Lost my libido looking for help.

[olowshinenine]

I need help with my Libido. It has disappeared. 38 yr old male 200lbs 5’11’’ gym 3 times a week, physical job, no weed or cigarettes, not vaxxed, alcohol moderate consumption on weekends.
My libido went from sky high to almost zero.


Here is my recent blood test:
Cortisol .24ug/dL
Estradiol 8pg/mL
Prolactin 21ng/mL
Testosterone 349ng/mL
SHBG 24.6 nmol/L
Free androgen index 49.23
Free testosterone 8.2ng/dL

( I don’t know what any of this means )

Diet:
Breakfast:

1. Eggs usually everyday. Cook with olive oil or coconut oil
2. One slice of bread a few times a week
3. Cooked onions every day
4. Tomato every day
5. Avocado 2 times a week
6. Potatoes 1 time per week
7. Carrots daily
8. Organge Juice daily
9. Coffee cream and one sugar daily
10. Bacon once per week
11. Rarely a bagel with cream cheese once per week

Lunch:

1. Chicken salad with a dressing
2. Pasta salad
3. Fast food once or twice per week
4. Steak sub once per week
5. Turkey sub once or twice a week Mayo vegetables hot spices
6. Mexican burrito once a week
7. Bottled water with meal
8. Raw broccoli usually daily

Dinner:

1. Chicken grilled with salt and spices
2. Beef ground or flank salt and spices
3. Potatoes Sweet or White or white rice 3 or 4 times a week
4. Vegetables include onions green peppers garlic tomatoes
5. Fish include salmon and cod
6. Mexican coke once per day
7. Lemon water
8. Banana and apple cider vinegar before bed.
9. I also drink OJ with dinner some nights.
10. Weekend nights out eating restaurant food I will have french fries buffalo chicken wings. However, sometimes I go to Brazilian steak houses where they prepare many healthy foods.

I do not eat pastries donuts cake cookies, rarely eat chips, I am a salt and vinegar guy. Mexican coke is where I get my sweet fix usually once per day. I do have a problem with vinegar and salt. I will drink pickle or banana pepper juice when I have a craving. I also put tabasco sauce on everything.


Medication:
Lisinopril 10mg for high bp Daily. I was averaging 130/90 before the med. Lisinopril will get me down to 120/80 but having a hard time maintaining that as the drug wears off in 12 or so hours.
Morning bp readings are usually 120/80. Before bed readings are usually 125-130 / 80 -88

I take Cialis once per week to increase blood flow to my penis very low dose as a therapy for penile health. ( last year I was dealing with a retracted penis I believe it was do to stress and hormone imbalances )

Supplements:

1. Serrapeptase 3 or 4 times a week mid day empty stomach. Ingesting with water
2. Aspirin 3 or 4 times a week on the days I don't take serrapeptase. Ingesting with water.
3. Taurine 2 times per week with food
4. D3 and K2 5 times a week with breakfast
5. Magnesium glycate usually daily
6. Vit C daily
7. Zinc Daily
8. MSM 3 times per week
9. Just started Thiamine hydrochloride ( I would like to know what foods to take this with or avoid )
10. Ashwagandha 3 times a week before bed
11. I take L citrulline occasionally but now I am reading the NO is bad for you... ( I am so confused )

* I would love to get my libido back. It is strange because I have been more sober, no cigarettes, more home cooked meals the past two years of my life than anytime before ; but this is when my Libido changed.
** I dont have depression or anxiety
*** I used to have a ravenous urge for sex and now almost nothing. I don’t know what has happened to my body.

 

[Mister]

Quit Ashwaganda, multiple people got PFS (post finasteride syndrome) from that. Also check if any supps or meds you're taking are 5ar inhibitors on google.

 

[ecstatichamster]

Not sure why anyone will take medication for 130/90 blood pressure. Just dietary changes will help get it lower, and there is nothing wrong with this blood pressure anyway. I see your diet is low in calcium and high in phosphorus, which increases parathyroid hormone and is highly inflammatory.

You are working out 3 times a week. That is probably far too much for your metabolic rate. Get a thermometer and check your oral temps, they will probably be low. Getting metabolic rate better, and increasing calcium, should help you a great deal.

Men hit the wall in their late 30s and early 40s when they are overdoing things for their existing metabolic rate, which often plunges.

 

[youngsinatra]

Can you post the reference ranges for your blood tests aswell? Hard to interpret without those.

