Men's Health Forum: This is a discussion on High SHBG, low estradiol and low free T within the Anabolic Steroids forums, part of the extensive steroid information at MESO-Rx; Can anyone figure this out?
First post here. Any help here would be greatly appreciated. I am 37 y/o, libido ...
First post here. Any help here would be greatly appreciated. I am 37 y/o, libido declining and all the classic low test symptoms for 2 years. Total T 2 yrs ago was 550, so I figured that couldn't be the problem. I didn't know about checking free T at the time. Was taking finasteride at the time. Stopped 1 year ago. Started taking tribulus, which helped for awhile for whatever reason. Things have gotten significantly worse, so started looking into reasons. Thank god for this site. Blood work:
3/10/2008 (felt really crappy that day w/ libido, mood, etc)
DHT 28ng/dl (25-75)
Total serum cortisol 11.7 mcg/dl (4-22)
Total testosterone 313 ng/dl (241-827)
From the little I know, it looks like my sex hormone binding globulin is too high. Thyroid is normal, estradiol is not up, I rarely drink, IGF-1 is not low. I am 5'10", 165 lb, 12% body fat so obesity not the reason.
So here is the question. Do I just need to get on HRT or is there something else to do?
First post here. Any help here would be greatly appreciated. I am 37 y/o, libido declining and all the classic low test symptoms for 2 years. Total T 2 yrs ago was 550, so I figured that couldn't be the problem. I didn't know about checking free T at the time. Was taking finasteride at the time. Stopped 1 year ago. Started taking tribulus, which helped for awhile for whatever reason. Things have gotten significantly worse, so started looking into reasons. Thank god for this site. Blood work:
3/10/2008 (felt really crappy that day w/ libido, mood, etc)
DHT 28ng/dl (25-75)
Total serum cortisol 11.7 mcg/dl (4-22)
Total testosterone 313 ng/dl (241-827)
From the little I know, it looks like my sex hormone binding globulin is too high. Thyroid is normal, estradiol is not up, I rarely drink, IGF-1 is not low. I am 5'10", 165 lb, 12% body fat so obesity not the reason.
So here is the question. Do I just need to get on HRT or is there something else to do?
Post values for
SHBG
Ferritin and transferrin
and any other items that were tested.
Do not hurry up with any supplementation.
Reason, collect your baseline information.
Stop taking any herbs or other over the counter.
You may want to do thyroid panel, or just the missing info (if pressed for $$).
Thyroid panel:
38 T3 Free
39 T3 uptake
40 T3,Total
41 T4,Free
42 T4,Total
43 reverse T3 (rT3)
44 TSH
45 Thyroid Peroxidase and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (7260X)
Repeat also
Cortisol AM/PM
-------------------------------
There are also other items that you may want to check if you have a means and patience.
Most likely you will end up on 10grams of Androgel/day and some hcg shots.
Hopefully you do not have little chldren to handle.
Your E2 is also low, so it is a mix bag.
You would definitely benefit from some basic testing at Genova Diagnostics. Looks like your fatty acids and other metabolism items are in need of support. This is where you may want to put most of your energy.
.
.
Thanks for the input. FYI, all supplements were stopped 3/8/08. They were multivitamin, tribulus, resveratrol, creatine, alpha lipoic acid. I get about 30g of liquid fish oil a day (didn't stop that).
SHBG was not directly checked. My assumption (possible incorrect?) was that it had to be elevated given normal total T with very low free T. At any rate, I'll check it.
BTW, I checked out the website of Genova Diagnostics. Which test there do you think would provide the most useful information? They don't list prices. Do you know what the cost is?
Thanks for the input. FYI, all supplements were stopped 3/8/08. They were multivitamin, tribulus, resveratrol, creatine, alpha lipoic acid. I get about 30g of liquid fish oil a day (didn't stop that).
SHBG was not directly checked. My assumption (possible incorrect?) was that it had to be elevated given normal total T with very low free T. At any rate, I'll check it.
BTW, I checked out the website of Genova Diagnostics. Which test there do you think would provide the most useful information? They don't list prices. Do you know what the cost is?
With out insurance the cost are below.
Genova handles some insurance companies.
The ONE - Optimal Nutrition Evaluation - (Cost $472.01) bill dec/10/2007 consists of:
Metabolic Analysis
Amino Acid Analysis
Oxidative Stress Analysis
------------------------------------------------------------
Essential & Metabolic Fatty Acid --(Cost $304.5 )--
-------------------------------------------------------------
EstroEssence --(Cost $384.99)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I suggest NutrEval instead of above two tests.
I saw an endocrinologist today. He said he had never seen blood work quite like mine. He wonders if the tribulus may have had something to do with it. (was off tribulus 12 days before low free T blood work). He wants to repeat blood work in 2-3 weeks with total T, free T, SHBG, and IGF-1. I will post results.
First post here. Any help here would be greatly appreciated. I am 37 y/o, libido declining and all the classic low test symptoms for 2 years. Total T 2 yrs ago was 550, so I figured that couldn't be the problem. I didn't know about checking free T at the time. Was taking finasteride at the time. Stopped 1 year ago. Started taking tribulus, which helped for awhile for whatever reason. Things have gotten significantly worse, so started looking into reasons. Thank god for this site. Blood work:
3/10/2008 (felt really crappy that day w/ libido, mood, etc)
DHT 28ng/dl (25-75)
Total serum cortisol 11.7 mcg/dl (4-22)
Total testosterone 313 ng/dl (241-827)
From the little I know, it looks like my sex hormone binding globulin is too high. Thyroid is normal, estradiol is not up, I rarely drink, IGF-1 is not low. I am 5'10", 165 lb, 12% body fat so obesity not the reason.
So here is the question. Do I just need to get on HRT or is there something else to do?
I deal with nutitrional and lifestyle intervention that are core issues when dealing with hormone issues. I have helped numerous people on here to get there life back in balance and to even avoid TRT or to complimnet there current treatment. Pm me if be interested in details
High SHBG, low estradiol and low free T 
Linear Mode
