[underwater]

Jiddu--
Welcome----You're SO right about breathing. A mistake I made about 3 1/2 years ago really triggered my current GAD episode and made my POIS a lot worse. I was doing quite well until then. Then slowly, from mid 2005, I started to slowly sink into my current distressing situation which kicked off around late spring 2007. I was swimming 80 minutes a day up to spring 2007, doing great Yoga and then working with my weights.
The problem was; I thought it would be great to get washboard Abs. What an IDIOT. I didn't need that at my age. I got down to 32 inch waist. Then crash in spring 2007! Hello GAD Hello bad POIS----I did it to myself. I hate to think about it. Why wasn't I happy the way I was? I was in great shape anyhow. STUPID me. What happened is simple. I created many, many tiny knots in my abdominals. They were so tight that they pulled up on my pelvic floor. I lost all of my natural breathing abilities. ETC
Then came my anxiety condition and my bad POIS. To make a long story short, I work on getting my breathing back every day in the pool. I used to be more like a fish. Now I struggle to get rhythm, because I am not breathing from my stomach. In fact, I always massage my abs to relieve tension. Sometimes I'm in a state of anxiety and tension and the massage will immediately eliminate my condition. Can you believe that?
Anyhow, you are right. Getting a correct balance between oxygen and CO2 is ESSENTIAL.
The other morning, I got into correct breathing rhythm and was fantastic all day.
I hate to learn the wrong way at my age. It's a bummer to have to massage abs everyday in order to breath right. When I get my abs softer and get out the kinks, I will definitely feel better. I will breathe better, and my GAD will be gone. Until then, I work on the biochemistry part of it. I did it to myself. "Calm down me, breathe deeply!"

[CertainlyPOIS]

while waiting for doctor, i was thinking of overdosing on vit b6. I read at about 200mg it can reduce prolactin amount in body.

[Counterpoints]

while waiting for doctor, i was thinking of overdosing on vit b6. I read at about 200mg it can reduce prolactin amount in body.

Overdosing on B6?  This sounds like a very bad idea. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B6#Toxicity .
Also, do you even know you have high prolactin?  I don't have high prolactin.  And neither did the people in Dr. Waldinger's study.  I would guess that many people here do not have high prolactin.  100 mg/day of B6 is probably ok.  But
1) You don't know if you have high prolactin
2) You don't know if B6 will reduce prolactin
3) Taking B6 in high doses (e.g. 200 mg+/day) is harmful.  Most physicians would warn you against this.

[deloun]

Hey Girlwind,

OK, I have gotten prescribed an orthomolecular medicine for liver detoxification called Ultra Clear Plus and I've looked at the ingredients and it indeed contains n-acetyl cysteine.

I believe that I've gotten L-glutamine prescribed because of a deficiency of methione, glutathione, poor methylation and to support detoxification.

I haven't taken either of them yet, although I do have them here, by the way.

Back to you, Deloun--

Ultra-Clear...that sounded familiar. I remember taking it years ago for detoxification and nutritional supplementation.
One side effect for me was ULTRA- diarrhea. I'm not saying that you'll have that, but I sure did!

I read more on L-glutamine and found out that it's used commonly by body builders and by those with IBS (irritable
bowel syndrome). Check it out.

http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/supplements-reviews/glutamine-side-effects-benefits.htm
http://www.irritable-bowel-syndrome.ws/l-glutamine.htm

Hmm, ultra diarrhea, that doesn't sound very good, did you also notice that it helped detoxifying the liver?

By the way I meant to say methionine in stead of methione, to correct a typo.

Thank you for the interesting links.

[deloun]

[...]
To remove your mercury, not all dentists have the right equipment to do this. (Maybe you know this already..)  Take someone who is qualified and who have the required material (expensive). Otherwise you can do more harm than good. 

Thank you for reminding me for this, I have also received your PM about it.
I have thought about making an appointment with a dentist that is specialized in removing mercury amalgam fillings, but in the end I have chosen to make the appointment with my own dentist, for the beginning of march. But I have asked him to take extra precautions to limit the risks involved regarding the mercury. I have asked him to make use of the Scania Dental Clean Up (1), which is some kind of vacuum cleaning device that should be placed around the tooth, and a rubber dam (cofferdam). I have also asked him to clean any residues of amalgam, that are left over after the fillings have been removed. I hope that this is enough, what do you think, do you have any other suggestions?