 

[olowshinenine]

Can you post the reference ranges for your blood tests aswell? Hard to interpret without those.

cortisol 0.0 -.798 they said mine is normal
Estradiol 0.0 - 45 they said mine is normal range
Prolactin 4 - 15.2 they said mine is above normal
Testosterone 249 - 836 they said mine is normal range
SHBG 17.4 - 53.6 they said mine is normal range
Free Androgen 31 - 1-2 they said mine is normal range
Free Testosterone 4.7 -24.4 they said mine is normal range

However I do not feel any libido and haven't for the past two years. Nothing like I used to be.

 

[olowshinenine]

Not sure why anyone will take medication for 130/90 blood pressure. Just dietary changes will help get it lower, and there is nothing wrong with this blood pressure anyway. I see your diet is low in calcium and high in phosphorus, which increases parathyroid hormone and is highly inflammatory.

You are working out 3 times a week. That is probably far too much for your metabolic rate. Get a thermometer and check your oral temps, they will probably be low. Getting metabolic rate better, and increasing calcium, should help you a great deal.

Men hit the wall in their late 30s and early 40s when they are overdoing things for their existing metabolic rate, which often plunges.

Thanks Ecstatic I have not checked my temps but I will start recording those. I will look into adding more calcium to my diet I didn't know my diet was high in phosphorous. And I didn't know it was inflammatory.

One thing I would like to add. When my BP was running higher ( Pre Lisinopril ) I swear it caused me vertigo and panic attacks. Or it could have been psychological because I was checking my BP obsessively.

 

[olowshinenine]

Quit Ashwaganda, multiple people got PFS (post finasteride syndrome) from that. Also check if any supps or meds you're taking are 5ar inhibitors on google.

No kidding! I will definitely get rid of that immediately. I had no idea that could cause PFS. wow. I have read terrible things about PFS.

I should have mentioned in my original post I am not on Rogaine or Finesterside. Never have been.

 

[youngsinatra]

cortisol 0.0 -.798 they said mine is normal
Estradiol 0.0 - 45 they said mine is normal range
Prolactin 4 - 15.2 they said mine is above normal
Testosterone 249 - 836 they said mine is normal range
SHBG 17.4 - 53.6 they said mine is normal range
Free Androgen 31 - 1-2 they said mine is normal range
Free Testosterone 4.7 -24.4 they said mine is normal range

However I do not feel any libido and haven't for the past two years. Nothing like I used to be.

Estradiol & cortisol should definitely never be zero (0.0) so I am suprised about that reference range.

Also there is a difference between the „normal range“ and the „optimal range“.

Estradiol is necessary for libido in my experience and crushing it with too many estrogen-lowering reliable makes me feel like a monk without any erotic imagination, random erections and libido.

You can read a lot about this on reddit. Just search „low E2 libido“ or „low estradiol libido“ and you will find a ton.

But low estradiol usually is due to low testosterone as normally a good portion of total testosterone does aromatize into estrogen. And low testosterone is usually due to high stress, poor sleep, low thyroid, micronutrient deficiencies etc. etc.

Your testosterone is definitely on the low end.

How much zinc do you take per day?
How’s your thyroid function (underarm temperature, resting heart rate, TSH if you have it)

What are your other symptoms you are dealing with?

 

[Eberhardt]

I might add in addition to what have been said that it seems to me you are a bit low in carbs. that affects it a lot.

 

[jameske]

What did you eat and what supplements did you take before you had the crash in libido?

 

[David PS]

Not sure why anyone will take medication for 130/90 blood pressure. Just dietary changes will help get it lower, and there is nothing wrong with this blood pressure anyway.

MD's are trained to follow the community guidelines. If they do that the doctors are shielded from adverse outcomes in lawsuits. The medical profession continues to lower the prescription guidelines (for blood pressure, cholesterol, . . ).

The dark side of community guidelines to the patient is that if you are in a grey area where your numbers are not bad, the doctors are too willing to prescribe. At one time 130/90 was considered acceptable. Now if a doctor writes a 3 month prescription based on your 130/90 then the doctor can convert you from a patient who visits the doctor once a year into a patient who visits them 4 times a year. And each of your quarterly visits only take a minute of the doctors time to read your updated chart and printout another prescription. If the lisinopril gives you a side effect, such as ED, the doctor will just printout an additional prescription and remind you that it is good for you to keep your checkup appointments.

Lisinopril (Oral Route) Description and Brand Names - Mayo Clinic

www.mayoclinic.org

 

[HumanLife]

What are your total calories per day?

I do not know the zinc supplement. Check the fishmongeries near you for oysters. They are much cheaper than restaurant ones. Instead of using a tool, you can boil the oyster shells in boiling water to make them open by themselves. The boiling water can also clear a bit of pathogens in the oyster, if there are any.

 

[olowshinenine]

Estradiol & cortisol should definitely never be zero (0.0) so I am suprised about that reference range.

Also there is a difference between the „normal range“ and the „optimal range“.

