I will like to know what guys with SHBG do on TRT. Do you guys take more test cyp in order to lower the SHBG?, do you guys take maybe anastrazole?. Anyone with high SHBG on TRT that has reduce their SHBG?. Being on TRT is not helping my libido, mood or erections. I’m doing everything on the books to be better in the sexual department: zinc, cetruline, stinning nettle, boron, vitaminD3, vitaminC, fish oil, sermorelin, maca. At this point I think I will just forget about it and become a monk.
More test cyp will not lower SHBG. Although sometimes injecting test period will lower it some. I have high SHBG and mine has actually tested higher since starting TRT. With high SHBG you will need higher doses to keep your free T in the ideal range. Anastrazole also has no effect on SHBG, its used to control E2. Most men here are on 100mg/week, but I take 140mg/week. That puts my TT in the top range but my free T 1/2-2/3 range because of the SHBG. You will have to perform labs and adjust dosage accordingly. Hopefully your doc understands this.
Thank you blshaw. Do you take 140mg test in one injection or in divided doses?. Do you take anastrazole?. Do you take HCG?.
Divided, sun and weds. I take .5mg AI but I am an over responder. I take 800iu HCG split on two days.
How do you feel with the protocol?
This is precisely why I’ve avoided starting TRT despite multiple doctors offering it to me.
My SHBG is quite high as well. It was 55 last time I had blood drawn.
I’ve probably spent close to three months scouring the internet looking for a solution for lowering SHBG and have found nothing.
Best piece of advice I’ve found thus far (and one I keep hearing) is that “SHBG should not be treated directly. Rather it should be treated as a symptom of an underlying cause”.
Problem is, nobody seems to have established any common underlying causes other than the obvious (high estrogen, thyroid meds, liver problems, etc…).
Good luck OP. I’ve just about given up on ever changing my SHBG.
Well I won’t be of much help here but my Doc said that my SHBG was high and put me on a higher dose. I’m only a month in with blood tests coming this week. I’m on 200mg a week, with .25 mg of anastrozole the day after injection. I feel worse so far on the test than before as far as energy levels go. My libido was fairly good before, and I can tell it is going up finally after a month. We’ll see what the blood test says.
Hi. I came to this forum with similar Qs and concerns…
46, healthy, not a lot of fat but bit more then used to carry, exercise/train hard 1-2 times a week. Just had T test (went for test as have been feeling fatigued daily for a good while) and TT= 579 (so OK in range), Free T = 1.3% with Bio’ T at 33% (so both at range lows).
(LH/FSH and E not tested. Sex drive not what it was but no ED issue. No obvious signs of real high E like sensitive nipples or anything…)
Doctor saying low FreeT and Bio’T result of high SHBG (66.77) and that I could try diet/supplements/exercise or look at T injections. (Dr is GP - I’m not somewhere I will be able to find knowledgeable specialists easily.)
Researching and… complicated/difficult to find answers! I went ‘high SHBG’ to ‘Elevated estradiol levels from conversion of testosterone’ as about only likely cause and then found a good thread/article here on E and Anastrozole…
My Q is, could I just use Anastrozole for treatment and avoid T injections - or do I need T injections and then Anastrozole as an E control? I’d rather keep things simple and not interested in T for heavy weight-training to build or anything.
Ran some other tests as well and Doc said Vit’ B12, adrenal function ( Cortisol and DHEAS) is normal and the prolactin, pituitary hormone all normal.
So another Q - is more BW required? If so, what? (I’m guessing at LH/FSH and E, liver problem related?)
Thanks for any help…
young_forever - I’ve jumped in on your thread - I can post separate if you like.
dabah2014 - did you look at just using an AI like Anastrozole with no T?
Young_Forever - I feel balanced on this protocol. TRT at first elevated my mood too but like all things you settle into the ‘new you’. I have more energy and better body composition but sometimes still struggle with E2 issues.
Dabah2014 - Avoiding TRT is a good choice if your symptoms are not overwhelming. Sometimes I wish I had as well. Its for life after all and if I could have avoided it I would have too. There is no magic pill to lower SHBG, not one that is safe and doesn’t come with its own side effects.
Saltydawg - If I were you I still wouldn’t start that high on the dose. Its easier to dial in starting on a typical dose and increasing it than overshooting your target. That’s like not enough AI. Even if you are an over responder like I am you will likely need more AI at 200mg/week if you choose to stay there.
CRST - What was you reason for testing in the first place? Doesn’t sound like your symptoms are horrible so treatment for you is a personal choice. No you can’t use Anastrozole to fix any of your current issues as that is for E2 problems resulting from TRT or in rare cases naturally high E2. I would get more bloodwork to see whats going on before jumping on any program. TT, Free T, FSH, LH, E2, Prolactin, DHT, CBC w/lipids, and if you havn’t tested thyroid before add those as well.
Bishaw - thanks for response… Severe fatigue - that’s why. As you can read in my post, already tested much of that (my prolactin was 5.88 out of 4.04-15.2 range). Didn’t check LH/FSH, E2, DHT (tested DHEAS - same as DHT? That was 232.8 out of 136.2-437.6). Not sure on CBC w/lipids - did check thyroid and that’s OK.
I tried Aromasin as a standalone treatment back in april. It significantly raised my free testosterone/total testosterone. It moderately reduced my SHBG, but it was still to high. I felt no different to be honest. I’ve read a few reports from guys who tried either arimidex or Aromasin by itself, and while their bloodwork looked better, none felt any significant difference. Aromatase monotherapy doesn’t seem to have a high success rate.
My people! Ok I have really high SHBG (69-70 last time I checked) and have spent countless hours looking for something to help. Ill give a breakdown of what has worked, and what hasn’t (for me).
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Vitamin D ( I drastically increased it and it never budged my SHBG, went from 30’s to 60-70 vitamin D level, no SHBG change.
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Exemestane (this definitely lowered my SHBG by about 12 points, not great, but I did feel the difference, was getting random erections and crazy night wood, however AI’s give me major side effects, so I had to stop, also it makes your hair fall out much faster. I know that steroids lower SHBG and exemestane is a steroid )
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Boron ( tried it at 12mg a day for a few weeks, and I can say that I did feel something at first, but it was always transient)
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Stinging nettle or Dinavil (this practically had zero effect, never checked bloods, but didn’t feel anything, and ive used products that were specifically to lower SHBG, junk)
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Changing from Lisinopril to Losartan (this definitely had an effect for me, did a ton of research and found that Lisinopril lowers FT and increases SHBG, Losartan was actually shown to improve ED in some people)
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Decreasing Benzodiazepine use (I have PTSD/Anxiety issues, and I was relying heavily on these medication, for years, and I recently cut back, I have labs in a few weeks to determine the exact drop, but I can say that since lowering my use and changing from lisinopril to losartan, I am definitely getting morning erections, night erections, sex dreams, when I had not for months)
I think that my benzos use over 10 or so years is what increased my SHBG so much, so now that I am taking it sparingly, im hoping it will come down. I will keep this thread posted with my next bloodwork.
Also, I know some people use Danazol but have the same, results. Not feeling much.
If liver is OK, higher FT decreases SHBG and higher E2 decreases SHBG. So you can increase FT/Bio-T while controlling E2 with an AI. An AI reduced E2 production and cannot reduce E2 once created, the liver does that. An AI will not control FT–>E2 inside the testes. A very few have a lot of that from hCG, many from high dose hCG.