Confused About SHBG and Muscle Gain

Hi guys

I’ve had my bloods from 5 weeks on trt. I’m really super confused if these are good for muscle, my GP is saying my shgb is too low and I should do eod injections, but when I Google everyone says the lower your shgb the more muscle you gain from the free test?

Csn someone clear this up for me!

Cheers

Your testosterone is high enough to promote muscle gain. It’s not steroid level so you aren’t going to get jacked next week. Was your prolactin this high before trt? You may want to get a pituitary MRI to be sure there aren’t any tumors.

Systemlord is about to post that you need to do daily injections because you have low SHBG. He does too. I have SHBG around 40 and I prefer daily injections as well.

Thanks for the reply, my prolactin was 343 before trt. So my free test is what builds the muscle? I’m confused cause my doc I’m with wants me to go eod for daily injections but the way it is now is really good for muscle growth? I’m confused

My testosterone on daily injections (185mg/week daily sub-q is 1999) so it may go higher on more frequent injections. Mine did.

You have optimal hormones for muscle gain, genetics also plays a role and this was already mention in a previous thread 3 days ago. As previously mentioned TSH is far from optimal, if Free T3 is suboptimal, forget about muscle gain.

A normal TSH is <1.5, this is where 95% of the healthy population scores for TSH. Free T is the only thing that matters, it’s where the rubber meets the road.

Reference ranges for TSH and thyroid hormones

Though TSH remains the most commonly used endocrine test in clinical practice, the issue of an appropriate TSH, and to a lesser extent, free T4 and free T3 reference ranges is still under debate. First of all the distribution of TSH reference range is not normal, with median values (also depending on population iodine intake) usually between 1-1.5 mU/L.

Cheers, so my TSH is pretty standard? How comes my doc said I’ll struggle with my shgb? Also what is free t3? Sorry for the silly questions I’m jusf clueless

As stated directly above your comment your TSH is not optimal. Free T3 is thyroid. You only tested T4. You should get free T3 amongst others the next time you do blood work.

No your TSH is NOT standard , it is not normal. My TSH is normal and fluctuates between 0.6-1.01. My Free T3 is 3.6 (2.0-4.4) and is a hair past mid-range. Free T3 needs to be at least mid-range.

You can think of Free T3 like Free T, it is the only active thyroid hormone, TSH and Free T4 do not increase metabolism or provide energy to every cell in your body, there are no T4 receptors, only T3 receptors.

Cheers for the replies guys you are really helping and I’m grateful. Is there anyway to sort out my TSH? I’ll order a blood test now for t3 and a more involved test. Also to add this was taken on the same day I inject just before infact, does that mean when I inject I’m way over 30.3?

Cheers!

Make sure you test Reverse T3 at the same time testing Free T3, they need to be tested together.

You’re not supposed to do labs on injection day, levels peak in 48 hours. You’re supposed to do labs at trough or right before an injection.

You’ve lost me there with that again, sorry for being so stupid about the subject.

And sorry also I meant it was done 7 days after the last Injection just before Inject again

Then these are trough numbers meaning levels at peak are higher and these labs are your lowest point.

Should I lower my doseage? Main reason I contacted doctor is that my morning wood hasn’t returned. I’m 23 years old also. Been on it 5 weeks and at these levels you would of thought it be back? On 125mg per week test e with HCG

Here’s a comprehensive thyroid panel that will show what’s going on.

  • TSH

  • Free T3

  • Free T4

  • Reverse T3

  • Thyroglobulin Antibody

  • Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody (Anti-TPO)

Your levels are not stable yet, it takes 6 weeks minimum for levels to stabilize, if you change your dosage now it will take another 6 weeks to become stable.

I often hear of men losing erections for a time after starting TRT or changing dosages. Also HCG can cause ED and low libido. Elevated TSH could also be a reason for erection troubles, there are tests missing for thyroid labs.

Thanks dexter and okay system, do you recommend coming off the HCG? I mean my sex drive feels the same to be fair and erection strength varies from day to day… Just really want that magic morning where I get a morning glory lol

At 5 weeks in you are better off waiting a couple more just to be sure. For me it takes about 2 months of feeling like crap when I change protocol before I adjust. It may be that you aren’t there yet. You waited 5 weeks so what’s another couple weeks?

If you’ve never experience TRT in isolation, HCG may in fact be causing some of your problems.

The only way to know is trial and error.

Systemlord, is it TSH per se that could cause issues, or that it’s associated hormones (T3/T4) wouldn’t be optimal with such an elevated TSH?

In other words, is TSH directly responsible for issues, or indirectly (via T3/T4)?

TSH is the stimulating hormone, so when TSH is elevated it’s trying to get the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormones because what’s currently being produced is inadequate. Think of above range LH and low testosterone, primary hypogonadism, the pituitary gland is trying like hell to get more testosterone out of the testicles.

TSH correlates with symptoms poorly.