Niles' PFS Log

[Niles]

I did have pain in urethra after or during pssd. I did have burning pain in pelvis right after quitting fin. And I did have kidney and possibly liver pain, maybe gallbladder IDK, recently. During fasting (detox), but also before that.

Thanks, I'm hoping it doesn't stick around. Glad to hear it resolved for you. Did it resolve on its own?

 

[Niles]

Probably from prostate issues, many reports on this before.

Thanks, I was thinking prostate. Drinking pure cranberry juice just in case. Anything you would recommend for this? I've also been doing pelvic floor exercises/stretches and sitz baths daily.

 

[MNK99]

PSSD pain and irregular urine flow kind of went away over time. Nofap helped that and sensitivity. Fitness and diet surely helped -- all things you're doing man.
Pelvic pain with PFS mostly went away. Some organ pain at times (liver, kidneys, etc) I remember these kind of things with PSSD. That was likely alcohol too. I'm sure it will improve though.
As my digestion improves, the pain is less.

 

[TubZy]

Thanks, I was thinking prostate. Drinking pure cranberry juice just in case. Anything you would recommend for this? I've also been doing pelvic floor exercises/stretches and sitz baths daily.

Yeah, those will help, but my guess is your body is still adjusting since you just got off cycle, hormones influence the size of the prostate and function so if you didn't have this problem prior to your cycle it should resolve as your body is recovering from the R andro cycle.

 

[Niles]

Blood test results from 2/15/18, 12:30 PM:

Zinc, Plasma or Serum: 88 ug/dL (56 - 134 ug/dL)
Copper, Serum: 91 ug/dL (72 - 166 ug/dL)
Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy: 60.2 ng/mL (30.0 - 100.0 ng/mL)
Prolactin: 7.3 ng/mL (4.0 - 15.2 ng/mL)
Progesterone: 0.3 ng/mL (0.0 - 0.5 ng/mL)
Cortisol: 16.8 ug/dL (AM 6.2 - 19.4, PM 2.3 - 11.9)
TSH: 1.480 uIU/mL (0.450 - 4.500 uIU/mL)
Urinalysis: 3+ Ketones (Negative)
T4, Free (Direct): 1.68 ng/dL (0.82 - 1.77 ng/dL)
T3, Free: 2.6 pg/mL (2.0 - 4.4 pg/mL)
Estradiol: 8.0 pg/mL (7.6 - 42.6 pg/mL)
Testosterone, Serum: 251 ng/dL (264 - 916 ng/dL) LOW
Testosterone, Free: 2.18 ng/dL (5.00 - 21.00 ng/dL) LOW
% Free Testosterone: 0.87% (1.50 - 4.20 %) LOW
GGT: 11 IU/L (0 - 65 IU/L)

CMP & CBC attached

Welp, testosterone has gone to shit.

 

[Niles]

After reviewing my daily food/supplements/symptoms log and doing a bit of experimenting over the past few days, I've found that my issue last week wasn't the andro - it was simply not consuming enough carbs and overexercising while on andro. I was essentially just eating fish, chicken, eggs, spinach, and kale, and not in very large portions, and after doing some more reading on andro cycles I realized I should probably up the carbs and total calories. Insufficient diet combined with a hectic day at work contributed to a bad stress response which I believe caused my crash.

Today I added plenty of rice to my diet and took 3 separate 100mg doses of epiandrosterone throughout the day, and I'm back on track. I'm going to keep this up along with the electrolyte protocol for at least another 2 weeks, because my body seems to respond very well to epiandrosterone when I have enough fuel. I'm going to keep it at 300mg/day for this week, then taper off to 200mg/day next week before I start PCT.

