Has Covid made me more androgenic?

[gawan]

I've had Covid 3 or 4 weeks ago and was feeling pretty sick for a week, then had another week of strange gut disturbances. I'm an unv4xx3d male in my 20s.

Now I'm back to normal and I feel really different from before. Much more driven and energetic. Lots and lots of energy. I've seemingly retained my muscle mass pretty well through the time, despite not really having returned to training yet.

So neither am I an expert nor did I get any tests but this all sounds and feels like the effect that increased testosterone would have to a male, or am I wrong?

Another thing I could possibly attribute this to would be my weight loss during the illness. I've lost around 5 kilos during the time, seems like a lot of it was extra fat, probably some muscle mass but not that much.

Anyone experiences the same? Are there any existing scientific insights on this ?

Thanks guys!

 

[dlind70]

What is your diet like?

 

[gawan]

What is your diet like?

Oh pretty basic Peat-inspired.

White rice, cheese, eggs, fruit, some red meat, coffee with gelatin. Fats are mostly coconut, olive oil and butter.
Occasional Aspirin, Progesterone and Magnesium supps.
Since finding out about Peat 1.5 years ago I've been experimenting with many recommended foods until I found what works well for me and stuck to that.

 

[DeadCatBounce]

I have an explanation that few doctors would agree with (but there are some who do):

What most people call COVID is a detox process of the body, not a viral infection. At least from my research and strong beliefs having studied this for more than 2 years now. The same goes for the seasonal flu and colds which are cyclical detoxification processes driven by the weather patterns (the lack of sun, lower humidity etc). The whole theory that there are viruses that are trying to make us sick is in fact laughable idea at this point. Completely ridiculous.

Usually IF one is healthy and has a good diet - after the process of detoxification the body feels a lot better. Usual signs are more energy , deeper voice, better outlook on life and healthier weight, less water retention, clearer skin as well as other good effects from removing a lot of bad stuff from the body.

This of course holds true only in case if one did not take strong toxic medicine in an attempt to interfere with the bodies functions that are occuring for a specific reason. In such case the opposite is true and you get "long covid" and other bad symptoms that occur when one thinks he is smarter than nature. Especially some people who are super scared take antibiotics and antivirals immediately after the first symptons not allowing the body to remove enough of the toxic load,sick cells etc. Even worse is vaccinated that gets sick and stops the reaction of the body using the toxic medicines. A recipe for disaster in the coming years when the process starts again but this time with even more stuff needed to get cleared from the system.

This is actually a quite common thing, it is just that people don't realize this is happening to them and the so called illness is actually the cure that the body needs in order to function better long term.

 

[gawan]

I have an explanation that few doctors would agree with (but there are some who do):

What most people call COVID is a detox process of the body, not a viral infection. At least from my research and strong beliefs having studied this for more than 2 years now. The same goes for the seasonal flu and colds which are cyclical detoxification processes driven by the weather patterns (the lack of sun, lower humidity etc). The whole theory that there are viruses that are trying to make us sick is in fact laughable idea at this point. Completely ridiculous.

Usually IF one is healthy and has a good diet - after the process of detoxification the body feels a lot better. Usual signs are more energy , deeper voice, better outlook on life and healthier weight, less water retention, clearer skin as well as other good effects from removing a lot of bad stuff from the body.

This of course holds true only in case if one did not take strong toxic medicine in an attempt to interfere with the bodies functions that are occuring for a specific reason. In such case the opposite is true and you get "long covid" and other bad symptoms that occur when one thinks he is smarter than nature. Especially some people who are super scared take antibiotics and antivirals immediately after the first symptons not allowing the body to remove enough of the toxic load,sick cells etc. Even worse is vaccinated that gets sick and stops the reaction of the body using the toxic medicines. A recipe for disaster in the coming years when the process starts again but this time with even more stuff needed to get cleared from the system.

This is actually a quite common thing, it is just that people don't realize this is happening to them and the so called illness is actually the cure that the body needs in order to function better long term.

Super interesting. Well, Germ Theory denialism is one rabbit-hole that I have deliberately chosen not to go down, yet. (I still need to be able to hold casual every-day conversations with people around me ) But I'll try to think about it through that lens for a bit.

The "feeling-stronger-than-before" part definitely makes sense that way. But not the fact that COVID felt 100% different than any other sickness I've ever gotten before. Not necessary stronger than a strong flu, but totally different in quality; really strange and diffuse. That's what I've heard from others, too.
So if it's a detox, why does it occur in this way only after Covid was around.

Plus I've had to do dozens of Covid tests and they were never positive except for the time I actually felt this way...

 

[Andman]

could be histamine, ive had some issues with that up to a few weeks after infection

 

[LeeLemonoil]

„Immunity“ is the basic principle and driver of evolution. Reaction to the external that is.

What we call hormones are main components of the immune system, regulating a lot of its mechanism.

So any infect, insult, interaction provokes hormonal reaction. Depending on a plethora of factors and properties of both the host and the infectious agent the immune reaction results in a moudulation your immune homeostasis. It can definitely result in elevated androgens and altered hormone ratios. While most infections provoke estrogenic responses (estrogens being drivers and signalers of inflammation) Cortisol is also massively involved. And where cortisol is involved DHT especially comes into play.

Also, there Are rebound reactions to rebalance either depleted hormones or unsustainable ratios - could be you experience an androgen rebound or elevated DHT to replace or dampen cortisolix effects.

Sometimes recovery from bigger injuries or infections also repair subchronic, suboptimal states of the organism that for some fluke weren’t repaired before.

Think about Heavy workouts or Sport. While it itself burdens and injure your body afterwards you feel fitter than before, citing even prior weaknesses

Hormesis.

 

[gawan]

„Immunity“ is the basic principle and driver of evolution. Reaction to the external that is.

What we call hormones are main components of the immune system, regulating a lot of its mechanism.

So any infect, insult, interaction provokes hormonal reaction. Depending on a plethora of factors and properties of both the host and the infectious agent the immune reaction results in a moudulation your immune homeostasis. It can definitely result in elevated androgens and altered hormone ratios. While most infections provoke estrogenic responses (estrogens being drivers and signalers of inflammation) Cortisol is also massively involved. And where cortisol is involved DHT especially comes into play.

Also, there Are rebound reactions to rebalance either depleted hormones or unsustainable ratios - could be you experience an androgen rebound or elevated DHT to replace or dampen cortisolix effects.

Sometimes recovery from bigger injuries or infections also repair subchronic, suboptimal states of the organism that for some fluke weren’t repaired before.

Think about Heavy workouts or Sport. While it itself burdens and injure your body afterwards you feel fitter than before, citing even prior weaknesses

Hormesis.

Wow, that actually makes a lot of sense. I still sometimes fall into this reductionist, mechanistic (not so bioenergetic) thinking about the organism like "there is external stress attacking the organism so it must be weaker than before". But Hormesis is obviously a thing and the ways in which the organism can heal itself and restore equilibria are also plentiful.

Possibly, like you said, there could have been something out of whack caused by more chronic stress before the sickness that I've recovered from along with the sickness.

Good input, thank you very much.

 

[Spartan300]

I also had covid recently and experienced the same thing. Especially in terms of Libido.

I'm a lot older than the OP and I think there's something in the views of @DeadCatBounce as I've noticed the same thing many times over the years with bad colds.
Mind you, I took a week out to properly rest up but I don't believe that to be the crucial factor as vacations etc don't have the same effect.

Prior to covid I have not had a bad cold in something like 5 years. Wish I knew how to hang onto the post covid/cold condition....