What is the free t range where men generally feel good?

[ajallday]

I recently received my labs back using LC/MSMS for the TT: 574 and free T using ED for 75 pg/ml. What would be an optimal range using these tests? I once saw a post by Madman speaking about a grey zone, but I can't locate the post anymore.

 

[madman]

I recently received my labs back using LC/MSMS for the TT: 574 and free T using ED for 75 pg/ml. What would be an optimal range using these tests? I once saw a post by Madman speaking about a grey zone, but I can't locate the post anymore.

Did you have your blood work done through Quest?

The reference range for the ED assay is 35-155 pg/mL (3.5-15.5 ng/dL).

Your FT 7.5 ng/dL (75 pg/mL) would fall in what would be called the grey zone (5-9 ng/dL) where some men may experience symptoms of low-T.

With a robust TT 574 ng/dL your SHBG would be high if the most critical fraction FT sits in the grey zone.

Do you know where your SHBG sits?

Most healthy young natty males would be hitting a FT 10-12 ng/dL tested using the most accurate assay the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis or a FT 13-15 ng/dL using the next best testing method the go to calculated linear law-of-mass action Vermeulen (cFTV) and this would be a daily short-lived peak we are talking about here.

How do you feel overall?

Thread 'Largest dataset of mFT levels to date: male reference ranges spanning a wide age range, using a gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis LC-MS/MS method'

Mar 14, 2026

Sit and dwell on that!

Think of all those overmedicated men on T-therapy gassed up on FT well beyond their natty genetic set-point and unfortunately many off them off the hop!

You can blame all those run of the mill T clinics, kiddie forums loaded with all those numbskulls, throw those blast n cruisers in there too and put the icing on the cake the cesspool of so called gurus polluting gootube!

Gotta love all those kiddie forums loaded with the brainwashed sheep still pushing that more T is better mentality dishing out piss poor advice!

So much misinformation littered on the net its...

• madman
• Assays ft hypogonadism Refernce Ranges
• Replies: 9
• Forum: Testosterone and Men's Health Articles

• 

Thread 'Age-stratified reference ranges for directly measured (ED LC-MS/MS) serum free testosterone in healthy men'

May 11, 2024

Just to be clear up any confusion this is Fiers camps data for mFT reference ranges not the harmonized reference range being worked on by the CDC.


*Serum samples were analyzed from healthy men participating in the SIBLOS/SIBEX and EMAS studies, both population-based cohort studies

* mFT levels were measured in 867 men using ED LC-MS/MS as previously reported (1). Subsequently, 95% reference ranges were determined using the non-parametric method


Reference: 1. Fiers T, Wu F, Moghetti P, Vanderschueren D, Lapauw B, Kaufman JM. Reassessing Free-Testosterone...

• madman
• Ed/refernce Range free testosterone tth
• Replies: 11
• Forum: Testosterone and Men's Health Articles

 

[ajallday]

Did you have your blood work done through Quest?

The reference range for the ED assay is 35-155 pg/mL (3.5-15.5 ng/dL).

Your FT 7.5 ng/dL (75 pg/mL) would fall in what would be called the grey zone (5-9 ng/dL) where some men may experience symptoms of low-T.

With a robust TT 574 ng/dL your SHBG would be high if the most critical fraction FT sits in the grey zone.

Do you know where your SHBG sits?

Most healthy young natty males would be hitting a FT 10-12 ng/dL tested using the most accurate assay the gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis or a FT 13-15 ng/dL using the go to calculated linear law-of-mass action Vermeulen (cFTV) and this would be a daily short-lived peak we are talking about here.

How do you feel overall?

Thread 'Largest dataset of mFT levels to date: male reference ranges spanning a wide age range, using a gold standard Equilibrium Dialysis LC-MS/MS method'

Mar 14, 2026

Sit and dwell on that!

Think of all those overmedicated men on T-therapy gassed up on FT well beyond their natty genetic set-point and unfortunately many off them off the hop!

You can blame all those run of the mill T clinics, kiddie forums loaded with all those numbskulls, throw those blast n cruisers in there too and put the icing on the cake the cesspool of so called gurus polluting gootube!

Gotta love all those kiddie forums loaded with the brainwashed sheep still pushing that more T is better mentality dishing out piss poor advice!

So much misinformation littered on the net its...

• madman
• Assays ft hypogonadism Refernce Ranges
• Replies: 9
• Forum: Testosterone and Men's Health Articles

• 

Thread 'Age-stratified reference ranges for directly measured (ED LC-MS/MS) serum free testosterone in healthy men'

May 11, 2024

Just to be clear up any confusion this is Fiers camps data for mFT reference ranges not the harmonized reference range being worked on by the CDC.