Today's levels are pretty good:

Anxiety: 5
Depression: 5
Energy: 5
Brain fog: 6
ED: 4
Libido: 2
Strength: 4
Muscle Wastage: 4
Sleep: 4
Digestion: 3
Genital shrinkage: 6
Testicular atrophy: 6

Kidney pain is gone, urethra pain is gone, spider veins are less prominent, and everything is warm and healthy looking down there both when flaccid and erect. Also keeping up with the pelvic floor stretches and sitz baths, because I feel this really helps boost circulation. I'm clearly still getting used to the ups and downs of this journey, but today was a good day

 

[MNK99]

NIce save @Niles. I'm happy that your cycle (results) seem to be salvaged. I may feel bad in some ways (agitated, angry) without carbs but I feel better in some other ways.

Maybe the lack of carbs really can make or break results with healing from pfs. Hmm. I know that Gb mentioned of the electrolyte protocol -that carbs and spinach and protein are needed (among other things). Not a low carb/keto diet. I'll monitor the situation later like you did. Good thing you realized this pretty quickly.

Keep trending upwards until you're better than ever!
And keep the carbs in mind like on Hair Testing and Electrolyes (Post #9).

 

[Niles]

Holy shit, testosterone results are in and they're terrible:

Testosterone, Serum: 251 ng/dL (264 - 916 ng/dL)
Testosterone, Free: 2.18 ng/dL (5.00 - 21.00 ng/dL)
% Free Testosterone: 0.87% (1.50 - 4.20 %)

Any advice?

[EDIT]:

For reference, here are my testosterone levels from September, 6mo after stopping fin, 3mo before big crash:

Testosterone, Serum: 483 ng/dL (264 - 916 ng/dL)
Testosterone, Free: 12.80ng/dL (5.00 - 21.00 ng/dL)
% Free Testosterone: 2.65% (1.50 - 4.20%)

 

[stupidfreak]

Holy shit, testosterone results are in and they're terrible:

Testosterone, Serum: 251 ng/dL (264 - 916 ng/dL)
Testosterone, Free: 2.18 ng/dL (5.00 - 21.00 ng/dL)
% Free Testosterone: 0.87% (1.50 - 4.20 %)

Any advice?

[EDIT]:

For reference, here are my testosterone levels from September, 6mo after stopping fin, 3mo before big crash:

Testosterone, Serum: 483 ng/dL (264 - 916 ng/dL)
Testosterone, Free: 12.80ng/dL (5.00 - 21.00 ng/dL)
% Free Testosterone: 2.65% (1.50 - 4.20%)

Try trt,obv

 

[Niles]

@stupidfreak lol

 

[TubZy]

Holy shit, testosterone results are in and they're terrible:

Testosterone, Serum: 251 ng/dL (264 - 916 ng/dL)
Testosterone, Free: 2.18 ng/dL (5.00 - 21.00 ng/dL)
% Free Testosterone: 0.87% (1.50 - 4.20 %)

Any advice?

[EDIT]:

For reference, here are my testosterone levels from September, 6mo after stopping fin, 3mo before big crash:

Testosterone, Serum: 483 ng/dL (264 - 916 ng/dL)
Testosterone, Free: 12.80ng/dL (5.00 - 21.00 ng/dL)
% Free Testosterone: 2.65% (1.50 - 4.20%)

Well there is your prostate issues right there lol. It should start to bounce back up since you are off cycle now and you were also eating at a deficit and over training. Those would all contribute to low T.

Just start eating well and make sure you get enough carbs in. You can add in HCL/enzymes or aminos as well to speed it up. Try not to overtrain either since your T is already low and you will induce a catabolic state much easier since cortisol will rise easily.

If you don't feel better in a week or two, it may be worth to jump on herb cycling for a bit, but I think you should recover fine pretty quick with the right diet and electrolyte protocol as well.

Your results are good though, it demonstrates that R andro can have a negative effect with someone that already has a compromised HPTA, so thanks for posting your bloods. When I did my R andro cycle, my total T dropped a bit as well, but I had high T to begin with around 800 or so, it wasn't as drastic for me.

