Knowing your SHBG

[LowT Mike]

SHBG is a protein produced primarily in the liver, although the testes, uterus, brain, and placenta also synthesize it. It serves as a transport carrier, shuttling estrogen and testosterone to sex hormone receptors throughout your body. SHBG also safeguards these vital hormones from degrading too rapidly and prevents their clearance from the body.

It acts as the master regulator of your sex hormone levels, maintaining the balance between estrogen and testosterone critical to overall health in aging humans.

New evidence further indicates that the SHBG molecule itself plays another key role in the body: conveying essential signals to the heart, the brain, and adipose (fat) tissue that ensure their optimal function.There’s even a special SHBG receptor molecule on cell surfaces that functions much like the ubiquitous vitamin D receptor protein, helping cells communicate with one another.In other words, SHBG itself functions much like a hormone.

Knowing your SHBG levels, along with testosterone and estrogen, gives you and your doctor a more precise picture of your overall health—and enables you to take preventive measures against life-threatening conditions for which you may be at greater risk.

Do You Know Your Sex Hormone Status? – Life Extension

[HRTstudent]

I didn't read the article, but from your post it seems good in the sense that men need to come around on SHBG (kind of like we are with estradiol).

SHBG is not all bad. We need it! But like estradiol -- not too much, not too little .

[bass]

thanks for the post Mike. but what can one do when SHBG is below normal due to TRT? I stopped vitamin D because my SHBG barley exists!

[Keep_It_Moving]

SHBG is a protein produced primarily in the liver, although the testes, uterus, brain, and placenta also synthesize it. It serves as a transport carrier, shuttling estrogen and testosterone to sex hormone receptors throughout your body. SHBG also safeguards these vital hormones from degrading too rapidly and prevents their clearance from the body.

It acts as the master regulator of your sex hormone levels, maintaining the balance between estrogen and testosterone critical to overall health in aging humans.

New evidence further indicates that the SHBG molecule itself plays another key role in the body: conveying essential signals to the heart, the brain, and adipose (fat) tissue that ensure their optimal function.There’s even a special SHBG receptor molecule on cell surfaces that functions much like the ubiquitous vitamin D receptor protein, helping cells communicate with one another.In other words, SHBG itself functions much like a hormone.

Knowing your SHBG levels, along with testosterone and estrogen, gives you and your doctor a more precise picture of your overall health—and enables you to take preventive measures against life-threatening conditions for which you may be at greater risk.

Do You Know Your Sex Hormone Status? – Life Extension

Low T Mike-

Can you look at my numbers and tell me how I'm doing?

e2 =23 pg/mL range <39
Free T 291.5 pg/mL range 35.0-155.0
Total T 1364 ng/dL range 250-1100
SHBG 32 nmol/L range 10-50
FSH 14.1 mIU/mL range 1.6-8.0
LH 25.3 mIU/mL range 1.5-9.3

Taking: 60mg Raloxifene, and 1.75mg Letro for gyno reversal

[LowT Mike]

keep it moving...Got to be careful because I have a medical license commenting on labs. thats essentially diagnosing online which is a Medcial compliance no no. What I can do is give you ranges that I believe to be ideal for my men.

Total T 600-1300
Free T--I take you are using quest...with that 291.5 pg/ml ref range. optimal-200+
SHBG--20-30nmol--around 30nmols is ideal. When mens SHBG starts elevating with age it can bind hard to TT making less free T. Ive had many men that have a TT of 800 and a free T of 9. These guys are actually very andropausal after I calculated their SHBG to be around 70. Free testosteorne is the important number here. Many many doctors who only test for TT would miss this and say "Go home...your fine" Not good.

[LowT Mike]

Iphone actually has an app where you can reverse calculate your SHBG using Total T,Albumin,Free T. Its called BIOT. I swear there is an app for everything now days. LOL

[Keep_It_Moving]

keep it moving...Got to be careful because I have a medical license commenting on labs. thats essentially diagnosing online which is a Medcial compliance no no. What I can do is give you ranges that I believe to be ideal for my men.

Total T 600-1300
Free T--I take you are using quest...with that 291.5 pg/ml ref range. optimal-200+
SHBG--20-30nmol--around 30nmols is ideal. When mens SHBG starts elevating with age it can bind hard to TT making less free T. Ive had many men that have a TT of 800 and a free T of 9. These guys are actually very andropausal after I calculated their SHBG to be around 70. Free testosteorne is the important number here. Many many doctors who only test for TT would miss this and say "Go home...your fine" Not good.

Thanks for giving me this information! One last question.. I'm experiencing hair thinning/ shedding...
With regards to my labs, what would you suggest is going on? Could the letro be causing this or the elevated T levels? I'm normally around 600 when not taking anything.

Thank you!

[Keep_It_Moving]

Iphone actually has an app where you can reverse calculate your SHBG using Total T,Albumin,Free T. Its called BIOT. I swear there is an app for everything now days. LOL

Just got this app! Thanks!