*Serum samples were analyzed from healthy men participating in the SIBLOS/SIBEX and EMAS studies, both population-based cohort studies

* mFT levels were measured in 867 men using ED LC-MS/MS as previously reported (1). Subsequently, 95% reference ranges were determined using the non-parametric method


Reference: 1. Fiers T, Wu F, Moghetti P, Vanderschueren D, Lapauw B, Kaufman JM. Reassessing Free-Testosterone...

• madman
• Ed/refernce Range free testosterone tth
• Replies: 11
• Forum: Testosterone and Men's Health Articles

I used labcorp. The ref range for the FT was 32-280. I am a lean 56 y.o. and feel flat, low energy with low libido. Additionally I cannot gain muscle despite lifting 6 times a week. And yes, my SHBG is historicaly always high. I'm thinking it may be time for trt?

 

[madman]

I used labcorp. The ref range for the FT was 32-280. I am a lean 56 y.o. and feel flat, low energy with low libido. Additionally I cannot gain muscle despite lifting 6 times a week. And yes, my SHBG is historicaly always high. I'm thinking it may be time for trt?

The reference range for Labcorp's ED assay is 52-280 pg/mL (5-28 ng/dL).

Yes you should seek out someone who is well versed in the field.

Even then you would need to get a. thorough set of labs.

Blood work should also include estradiol, SHBG, DHT, prolactin, Vit D DHEA-S, LH/FSH, PSA, full thyroid panel (TSH, Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, antibodies), salivary cortisol (Four Specimens), ferritin/iron, lipids, CMP, CBC, and CRP.

critical to make sure your thyroid/adrenals are healthy any dysfunction can easily mimc symptoms of low-T let alone make or break a protocol when using exogenous T.

500726: Testosterone, Free, Mass Spectrometry/Equilibrium Dialysis (Endocrine Sciences)

Labcorp test details for Testosterone, Free, Mass Spectrometry/Equilibrium Dialysis (Endocrine Sciences)

www.labcorp.com

 

[FunkOdyssey]

free T using ED for 75 pg/ml. What would be an optimal range using these tests?

Higher than that. With symptoms too, means it's time to intervene.

 

[ajallday]

Higher than that. With symptoms too, means it's time to intervene.

Yes, I am starting to think it is time to try TRT. I have tracked (three years) my TT and it is always around 550 but conversely, my FT hovers in the 8s (ng/dl). My fear is that my TT is so high, I won't really see any improvement in symptoms by adding exogenous testosterone.

 

[FunkOdyssey]

My fear is that my TT is so high, I won't really see any improvement in symptoms by adding exogenous testosterone.

TT is a lie in the face of high SHBG. Put your fear aside and focus on free T: the only thing that ever mattered.

 

[ajallday]

TT is a lie in the face of high SHBG. Put your fear aside and focus on free T: the only thing that ever mattered.

Yes, shy high SHBg (65-80). Thank you for your responses. I am leaning towards trying it. I presume I could stop in 6 months or so if it is not for me.

 

[madman]

Yes, shy high SHBg (65-80). Thank you for your responses. I am leaning towards trying it. I presume I could stop in 6 months or so if it is not for me.

Not sure why your getting caught up on your robust TT which is inflated due to high SHBG which means your FT falls in the grey zone as in the range where one can experience symptoms of low-T.

Even then your FT is well under where a healthy young natty male would sit.

Would not even matter if your SHBG never budged on therapy because driving up your TT will drive up FT.

Men with highish/high SHBG will need to run a higher TT in order to achieve a healthy/high FT.

No big deal here.

Say you had an SHBG 65 nmol/L you would need to hit a trough TT 1000-1450 ng/dL in order to achieve a healthy/high FT 15-25 ng/dL.

Yes you can hop on for 3-6 months preferably 6 and if things are not as you expected then you can stop and your natty T will go back to baseline.

 

[Vince]

Thread 'Does magnesium decrease SHBG?'

May 7, 2024

Does magnesium decrease SHBG?


Magnesium binds SHBG in a nonspecific mode, leading to an uncompetitive inhibition with T in binding SHBG and to a subsequent enhancement of Bio-T availability. The binding is accompanied by a magnesium release (or uptake) with a corresponding heat effect around in magnitude 17 kJ/mol [92].Mar 3, 2014

National Center for Biotechnology Information › pmc

The Interplay between Magnesium and Testosterone in Modulating ...​

• Vince
• magnesium shpg
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Testosterone Side Effect Management

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