TalkingAnt summary/log

Post any data on Treatments and experimentation.
Thomas
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Re: TalkingAntColony summary/log

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TalkingAnt wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 1:06 pm Speculation
So, could my improvements have been solely due to elevating hormones, and it was a coincidence that my improvements happened as I made lifestyle changes? Yes.
Is it possible the elevated hormones caused no permanent changes, and lifestyle changes caused my improvements? Yes.
Is is possible both of them contributed to my improvements? Yes, and this is what I believe is most likely.
Did you do some blood test recently? If your hormones changed, this could give some hint on the answer... doesn't it?
Escitalopram, 10mg/day, Jan-May 2019. Fluoxetine, May-Sept 2019. Mirtazapine 7,5mg/day, November 2019-January 2020. Escitalopram, 5mg/day, Feb-May 2020.
Symptoms: sexual & emotional numbness
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TalkingAnt
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Re: TalkingAnt summary/log

Unread post by TalkingAnt »

I may get another hormone panel as a check up at some point, but for now I do not feel it is medically necessary especially during COVID. BTW I was not referring to you regarding the denial comment, but another user whose comment was removed.
Cured | PSSD 2012-2020 | Log thread
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succubus76
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Re: TalkingAnt summary/log

Unread post by succubus76 »

My experience has been similar whit TRT, overall heightened libido over my baseline. Desire is just soooo much up there, It is even sometimes to much. And I also got nipple sensitivity, but when away on its own by doing nothing special.
testosterone and estrogen so increases insulin sensitivity so it's all good. My glucose alway comes lower 120, doesn't matter how much sugar I eat. Wich isn't healthy of course
The downside is a huge increase in appetite, I don't like the appetite boost but it works like a champ in that regard. eating less should be ideal because the cells have to burden less celular stress Wich should traduce in longevity and neuroprotection.
I also got sleep apnea a couple of times, but only when I eat fat before sleep, i wake up gasping for air because gastritis. So just I just dinner lightly and went away. So that's a tip
I will add hcg later on and report how it went.
Hope you trial the hormones again talkiiiiingAaaaaaaaant :D :D :D
Breathdeep
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Re: TalkingAnt summary/log

Unread post by Breathdeep »

naiverat wrote: Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:04 pm Awesome, Ant. Glad you’re doing so well now. 10 years is a hell of a battle.

“It is strange that for the first few weeks after the PCT, my improvements were lost, only to gradually return in the following months as I implemented lifestyle changes.”

I assume this post is comprehensive, so you didn’t take any SERMs for your PCT — just HCG. After steroid hormone cycles, it typically takes the body a while to start producing normal levels of androgens again, even if you do PCT properly. From what I’ve read, leydig cells become desensitized both from extremely high levels of LH (as when people blast HCG) and when people are in extremely low-LH states (as when on “cycle”). Even though you took only 100mg a week, the HPTA shutdown is the same regardless. It’s possible your body just took a few months to return to normalcy with respect to androgen production.

You seem to read a lot, and I’m sure you know some (or al) of this, but I thought I’d throw it out there for other readers of this post.

I don’t want to dismiss the benefit of diet and lifestyle changes. They are the pillars of your health, and without these in place, chances of recovery seem significantly less likely. It is evident from reading many recovery cases that the path to health is mostly commonly not strictly found with drugs; it is more often found with time, nutrition, exercise, and sleep. Sometimes drugs, supplements, and hormones appear to “nudge” the body in the correct direction, so to speak, but they don’t always do the heavy lifting as many assume.

I’ve had PSSD a long time - not as long as Ant - but still about half a decade, and if I had to distill my advice down to a few bullet points, it would be something like the following:

1) If you are in the early stages of PSSD (especially under a year), do not panic. **No matter how bad you feel, Do not take more drugs. Do not take any supplements.** I wish someone had given me this advice.

2) live an extremely healthy lifestyle. Sleep, exercise (if possible), and diet are huge. It’s easy to drink or drug yourself stupid when you’re anhedonic and impotent. You will only compound the situation.

3) Distract yourself as much as possible, with whatever you can find any enjoyment in. The anhedonia is brutal, and I still am not close to normal in this department. This is what drives people toward dangerous “quick cures” and or drug/substance abuse.

4) Get out of the past. Stop blaming yourself. Stop blaming the psychiatrist. It’s all water under the bridge. It fucking sucks, but you need to accept your current state and keep hope alive that you will get better in time. This is key for staying sane. Regret is insanely poisonous.

