[kurtosis]

Kurtosis, have you had any side effects from taking Huperzine A.  I have tried other nootropics like Vinpocetine and others, but only ever ate one pill out of the bottle because of side effects.

None. No noticeable side effects at all.

[kurtosis]

I bought Huperzine A about 8 hours ago and tried 100 mcg, which is approximately 2 pills from the bottle that I had bought.  Today is day 1 pois which is my worst stage.  I had O'd a couple of times yesterday unsuccessfully and POIS took its grip on me.  Huperzine A did nothing to combat my symptoms of POIS while in POIS.  I'm sure I would notice it out of POIS, but in POIS it didn't do anything.  I will probably continue taking it out while my worst symptoms subside.  Maybe it will help if I take it out of pois.

Don't think I said POIS enough :)

Dante, your theory sounds plausible, as I still am leaning towards the auto-immune "brain allergy" symptoms.
My next concoction for pois is to try flushing with niacin along with taking an antihistamine.

Hi GoingCrazy,
Huperzine just improves memory.That's why I'm taking a few different things.

Are you taking the b coenzymes?
Have you been taking ginkgo twice a day?
I'd also recommend some L-Taurine.

Perhaps if you do this for a few days without having an O then you might notice an improvement. I definitely have.

[kurtosis]

MSL

I shared it with my parents back then but they were largely skeptical and even to this day they think it is all in my head and accuse me of being a hypochondriac.

Omg, same exact thing happens to me and it's rediculous.  Just because something isn't posted in a medical paper doesn't mean it isn't real.  This is probably the thing that really ticks me off about POIS.  But thing is that if I didn't have POIS, I wouldn't believe it either.  It really takes having it to believe it.

This does not agree with Waldinger. Secondly, there was no control group in his work, he explicitly mentions this in his paper:


Put it this way, what would a skin-test show on a normal person with no POIS symptoms? It would not surprise me if they too had a reaction, afterall, semen is not meant to be injected directly into the bloodstream. Moreover, he concludes that it is a semen allergy because men to stopped before ejaculating did not experience the symptoms. For me personally, ejaculation coincides with orgasm. So why could it not in fact be the orgasm that is causing POIS and not the ejaculation?

This is also rediculous... you think a professional would have a control group in his study.  This was also discussed by us right as soon as Waldinger came out with his paper.  I also think that too and still believe that it is the orgasm that is causing the allergic reaction, not the semen, as there are too many things being released upon orgasm that can contribute to the POIS feeling, and just because 10 people with POIS react to sperm being put into their bloodstream doesn't mean that is is the sperm causing the feeling.

I scored the highest mark in A-level chemistry in the end, I was also given the sixth form prize for mathematics and performance in A-levels. I recently got a masters in physics and was awarded the departmental prize for performance in examinations. Now I have a fellowship to do a PhD in the US. As I gave up on a regular life and relationship, my mind is my most treasured asset. Recently a dangerous idea has began to grow in my mind, that these POIS symptoms might cause damage and that it is not 100% reversible after 7 days (again, symptoms peak in 2 days). I cannot seem to shake this idea and it is really troubling me, as I don't feel as sharp as I used to be...

That's great that you are making progress while having POIS.  It is very motivating to me as I am also at the most important part of my life which is college.  I think it's funny how I can tell that you are a highly driven person just from having avoided orgasms and only having NE's.  Many people are in that same boat.  I feel too much motivation while not having an orgasm, but it's driven me to a point where I am psychologically inclined to be the best that I can be, almost to a spiritual level, knowing that I am doing the "right" thing supposedly.  But sex should be a part of life and nothing to worry about.  POIS is what we really need to figure out, and once we do, we can all enjoy life to the fullest and have relationships whether currently we are in them or not.

I don't think that the skin test is the same thing as a bloodstream injection, from what I have seen the tool they use for the skin testing is very small and doesn't even break the skin (as far as actual treatment they do use subcutaneous injections that break the skin). I don't agree that most people w/o POIS symptoms would have a reaction to their own semen...plenty of women are the recipients of semen on their skin and a majority of them do not have any kind of reaction.

I do agree with you that the orgasm appears to be the main culprit...there are so many variables to contend with as far as orgasm is concerned that it's hard to tell what the culprit is...I'm leaning towards thinking it is a dopamine deficiency because many of the POIS symptoms mirror low dopamine.

I do think it is interesting that in Dr. Waldinger's studies the patients treated with semen desenstization injections showed 60-80% improvement...that has to mean that semen has some involvement...just my 2 cents

I've never developed a rash if I got semen on my skin either. That doesn't mean that there isn't an allergic component to this.
Thanks for the link about brain allergies. 

