So I don’t want the medical technical Mumbo jumbo about it’s a carrier protein and all but what I want to know is if someone has low shbg what do they feel like . Should they feel tired , not optimized , workouts suck ,low sex drive, recovery ect . Does having normal levels make you feel better ?
What does low shbg actually mean ?
- Thread starter Rogue702
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Systemlord
Member
I can tell you people with metabolic syndrome, diabetes have low SHBG. I have diabetes/metabolic syndrome.
My SHBG pre-TRT was measured at 11-12 and remains there on Jatenzo, however on injections it was 24.
I feel the same whether its 12 or 24, but thats not to say everyone will. My energy is increasing with every passing week, waist 2.5" inches smaller after only 3 months, weight is dropping as well.
Mood, wellbeing is also improving as time goes on.
My SHBG pre-TRT was measured at 11-12 and remains there on Jatenzo, however on injections it was 24.
I feel the same whether its 12 or 24, but thats not to say everyone will. My energy is increasing with every passing week, waist 2.5" inches smaller after only 3 months, weight is dropping as well.
Mood, wellbeing is also improving as time goes on.
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My SHBG normally runs around 30 nMol/L, but I went through a period when it dropped to single digits, likely due to also having undetectable levels of estradiol. I can't point to any particular symptoms that would not have been caused by the low estradiol alone, the primary one being loss of libido. Because of the low estradiol I was not testing one of the hypotheses concerning low SHBG, which is that the ratio of free estradiol to free testosterone becomes too high.
Just because people with metabolic syndrome have low shbg does that mean that people with trt induced low shbg are susceptible to metabolic syndrome?
Systemlord
Member
Not necessarily, but it can induce problems with feeling unwell on TRT.
SHBG regulates androgen action on target tissue.
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When you say it regulates androgen action on tissues does that mean it’s what makes your body actually USE the testosterone ? Instead of it just free flowing around
I have low SHBG - it was 12 in my last bloodwork - and that is pretty much where it's been for the previous ten years, but I have no trace of metabolic syndrome, and I am not diabetic or pre-diabetic.
With low SHBG, I do not "feel" my TRT at all. On TRT and with good blood numbers for free T, total T, and E2, I still have low libido, and can't build any muscle or lose any fat. It is like being "low T" even while on TRT. Oh, and guys that think low SHBG is "better" and builds more muscle need to walk a mile in the shoes of someone with low SHBG. We would not wish it on our worst enemies.
The only reason I am still on TRT is that I know it's healthier long-term to have normal T vs. low T.
With low SHBG, I do not "feel" my TRT at all. On TRT and with good blood numbers for free T, total T, and E2, I still have low libido, and can't build any muscle or lose any fat. It is like being "low T" even while on TRT. Oh, and guys that think low SHBG is "better" and builds more muscle need to walk a mile in the shoes of someone with low SHBG. We would not wish it on our worst enemies.
The only reason I am still on TRT is that I know it's healthier long-term to have normal T vs. low T.
I, too, have low SHBG tested through years of labs (usually 10-15). No metabolic syndrome, no diabetes, etc. Very good health overall, lean, low body fat, low inflammation, etc.
In experimenting over the years, I found that I subjectively felt better with frequent injections - more stable I suppose.
Here's what I know about being on TRT. Before I started, despite several years of working out (much of that time with a trainer), using protein powder/shakes, etc., I had an inability to gain muscle and relatively low endurance. My body fat with Dexa was ~24%.
After being on TRT for a few years, much better endurance and much better ability to gain muscle, lower resting heart rate, etc. While staying at the same weight the whole time (~190-195), my body fat dropped to about 12% (Dexa). Which means I converted about 23 lbs of fat to muscle. That -objectively- didn't happen without TRT.
Further, due to recent surgery for prostate cancer, I stopped TRT entirely for about 6-7 weeks. About three weeks into that period, I could absolutely feel a sharp drop in energy, felt much more tired, etc.
Does TRT make me feel super fantastic 24/7 and solve the world's problems? No. But it has definitely, objectively, improved my overall health.
Jason Sypolt
Administrator
This is a good question. It’s important to have a pre-TRT baseline measurement otherwise you will probably never know why it ends up low after starting because you could never rule out the testosterone being present and/or changing your body even if you were to stop.
I had low SHBG before TRT, and I had the beginnings of metabolic syndrome. I wasn’t too overweight and my glucose and A1c looked great. But I had subclinical hypothyroidism and my fasting insulin was very high. Cholesterol was horrible as well. Fixed those and SHBG went from 8-10 to 23.
Another reason as Cataceous pointed out could be due to SHBG being a regulator of sex hormones. You could see a drastic swing, but as he said you would probably need something like Estradiol being undetectable for something like that to happen. I have not seen a TRT dose tank SHBG in its own without something else being involved. It could also be caused by medications or simply genetics.
I don’t feel testosterone anymore regardless of where my SHBG is at, but that’s because better has become my normal and it no longer feels different or new. Testosterone does not fix a lot on its own for me specifically, but that’s because of the Accutane I was given as a teen, not SHBG’s fault. I have very little 5-ar activity happening. So I work on keeping DHT high and supplementing that with other androgens which makes a huge difference.
I have the same background re Accutane as a teen. I also try to keep DHT high in order to get the benefits I receive from TRT - which for me, is mainly erectile function. Testosterone has made a significant difference in this regard.
The rub is that I have to run fairly high levels to get DHT up to where TRT is effective.
I believe that running this higher levels has also contributed to my lowered SHBG compared to when I started TRT.
Systemlord
Member
Nocalves
Active Member
And nightmare for those with low SHBG
65 ng/dl (12-65).
I use cypionate. Have never tried enanthate but will be giving it a shot as soon as my current vial of cyp runs out.
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