5) Be wary with drugs and supplements. Advice is thrown around here, on discord, and the Reddit sub regarding what to take / not take an an attempt to alleviate this condition. The fact of the matter is nearly every drug under the sun has been trialed at this point. There likely is no universal quick cure. Don’t fall victim to other people’s suggestions. Do your own research. It is quite unlikely a drug will cure you. If you aren’t careful, there’s a high chance of making yourself worse (especially in early stage PSSD). I would save the drug and supplement trials until you’re pretty deep into the condition, have not seen any improvements, and have optimized your lifestyle as much as possible.

Hopefully I didn’t hijack your thread. At some point, I think we should create a FAQ section and a general “guide” on how to approach this condition.
Hi, how much improvement have you seen over your five yrs of pssd and was it natural?
Sertraline 2018-2019
Fluoxetine November 2020
Symptoms low libido and ED
also muted emotions
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TalkingAnt
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Re: TalkingAnt summary/log

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Update:

I feel fully recovered. Libido, EQ, orgasms, emotions, and cognition are all good. I am not taking any medications and only supplement fish oil and sometimes Vitamin D.

But I have still been having issues with sleep. It’s better than it was during PSSD, but still lacking.

My sleep was poor before PSSD also, but since I’ve been recovered, I have been focusing on that.

I have found that I must maintain a strict diet and lifestyle in order to sleep well. I don't know if PSSD made my body more sensitive to dietary factors but that's a possibility.

I maintain a strict sleep schedule: 9:30pm-5:00am (7.5 hrs). I get sunlight in the morning and limit blue light at night. I avoid caffeine after 10am.

I eat mostly vegetables, high quality meats, nuts, berries, yogurt, cheese, and healthy oils. I eat two meals per day on a 16-8 time-restricted feeding schedule (10am-6pm). Macros are low carb (<60g/d), low sugar (<10g/d), no artificial sweeteners, high protein, high fiber, medium fat. I don’t know total calories but I eat until full and occasionally snack between meals. I have not gained or lost weight.

I use a meal service called Freshly to cut down on the amount of cooking. I often eat one of those plus a salad for dinner.

For breakfast I typically eat a quick one-pan egg scramble meal with fried veggies and meat, or a low-sugar yogurt parfait with nuts, berries and granola.

I tend to exercise in the morning before I start eating.

I limit alcohol to once per week, cannabis twice. I eat out once or twice per week but try not to venture too astray of my macros.

I have done some variation of this lifestyle for a few years, and it did seem to help my PSSD. But I am more disciplined now than ever.

I don't know exactly what parts of my lifestyle are beneficial or pointless. I suspect the majority of the benefits come from the composition of my diet being high in healthy veggies and protein and low in carbs and sugar, and the regular sleep schedule.

I feel better than I have in over 10 yrs and on the current trend I will be feeling in top shape within a few months.

I have still not figured out what exactly cured my PSSD. As stated in previous updates, I suspect it was multiple lifestyle factors as well as medications/supplements that each contributed a small part over 2018-2020.

While I was already partially cured, the final push to full recovery happened after I messed around with TRT and HCG (see previous posts for details). I completely screwed up the dosing/protocols and felt horrible while on them. HCG solo was not too bad, but when I switched to T my T ended being up way too high and I crashed my E via too much arimidex. It's possible this bad protocol actually was beneficial for PSSD (supraphysiological T and/or low E). Fortunately I fully recovered my natural T levels (~600 ng/dL). I suspect my current lifestyle is helping there as well.

In summary I am doing well and serve as an example that you can fully recover from PSSD. What cures you will be different from others. There doesn't seem to be a one-size-fits-all solution (especially between men and women), and it requires patience and careful experimentation. But there is hope.
Cured | PSSD 2012-2020 | Log thread
anicca
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Re: TalkingAnt summary/log

Unread post by anicca »

TalkingAnt wrote: Mon Mar 21, 2022 12:30 pm Update:

I feel fully recovered. Libido, EQ, orgasms, emotions, and cognition are all good. I am not taking any medications and only supplement fish oil and sometimes Vitamin D.

But I have still been having issues with sleep. It’s better than it was during PSSD, but still lacking.

My sleep was poor before PSSD also, but since I’ve been recovered, I have been focusing on that.

I have found that I must maintain a strict diet and lifestyle in order to sleep well. I don't know if PSSD made my body more sensitive to dietary factors but that's a possibility.

I maintain a strict sleep schedule: 9:30pm-5:00am (7.5 hrs). I get sunlight in the morning and limit blue light at night. I avoid caffeine after 10am.