[martin88]

I found very interesting that something similar to POIS can be found in animals. (I'm not saying it's POIS):

All the males "Australian dibbler" are dying 2-3 weeks after mating.
I couldn't find exactly why. From several scientific articles, they say they're dying of stress, too much corticosteroids, immune suppression, negative nitrogen balance (has to do with proteins and anabolic/catabolic). If the nitrogen balance is corrected or when fed with marine derived nutrients the dibbler can survive the male die-off.
I think I have read (can't find it again) that the dibblers who can't find a partner are also dying, but it's mentionned they have spermatorrhea (sperm loss in urine).

Here's a non-exhaustive list of links about this subject:
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3450597?uid=3739464&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=3737720&uid=4&sid=56071540943

books.google.ca/books?id=NSydTn-XELwC&pg=PA228&lpg=PA228&dq=negative+nitrogen+balance+experienced+during+the+mating&source=bl&ots=
TUVWMCBYwW&sig=rMyyvHpTFGp4EdtBR1h1BPBYvwM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uBmUT_SIDIbz6QHP8NiCBA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=
negative%20nitrogen%20balance%20experienced%20during%20the%20mating&f=true


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antechinus

The male can spend up to 12 hours mating to ensure breeding success. To accomplish this the males strip their body of vital proteins and also suppress the immune system so as to free up additional metabolic energy. In this way an individual male trades away long-term survival in return for short-term breeding success, and following the breeding season there is a complete die-off of physiologically exhausted males.[1] Breeding is intensely competitive. Males produce large amounts of testosterone and mate-guarding occurs in the form of protracted copulation (up to twelve hours in some species).

[ophicus1213]

Has anyone ever taken high dose NIACINAMIDE?!  Not Niacin, and upwards of 500mg at a time.  I am not trying to promote products but I am urging all to consider niacinamide in mega doses. 

http://www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/2004/pdf/2004-v19n02-p104.pdf

I have always taken niacin with strong results as long as I was post flush, and still experienced extreme back tension and severe PE while using niacin to manage constant  POIS, but I recently switched to NIACINAMIDE about 2.5grams a day, and something very different is occurring!  I need to know whether anyone else has supplemented with it, in high doses, and experienced any benefits. 

The two forms have different mechanisms of action!
This may just be sub-clinical Pellagra!

[dante88]

I have taken Niacinimide for several months, I can't say I really noticed a difference. I took it with Catamine (L-tyrosine) to help my dopamine levels. Not sure what dosage it was as I don't have the bottle anymore, I want to say 200-500 mg...but again I'm not sure. The theory behind sounds plausible though.

[dante88]

I don't agree that most people w/o POIS symptoms would have a reaction to their own semen...plenty of women are the recipients of semen on their skin and a majority of them do not have any kind of reaction.

I do agree with you that the orgasm appears to be the main culprit...there are so many variables to contend with as far as orgasm is concerned that it's hard to tell what the culprit is...I'm leaning towards thinking it is a dopamine deficiency because many of the POIS symptoms mirror low dopamine.

Getting semen on your skin (I would say) is a lot different than getting injected or skin pricked with it.  I've had semen on my skin plenty of times ;) without a reaction.

We could have different "POIS's", but I don't believe it is low dopamine causing these symptoms (at least mine).  It's not like I can have a cup of coffee and my POIS will go away.

I currently lean towards brain allergy just from brain inflammation, and cause and affect reaction from orgasm.  The fact that niacin, vitamin C,anti-inflammatory herbs and foods, and antihistamines help also make me think of a "brain" allergy to orgasm.

I agree with your brain allergy hypothesis...this is kind of what I was saying about the allergic reaction interfering with hypothalamus/pituitary function.

[kurtosis]

Has anyone ever taken high dose NIACINAMIDE?!  Not Niacin, and upwards of 500mg at a time.  I am not trying to promote products but I am urging all to consider niacinamide in mega doses. 

http://www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/2004/pdf/2004-v19n02-p104.pdf

I have always taken niacin with strong results as long as I was post flush, and still experienced extreme back tension and severe PE while using niacin to manage constant  POIS, but I recently switched to NIACINAMIDE about 2.5grams a day, and something very different is occurring!  I need to know whether anyone else has supplemented with it, in high doses, and experienced any benefits. 

The two forms have different mechanisms of action!
This may just be sub-clinical Pellagra!

If that's what it is then it's more likely to be pellagra brought about by something using up the niacin supply as I don't think any of us have a diet that's conspicuously low in niacin :)
However, there is a link between hormones, niacin and mental health. Excessive conversion of testosterone to oestrogen in the male body will inhibit the conversion of tryptophan into niacin.
Tryptophan is an amino acid. It's in meat, eggs and my favourite algae spirulina.
This is the body's mechanism of regulating the amount of niacin it has. I've read some doctors hypothesising that this may be related to dementia in men. Too little oestrogen produces obsessive and autistic like behaviour in guys and too much produces physical changes, fatty deposits on the chest, weakness, brain fog, heart problems, fatigue etc.

