Increasing SHBG or decreasing test

[notest]

Hi all,

My insurance company has two ways of determining whether or not they cover TRT. One is very low test and the other is low test, but high SHBG.

I recently had some bloodwork done which confirmed that my test is low and SHBG high. My test is slightly over the limit that would be sufficient by itself and SHBG is slightly lower than what is required for coverage at my current test levels. I will be retested in about a month and I'm wondering if there are any ways of making sure that these values change just slightly?

I know that test is supposed to be high in the morning which is when I'm having my blood taken, so if I went to the lab at 6am without having slept at all the night before, what kind of an impact would this have? Are there any ways of getting SHBG to increase? Could the doctors potentially see that I have cheated by e.g. looking at cortisol or something else that might increase after deliberate sleep deprivation?

I'm currently following the paleo diet, so I don't know if eating at McDonald's for a week would be enough by itself.

BTW, the reason for my low test seems to be a chronic liver disorder, so I can't take alcohol or any prohormones, so anything I do would need to be either dietary or something else that is "natural".

Thanks.

[flatscat]

Welcome,

What are the numbers that you do have, what are your stats and what lead you to look to trt?

Flats

[notest]

I'm 30 y.o. (31 in a few weeks). The reason why I started looking into my test levels is that I'm not interested in sex anymore and I seem to have trouble memorizing what I read. I also don't seem to progress at all in my gym training. I've been stuck at a 145 bench, 275 squat and 315 DL for almost a year and if I eat more I just gain fat. I know the problem is not my training, because I used to train in a similar fashion before my health problems started and I was getting steady gains. I also used to lift much more.

The labs for these hormones were:

Total testosterone 251 ng/dL
SHBG, 57 nmol/L

I'll have some much more comprehensive bloodwork done later this month.

My insurance only covers TRT if either

1. Total test < 200
2. Total test 200-500 and SHBG > 71

My current insurance plan is through my work and it covers TRT 100% if I meet either criteria. I can't switch insurance, because statistically I'm expected to undergo transplant surgery in about 10 years, so I'm practically uninsurable. I think this problem with hormones started when I was on a pretty high dose of prednisone for almost 2 years straight.

I can't afford going through a clinic, because my wife is currently unemployed and due to my other health issues, doing TRT definitely needs to be coordinated through the different specialists currently following my health.

[flatscat]

Wow, that is a bad deal my brother. First, sure looks like you could benefit from trt (as you have decided). Second, more detailed blodd work should let you know if you are primary or secondary (which is important for you to know). I have never heard of an insurance co using high shbg for a determining factor for hrt. That is a new one for me.

Will you get the extensive b/w done for your insurance?

Yes to your question, lack of sleep negatively effects t levels, as does improper diet, alcohol intake, lack of major muscle strength training, high BF%, and yes, shbg (free test levels) and time of day of b/w.

[notest]

Insurance will pay for the extensive BW, so no problems there.

[zaggahamma]

wow agree with flats...

like flats said...i never seen an insurance co not only factor in shbg but also require their own variable of a number...

SO THEYRE NOT ONLY SAYING YOU HAVE TO BE OUT OF RANGE BUT AN X AMOUNT BELOW....WTF?????? HOW CAN THIS POLICY EVEN BE LEGAL? THESE PPL SHOULD BE DRAWN AND QUARTERED....UNBELIEVABLE!

[The Toad]

That seems like very tough criteria to me, below 200. Then they don't take into account other factors such as quality of life, other symptoms, etc. is BS

[Rider]

run a marathon! (ok some miles) and then go and have bloodwork, test will be ****ed up!