Naturally High Test & Estradiol, Still Feel Awful

[readalot]

Thanks for clarifying the ranges and units. Good job getting decent fT test through Quest (equiibrium dialysis).

@rapperties

I was under the impression that high SHBG means that less of my testosterone is being utilized. Is that not correct?

More mythology IMO. Intelligent opinion and clinical data indicate HPTA controls free testosterone (fT) not total testosterone (TT) and SHBG+fT yields TT. Hence, if you waved a magic wand and lowered your SHBG your fT would stay the same and TT would drop. I tried this on myself by using medication (oxandrolone) that lowers SHBG. Some additional comments about this:

@readalot

You are absolutely right that lowering your SHBG via medication will increase the relative percentage of free T (ratio of free T to total T) but will not increase your absolute free T value (e.g., XX ng/dL) for a given testosterone dosage. This is different than what you read and hear online all the time that lowering your SHBG will free up more T or increase your free T. When you decrease your SHBG your TT for a given dosing protocol will drop but free T won’t change given the amount of exogenous T you are taking didn’t change and mass in = mass out at steady state. Hence your free T stays the same and total T goes down (fT/TT goes up).

800mg Test Cyp a Week, Total Test Is Only 1406!

TLDR: doesn’t matter. More details that are of probably little help but may interest some. Thought about your question which was reason for delay in responding and trying to answer as succinctly as possible based on the constructive feedback I’ve received recently. I FAILED! If your goal with respect to question is to maximize muscle growth then my short answer is I don’t think it matters. Area under the curve (how much your body processes) will be proportional to dose so whether you do cy…

@FunkOdyssey also has a much better analogy called the “sponge” analogy (super learning tool) and also look up cataceous over at ExcelMale. He has been preaching about this for years.

Unfortunately the myth that lowering SHBG increases absolute fT has been repeated over and over. I will agree lowering SHBG increases relative percentage of fT (fT/TT) but that isn’t the important driver.

@rapperties

Is the aromatization just an inherent byproduct of having higher testosterone and is taking the Anastrozole to manage it a normal thing and safe long term?

Long term unsure and if it was me I would use the minimum effective dose that would do the job. You may find you could use much less.

Congrats on the low BF.

@rapperties

Thank you. I really appreciate the help.

My pleasure. To your health.