Another problem is that if you have excess oestrogen and this is leading to cognitive and health issues, that will tend to create anxiety which increases cortisol levels. Cortisol is made from mostly the same chemicals as testosterone so you get a negative spiral where the body struggles to produce testosterone to restore balance. This hypothesis may explain why supplementation with zinc, magnesium and high dose b vitamins would improve things.

However, as Demografx found, nothing resolves a low testosterone (or oestrogen/test. dominance) problem like supplementing testosterone itself.

[B_Daniel]

Bad news: the last 2 days Ive seen a slight increase in pois. I wish I hadnt prematurely gotten everyone's hopes up. My relief the past few days was VERY real though (100% not placebo) so there's something very improtant to Kurtosis' findings. Hopefully i just need a few weeks on them to really see a stabilized benefit. Who knows. I'll keep ya'll posted

[GoingCrazy]

I bought Huperzine A about 8 hours ago and tried 100 mcg, which is approximately 2 pills from the bottle that I had bought.  Today is day 1 pois which is my worst stage.  I had O'd a couple of times yesterday unsuccessfully and POIS took its grip on me.  Huperzine A did nothing to combat my symptoms of POIS while in POIS.  I'm sure I would notice it out of POIS, but in POIS it didn't do anything.  I will probably continue taking it out while my worst symptoms subside.  Maybe it will help if I take it out of pois.

Don't think I said POIS enough :)

Dante, your theory sounds plausible, as I still am leaning towards the auto-immune "brain allergy" symptoms.
My next concoction for pois is to try flushing with niacin along with taking an antihistamine.

Hi GoingCrazy,
Huperzine just improves memory.That's why I'm taking a few different things.

Are you taking the b coenzymes?
Have you been taking ginkgo twice a day?
I'd also recommend some L-Taurine.

Perhaps if you do this for a few days without having an O then you might notice an improvement. I definitely have.

I am semi-ly taking vitamin b complex along with taking calcium magnesium, but only sometimes.  But so far on your list I believe I have only tried the huperzine A, to see if my POIS had anything to do with acetylcholine synthesis in my brain.  Sadly while in POIS in did not do much.  I agree that I should take it out of POIS to see of the affects, but I'll probably wait at least a month to see if you are still doing good.

No problem about the link

Bad news: the last 2 days Ive seen a slight increase in pois. I wish I hadnt prematurely gotten everyone's hopes up. My relief the past few days was VERY real though (100% not placebo) so there's something very improtant to Kurtosis' findings. Hopefully i just need a few weeks on them to really see a stabilized benefit. Who knows. I'll keep ya'll posted

It's ok.  Getting hopes up is better than no hope.

I'm thinking something in his concoction is stopping a reaction from occuring, possible allergic reaction.  I'm too lazy right now to find out which one.

----------------------

My brain isn't really fully functional right now as I had an accidental O around 5 am this morning, it has been 17 hours and I am almost out of it.  As soon as I O'd I popped a ceritizine (i think thats what its called) antihistamine... I literally ran downstairs and popped it to help with the symptoms.  It did help a little bit but I believe the affects are wearing off right now and I can feel my brain all swelled up.  I usually take the antihistamine before the O, but this time it was on accident and I was very disappointed that it happened.

But besides that, has anyone tried injecting themselves with oxytocin (and/or vasopressin, nitric oxide, prolactin) for an allergy test?  I can't get to my memory right now.  Besides assuming semen as the allergy, we really need to get a list of everything released upon orgasm in the brain that may be causing this and then go from there.

[kurtosis]

I bought Huperzine A about 8 hours ago and tried 100 mcg, which is approximately 2 pills from the bottle that I had bought.  Today is day 1 pois which is my worst stage.  I had O'd a couple of times yesterday unsuccessfully and POIS took its grip on me.  Huperzine A did nothing to combat my symptoms of POIS while in POIS.  I'm sure I would notice it out of POIS, but in POIS it didn't do anything.  I will probably continue taking it out while my worst symptoms subside.  Maybe it will help if I take it out of pois.

Don't think I said POIS enough :)

Dante, your theory sounds plausible, as I still am leaning towards the auto-immune "brain allergy" symptoms.
My next concoction for pois is to try flushing with niacin along with taking an antihistamine.

Hi GoingCrazy,
Huperzine just improves memory.That's why I'm taking a few different things.

Are you taking the b coenzymes?
Have you been taking ginkgo twice a day?
I'd also recommend some L-Taurine.

Perhaps if you do this for a few days without having an O then you might notice an improvement. I definitely have.

I am semi-ly taking vitamin b complex along with taking calcium magnesium, but only sometimes.  But so far on your list I believe I have only tried the huperzine A, to see if my POIS had anything to do with acetylcholine synthesis in my brain.  Sadly while in POIS in did not do much.  I agree that I should take it out of POIS to see of the affects, but I'll probably wait at least a month to see if you are still doing good.

