Sex Hormone Binding Globulin [SHBG]

[hardrlz]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

These are some of my reuslts:
DHEA SO4 umol/l range: 2.2-16 result: 8.3

SHBG nmol/l range: 10-70 result: 6.8

ACTH ng/l range: 0-50 result: 32

Cortisol nmol/l range: 150-700 result: 560

I dont have TSH at the moment, but it was normal just above 1. Also in my country i think there is no lab that tests RT3, but since my cortisol and ACTH are normal i exclude the possibility of adrenal fatigue and high RT3 respectively.
Also i dont have complete sexual dysfunction, i can get an erection while watching porn although without stimulation i can not keep it for more than 7 8 seconds. I have low libido as a whole , as i dont express desire to have sex.

 

[lxm]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

I have no problems with erections, yet I have zero desire for sex, Zero libido.

im on 125mg test per week

SHGB @ 12 (18-45 range)

 

[idmd]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

I have no problems with erections, yet I have zero desire for sex, Zero libido.

im on 125mg test per week

SHGB @ 12 (18-45 range)

Based on you're other thread if I was you I'd first focus on getting test levels up, E2 under control and see how you feel before you jump on the low SHBG thing.

 

[hardrlz]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Has anyone tried ED small amount of propionate injections ?

 

[Dr JIM]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

There are two PRIMARY components to SD physical and psychological and they can NOT be entirely isolated into their respective functions on an objective basis but rather act in a synergistic fashion.

That being said the presence of tumescence (erections) strongly argues that the physical component is relatively intact while the psychological has become more problematic.

Jim

 

[James23]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

I have no problems with erections, yet I have zero desire for sex, Zero libido.

im on 125mg test per week

SHGB @ 12 (18-45 range)

I sympathize with this issue.

My own experience includes "numb" orgasms and the ability to ejaculate despite getting no pleasure from the act. However, this lack of desire and enjoyment leads to the inability to become erect without a very strong manual stimulation, and also the inability to maintain an erection during sex.

When I was in my teens, with low SHBG and T, it was indeed possible to have spontaneous erections. It was also possible to have completely normal heroin-like orgasms. This is why the issue was never presumed to be psychological. Everything could work as expected. The subtle issue, in my teens, was that a single orgasm would require 3 days to recover from, and during those three days I would have no libido or erections whatsoever. As I aged into my 20s, this period of no libido would extend to weeks, and in my late 20s, it extended to months. My libido just slipped away from me as if something were breaking down in the body. At age 19, I was clinically diagnosed with low T at 185 ng/dL, lower than anything I've typically seen reported even in old men on this board. That cemented the hormonal roots of the problem, but T replacement never worked because my liver wouldn't match the new T with enough SHBG to keep it steady and ending up in the right places, in the right form.

Whatever keeps SHBG low could easily be congenital. However, I maintain hope that a treatable issue is at the root of the low SHBG.

 

[James23]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

In idiopathic secondary hypogonadism, the cause is unknown. That's the meaning of "idiopathic."

However, the presumed etiology of low T in individuals where SHBG expression is demonstrably impaired is the lack of SHBG, itself. This can be shown in the following ways:

- hCG challenge test: This test rules out a number of reasons for low testosterone. If a normal dose of hCG brings T to normal levels, then we know that the testicles are sensitive to LH, that the body has all of the necessary precursors to produce testosterone that it needs, including adequate levels of cholesterol, and that the Leydig cells are capable of producing adequate amounts of testosterone.

- CC (clomiphene citrate) challenge test: This test rules out a malfunctioning pituitary or hypothalamus. Clomiphene citrate acts as a SERM (a selective estrogen receptor modulator) that effectively "tricks" the hypothalamus by reducing its ability to detect free serum estrogens. If testosterone increases to normal levels by simply hiding estrogen, since estrogen is the primary feedback mechanism for LH, one can rule out a pituitary disorder.

If one has low SHBG, low T and normal estrogen, it is the normal estrogen providing the feedback that suppresses LH and keeps testosterone low. This, again, is proven by simply removing the ability to properly gauge estrogen from the HPTA feedback loop and watching T normalize.

That said, the etiology of the low T condition has the potential to be rooted in insulin resistance, thyroid resistance or an adrenal tumor (excessive DHEA-S,) to name a few. However, there are, in fact, genetic mutations on the SHBG gene itself that will limit SHBG expression and thus limit the ranges of hormonal homeostasis.

This has been clinically demonstrated in a study where oxandrolone was given to AIDS patients to reduce muscle wasting. The study reveals that oxandrolone reduced SHBG, causing erectile dysfunction despite exogenous T replacement.