I eat mostly vegetables, high quality meats, nuts, berries, yogurt, cheese, and healthy oils. I eat two meals per day on a 16-8 time-restricted feeding schedule (10am-6pm). Macros are low carb (<60g/d), low sugar (<10g/d), no artificial sweeteners, high protein, high fiber, medium fat. I don’t know total calories but I eat until full and occasionally snack between meals. I have not gained or lost weight.

I use a meal service called Freshly to cut down on the amount of cooking. I often eat one of those plus a salad for dinner.

For breakfast I typically eat a quick one-pan egg scramble meal with fried veggies and meat, or a low-sugar yogurt parfait with nuts, berries and granola.

I tend to exercise in the morning before I start eating.

I limit alcohol to once per week, cannabis twice. I eat out once or twice per week but try not to venture too astray of my macros.

I have done some variation of this lifestyle for a few years, and it did seem to help my PSSD. But I am more disciplined now than ever.

I don't know exactly what parts of my lifestyle are beneficial or pointless. I suspect the majority of the benefits come from the composition of my diet being high in healthy veggies and protein and low in carbs and sugar, and the regular sleep schedule.

I feel better than I have in over 10 yrs and on the current trend I will be feeling in top shape within a few months.

I have still not figured out what exactly cured my PSSD. As stated in previous updates, I suspect it was multiple lifestyle factors as well as medications/supplements that each contributed a small part over 2018-2020.

While I was already partially cured, the final push to full recovery happened after I messed around with TRT and HCG (see previous posts for details). I completely screwed up the dosing/protocols and felt horrible while on them. HCG solo was not too bad, but when I switched to T my T ended being up way too high and I crashed my E via too much arimidex. It's possible this bad protocol actually was beneficial for PSSD (supraphysiological T and/or low E). Fortunately I fully recovered my natural T levels (~600 ng/dL). I suspect my current lifestyle is helping there as well.

In summary I am doing well and serve as an example that you can fully recover from PSSD. What cures you will be different from others. There doesn't seem to be a one-size-fits-all solution (especially between men and women), and it requires patience and careful experimentation. But there is hope.
TalkingAnt - what were your hormone levels before HCG and TRT?

My hormone levels are similar to your T levels at 600 ng/dL last time I checked two months ago.

I've been recommended to take HCG and TRT but I think since my hormone levels are all normal (including prolactin, estrogen, FSH and FSH) it could do more harm than good.

I've stopped my SSRI since April by slowly tapering off - this would be the second time I'm coming off SSRIs. Since then my nocturnal erections have returned - however, I feel no libido. I also experience anxiety from OCD - but that is also, fortunately, improving day by day. My sleep quality is usually fine.

I was also able to recover my sexual function and libido after the first round of SSRIs - I am not sure if that is relevant.
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TalkingAnt
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Re: TalkingAnt summary/log

Unread post by TalkingAnt »

See 1st post for pre HRT hormones.

If you've recovered before and are currently on an uptrend, you should probably refrain from messing with hormones and spend the next few months working on a healthy lifestyle. See Andrew Huberman and Peter Attia podcasts for lifestyle tips similar to what I did. Also check out perfecthealthdiet.com which I really like. Anxiety and depression can also impact libido, so work on those areas as well, and never touch an SSRI again.

As an update on me, I am still doing well. Recently, I found that 2G inositol and 1G magnesium L-threonate just before bed improve my sleep significantly (got the idea from Huberman). Worth a shot if you are struggling with sleep quality despite good sleep hygiene.
Cured | PSSD 2012-2020 | Log thread
JP1985
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Re: TalkingAnt summary/log

Unread post by JP1985 »

Did you suffer with numbness and weak orgasms for years before they improved? And how would you describe the numbness? For me personally I have diminished genital sensation, hardly any feeling when touched when flaccid, hardly any when hard, then some feeling just before orgasm, then orgasm is below average, some days it’s better than others. Was yours something like this? And did you ever try Wellbutrin? Thinking whether to give it a go or not now I’ve had no improvement in years…
Last pill March 2019 - Citalopram for 7 years
Numbed penis and weak orgasm
Fatigue
Slightly blunted
Dizziness (this has improved a lot in the last 6 months)
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TalkingAnt
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Re: TalkingAnt summary/log

Unread post by TalkingAnt »

JP1985 wrote: Wed Oct 12, 2022 2:43 pm Did you suffer with numbness...
See 1st post for symptoms. It felt similar to how you described. No I did not try wellbutrin but I did benefit from rasagiline which boosts dopamine signalling.
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Tfam489
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Re: TalkingAnt summary/log

Unread post by Tfam489 »

Selegiline is similar to rasagiline?
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