No problem about the link

Bad news: the last 2 days Ive seen a slight increase in pois. I wish I hadnt prematurely gotten everyone's hopes up. My relief the past few days was VERY real though (100% not placebo) so there's something very improtant to Kurtosis' findings. Hopefully i just need a few weeks on them to really see a stabilized benefit. Who knows. I'll keep ya'll posted

It's ok.  Getting hopes up is better than no hope.

I'm thinking something in his concoction is stopping a reaction from occuring, possible allergic reaction.  I'm too lazy right now to find out which one.

----------------------

My brain isn't really fully functional right now as I had an accidental O around 5 am this morning, it has been 17 hours and I am almost out of it.  As soon as I O'd I popped a ceritizine (i think thats what its called) antihistamine... I literally ran downstairs and popped it to help with the symptoms.  It did help a little bit but I believe the affects are wearing off right now and I can feel my brain all swelled up.  I usually take the antihistamine before the O, but this time it was on accident and I was very disappointed that it happened.

But besides that, has anyone tried injecting themselves with oxytocin (and/or vasopressin, nitric oxide, prolactin) for an allergy test?  I can't get to my memory right now.  Besides assuming semen as the allergy, we really need to get a list of everything released upon orgasm in the brain that may be causing this and then go from there.

Hi GC,
OK, I understand. Let me explain my motivation in the concoction I'm taking.

The b's, zinc and magnesium are about boosting testosterone levels, boosting my dopamine levels and making up for any deficiencies in b-vitamins that may be a result of hormone versus b-vit interactions, leaky gut or auto-immune illness. In conjunction with protein from the spirulina, niacin levels can be regulated and more testosterone can be produced. If the problem is sub-clinical pellagra brought about by testosterone / oestrogen imbalance then dairy protein may actually make it worse as there's oestrogen in cow's milk.

Ginkgo is about managing allergic and stress reactions in my brain (ginkgo extract has a number of beneficial compounds which have been shown in animal studies to do this) following an O, generally improving circulation and boosting neurogenesis in the hippocampus (where new memories are stored).

Both Krill oil and Ginkgo can reduce inflammation through COX-2 inhibition (although they work in different ways to achieve this).

However, if I had to pick an essential list of ingredients it would be in this order: b-coenzymes, zinc, ginkgo, fish-oil, magnesium, huperzine & if I was on a tight budget I'd take the first 3 with some extra taurine. 

The huperzine is only about boosting memory and it's synergistic vaso-dillatory effect with ginkgo. It's to help me recover from POIS memory "holes" but it's not what's reducing my POIS. I'm sure of that.
Of the ingredients, huperzine, similar to the piracetam I tried before it, will only benefit the brain once it's normalised and "out of POIS". It did improve my eyesight and I may have a mild acetylcholineserase problem. I'm still getting this tested. Otherwise it will do very very little for anybody with POIS without taking the other things.

The other thing I'm doing is actively trying to lower cortisol levels by not stressing about O's and going for long walks. Whenever I have an O, it's generally at night and I'm taking B+zinc+mag shortly after. About the only useful cortisol production is that associated with resistance training that also increases testosterone. If you think of our evolutionary origins, our endocrine systems didn't evolve in anticipation of us sitting in offices stressing and increasing our cortisol levels without running, fighting or hunting - activities which will also increase testosterone :) So much of the stress management problems males have may be the result of an asymmetry in cortisol and testosterone production combined with a lot of environmental exposure to oestrogen.

You could also have a high level of Test. but too high a level of Oestrogen meaning the ratio is wrong and you'd need to generate more T to compensate.

For example, have a look at what additive oestrogen does to rats
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6231048

"led to a significant reduction in the liver content of nicotinamide nucleotides and the urinary excretion of the end-product of NAD metabolism, N1-methyl nicotinamide. It is suggested that when the diet is only marginally adequate in tryptophan and niacin, inhibition of tryptophan metabolism by endogenous or administered oestrogens may be an additional factor in the development of pellagra."

Anyway, off to get my hormone levels checked. I know my testosterone levels have increased but I haven't had oestrogen levels checked.

[GDRTW]

Just a qiuckie here. I have tried over the years with different 'power' foods/drinks to alleviate symptoms. I am a teacher so working in a class of students with POIS can be hell to say the least.  To me Red Bull works the best. Not something you want to drink too much off (recommended limit is no more than 2 per day), but in times of urgent need I go for it. I put it down to the taurine. I have seen people mention Taurine supplements. Not a bad call.

[GoingCrazy]

Just a qiuckie here. I have tried over the years with different 'power' foods/drinks to alleviate symptoms. I am a teacher so working in a class of students with POIS can be hell to say the least.  To me Red Bull works the best. Not something you want to drink too much off (recommended limit is no more than 2 per day), but in times of urgent need I go for it. I put it down to the taurine. I have seen people mention Taurine supplements. Not a bad call.

