Re: Suggestions for raising freeT without raising total T?(Brad)

[Guest guest]

Hi Brad,

You mentioned something that struck a chord with me. you mentioned

Albumin which in my blood tests is moderately higher than the

normal, mine is 5.6 vs 3.5-4.9 normal. Seems to me that its

possible, albumin could be responsible for my low free T/normal

total T. SHBG is in the mid low range and remains about the same

even after getting the estridiol down. LH is on the low normal side

which would suggest I have the capability to produce testosterone

naturally without TRT. Any input on this?

Thx, chris

> > Hi guys,

> >

> > In a nut shell, I'm 41 yo and have pretty normal Total T closer

to

> > the high end of normal but my free T is way low by comparisson

and

> > is on the low end of normal. My estridiol was high but now I'm

on

> > Arimidex and have that under control. After getting the

Estridiol

> > under control, I started getting nocturnals, not good ones but

I've

> > been getting them regularly whereas I didn't have a nocturnal

for at

> > least 10-15 years before that.

> >

> > When I started taking Arimidex, I thought free T would go up

because

> > it wouldn't be binding to the estridiol. But surprisingly, it

> > hasn't.

>

> It isn't that surprising. You're confused. Estradiol doesn't

bind to

> t in the first place. T is either free (unbound), bound with high

> affinity to SHBG, or weakly bound to some other carrier protein

like

> albumin (weakly bound). The weakly bound fraction is generally

> thought to be bioavailable while the SHBG portion is thought not

to be

> bioavailable. The free portion and the weakly bound portion

together

> are referred to as " free and weakly bound testosterone " , or

> " bioavailable testosterone " , or " non-shbg bound testosterone " .

>

> Lowering estradiol would help lower SHBG a bit but there are many

> other factors controlling this level. I suspect what you are

thinking

> about is estradiol competing with testosterone for binding at the

> receptors of target tissues. Lowering estradiol would help with

that

> but it wouldn't affect the free t levels on your blood work.

>

> > I know I'm going in the right direction by the improvements

> > I'm seeing. One thing is still missing, actually two.... I don't

> > have the sensitivity and I don't have the drive but I'm getting

the

> > wood, sorta.

> >

>

> I have no idea if raising free t levels will achieve these goals

or not.

>

> > So, does anyone have any ideas on how to get the free T up

without

> > affecting the Total T too much?

> >

> > Thx

>

> I recall various herbal supplement products making this claim but

I am

> skeptical. I seem to recall claims that stinging nettles would

bind

> to SHBG and possibly increase free t. I don't know if it is true.

> You'll have to sort that out and decide for yourself.

>

> Brad

[Guest guest]

> Hi Brad,

>

> You mentioned something that struck a chord with me. you mentioned

> Albumin which in my blood tests is moderately higher than the

> normal, mine is 5.6 vs 3.5-4.9 normal. Seems to me that its

> possible, albumin could be responsible for my low free T/normal

> total T. SHBG is in the mid low range and remains about the same

> even after getting the estridiol down.

It is over-simplifying a bit but t is either free, shbg-bound, or

weakly-bound (albumin bound). So the portion that is not free is

either shbg-bound or albumin-bound. So, yes, the weakly

(albumin-bound) portion could possibly be high at the expense of the

free level. Since the weakly-bound fraction is believed to be

bioavailable, I wouldn't see that as a problem. You could order a

total t test, free-and-weakly bound test, and a free testosterone

level. High total, relatively high free-and-weakly bound, and

relatively low free t results would confirm this idea.

> LH is on the low normal side

> which would suggest I have the capability to produce testosterone

> naturally without TRT. Any input on this?

>

I don't know why you think that. Are you taking testosterone? Men

taking exogenous testosterone drive their LH down around the lower

limit of the reference range for LH. Sometimes close to zero. It

doesn't particularly mean anything. Why would your capacity to

produce testosterone naturally without TRT be different now than it

was when you were diagnosed? Perhaps you are suggesting that your

hypogonadism isn't primary and you could use hcg as a treatment.

Possible, but I don't think you could tell that with results obtained

while on TRT.

Brad

[Guest guest]

On Thu, 23 Sep 2004 22:38:22 -0000, you wrote:

>Hi Brad,

>

>You mentioned something that struck a chord with me. you mentioned

>Albumin which in my blood tests is moderately higher than the

>normal, mine is 5.6 vs 3.5-4.9 normal. Seems to me that its

>possible, albumin could be responsible for my low free T/normal

>total T. SHBG is in the mid low range and remains about the same

>even after getting the estridiol down. LH is on the low normal side

>which would suggest I have the capability to produce testosterone

>naturally without TRT. Any input on this?

and this may be why you feel no real ill effect from the low T. If it

is weekly bound to albumin it is really more available than tests

would indicate.

- - - -

Just another albino black sheep