(1) http://www.xs4all.nl/~stgvisie/AMALGAM/NL/cleanup.htm

Deloun,
I suggest that you write to the website I gave you PM to ask what's the difference with other dentists (procedures & equipment). You can also read this protocol about how to remove mercury :
http://www.iaomt.org/articles/files/files288/Safe%20Removal%20of%20Amalgam%20Fillings.pdf
It seems that a tool to breathe clean air would have been an additional protection.
Also doing small job at one time, put a lot of water and succion, and taking some supplements may help. Hope you'll pass through this easily.

Thanks martin, I've read that they also mention the clean-up suction tip and rubber dam that I asked my dentist to use. I do have all six amalgam fillings, of which 5 small ones, removed during one appointment though, during about one hour.

[deloun]

Demografx, nice to hear that the testosterone makes you feel better at the moment, do you notice any side effects?

[deloun]

Jiddu and underwater, I have tried another breathing therapy a few times in the past which might be of help, called holotropic breathing.

[girlwind]

Hmm, ultra diarrhea, that doesn't sound very good, did you also notice that it helped detoxifying the liver?

By the way I meant to say methionine in stead of methione, to correct a typo.

Thank you for the interesting links.

I don't know if Ultra Clear helped me all that much with detoxification. What helped me most was going to an expert TCM
doctor, who was really good with detox protocols using Chinese herbs. This is someone who studied in China, has taught
acupuncture school for 25 years, and has written many extensive research papers on Chinese herbs. (Because he is in LA,
traveling to see him was hellish for me, but definitely worth it.) The herbs that he used were the Sun Ten/Brion herbs, (which
are the cleanest herbs on the planet), and the formulas I took were specifically made for my needs at the time. There was
nothing that worked better than those formulas.  Other than that, the N-A-C was of great help... and so was taking saunas
to induce detox through sweating.

[demografx]

demografx 
  what is your doctors plan on restoring testerone level, are u going to have to use T-patch for rest of life or is there a different way

Thanks, CC, great question. The initial plan is to just see if the patches succeed in lowering prolactin, which is possibly my big POIS culprit. The injectables I took before created an erratic flow of testosterone. The patches mimic the body's steady T-flow.

But no, I don't plan to wear them forever. Maybe 2X/year, who knows? And maybe they won't work at all in lowering prolactin, in my case. In that case, we move on to new strategies. But I sure as heck don't want to try the "proven" solutions, like bromocriptine. I'm not that much of a risk-taker.

And to be honest, I'm not sure how much patience or perseverance I have. I don't want to spend my life studying endocrinology.

[demografx]

http://www.natural-progesterone-advisory-network.com/our-adrenal-system/
It's an Adrenal fatigue quizz. I find the first point very intersesting :
"I often feel dizzy, faint, like I haven’t woken up, or like I’m in a dream."

B_Jim, that describes my personality! []

[girlwind]

I don't want to spend my life studying endocrinology.

I didn't either, and now look what I've gotten myself into! I have become the resident blood test referral service for hormones. 
 [] [] []

[demografx]

Demografx, nice to hear that the testosterone makes you feel better at the moment, do you notice any side effects?

Thanks, deloun. Yep, pain-in-the-neck (figuratively) side effect is itchiness. And some slight burning. All fairly tolerable, though.

[Limejuice]

Consider that some MDs are to busy to research the latest hormone studies/information and that their not people who are sick.  I didn't sign up for a career in hormone research but it's what I got to do and where I am in life.

TSH Update - I've taken 50mgs of presecription T4 for one week, now.  No noticeable changes so far.  I'm hoping one day I wake up shiny and squeeky clean.

[CertainlyPOIS]

while waiting for doctor, i was thinking of overdosing on vit b6. I read at about 200mg it can reduce prolactin amount in body.

Overdosing on B6?  This sounds like a very bad idea. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B6#Toxicity .
Also, do you even know you have high prolactin?  I don't have high prolactin.  And neither did the people in Dr. Waldinger's study.  I would guess that many people here do not have high prolactin.  100 mg/day of B6 is probably ok.  But
1) You don't know if you have high prolactin
2) You don't know if B6 will reduce prolactin
3) Taking B6 in high doses (e.g. 200 mg+/day) is harmful.  Most physicians would warn you against this.

You are perfectly right but i was playing the guessing game and hoping i could cut down recovery day. 