Funny because I have been working for 8 straight days without a day off and the day I had POIS I actually drank around 6 red bulls.  It isn't the best for reducing symptoms , I believe, but it was the only thing I had at the moment.   I believe either the caffeine or something else in it constricts the blood vessels in the brain which makes it easier to cope with during POIS.  If you do this you really need to cut out the red bull around 5 or 6 o'clock because I learned the hard way by not falling asleep until around 3-4 a.m.

[badgerstripe]

I get a purple/red rash if i rub semen into my skin, its doesnt itch though.

All the recent posts are v interesting. I am still trying to get my recent expereiences with Niacin and Dr Goldmeier into a coherent form to post, not sure if its my busyness, tiredness or effects of POIS that have prevented me.

Its probably easiest to put my experience with Dr Goldmeier into bullet points:
* All blood tests (taken 1 day after an O were 'normal')
* Mindfulness practice has not had a great impact on POIS as far as i can see though i can see short term benefits on anxiety levels.
* It is apparently up to my G.P. to refer me to an allergist within the U.K's N.H.S.
* Before this can happen i need to try the strong antihistamine Dr G recommended. The letter prescribing this has taken many weeks to come through to my G.P., it is being chased up.
* I have another appointment with Dr G in September.
* I can still safely say that Zinc supplementation and the use of Niacin on an empty stomach, 20 mins to an hour before an O are having the greatest benefits for me. I started the Zinc many years ago after reading about orthomolecular treatment of histadelia, the more recent decision to use of Niacin also came from this literature. The strong recommendations and procedure for using Niacin came from members of this forum for which i will be forever grateful. I now have 2 or 3 'O's per week without strong POIS - this is nothing short of a miracle for me!

I have a feeling that having a diet rich in organic meat and veg and my complete avoidance of alcohol, drugs, nicotine, dairy and gluten have helped enormously in keeping my background level of health up. I tend to avoid sugar and caffeine as well and exercise moderately.

Good luck with this chaps. POIS has been such a challenge.

[badgerstripe]

Btw these were the tests done 1 day after an 'O', they were all NORMAL:

Thyroid, testosterone,prolactin, glucose, liver, kidney, blood screen ( anaemia etc), calcium.

Phosphates were low but subsequent testing showed them to be at a normal level, i am unsure how long after an 'O' this was, if i'd had my scientific head on i would have taken notice.. oh well..

[Hoping]

Hi guys, I have been suffering from the symptoms of POIS for my entire adult life (roughly 11 years).  Symptoms include brain fog, difficulty maintaining erections, depression, fatigue, anxiety, swelling of eyes, paleness, premature ejaculation, lack of motivation...the list goes on.

I seem to get POIS when I get aroused...the symptoms are significantly worse after ejaculation than before, but if I masturbate or have sex without ejaculation or orgasm I still have the symptoms to a lesser degree.

I have a few questions for you guys...I am going to see my allergist this upcoming Friday and I am supposed to provide a "specimen" sample of my semen for skin ***** testing. So here are my questions:

1). How long before the skin ***** testing should I wait to provide the sample? The doctor said the morning of the appointment is fine (appt is at 10:00 a.m.). I know that sperm dies rather quickly after leaving the male body...will this affect the results of the test if I wait several hours?

2). If I do have a reaction to my own semen, will I have to provide a sample every time before I am giving the hyposensitization therapy? Or will they freeze the specimen and use it until they run out?

3). It seems like talk about treatment with autlogous semen has died down recently, is it still a viable treatment procedure?

4). What is the Kurtosis protocol I keep hearing about? I can't find any exact listing of what it entails as far as vitamins and procedure.

5). Are there any new procedures that have had success?

I feel like the issue is definitely based in the hypothalamus/pituitary. My theory is that I become aroused and my pre-ejaculate flows through my seminal "plumbing" and interacts with T-lymphocytes in any small gaps in the plumbing. If I ejaculate the amount of fluid interacting with the lymphocytes is increased causing a more severe reaction. The T-lymphocytes reaction then triggers the release of histamine. The histamine causes cortisol to be released to suppress it. A prolonged allergic reaction will create a prolonged cortisol release, interfering with hormones and the pituitary. Also, elevated levels of histamine will interact with the hypothalamus in a negative way, causing neurotransmitters and their release to become imbalanced and possibly even decreasing them.

My symptoms are very similar to dopamine deficiency, which I think might play a key role in POIS.

Anyways, I would appreciate any feedback and I hope you guys are doing well.

Thanks,
Chris

Dante: I received an intradermal test from Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Bewtra at Creighton University. The semen was not diluted at all for the two intradermal injections. I collected a sample and immediately put it in the freezer (in a glass jar). I did this about a week before the test. A couple hours before the test, I moved the sample to the fridge and thawed it. I then put it on ice for the drive to the doctor's office. It remained on ice until it was injected. When it was injected, it looked fresh.

