Low Testosterone and high SHBG

[zwen]

Hi,

Just discovered this forum while looking for information about testosterone. I'm 28. I love lifting and living healthy (Eat healty, get 7-8hrs. sleep, drink rarely) However I've had (6-8yrs.) problems with depression, anxiety, mood swings, lack of energy, foggy brain, hard to consentrate, bad skin. Most of the time I feel like a robot-just do things but don't care. I read that low T can also cause these problems.

So finally I did T and SHBG test.
Results were:
Total T 14 nmol/l
SHBG 56,3 nmol/l

It's pretty bad, isn't it? Could my problems be caused by low T through all these years? Or maybe low T is a result of depression. Anyway, that sucks.

I have to wait till 25.01.16 to doctor appointment.
To be clear, I've never used AAS.

 

[Megatron28]

Can you also include reference ranges please? Did you check LH and FSH?

In ng/dl you are at 403. What time was your blood drawn at?

 

[zwen]

Referenge ragens given on the result sheet:
Test 8,4-28,7 nmol/l
SHBG 17,0-66,0 nmol/l
Blood was drawn in the morning at about 8 without eating 10hrs.

I know i'm in referenge range but these numbers are ridiculous. Test is low and SHBG is high which means free T is crap?

I' didnt check LH anf FSH. I've done a lot of research and found that these test are important for further investigation.
I did visit my familydoctor (direct transltion-- it's overall doctor in my country) and she sends me to andrology doctor(25.01.16)
She also wants me to do another blood test (which I do tomorrow), but when I demanded to check LH and FSH she said andrology doctor must check me first.

 

[Megatron28]

That is the next step. Follow up and check:

Total Testosterone
SHBG
Free Testosterone
Albumin
CBC
Meta-bolic Profile
Lipids
LH
FSH
Prolactin
Vitamin D
Estradiol

 

[zwen]

Thank you for the info.

 

[zwen]

Got the few results my "familydoctor" ordered.

Test was 11,65 nmol/l ref. 8,4-28,7 nmol/l
Estradiol 73pmol/l ref.<146 pmol/L
Prolactin 285,4mIU/L ref. 53-360 mIU/L

So another tests I need to do in private lab. Fortunately prices are reasonable.

Test is crap, E2 is okay and prolacin in high?

I read that high prolactin can be caused by hypothyroidism which in inheritable. My mom has hypothyroidism so I guess I need to check my TSH aswell.

 

[Megatron28]

You need to include reference ranges.

 

[zwen]

Edited previos post.

 

[Megatron28]

Everything is in the normal range. Test could be higher though given your age. Where are all the other lab results? And yes, checking TSH would be a good idea.

 

[zwen]

So I finally met doctor on monday.
To be clear I didn't do any analyzes before because I hoped that doctor will do them and I don't have to pay to do them in private lab.

But doctor said I'm fine and my results are in range and there is nothing to worry about. If I asked for more analyzes he responded that I dont need them because I'm fine.
It seems that doctors only help you when you're dying...

So today I did few analyzes myself.

Test 10,4nmol/l ref. 8,4-28,7
SHBG 59,2 nmol/l ref. 17,0-66,0
Prolactin 217mIU/l ref. 53-360
FSH 2,4 IU/l ref. 1,4-18,1
LH 2,23 IU/l ref. 1,5-9,3
TSH 2,25mU/L ref. 0,4-4,0

Can somebody tell something about FSH and LH?

 

[Graeme]

The SHBG will be driving your free testosterone down. You haven't posted Albumin, so the numbers generated by the Nebido calculator won't be completely accurate.

https://nebido.com/tools/index.php/en/default/index/free-calculator

24th November

Testosterone: 14 nmol/L / 404 ng/dL
SHBG: 56.3 nmol/L
Free Testosterone: 200 pmol/L / 5.76 ng/dL

27th January

Testosterone: 10.4 nmol/L / 300 ng/dL
SHBG: 59.2 nmol/L
Free Testosterone: 138 pmol/L / 3.99 ng/dL

My local lab has a range for 170 to 670 pmol/L for free testosterone, so the second draw would put you into the low range.

The Nebido site suggests treating symptomatic men with free testosterone below 270 pmol/L, or 8 ng/dL. However given it's run by Bayer, I suspect that the numbers are slightly massaged upwards to encourage people to try TRT.

The other thing to be aware of is that high SHBG can lead to gynecomastia. It alters the testosterone / estradiol balance so that the latter is dominant. I suspect that's what's happened in my case.

I'm going to leave treatment recommendations to your doctor, and let Megatron28 and Halfwit (if he frequents these parts) make suggestions.