Your Free T percentage is low, Free T needs to be 2-3 percent to have normal Free T. I wouldn’t expect men to feel great at 550 with SHBG is the 40’s.
Is there a reason why your doctor is ignoring measuring Free T directly?
Why do you say you wouldn’t expect them to feel great like that? Because 550/40 wouldn’t result in good free T?
He has measured it directly…the last 2 tests showed 120 and 101 pg/mL (scale of 47-244). Those tests had TT of 580 and 560 respectively.
My SHBG is on the lower end, so 550 would see my Free T percentage right around 3 percent.
You’re not even close to where you need to be.
Makes sense. Where does the ideal number of 3% come from?
The 2-3% comes from a healthy population with no symptoms of any kind.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4975356/
Free testosterone (FT) refers to the testosterone that is unbound. In most men, this represents 2-3% of total testosterone. The general consensus is that FT best correlates to the true androgenic state of the patient. There are three ways of measuring FT- indirectly by equilibrium dialysis, directly using an analog-based RIA (analog FT), or through standardized calculations. Equilibrium dialysis is costly and manual but remains the gold standard in measuring FT. Equilibrium dialysis involves adding radiolabeled testosterone (3 H-T) to the sample being assayed. The free and bound 3H-T is then separated after equilibrium is attained. The percentage of free 3 H-T is multiplied by the total testosterone to calculate the FT of the sample. This methodology is not used clinically due to cost and convenience. It is currently limited to mainly reference laboratories but serves as the standard in all investigational studies of testosterone measurement.
1 Like
Thanks for the quote and link - aside from just high SHBG, what can lead to lower FT?
Lower dosage haha 
Well, assuming I’m not on TRT!
Same thing. Total is what converts based on shbg. I don’t know if any other middle men that increase or decrease
Not sure what baclofen has to do with anything? Be careful with that stuff btw.