Don't do TRT LOL you will just set yourself back even more

Also, if you would be willing to do zinc finger or the electrolyte protocol and maybe take bloods in about a month or so, I think your case would be perfect to see if it works well on that end. Just no hormones for now on until your restore your HPTA.

 

[bruschi11]

Love it that you’re back on track man. I’m the opposite of you right now- ever since my little injury been on a carb binge. And not the good ones- pizza two days in a row now haha.

As tubzy mentioned, I’d love to see you follow us on the zf/electrolytes path. You’re a smart dude I figure you’ll be able to figure something out with it. Get hair test though if you haven’t, it will help you understand your situation so much better.

Playing with hormones, tricking the body will only get you so far. It can help a lot and totally helped me (ru/prog), but man I think if you have the dedication like you seem to have (that very few do), getting balanced is the only way you’lll be truly happy and healed at the end of the day.

Reading your stuff reminds me of reading some of the propeciahelp recovery stories that got me going when I was down in the dumps. You’ll be one yourself one day- just keep on going man!

 

[Niles]

@bruschi11 Thanks for the words of encouragement man, they mean a lot. My biggest mistake since starting to fight this thing was a lack of patience. As much as I kept telling myself I was in it for the long haul, there was still a part of me hoping for a silver bullet. Now, after hours of research and some difficult mini-crashes, I know that the holistic route is absolutely the way to go. Every legit recovery story I've seen from a true PFSer has been about diet, exercise, and balance. So here's my path forward:

HIIT 1x/wk
Slow/heavy compound lifts 1x/wk
Light jogging daily
Coffee enemas daily (at first)
Liver cleanse biweekly
Green Black Walnut/Wormood Complex
Probiotics
Electrolyte protocol with clean diet (plus cofactors once I get hair analysis back)

Also curbing pathogens is back on top of my list of priorities - it's a big piece of the puzzle. I've been reading over a lot of different success stories, and nearly every one of them does this either deliberately, or secondarily through fasting/raw food diet. Some people are still unconvinced about the pathogen angle, but once you see it you can't unsee it lol. And it makes total sense that our microbiome should be thrown into total disarray after the major hormonal cascade caused by fin. I totally believe that @bruschi11 incredible progress in such a short time is due curbing pathogens while balancing. I'm gonna stick to this approach for the next 3 months, no messing about with hormones, and hopefully get to a more stable baseline before reevaluating. If I get impatient and wanna hop on a hormonal protocol, please call me out lol.

 

[Niles]

@TubZy You're absolutely right. I definitely jumped into prohormones too quickly out of impatience, and I really should have gotten my bloods done first. Next 3mo will be all natural and consistent, no exceptions.

 

[mattyb]

You're essentially hypochloremic. Anything below 100 mmol/L I would consider too low. The electrolyte protocol with HCl and protein will do you well.

If you are exercising intensely and sweating a lot, you'll need to add NaCl and B-vitamins to the electrolyte combo.

 

[bruschi11]

@bruschi11 If I get impatient and wanna hop on a hormonal protocol, please call me out lol.

Will do man. You gotta do the same for me too haha I really wanted to try RU/Prog this coming month but realize there is too much potential with ZF, electrolytes and I want to get "balanced" fully long term.

Looking at above:

- I'd actually throw some of the wormwood (since you have it) in the coffee enemas, thats what I do.

- Gbold mentioned that probiotic enemas are 99% more effective than oral probiotics. I do one or two weekly with 500billion IU (visbiome). You don't have to go to that extent. Expensive visbiome is but it lasts me awhile now only doing one weekly.

- Shatter Resistant - 250 Watt - R40 - PLT 250R40/10 I love these red infrared lights. I use a desk lamp (like this Crosby Schoolhouse Desk Lamp Black Lamp Only - Threshold) next to my bed on my nightstand. I use it basically as my source of light in my room for the most part and shine it towards my gut and genital regions when in bed by myself at night, morning, during enemas. Be careful!!! The bulb is extremely strong and i left probably two liftetime burns on my body. If you have the money, might be smart to get something to shield the bulb. I'm negligent there haha.