[demografx]

CC, haven't heard from Jane Ashby yet, but at least SSTAR forwarded my letter to the "right" Jane Ashby.

[demografx]

I assumed my disappointment with testosterone inj. was because I had high SHBG levels, and that the extra test I was taking was largely getting bound to by SHBG.

Acronym, my endo said that injectables (which I tried before) produce too erratic results and that patches provide a smooth, steady flow, mimicking the body's mode of T-delivery. Anyway, that's what I'm doing now.

[demografx]

goingcrazy, your public post has been returned to you via Private Message for editing before posting again. We ask that you retain a little bit of professional demeanor in your posting, as we are part of a scientific forum. "Wanking," "choke the chicken" plus a 3rd religious-mocking reference are highlighted for change in bold in your Private Message. The Private Message button is located at the top of this page. Click on "Messages" and it will be in your inbox. Thank you very much for your cooperation.

[GoingCrazy]

Hey guys, I am yet another sufferer of POIS ... I haven't read too much of what you guys wrote, but I was wondering when you guys first saw symptoms of your disease?  I used to have sex  ever so often... but about my third year of doing it I was feeling these really bad side effects you mention... anxiety,fatigue,brain fog, basically too tired and stressed to do anything .  Until I learned that these all went away when I didn't masturbate. Yesterday I felt to good and thought I was cured of this POIS until i did it again, bringing back all of the bad feelings it has to offer... so my question is, when did you start feeling these bad after effects?  I noticed that as soon as I started to drink coffee I was having these bad sex side effects, but yet i don't know ... Things that I have found helpful were calcium magnesium, vitamin B, restraining from sex<-- best answer, and phenylaline.  I was chewing big red gum yesterday and noticed that I felt a bit of normality because of the phenylaline.  I wish I didn't do it yesterday because now i don't feel too good... it takes me about a week to recover and get my head back...
 
 
   
   
I also have another question... I know symptoms go away after about a week, but has anybody ever tried to go lets say a month and than masturbate once?  Do you go right back to the POIS stage?  Giving it that amount of time might give your body enough time to replenish whatever it is missing and needed when recovering from sex.

So is anybody like me and besides the masterbating... had another influence on their heads? like coffee? that causes the POIS?

[demografx]

my question is, when did you start feeling these bad after effects?  I noticed that as soon as I started to drink coffee I was having these bad sex side effects, but yet i don't know

I can't recall when the first POIS episode was, but I can remember back 30 years. Interesting that you bring up coffee, I started drinking it around the time I remember POIS, give or take a couple years. Some people think coffee = adrenal fatigue = POIS. My personal opinion is that the jury is out on this one.

I also have another question... I know symptoms go away after about a week, but has anybody ever tried to go lets say a month and than masturbate once?  Do you go right back to the POIS stage?  Giving it that amount of time might give your body enough time to replenish whatever it is missing and needed when recovering from sex.

My experience is that no matter how long you abstain, POIS appears full-blown from any form of sexual orgasm. "Recovery time" doesn't affect the "nuclear holocaust",known as POIS.

So is anybody like me and besides the masterbating... had another influence on their heads? like coffee? that causes the POIS?

Your situation is commonplace. Causes? We're still searching, but focused more on curing and/or diminishing POIS effects.

[demografx]

goingcrazy, here are some forum resources which may be helpful:

Please see "B_Jim"'s POIS Forum Summary of All Cases, here as well as others on the Web:
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=6576.msg149009#msg149009

"Girlwind" has created an excellent POIS Video: A first!

And filling out the POIS survey created by "Counterpoints" will enable you to share POIS information and details with others here. This will also enable us to work more easily with outside researchers by having more organized data available about us:
http://pois.olympe-network.com/

POIS Research Study

We have a copy of the first and only study on POIS by Dr. Marcel Waldinger,MD and Dr. David Schweitzer, MD.

If you want a copy (PDF), send "Pyropeach" a Private Message with your email address and he'll send you back the PDF.

To send a Private Message, click on "Messages" at the top of this page. At the Messages page, click on "New Message". From that point on, it works just like posting a message here, except that it only goes to the person(s) you designate.

Remember to put a quote around the recipient's name, e.g., "pyropeach".

New York Times article,
January 20, 2009
Mind
Sex and Depression: In the Brain, if Not the Mind
By RICHARD A. FRIEDMAN, M.D.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/health/views/20mind.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=friedman%20sexual%20January%2020&st=cse