[FRDave]

thanks for the post Mike. but what can one do when SHBG is below normal due to TRT? I stopped vitamin D because my SHBG barley exists!

X2 - I am sitting at 20, so I wouldn't say low but if 30 is ideal, how would one go about raising?

[rt12008]

Iphone actually has an app where you can reverse calculate your SHBG using Total T,Albumin,Free T. Its called BIOT. I swear there is an app for everything now days. LOL

I downloaded this app. It appears to calc free and bio available test using Albumin, shbg, and total t. Did I get the wrong one? This was the only one I could find. Now I am interested in my SHBG.

Thank you LowT Mike.

[MArz123]

Low T Mike-
So if you have relatively higher levels of free T would that suggest that's your SHBG levels have to be lower and/or within a normal range?

When started TrT my SHBG levels were measured , however the doctor has never requested them in my subsequent labs ....I assume because my Free T increased from 12 to 24 at my first 8 week lab follow up.

Should I ask for them to be included every time I get labs?

[powerlifterty16]

SHBG is a protein produced primarily in the liver, although the testes, uterus, brain, and placenta also synthesize it. It serves as a transport carrier, shuttling estrogen and testosterone to sex hormone receptors throughout your body. SHBG also safeguards these vital hormones from degrading too rapidly and prevents their clearance from the body.

It acts as the master regulator of your sex hormone levels, maintaining the balance between estrogen and testosterone critical to overall health in aging humans.

New evidence further indicates that the SHBG molecule itself plays another key role in the body: conveying essential signals to the heart, the brain, and adipose (fat) tissue that ensure their optimal function.There’s even a special SHBG receptor molecule on cell surfaces that functions much like the ubiquitous vitamin D receptor protein, helping cells communicate with one another.In other words, SHBG itself functions much like a hormone.

Knowing your SHBG levels, along with testosterone and estrogen, gives you and your doctor a more precise picture of your overall health—and enables you to take preventive measures against life-threatening conditions for which you may be at greater risk.

Do You Know Your Sex Hormone Status? – Life Extension

idk if ive ever had shbg looked at in 5 yrs of this lol.

[Keep_It_Moving]

bump for lowt mike

[Keep_It_Moving]

Low T Mike, where have you gone?

[powerlifterty16]

Low T Mike, where have you gone?

lol dude he has a life im sure.

[Lockout888]

Are SHBG levels pretty stable, or can they fluctuate as much as T and E2 depending on your dosages?

[LowT Mike]

less than 30 is good.

[jimmyinkedup]

Great post. TY Mike1

[LowT Mike]

SHBG levels are fairly stable. Great question.

They will generally go up as a man ages. The hallmark of aging men are guys with SHBG in the 60s or 70s. Thats why you cant just test for TT like most docs do. Many men get misdiagnosed this way. SHBG also generally higher in vegetarians due to lack of important essential amino acids. In our western medical world there is nothing you can do to lower SHBG freeing up FT, except to just add more T becoming a TRT patient. Generally SHBG will drop some with TRT. There are "non-medical" anabolics you can take to lower your SHBG. Winsterol for instance. This is exactlly the anabolic catalyst of this agent . Bottoms out SHBG so you have more free or bioavaliable T. I do not recommend using this androgen. My brining it up was only for giving an example of the SHBG mechinsim of action under discussion.

The iphone bioT app you have to reverse calculate since it is an app to calculate Free T. SO... Enter in your albumin, TT, then come up with any number for SHBG until your actual FT is calculated. That number you entered that correlated with your actual FT is your SHBG.

[LowT Mike]

Low T Mike-
So if you have relatively higher levels of free T would that suggest that's your SHBG levels have to be lower and/or within a normal range?

When started TrT my SHBG levels were measured , however the doctor has never requested them in my subsequent labs ....I assume because my Free T increased from 12 to 24 at my first 8 week lab follow up.

Should I ask for them to be included every time I get labs?

No you can calculate yourself. SHBG is primarily only important at the beginning of TRT to make sure nothing was overlooked. Read my TT ONLY pitfall that most docs do. Sounds like your doctor is actually educated on some of this. Stick with him. They are few and far between.

[LowT Mike]

Great chart that illustrates what makes up Total T in the male human body and relationship of SHBG on TT

SHBG is tightly bound to TT which is unbreakable (unless other androgens are used). This makes up majority "60%" of TT. So imagine if this goes up...It would have to steal from the pot primarily from what is free...Free testosterone .

Albumin bound is a loosely bound and at times can be broken and used for bioavailable T. 38% of TT

Free T is not bound or "Free" to circulate in the body. All the wonderful things we associate with testosterone is because of Free T. Unfortunately only makes up 1-2% of Total T. This is why its so important because we are predisposed already with so little Free T that SHBG must be kept in check.

If the majority "98%" of Total T is somewhat useless and bound then why do most medical professions not test for free T and only TT. Thats the million dollar question!
This small example "educates" the doctor not in the know of the importance of FT level over for TT.