- Fasting one day a week on just bone broth, juice, both, or water. I change it up. Today actually just water, next day or 2 just broth. I needed to punish myself for that injury lol so I'm doing a 2 or 3 day fast currently. This isn't a necessity but each time I d a fast the next day I feel my cortisol get stronger. Fasting really gets easy, especially when only a day as time goes on.

- If your gym has a dry sauna or steam room- might want to get into going sometimes. Many pathogens die at high temps- hence Hyperthermia is used in Lyme over in Europe quite a bit these days. A lot of success stories there including a girl I talked to from my area. I just use the sauna instead for it.

-cold showers- ease in slowly it takes time. Then do 60 secs on, 60 secs hot 2 or 3 times. Thats all i do. Brush my teeth when its cold to be doing something.

- Lastly, betaine HCL and aminos seem to be the driving force behind electrolyte protocol for me. When this is going well for me, I can literally feel my body's ability to kill and remove pathogens, waste product etc improve by literally 500-1000%.

GBOLD is right. Getting in balance allows the system to clean and heal itself far far more efficiently. I needed a RIFE machine when I was really really bad, but doubt that is the case for the majority of guys with PFS. But doing a majority of the above while also maybe considering some transfer factor classic and cat's claw should be amazing for you.

And it totally makes sense you have pathogen related issues. You live in NJ lol legit the Lyme capital of the world these days. 2 of my good college buddies down there had it. CDNUTS had it (Jersey guy). Not saying you have Lyme, but I believe here in the northeastern USA, there are so many people close together and disease just flies around like its nothing. We live in a damn unhealthy area of the world, but if you live right, you can get healthy just like that. Heck, you'll probably be healthier than me within a month as icing testicles is basically the extent of my workouts.

@Rid said it. We all likely have issues beyond PFS to get messed up to the extent that we have by that drug. Lets be real. When we beat PFS our lives, health will be so much better at the end of the day. Also regarding Rid, maybe try some beet juice with the betaine/aminos protocol.

 

[joekool]

I feel like I pushed Randro... I feel sh1tty that you didn’t benefit

 

[Niles]

I feel like I pushed Randro... I feel sh1tty that you didn’t benefit

No worries, I did the research and knew about possible suppression, so it was totally my fault for not having gotten blood results first. And I wouldn't say I didn't benefit - I felt amazing at first with DHT in my system, but my crashed T levels just weren't ready.

 

[Niles]

@bruschi11
Wow, thanks dude! This is all great info. Already feeling better on the natural path, and I have no doubt my T levels are already recovering. Way more energy today than past couple of days.

 

[Niles]

New development:

I've been avoiding mirrors for the most part this past month since I'd had a lot of collagen/fat loss, but when shaving today I noticed that my nasolabial folds, crows feet, and wrinkles under my eyes have improved significantly! I even checked every mirror in the house to make sure it wasn't just generous lighting. Plus, a good "hang" day today, which I haven't gotten without prohormones since my crash. What I've been on consistently over the past 2 weeks (w/ some andro cycle overlap):

360mg KCl/day
200mg MgCl/day
1 serving of NOW Sports EAA/day
250mg cysteine/day
250mg histadine/day
1300mg HCl w/ every protein meal
2 Biozyme tablets w/ every meal
1 probiotic capsule with every meal
15mg zinc EOD
1mg copper EOD
2mg manganese EOD
2mg boron EOD
100mcg selenium EOD
100mg resveratrol

Food mainly LOTS of steamed veg, chicken, fish, eggs, smoothies (whey, kale, beet, spinach), and a bit of rice.

Lower GI tract is still irregular, but either my protein digestion is getting better or I'm seeing benefits from the aminos. Either way, there's definitely something here. Could also be some snapback action happening from the andro cycle.

Can't wait until my hair analysis gets back so I can further optimize this balance!