How can one increase SHBG when it is too low?

[eli]

Yes, I have tried it all over the last 6 years. Daily doses, bi weekly, topical, injections, combination topical and injections, Test Prop, Test Cyp. It all feels like I am injecting water. Same with thyroid meds - they all feel like I am taking a placebo instead of any type of actual medication.

What if one in your situation got a liver transplant? Let's ignore the cost

I think your liver has something going on. I'm low shbg too, sometimes single digits but my problem with trt is managing e2, it's such a bitch with low shbg

 

[Vince Carter]

I'm low shbg too, sometimes single digits but my problem with trt is managing e2, it's such a bitch with low shbg

Spot on, but it can be done, I'm having some success.

 

[Charliebizz]

Yes, I have tried it all over the last 6 years. Daily doses, bi weekly, topical, injections, combination topical and injections, Test Prop, Test Cyp. It all feels like I am injecting water. Same with thyroid meds - they all feel like I am taking a placebo instead of any type of actual medication.

But in the past you said trt increases your energy and your terrible without it. So I would call that partial success no?

I have lowish shbg and I haven’t found any benefit from trt that I can nail down. The highest dose I tried was 120 a week and it gave me terrible anxiety and intrusive thoughts.

 

[DJXS]

I keep hearing people say that there are medications that can increase SHBG. When questioned, they back down.

Are there actually any medications that reliably increase SHBG?

- Estrogen is out of the question, because all of us with low SHBG already have high estrogen to begin with. The liver doesn't care.
- T3 is supposed to increase it, but if you believe the studies, you need to achieve hyperthyroid doses ~50 mcg per day to see a boost. Also, the studies are in people that start with normal SHBG, not impaired SHBG.

Capesaris is on the way as a drug to increase SHBG. It's a SERM that works at the liver.

Has anyone heard of anything else that might work?

I've heard that metformin can lead to increased SHBG, as well as vegetarian, and even better vegan, diet. But also that the keto diet can increase SHBG. More frequent injections will also help reduce crashing an already low SHBG. Good luck, fellow low-SHBGers!

 

[ERO]

Lots of these things do raise SHBG but by a very tiny amount at most, so it's not enough to help low SHBG guys like us.

 

[Ardoc2]

FWIW I have read lately that Non-alcoholic fatty liver can be a cause of low SHBG and that can happen without obesity or diabetes. Apparently some people (genetically) store fat excessively in their liver and it can be asymptomatic otherwise. I believe you need an ultrasound to determine fatty liver? I think it was an article on this site but i can't find it at the moment.

 

[Vince]

My oldest sister has a fatty liver from eating carbs. Even though she's very slim.

Decrease of SHBG has a larger impact on the presence of NAFLD than MS. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for presence of MS (metabolic syndrome) and NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) with per one standard deviation (SD) decrease in SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin) (SD = 17.27 nmol/L).

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is an influencing factor for the association of SHBG with metabolic syndrome in diabetes patients - Scientific Reports

Metabolic syndrome (MS) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been identified as risk factors affecting serum sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) levels. We conducted this cross-sectional study to delineate whether MS or NAFLD has more impact on circulating SHBG levels in type 2...

www.nature.com

 

[Graham]

Has anybody ever tried using enclomiphene to raise shbg? I read on another thread clomid raised it so I figured enclomiphene might do the same. I wonder if it works if shbg would stay up after discontinuing it.

 

[ERO]

I tried it for 8 weeks a few years back. It did nothing raise my SHBG.

 

[Charliebizz]

I tried it for 8 weeks a few years back. It did nothing raise my SHBG.

Has anybody ever tried using enclomiphene to raise shbg? I read on another thread clomid raised it so I figured enclomiphene might do the same. I wonder if it works if shbg would stay up after discontinuing it.

Clomid did raise my shbg and my total t but ft stayed low. And my shbg went back down to low after I got off.

 

[Ribeye]

He aromatizing so he has elevated E2 due to the higher levels of Free T.

For the new guy, other than side effects like gynecomastia, (admittedly not a small thing) what other issues are there with high estrodiol?

 

[anol1258]

I still don’t understand why everyone is complaining about low SHBG. Are you saying that you don’t want high free T? Then where do you want it?

Too much e2? Take AI.

 

[Systemlord]

I still don’t understand why everyone is complaining about low SHBG.

The low SHBG is associated with a higher risk of cardiac death. Low SHBG is linked to metabolic syndrome, diabetes and inflammation.

Case in point, diagnosed with diabetes alongside low-T, my SHBG has gone up on TRT, and has steadily increase as I've lost weight and reduced inflammation.

Sure there will be outliers, but more commonly low SHBG is bad news.

 

[waterbottle1258@tutanota.]

I don't think these people are complaining that they have a higher risk to the diseases you listed. They are unsatisfied with how they feel with TRT and they are blaming SHBG.

 

[Systemlord]

I don't think these people are complaining that they have a higher risk to the diseases you listed.

Regardless of whether these people are complaining of the risks, doesn't mean the risks aren't relevant.

They are unsatisfied with how they feel with TRT and they are blaming SHBG.

An overabundance of free androgens can cause symptoms of feeling unwell and can make it difficult to dial in on TRT.

 

[DragonBits]

When I was working to lower my PSA, I used life extension ultra prostate, my SHBG moved from 41 > 73. BUT I can't be sure it was due to this since I also started metformin at about the same time.

 

[Nelson Vergel]

Effect of Resveratrol Content in Red Wine on Circulating Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin: Lessons from a Pilot Clinical Trial - PubMed

Red wine rich in resveratrol reduces total cholesterol in men and women and increases SHBG only in women. Further research aims at investigating the potential SHBG role enhancement mediated by resveratrol regarding cardiovascular protection that presents women in comparison with men seems warranted.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[BillyJ03z]

Daily low inject (Test Cyp @ 12mg) along with NDT thyroid (Armour Thyroid w/ T3) raised my single digit SHBG into the mid 20's (26 on labcorp range)......

 

[Charliebizz]

Daily low inject (Test Cyp @ 12mg) along with NDT thyroid (Armour Thyroid w/ T3) raised my single digit SHBG into the mid 20's (26 on labcorp range)......

What did your thyroid look like before meds

 

[BillyJ03z]

What did your thyroid look like before meds

My Thyroid labs prior to starting Thyroid were considered normal.... FT4 was in-range at bottom 10% of the range, FT3 was in-range at top 20% of range, TSH was usually anywhere between 2 - 3..... (Supposedly anything over 2 is considered Sub-clinical Hypo).... anyway, since I have been on Thyroid supplementation my SHBG has raised, however my Thyroid Panels (FT3 and FT4) remain the same as prior.. only my TSH has crashed well under 1 which is what happens with NDT and T3 supplementation... Despite all this, I haven't really noticed any difference in feeling, mood, energy....