SHBG is a wild card. It says nothing definitively about hormone status because it has so many factors influencing it's level. This is why TRT docs do not treat on the basis of an SHBG level and are loathe to offer drugs to control it. Sure, winstrol will hammer SHBG down to the 20's or less but the underlying problem remains. I've had SHBG at 83 and cortisol simultaneously at 595. So there is no negative correlation. The fact is that SHBG is a well overplayed serum test. The actual amount of T it can bind, even at 80 or 90 is not significant enough to blunt the overall androgenic or anabolic effect of endogenous T in the average male. This discussion with Bill Roberts discusses the science behind that assertion.
http://tnation.tnation.com/free_online_ ... 8&pageNo=1
SHBG has little to do with cortisol, although cortisol can act as an amplifier for various hormones because it provides the transport and connection facility to their respective sites of action. This is why dudes with low cortisol get little benefit from T therapy and have to boost their cortisol line with pregnenolone or Cortef.
Haidut is right here. Tissue levels are more important than serum markers for this discussion. Certain tissues are capable of holding onto more estrogen than others, the skin for example. However, that level will eventually influence a host of other factors which CAN be detected more easily in the blood like histamine and cortisol. The proof of Ray's tissue assertions lies in the aparent ability of topically applied supplements/drugs to produce more effective results. This is especially true for vitamins E and A, but on balance it would also apply to the commercial T preparation Andgrogel which has a pronounced positive DHT effect ultimately requiring less AI meds - though the lack of gentle titration often leads to sides which should not be blamed on the drug but it's ham fisted application by general physicians.
Cleverly, the oral oil based T capsule Restandol uses the lymphatic system to deliver the hormone and avoid the first pass of the liver - and it is not liver toxic. The lymphatic system is the same delivery vehicle for our topical Peat friendly supps. Few people know this, but Restandol can be applied topically also. A single capsule is listed as 40mg T. But the actual molecular weight is 25mg. At an absorption rate of 20%, that's 5mg from a single capsule - exactly the amount Ray recommends to top up T to youthful levels without compromising endogenous production. Haidut's suggestion of small, split doses of DHEA works because it is not upsetting the balance of hormones - it is subtly adjusting them by acting within feedback limits.
I have learned to ignore many serum markers - because they are not telling the real story. The blood is only a physical transport - we never hear about the half lives of drugs in tissues, because nobody really tests or knows that specific imformation despite it's importance.