I’ve been suffering from depression, and when I recently had a blood test I asked the doctor to get my testosterone measured. Most came back in range, but my SHBG was high and Vitamin D was low.
Age: 43
Height: 6’3" / 190 cm
Weight: 210 lbs / 96 kg
Waist: 36"
Facial Hair: Reasonably thick, can grow a full beard
Body Hair: Relatively light
Body Fat: Some around my waist, and I think that I’ve got some gynecomastia
Health
I’m suffering from depression, and taking Setraline 100 mg / day to treat it, along with seeing a psychologist.
Asthma, using Ventolin and a preventative inhaler.
I’ve never used any hairloss drugs. I’ve also gone bald. There might be a correlation there.
I’ve never taken any anabolic steroids, peptides, or whatever is the flavour of the month in bodybuilding circles.
Hormones
Testosterone: 18.5 nmol/L (= 534 ng/dL) (9.7 - 27.8)
SHBG: 67 nmol/L HIGH (17 - 56)
Free Testosterone (calculated): 231 pmol/L (= 6.71 ng/dL) (170 - 670)
Estrogen, prolactin, LH and FSH were not checked.
Thyroid
TSH: 1.26 mU/L (0.5 - 5.0)
FT3: 4.5 pmol/L (3.2 - 6.4)
FT4: 16.7 pmol/L (11.0 - 22.0)
Vitamins
Folate: 22.4 nmol/L (Over 7.0)
Total B12: 277 pmol/L (200 - 700)
Vitamin D: 18 nmol/L LOW (50 - 250)
Other
Albumin: 47 g/L (36 - 47)
Globulin: 29 umol/L (5 - 30)
Iron: 16 umol/L (5 - 30)
TRF: 2.6 g/L (2.6 - 3.2)
TRF Sat.:25% (10 - 45)
Ferritin: 282 nn/mL (30 - 500)
ALT: 16 U/L (5 - 40)
AST: 20 U/L (10 - 40)
GGT: 17 U/L (5 - 50)
Last time I had my Ferritin levels checked they were 296. The doctor (a different one) said that they got concerned.
I didn’t have my cholesterol levels tested this time, but they’re above range and seem to be persistently so.
Diet
It’s not great at the moment. I’m eating a calorie deficit (500 to 700) most days, and the macros probably come out around 50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein.
I’ve been taking a 5000 iu Vitamin D supplement for the past month. Nothing else in use, but I might add Vitamin B.
Training
Just getting back into it after a lay-off. I’m hitting the gym two or three times a week, and not pushing anywhere near hard enough to be over-training.
Libido, etc.
My libido is basically non-existent, and there’s a bit of ED going on. These things are symptoms of depression, and SSRIs are notorious for making them worse. I’m not in a relationship, so it’s not really too much of an issue, but I think they’re useful as general health markers.
Questions
The main one is should I worry about my SHBG levels? A couple of people I’ve spoken to have said that since testosterone is in range it’s not something that’s of concern.
Looking at the causes of high SHBG, I think that I can rule out most of them: Liver disease (the associated tests don’t show anything outside of range); HIV (I think it’s routinely checked, and nothing showed up); alcoholism (I’m teetotal); hyperthyroidism (I’m not out of range); not taking Clomid or other medicines that might raise it.
My suspicion is that my E2 levels are elevated, and I really need to get them checked.
The other question is for KSman: Why don’t you like SSRIs? You suggested someone change to Wellbutin in another thread.