Is recommended for guys with high SHBG to take HCG?

[Young at heart]

I have a doctor who told me that because I have high SHBG, he told me to take only testosterone. He said that HCG will raise my SHBG levels. I guess HCG is beneficial for guys with low/moderate SHBG, but not for guys with high SHBG.

 

[Vince Carter]

Oh boy.....wow

 

[CoastWatcher]

Oh boy.....wow

Yeah, Vince Carter, oh, boy.

That is the most ridiculous thing I've read this week here on EM, and it goes on the all-time list of doctor foolishness. SHBG is not impacted one way or another by HCG...you deserve much better care.

 

[MG123]

The SHBG will fall due to testosterone replacement. I don't think the very small amount of hCG used is going to do much to raise it any. Notice in the study below, people were taking 6000U of monotherapy hCG a week and, while the SHGB did go up in the "normal men" group, they were not taking testosterone along with it and they were on a massive dose of hCG. You'll be taking like 500U a week along with the exogenous T. Like a said, your SHBG will go down because of the T. The small amount of hCG shouldn't have any effect.

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/artic...ulin-Changes-with-Androgen?redirectedFrom=PDF

 

[CoastWatcher]

If HCG raised SHBG levels, all of us who have low SHBG values would be deighted.

 

[MG123]

I might also add that Defy Medical has a wonderful program for men who are generally overall happy with their doctor and current regimen, but have a hard time getting ancillary medications from him/her, e.g. hCG, anastrozole, etc. You might check them out if you do want hCG, and your doctor continues to give you push back. Just my two cents.

Before I switched to Defy, my PCP was administering my T replacement. While he was completely on board for letting me try hCG, he balked at anastrozole. On the other hand, my friend's PCP prescribed anastrozole out of the ass to him, like in malpractice amounts (1mg per day), but balked at the idea of hCG.

When you are dealing with Dr.'s that aren't up to date on TRT, you're going to run into weird ideas and hypotheses.

 

[CoastWatcher]

MG123 makes some telling points. All of us have to be our own advocate, no matter how well informed and competent our doctor is. But when your physician who isn't up to date with androgen management, it becomes an enormously stressful exercise. Some things to consider...

 

[madman]

The SHBG will fall due to testosterone replacement. I don't think the very small amount of hCG used is going to do much to raise it any. Notice in the study below, people were taking 6000U of monotherapy hCG a week and, while the SHGB did go up in the "normal men" group, they were not taking testosterone along with it and they were on a massive dose of hCG. You'll be taking like 500U a week along with the exogenous T. Like a said, your SHBG will go down because of the T. The small amount of hCG shouldn't have any effect.

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/artic...ulin-Changes-with-Androgen?redirectedFrom=PDF

Testosterone is more effective at lowering shbg when injected at higher amounts less frequently.

 

[Young at heart]

madman do you think maybe 250mg test once every two weeks will be the best option to lower SHBG

 

[CoastWatcher]

madman do you think maybe 250mg test once every two weeks will be the best option to lower SHBG

I don't pretend to speak for Madman, but my own take is that you are doomed to failure of you adopt a protocol that calls for 250mg of testosterone every two weeks (no matter where your SHBG sits). The half-life of it is such that you simply will have none left in your system halfway through the two week cycle. You will feel badly, inject again, and start the whole process over.