As I stated in my post describing the test experience, "...I received the p-r-i-c-k test as well as the intradermal injection tests since I wasn't entirely clear on which to ask for (Waldinger's study refers to "intracaneous injections" but calls it a p-r-i-c-k test.) Dr. Nguyen did not dilute the semen as Waldinger specified. The p-r-i-c-k tests showed a slight reaction (about 3x3mm wheal and erythema and a 5x5mm wheal and erythema). The intradermal reactions were huge. It was 25x30mm wheal and erythema and 15x30mm wheal and erythema. Waldinger says in his study that wheal and erythema less than 5mm is negative. (For those who don't know, the "wheal" is the red bump that appears and the "erythema" is the flaring out rash that surrounds the wheal. Measuring these two components gets the numbers I mentioned above). It's interesting to note that after the testing, I was hit by a bout of POIS fatigue and brain fog very quickly. Normally my POIS lingers for around 10 days. This time the symptoms hit me quick and hard. I fell into a deep sleep for an hour which helped symptoms. They didn't linger too badly."

Good luck! Please report your  results (here, and on the other forum). Some people have uploaded photos of their test results, which might be good if you can pull it off too

[0002ppdnuos]

Hi GC,
OK, I understand. Let me explain my motivation in the concoction I'm taking.
...

That's what I've been wondering about.

[kurtosis]

Just a qiuckie here. I have tried over the years with different 'power' foods/drinks to alleviate symptoms. I am a teacher so working in a class of students with POIS can be hell to say the least.  To me Red Bull works the best. Not something you want to drink too much off (recommended limit is no more than 2 per day), but in times of urgent need I go for it. I put it down to the taurine. I have seen people mention Taurine supplements. Not a bad call.

Funny because I have been working for 8 straight days without a day off and the day I had POIS I actually drank around 6 red bulls.  It isn't the best for reducing symptoms , I believe, but it was the only thing I had at the moment.   I believe either the caffeine or something else in it constricts the blood vessels in the brain which makes it easier to cope with during POIS.  If you do this you really need to cut out the red bull around 5 or 6 o'clock because I learned the hard way by not falling asleep until around 3-4 a.m.

If I had 6 red bulls I wouldn't sleep for a week :) I remember having 3 in 1 day and I didn't sleep a wink that night. I don't remember feeling POIS then, just incredibly hyper and a bit sick the next day. Everybody is different I guess & I also don't drink coffee so I might be quite sensitive to caffeine.

[Over it]

