I am curious to see if any members with low SHBG have labs on their total T, free T, E2 etc that reflect where they feel the best. My SHBG seems to hover anywhere from 10-20, and much like many people in that area, struggle to get results without feeling the same or worse. At one point my SHBG must have been high because I ran thousands of MGs of AAS with no issues whatsoever. My liver enzymes have been like a roller coaster for a few years so I do wonder if low shbg is a sign of liver issues. I figure the more info we pool together the easier we can navigate the issues. Thanks in advance.
Yort I have low SHBG and multiple labs. Due to being in Australia I’ve never gotten on what one would call an optimal protocal, however I got what I would consider some of the best care with regards to TRT in Australia! My SHBG hovers around 15-20. On 110mg/wk I peak at around 500-550ng/DL and nadir at 300ish Ng/DL. From sustanon I peak at 1400 but I’m down to 500 6 days post shot.
I’ve only ever felt really good on 210mg/wk split up into multiple small injections. I can’t tell you where I’m at exactly on said protocal as it is self medication however I’d guess somewhere around 1000ng/dl and I feel amazing. My albumin is very high and my SHBG is low, testosterone is also bound to albumin (albeit not as strongly) testosterone therefore a high amount of albumin can limit free testosterone.
What I do recommend is for you to get a glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity test. I have both impaired glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity even though I am a lean, fairly muscular individual (LOW shbg is linked to insulin sensitivity and a variety of other comorbidities)
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First of all thanks for the great feedback, just curious when you go too high on your test dose what kind of issues do you deal with? For me I feel like super brain fog and zero libido. Also as far as an insulin sensitivity test I believe I had one, on a scale of (2.0 to 19.6) I was at 6.2 with fasting glucose at 90. (If there another test I will gladly have it administered.) But much appreciated.
I can tell you as a low SHBG (16-20) guy where I don’t feel well, I recently scored a TT 376, FT 15.1 and E2 29.6 and felt similar to pre-TRT, so I assume that I need FT to be nearer to the top of the ranges. I suspect my SHBG is lower do to insulin resistance, once I improve/reverse my type 2 diabetes and lose 60 pounds I expect it to increase.
Right now I’m on 20mg EOD (80mg weekly), awaiting my .125 AI because E2 is expected to increase and I already have symptoms. Low SHBG can be caused by low thyroid function, being overweight (visceral fat) and insulin resistance.
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a lot of insulin resistance it seems like. I’d imagine dieting and watching sugar intake is huge to help turn it around.
Have you ever tried Metformin, systemlord and if so, did you feel better?
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Metformin cause strange side effects, within 10 minutes of taking the drug I developed a persistent cough that was relentless and voice hoarseness that began to subside towards the end of the usefulness of the drug. I’m on Berberine instead.
There have been others with these same side effects, a google search confirmed it.
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Yes I was told you feel weird for a week or two but to STICK WITH IT, it’s worth it as your body adjusts and optimizes. YMMV :)))
I took Metformin for two weeks, no change in symptoms, in fact symptoms worsened. I get a lot of strange side effects from drugs, some that aren’t even listed in the trials.
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Too funny… I’m just ending week 2 myself and the weirdness has ended. I’ll report back after a month. 
Metformin studies indicate it’s anti aging. Good even if not prediabetes. Lowering insulin and glucose is great. I hope to take myself in the future.
How much are you taking?
Wife started a few weeks ago. 1000 mg XR at dinner. Therapeutic dose suppose to be 1-2 Grams. She feels the same but labs should show improvement. 1st couple of weeks she had some symptoms to. Then went away.
I couldn’t get my hands on the XR so I take 500mg with lunch (fast until 12pm), 500mg with supper and 500mg at bedtime for a total of 1500mg. lost 6lbs in 2 weeks but can’t decisively say it’s because of the Metformin.
Wife just added 500 at lunch. So total 1500. No weight loss yet. So see if 1500 helps. I know it’s not a weight loss drug but when your overweight it suppose to cause some weight loss at least initially.
My shbg was 24 before i went on test and thats normal but when i started blasting test at 750 mg it went down to 9…why does this happen thanks
Excess androgens lower SHBG, basically your liver can’t take huge doses of T.
Is that probably why my alts were very high.
Not entirely true. Not all androgens will dramatically lower SHBG, it depends on how strongly said androgen binds to SHBG. For instance 7a-methyl-19-nortestostdrone has very little binding affinity to SHBG therefore it in theory shouldn’t significantly lower SHBG much. This is in contrast to what you said as 7a-methyl-19-nortestosterone (trestolone, and yes 7a not 17) is FAR more potent than testosterone. Testosterone (more specifically it’s 5ar reduced cousin dihydrotestosterone) has a very strong binding affinity to SHBG.
The liver is a very resilient organ, it has the remarkable ability to significantly regenerate itself even after partial surgical removal or injury, therefore to say one’s liver can’t handle a simple supraphysiologic dose (or doses) or testosterone is absurd, it may stress the liver (still no where near as much as alcohol, tylenol, c17AA orals) however to state the liver can’t handle it is simply untrue. (and yes I’ve seen the case reports of hepatocellular carcinoma developing in otherwise relatively people after long term androgen replacement or high dose oxymetholone/fluoxymesterone therapy for asplastic anemia, however the sheer amount of cases are very few).
so high ALTs on a blood test can be due to high levels of DHT due to testogel?
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Probably not