Low SHBG and sexual issues

[electrify]

Recently my SHBG has been low around 16-17. Mentally I feel alright with my T around 700 and E2 sensitivr at 40 ish but im wondering could this SHBG be a culprt in poor sensitivity?

I used to have my SHBG around 28.

I suspect that because I am having too much carbs/sugar since I recovered (lmao I know....) it tanked. Basically once I felt good I sort of went back to my previous lifestyle LOL. Aka not exercising as much and not caring as much about diet...

And I think it is biting me now. Its hard to get it up, I have low libido,and terrible sensitivity.

[Joe Sixpack]

What do you mean by " im wondering could this SHBG be a culprt in poor sensitivity?" 

I think you are right that your poor diet contributed to lowering your SHBG.  The consensus I have heard seems to be that low SHBG points to metabolic dysfunction which could lead to diabetes.

[electrify]

What do you mean by " im wondering could this SHBG be a culprt in poor sensitivity?" 

I think you are right that your poor diet contributed to lowering your SHBG.  The consensus I have heard seems to be that low SHBG points to metabolic dysfunction which could lead to diabetes.

I mean if people with low SHBG issues here have had problems with orgasm/sensitivity as a result of it. And if it can be fixed by raising SHBG, which presumably for me would require changing my lifestyle back to what it was when my SHBG was in the mid-high 20s.

[Cataceous]

Dropping SHBG from 28 nmol/L to 17 doesn't affect calculated free T as much as I thought it would. Free T goes from 17 ng/dL up to 21. One possible implication is that this level of SHBG is still borderline, and not severely low. It would be interesting to know the change in free estradiol. Free estradiol is generally assumed to be the culprit when low SHBG is associated with problems. Unfortunately the doctors commenting here have not gone into detail about their results in treating these "challenging" cases.

[Joe Sixpack]

What do you mean by " im wondering could this SHBG be a culprt in poor sensitivity?" 

I think you are right that your poor diet contributed to lowering your SHBG.  The consensus I have heard seems to be that low SHBG points to metabolic dysfunction which could lead to diabetes.

I mean if people with low SHBG issues here have had problems with orgasm/sensitivity as a result of it. And if it can be fixed by raising SHBG, which presumably for me would require changing my lifestyle back to what it was when my SHBG was in the mid-high 20s.

I would guess that problems w/ orgasms and sensitivity would be more related to low T than low SHBG.  Perhaps those things that contribute to low SHBG also contribute to low T.

[HRT Guru]

To add...the mention of Free Estrogen is spot on, and is what you need to be concerned about. My SHBG is 12 and my Sensitive LC/MS/MS at last test had me in the single digits but my free Estradiol even at trough was in the mid range.
You need to basically abandon the sensitive test and use "Estradiol, Free" as your go to test but that can have an affordability problem for many guys.
Succintly stated: low SHBG = high Free T, in turn = high Free E. You'll have to abandon this thought of E2 @ 21-30 as some kind of sweet spot. IN fact Dr Crisler is on video stating his low SHBG guys can tolerate almost no Estrogen.

I do still have (some) erection issues of quality and maintaining but orgasms are better and so is sensitivity. Both are elevated E symptoms.

[hello73]

Isn't higher E2 better for erection/libido?

[Cataceous]

Isn't higher E2 better for erection/libido?

Let's just say that too high or too low can be bad for erections/libido. The complication is that there's a lot of variation in the ideal range among individuals, based on SHBG and probably many other factors.

[ADHDandOCD]

Isn't higher E2 better for erection/libido?

Let's just say that too high or too low can be bad for erections/libido. The complication is that there's a lot of variation in the ideal range among individuals, based on SHBG and probably many other factors.

Could this be one some people experience sexual dysfunction on TRT since it would raise E2 as well (in theory?)

[Cataceous]

Isn't higher E2 better for erection/libido?

Let's just say that too high or too low can be bad for erections/libido. The complication is that there's a lot of variation in the ideal range among individuals, based on SHBG and probably many other factors.

Could this be one some people experience sexual dysfunction on TRT since it would raise E2 as well (in theory?)

I don't know about the underlying theory, but there are certainly many guys saying they need an AI with their TRT in order to function well.

[James]

Dropping SHBG from 28 nmol/L to 17 doesn't affect calculated free T as much as I thought it would. Free T goes from 17 ng/dL up to 21. One possible implication is that this level of SHBG is still borderline, and not severely low. It would be interesting to know the change in free estradiol. Free estradiol is generally assumed to be the culprit when low SHBG is associated with problems. Unfortunately the doctors commenting here have not gone into detail about their results in treating these "challenging" cases.

The margin of error for the algorithmic predictions are massive as SHBG approaches out of range low values.  I made a detailed post about this.   By calculation, you'll still have normal range FT with even zero (0.01) nmol/L SHBG.  This is incorrect, and we have a real world no-SHBG male in the literature to prove it.

[electrify]

Dropping SHBG from 28 nmol/L to 17 doesn't affect calculated free T as much as I thought it would. Free T goes from 17 ng/dL up to 21. One possible implication is that this level of SHBG is still borderline, and not severely low. It would be interesting to know the change in free estradiol. Free estradiol is generally assumed to be the culprit when low SHBG is associated with problems. Unfortunately the doctors commenting here have not gone into detail about their results in treating these "challenging" cases.

The margin of error for the algorithmic predictions are massive as SHBG approaches out of range low values.  I made a detailed post about this.   By calculation, you'll still have normal range FT with even zero (0.01) nmol/L SHBG.  This is incorrect, and we have a real world no-SHBG male in the literature to prove it.

(Quoting you bc I know you have done a lot of research on SHBG over the years but the following is for anybody)

In case my SHBG change is leading to the sexual issues via high free E2, I need to get my SHBG back up.

I know this is not a TRT induced SHBG decrease bc over the years I have had SHBG in the mid 20s even on TRT. So its likely due to something else.

I know James you say (in other posts—just from my memory over the years)  its not possible to increase SHBG with just lifestyle. But should it be possible for soemone like me who had previously normal SHBG to get back to that with lifestyle changes? Such as cutring out sugar again. I used to cut out sugar but this year was like whatever about it and have too much now.

I think my SHBG decrease is msot likely some lifestyle factor. Maybe I should also test A1C/insulin/glucose all fastint too? Havent done those in a long time but I have previous numbers.