Hi all,
I have been watching this forum for a couple of months now. Below in italics is a post I prepared about 2 weeks ago but never ended up posting it. I have decided to post it now because I believe I have discovered the cause of my POIS & a potential treatment.  It is my belief that chronic depression & prolonged periods of stress are/were the cause of my POIS. I say this because I recently purchased a bottle of “Executive Focus” by Swisse. I decided to buy this stuff after reading on the back of the bottle that it contained ginkgo biloba. I remembered reading somewhere that this was giving some people some relief from POIS. Despite my brooding scepticism I decided to try it because I was desperate & at the clutching @ the frayed ends of my sanity. I took one tablet & 10 minutes later my neck, back & pelvis start cracking (in a good way) & my whole body feels like it is straightening out. The vertebrae that usually jut out the back of my neck, causing me terrible discomfort, felt very odd in a very good way. The pain in my joints was all but gone. My mood was like I was 15 years old again (in a good way) & my eyes felt great.  Anyway, 3 days later and I have upped the dosage a bit as required & I’m feeling the best I have in 10 years. Orgasm is no big deal. It’s all normal. (I should note that I am experiencing decreased libido, however, I am glad of that).
I saw a doctor about 3 weeks ago armed with some information I had gathered from this forum in one last desperate attempt to overcome this affliction. I got my blood tested for the millionth time & it was all fine. After some probing into my personal life by the doc, he drew the conclusion that I had chronic depression & suggested I try antidepressant drugs &/or psych therapy. Of course I didn’t believe him & concluded he was a charlatan; I declined both treatments. It is not until after taking this exotic concoction of vitamins & herbs & feeling normal again that I realise how severely screwed-up, depressed & sick I was. I feel like a bit of a fool actually. So anyway I’m not 100%, it’s early days & I know I’m not out of the woods yet but I certainly think I am on the right track. I’m not entirely sure of what it is that is helping me but here is something written on the use of ginkgo biloba in the treatment of depression:
http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1996/articles/1996-v11n03-p168.shtml 
I sincerely hope something in what I have written is of use to someone. Below is a post written by a man (me) who dwelled in the land of the living dead for the past 10 years.
      ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 I am a 28 year old male & I have been suffering from POIS symptoms for the last 10 years or so, however, I was only ever convinced these symptoms were a direct consequence of orgasm a few years ago.  My symptoms are more or less in line with those described by others on this forum.  There is one symptom or feeling that a few contributors have mentioned that interests me. That is a “strange” sensation in the back of the head; like a headache, but not. For me, all these problems began with an adverse reaction to smoking marijuana. It was only the second time I had ever smoked marijuana & only had a very small amount. Almost immediately after smoking I got an intense surge of anger, panic & fear (in that order). I couldn’t overstate how frighting this was even if I tried. I literally thought I was going to die. It was essentially a psychotic episode. This event was also characterized by intense pressure in the head and a cold sensation in the body like my blood was running cold.  My body was shaking uncontrollably especially around the pelvis to the point I was becoming air-borne from my bed. After a few hours I was calm enough to sleep for a couple of hours. When I woke up I couldn’t believe it was not a dream & I felt like absolute crap. The pressure in my head was still there & that strange “dense” or “wet” feeling in the back of my head was still there. My train of thought was erratic & had difficulty closing my eyes. I had to sleep with the light on sometimes due to irrational fear.  I was unable to experience any joy after this event for a couple of years, be it from food, music, social interaction etc. The only relief from my absolute misery was orgasm & I probably developed a bit of an addiction. I started to suspect that it was making me feel worse afterward but a hit of pleasure in an otherwise desolate wasteland of misery was impossible to resist. Anyhow, after many years of feeling like a living corpse I developed debilitating joint, back & neck pain & stiffness. So I was now a crippled corpse. Doctors, peers & family had all but convinced me there was nothing wrong with me, probably because I am in social isolation for 97.5% of my life & they do not see how it affects me.  Anyway, fast-forward to present day – The misery has diminished somewhat, in a general sense but I still have that strange feeling in the back of my head & all the joint stiffness is still there & it has become obvious to me that orgasm & alcohol (often combined)  greatly exacerbate my  symptoms & I stumble across this forum. I feel I should point out that stress & worry also exacerbate my complaints but not to the extent of orgasm (probably a misery ratio of 1:3). I have a fairly high-stress job & I take it very seriously and worry a lot, even in my dreams (maybe I just can’t handle stress very well).
I, personally, cannot ignore the link between my marijuana experience & my POIS symptoms. It is also my feeling that an investigation into a semen allergy may be a step in the wrong direction. Everyone on this forum is remarkably learned, particularly in medicine & I’m not entirely comfortable to speak out of school, but I have to say I am quite surprised there is not more investigation into possible psychological factors at work here. The talk about dopamine all seems very plausible to me.                ----------------------------------------

[kurtosis]