Estradiol is necessary for libido in my experience and crushing it with too many estrogen-lowering reliable makes me feel like a monk without any erotic imagination, random erections and libido.

You can read a lot about this on reddit. Just search „low E2 libido“ or „low estradiol libido“ and you will find a ton.

But low estradiol usually is due to low testosterone as normally a good portion of total testosterone does aromatize into estrogen. And low testosterone is usually due to high stress, poor sleep, low thyroid, micronutrient deficiencies etc. etc.

Your testosterone is definitely on the low end.

How much zinc do you take per day?
How’s your thyroid function (underarm temperature, resting heart rate, TSH if you have it)

What are your other symptoms you are dealing with?

I will have to double check on zinc dosage it is mixed in with my vit c capsule. I have never tested my thyroid before not sure what to be testing. I have never tested my body temp unless I am sick. Resting heart rate is usually 60 to 80 bpm I know this because I am constantly checking my BP. TSH I dont know what this is.

Other symptoms. I have trouble sleeping. Usually wake up at least 1 time to pee. Toss and turn a lot at night because of a nasal clog that will not go away. I can usually only breath through one nostril at night.

Aside from the low libido no other symptoms. When I do get an erection it usually has good rigidity and stays hard until climax.

 

[olowshinenine]

I might add in addition to what have been said that it seems to me you are a bit low in carbs. that affects it a lot.

Yes I was definitely leaning more towards keto for a while. I am introducing potatoes back into my diet now that I have found out about Ray Peat.

 

[blackface]

You could have crashed your E2, if you have low libido and your joints crack its a low E2 symptom. Stop taking any supplements that lower oestrogen. So stop taking aspirin, zinc, vitamin E, K, D and taurine. This forum is obsessed with lowering estrogen but people dont understand that sstrogen is an important hormone for men as well.

Im extremely sensitive to all these supplements and they lower estrogen for me and lead to low libido.

 

[olowshinenine]

What did you eat and what supplements did you take before you had the crash in libido?

I didn't pay attention to supplements at all before my crash in libido. I ate more fast food and restaurant food before my libido crash and I drank way more alcohol. I was drinking about 4 times a week now I drink once a week moderately. My diet was nothing like it is now. I eat mostly home cooked meals now.

That's why I am confused about my libido. I am no longer committing violence to my body anymore but my libido is in the trash.

 

[olowshinenine]

MD's are trained to follow the community guidelines. If they do that the doctors are shielded from adverse outcomes in lawsuits. The medical profession continues to lower the prescription guidelines (for blood pressure, cholesterol, . . ).

The dark side of community guidelines to the patient is that if you are in a grey area where your numbers are not bad, the doctors are too willing to prescribe. At one time 130/90 was considered acceptable. Now if a doctor writes a 3 month prescription based on your 130/90 then the doctor can convert you from a patient who visits the doctor once a year into a patient who visits them 4 times a year. And each of your quarterly visits only take a minute of the doctors time to read your updated chart and printout another prescription. If the lisinopril gives you a side effect, such as ED, the doctor will just printout an additional prescription and remind you that it is good for you to keep your checkup appointments.

Lisinopril (Oral Route) Description and Brand Names - Mayo Clinic

www.mayoclinic.org

My doctor wanted to put me on a beta blocker at first. I went back and forth with him about it possibly affecting my erection quality. I persuaded him to put me on Lisinopril. From what I have read Lisinopril has the smallest chance to affect erections compared to all the other BP lowering drugs.

 

[olowshinenine]

What are your total calories per day?

I do not know the zinc supplement. Check the fishmongeries near you for oysters. They are much cheaper than restaurant ones. Instead of using a tool, you can boil the oyster shells in boiling water to make them open by themselves. The boiling water can also clear a bit of pathogens in the oyster, if there are any.

Totally calories I am sorry I don't know this. never counted. I am sure I am consuming too many because I have a belly.

 

[DennisX]

I agree with @youngsinatra. Yoour testosterone is too low. It should be 600-800 and your e2 is too low should be around 20. Also your prolactin is too high. It should be below 15. High prolactin can sometimes cause low libido

 

[olowshinenine]

You could have crashed your E2, if you have low libido and your joints crack its a low E2 symptom. Stop taking any supplements that lower oestrogen. So stop taking aspirin, zinc, vitamin E, K, D and taurine. This forum is obsessed with lowering estrogen but people dont understand that sstrogen is an important hormone for men as well.

Im extremely sensitive to all these supplements and they lower estrogen for me and lead to low lib

Yes I have noticed that about this forum its all anti estrogen. The reason I found this forum was through a peyroines disease support group. I am trying to reverse fibrosis in the penile tissue right now. Hence many of these supplements.