"Low sex hormone-binding globulin and testosterone levels in association with erectile dysfunction among human immunodeficiency virus-infected men receiving testosterone and oxandrolone."

CONCLUSIONS:

Patients had erectile dysfunction in association with low testosterone and SHBG, in spite of exogenous testosterone replacement [...] First pass metabolism of orally administered oxandrolone may decrease hepatic synthesis of SHBG, allowing exogenously supplied testosterone to be excreted.

 

[Dr JIM]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

OH doesn't that sound good an SHBG mutation is altering the ability to bind TT effectively!

Except all of the KNOWN SHBG mutations are phenotypically manifest by hypogonadal characteristics before or at the onset of puberty. However every one of your LOW SHBG"subjects" are otherwise normal! Try again.

 

[James23]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Myself, at onset of puberty: low bone size, low body weight, muscular atrophy, erectile dysfunction, lack of body hair, delayed puberty, clinical hypogonadism.

Since SHBG is almost exclusively linked with IR, many of the studies are done on men with IR, as in the following study:

Conclusion:
From this study it has been observed that eugonadotropic hypogonadism with low total testosterone and normal or low normal gonadotropin levels may be a feature of the metabolic syndrome in young adult males. Significant low SHBG levels as compared to controls could be one of the factors responsible for various biochemical alteration seen in these cases.

 

[Dr JIM]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

JSMES you just contradicted your earlier argument which you believe defines "the Low sHBG disorder"

"Low SHBG Hypogonadism" is defined as those with a low TT and SHBG yet who "Fail to respond to TRT"
NOY

 

[James23]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

JSMES you just contradicted your earlier argument which you believe defines "the Low sHBG disorder"

"Low SHBG Hypogonadism" is defined as those with a low TT and SHBG yet who "Fail to respond to TRT"
NOY

I'm not seeing the contradiction. I have failed to respond to TRT to this day.

 

[Dr JIM]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Great, now how about posting the article or the SPECIFIC reference your quoting?

 

[hardrlz]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

James23 have you considered fatty liver as a possible cause ? Also have you tried every day small amounts of propionate ?

 

[James23]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

James23 have you considered fatty liver as a possible cause ? Also have you tried every day small amounts of propionate ?

I have considered fatty liver disease, but I'm not sure there is a reliable test for NAFLD. My "liver panel" has come out normal aside from elevated ALT.

I have never tried propionate.

SHBG can be increased through certain dietary and behavioral means, and here are the known methods:

resistance training - 26% SHBG increase
SHBG, plasma, and urinary androgens in wei... [J Physiol Biochem. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI

40 mg soy isoflavone - 10% SHBG increase
Effects of isoflavone supplement on healthy women. [Biofactors. 2000] - PubMed - NCBI

increase fiber intake; lower protein intake -- 3-5% increase
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/reprint/86/2/950-a.pdf

ingest >400mg caffeine daily (in women) -- 1.25% increase

50mg T3 daily, for two months -- ~50% increase

TOTAL: 92.25% potential increase. This would potentially bring my SHBG (11 nmol/L) to a more appropriate value (22 nmol/L) for the amount of testosterone that TRT provides (~600ng/dL)

 

[idmd]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

.....aside from elevated ALT.

Ding ding ding!

What your AST/ALT ratio?

 

[hardrlz]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

If you can, try every day small amounts of propionate like 8-9 mg, on another forum a guy with low SHBG told me that cypionate nor enthanate have worked for him, but when he started ED propionate everything changed and he is now on that regime

 

[hardrlz]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Associations of Fatty Liver Disease and Other... [Horm Metab Res. 2013] - PubMed - NCBI fatty liver and SHBG. James i think you better test your liver with ultrasound as to be completely sure.

 

[Sharpman27]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

James23, I have read quite a lot of your posts on low SHBG. I find them
very interesting. You have tried a few things, but unfortunately I do not see
you reporting your results. Please tell us SHBG results you had from taking thyroid hormone, supplements and other stuff.

I think limiting dairy can be important as it has high amounts of igf1 which decreases SHBG.

Have you tried HCG mono therapy? That seems to increase SHBG in quite some men, whereas testosterone shots seems to decrease it on average.

I am positive liver function is vital in this matter. Have you tried liver flushes? I think lemon juice and sunflower or olive oil in combination with epsom salts are used to flush the liver.

Do you have fat around your waist? Low dose Ghrp can get rid of that fat(perhaps also liver fat) and increase shbg.

 

[Dr JIM]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Liver "flushes" ah bullshit!

 

[Sharpman27]

Re: Calling out the low SHBG guys

Liver "flushes" ah bullshit!

My friend I see only big tits in your picture.