energy wise, never felt the amazing strength gains, sleep has sucked, etc... The one thing that has remained constant as far as labs go is that my TT stays in the 400-500's at trough but my FT has always remained top/over range, E2 has usually always remained in good range but only shot out of range when trying to incorporate DHEA... I'm hoping getting my TT levels stable at peak/trough in the upper 80% of range will help... Im gauging myself by symptom relief not numbers.... Im done with numbers... lol

 

[TestOneTwo]

Ok, I just read through the entire Low SHBG sticky thread and have been researching all over this forum regarding low SHBG and Trt dosing... I was able to pull a lab test from 12 years ago prior to starting TRT and I had a SHBG of 44 (lab corp range)... Since starting TRT my SHBG has dropped and fluctuated between 8 and 24 (but majority of time stays between 10-17) labcrop reference range.....

My TRT dosage has been modest, too modest imho, as I have been doing 3x wk IM (120mg test cyp total) M,W,F @ 40mg.. which has put my TT at 400-500's trough, FT at 25 (over top range), E2 28, SHBG 12....

I believe I need to increase to a straight EOD protocol @ 50mg Cyp.. M, W, F, Su, Tue, Thur, Sat, etc.... as I need to get my Total T higher.. from what I researched is that Low SHBG guys do better on more frequent protocol and more test..

Thoughts???

Try 140mg/week EOD. I have a very similar SHBG and this seems to work for me. Not sure yet what my blood says about my new protocol but I feel good and even my libido is fine. The same amount E3.5D had put me on TT 622 FT 27 or something so I'm hoping I'm now somewhere around TT 800. Strength increases I have never experienced but I'd been training like crazy beforehand anyway so maybe that off sets it. I'm currently cutting some fat at 2lbs/week and I do feel helps me with muscle retention which is pretty cool.