Starting Dose of 200mg/Week?

Persistently high SHBG means you need to do one of two things: take more test or lower SHBG. Both are easy, but one comes with more potential issues than the other.

I think there is a third option. Take test and see what impact that had on shbg. Adjust protocol from there. Some get a pretty big drop in shbg, mine went down 4 points, so it didnā€™t have much impact on my shbg (started at 36 pre trt), but others get a bigger drop.

I suppose this could fall into your option 2.

Yeah sure thatā€™s an option I guess. But itā€™s way less fun.

Sorry to hijack. How long does it take for SHBG to drop if its going to on test only? Iā€™m about 4 weeks in to test only. Thinking if doing bloods at 8 weeks

If it is going to drop, I generally see it in four to six months continuing up to a year until leveling off.

Hereā€™s the history of mineā€¦ started at 151. It has stabilized in the 60ā€™s after about a year

April 2019 to April 2020:

December 2019 through now:

Damn that is high. What was the final protocol that worked for you? You seems to be in the same starting spot as meā€¦ acceptable total T, but low free T.

Long story for me, but ā€œusuallyā€ I take 210mg/week. That gets free T to right at the high end of the normal range. Iā€™ve had some other issues lately with sinuses and panic attacks, so Iā€™ve cut it way back so my levels are back down to at the low end of ā€œnormalā€ right now

Interesting. At 200mg, did you notice a radical difference mentally/physically then pre-trt levels?

Better, yes

Absolutely night and day life changing, no

Iā€™ve had issues since stopping finasteride (which led me to TRT) so I think my situation is a little weirder than most

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ncsugrad2002 - werenā€™t you doing cream at what time - why the switch?

Yes, Iā€™ve tried cream twice.

The first time I just got tired of slathering cream on 2x a day and planning sex around it, etc. so it got to the point I thought injections would be less of a headache, so I switched to injections.

Second time I tried adding a small amount of cream on top of injections to see what happened but for whatever reason around that time I had starting having issues with panic attacks and T cream was like caffeine to me, so I didnā€™t try it long.

My shbg started out at, at least high 60ā€™s. I didnā€™t get it checked before starting, thatā€™s after 4 months of treatment. Itā€™s stabilized in the mid 20s now.

Saw recently that Larry Wheels shbg was at 3.3, but given what he probably takes thatā€™s, perhaps, not surprising.

Got my labs back after 6 weeks, using the following protocol:

Test C: 250mg / week (split between 2 injections)
AI: .75g / week (.25 EOD)
HCG: 250ml EOD

Current:
TT: 1368
FT: 148.1 (46.0-224)
Bio: 331. (110.575)
E2: 58

Previous (right before the protocal started):
TT: 477
Free: 8.8 (8.7 - 25.1pg)
E2: 12.3 (7.6 - 42.6)
SHBG: 66

Overall, I feel so much better than before. Crazy levels of energy. Focus and motivation are much better. BF is dropping, along with blood sugar levels, etc. Limited sides, with the exception of:

  1. Joints are aching a little (may be due to over training - over doing it with the excess energy)
  2. A week before the test i felt more robotic/emotionless
  3. Sleep duration is really poor. Once I wake-up overnight, i am up. Lots of energy, and ready to go. Unfortunately some days thatā€™s only like 4-5 hours (averaging maybe 6-6.5).

I figured I crashed my E2 with the AI - which was not the case. Maybe those sides were tied to over training and sleep issues? Suggestions on managing sleep better? Does it get better after being adapted to TRT longer?

Total T is high. SHBG is dropping. I am concerned, about the E2 numbers.

Thoughts on adjusting protocol? I am going to my provider later on this week.

Why? Symptoms?

No, I just meant 62 is out of range for labs. But given the high T, is it in an ok spot?

Itā€™s fine. E2 out of range paired with testosterone thatā€™s out of range is usually ok. The more interesting thing is that you feel so much better. Almost as if using steroids and having supraphysiological testosterone levels is enjoyable. :thinking:

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It is out of range, so is total testosterone, but youā€™re feeling much better. You wouldnā€™t drop your testosterone dose because of the number, correct? Given your joint issues (which could be due to increased training), Iā€™d consider dropping or at least decreasing anastrozole. The same SHBG tying up your testosterone is binding to estradiol. Many report joints feel much better with higher E2.

Usually subsides as you adjust to new hormone levels, but you could try some melatonin.

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:point_up_2: ā€¦what he said

Even though youā€™re only taking a small little pill, itā€™s very powerful stuff. My joints hurt too when my E2 gets too low. My E2 was 15 on one particular blood test and my knees, shoulder, and back were always hurting. I lightened up the AI dose and it went away.

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I think e2 should be higher.