Hi all,
I have been watching this forum for a couple of months now. Below in italics is a post I prepared about 2 weeks ago but never ended up posting it. I have decided to post it now because I believe I have discovered the cause of my POIS & a potential treatment.  It is my belief that chronic depression & prolonged periods of stress are/were the cause of my POIS. I say this because I recently purchased a bottle of “Executive Focus” by Swisse. I decided to buy this stuff after reading on the back of the bottle that it contained ginkgo biloba. I remembered reading somewhere that this was giving some people some relief from POIS. Despite my brooding scepticism I decided to try it because I was desperate & at the clutching @ the frayed ends of my sanity. I took one tablet & 10 minutes later my neck, back & pelvis start cracking (in a good way) & my whole body feels like it is straightening out. The vertebrae that usually jut out the back of my neck, causing me terrible discomfort, felt very odd in a very good way. The pain in my joints was all but gone. My mood was like I was 15 years old again (in a good way) & my eyes felt great.  Anyway, 3 days later and I have upped the dosage a bit as required & I’m feeling the best I have in 10 years. Orgasm is no big deal. It’s all normal. (I should note that I am experiencing decreased libido, however, I am glad of that).
I saw a doctor about 3 weeks ago armed with some information I had gathered from this forum in one last desperate attempt to overcome this affliction. I got my blood tested for the millionth time & it was all fine. After some probing into my personal life by the doc, he drew the conclusion that I had chronic depression & suggested I try antidepressant drugs &/or psych therapy. Of course I didn’t believe him & concluded he was a charlatan; I declined both treatments. It is not until after taking this exotic concoction of vitamins & herbs & feeling normal again that I realise how severely screwed-up, depressed & sick I was. I feel like a bit of a fool actually. So anyway I’m not 100%, it’s early days & I know I’m not out of the woods yet but I certainly think I am on the right track. I’m not entirely sure of what it is that is helping me but here is something written on the use of ginkgo biloba in the treatment of depression:
http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1996/articles/1996-v11n03-p168.shtml 
I sincerely hope something in what I have written is of use to someone. Below is a post written by a man (me) who dwelled in the land of the living dead for the past 10 years.
      ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 I am a 28 year old male & I have been suffering from POIS symptoms for the last 10 years or so, however, I was only ever convinced these symptoms were a direct consequence of orgasm a few years ago.  My symptoms are more or less in line with those described by others on this forum.  There is one symptom or feeling that a few contributors have mentioned that interests me. That is a “strange” sensation in the back of the head; like a headache, but not. For me, all these problems began with an adverse reaction to smoking marijuana. It was only the second time I had ever smoked marijuana & only had a very small amount. Almost immediately after smoking I got an intense surge of anger, panic & fear (in that order). I couldn’t overstate how frighting this was even if I tried. I literally thought I was going to die. It was essentially a psychotic episode. This event was also characterized by intense pressure in the head and a cold sensation in the body like my blood was running cold.  My body was shaking uncontrollably especially around the pelvis to the point I was becoming air-borne from my bed. After a few hours I was calm enough to sleep for a couple of hours. When I woke up I couldn’t believe it was not a dream & I felt like absolute crap. The pressure in my head was still there & that strange “dense” or “wet” feeling in the back of my head was still there. My train of thought was erratic & had difficulty closing my eyes. I had to sleep with the light on sometimes due to irrational fear.  I was unable to experience any joy after this event for a couple of years, be it from food, music, social interaction etc. The only relief from my absolute misery was orgasm & I probably developed a bit of an addiction. I started to suspect that it was making me feel worse afterward but a hit of pleasure in an otherwise desolate wasteland of misery was impossible to resist. Anyhow, after many years of feeling like a living corpse I developed debilitating joint, back & neck pain & stiffness. So I was now a crippled corpse. Doctors, peers & family had all but convinced me there was nothing wrong with me, probably because I am in social isolation for 97.5% of my life & they do not see how it affects me.  Anyway, fast-forward to present day – The misery has diminished somewhat, in a general sense but I still have that strange feeling in the back of my head & all the joint stiffness is still there & it has become obvious to me that orgasm & alcohol (often combined)  greatly exacerbate my  symptoms & I stumble across this forum. I feel I should point out that stress & worry also exacerbate my complaints but not to the extent of orgasm (probably a misery ratio of 1:3). I have a fairly high-stress job & I take it very seriously and worry a lot, even in my dreams (maybe I just can’t handle stress very well).
I, personally, cannot ignore the link between my marijuana experience & my POIS symptoms. It is also my feeling that an investigation into a semen allergy may be a step in the wrong direction. Everyone on this forum is remarkably learned, particularly in medicine & I’m not entirely comfortable to speak out of school, but I have to say I am quite surprised there is not more investigation into possible psychological factors at work here. The talk about dopamine all seems very plausible to me.                ----------------------------------------

Executive Focus contains B vitamins & ginkgo. Also brahmi which appears to boost immune function and improves memory via some unknown mechanism. Interesting.

[ThereIsAcure]

I am 35 yr old from Saudi.The last 4 yr of my life have been the worst , since I felt unable to find an explanation to my symptoms ( extreme fatigue, foggy thinking , muscle pain ) . I visited doctors of different discipline ( even tested sleep apnea ! ) and  finally my symptoms were attributed to early diabetes 2 and took medication to manage it , and made the necessary life style changes ,but the symptoms remained as is ...... I became really depressed as I battle the unknown!
The other thing that doctors could NOT explain to me is why my testesrone is extremely below the lower range ( of someone in late seventy !!! ) although my body buildup and hair volume and distribution is perfectly fine.
Reading the forum for the last 2 months made me correlate to different things mentioned by members . I will list them below:
@ During 2009, I took daily ( pure honey , organic black seeds , cinnamon ) and gradually my symptoms completely disappeared .... continued for a year with perfect stable health.I stopped the honey , black seeds and cinnamon  thinking I got cured .... 6 months later the symptoms emerged and unfortunately I could not source the same quality of what helped me ......
[ note: honey => is testesrone booster ( did boost mine during 2009 )
   Black seeds => rich in vit b and fatty acids ]
@ Late 2011, I stated taking the ultimate B complex ( solgar ) which also contains vit c 1000 mg.To my surprise,I felt a noticeable improvement after 2 weeks (full agreement with what kurtosis suggested )!!!
@ I have also noticed that if I take any strong antihistamine before an O , I will wake up the next day completely refreshed [ unlike if I don't take the antihistamine ] also the antihistamine overcomes my PE problem which I suffered fr long time. My antihistamine experience is similar to what members of this forum did mention.
Therefore, I believe POIS  has different ways of manifestation with a strong roots to deficiency theory.
I am sure with our collective efforts, a cure is achievable in the very near future.

[Starsky]

What antihistamine did you take?

[alphaq]

anyone have psychological symptoms of pois? like OCD, paranoia, etc

[alphaq]

Or any personality changes and mood fluctuations?

[ThereIsAcure]

What antihistamine did you take?

Zyrtec or Xyzal