Multivitamins Killed My Libido And Cause Low Ferriting

[Bluestreek]

Hi,

I am 38 yrs male and I took a multivitamin + skin/hair and nail multivitamin tablet, each everyday (12 hours a part, one in the morning and the other in the evening after meals) just for 18 days (in Feb 2017). In 18 days, they caused extreme depression and loss of libido + erectyle dysfunction+penile shrinkage (symptoms similar to post finasteride syndrome). My hair were falling all my life and they stopped falling first time in my life.

I stopped taking them immediately after 18 days and the depression susided. Still hair are not falling and the sexual side did not improve either. The supplements were bought from boots pharmaceuticals (UK). Standard, over the counter supplements. I have asked the helplines several times and checked the details and they contain no DHT blockers.

The ingredients are attached above.

Blood reports:
==========
Total Testosterone is normal i.e 571 ng/dL on a range of 240-830.
Free Testosterone 12.10 ng/dL [9-30]
Estradiol 30 pg/mL [7.6-42]
SHBG 31 nmol/L [14-49]
serum Zinc is 140 ug/dL on a range of 50-150.
Ceruplasmin is 0.24 [0.20 to 0.6]

After quiting them for 5 months now, I felt slightly better, still far from what I was.
Although, when I observe an intemittent fast (hungry 16 hours and eat 8 hours a day) for a week, then I start feeling a recovery. As soon as I stop fasting, it goes back to low libido.

And the multivitamin pill (not the skin/hair and nail multivitamin), I was using it on and off for over a year already with no side effects.

Recently, my GP check my blood and found that I was turning anemic. The blood results are attached below:

Very Low Ferritin 11 on a range of [20 - 300]. Before taking the supplements, it was 70.

Doctor suggested iron supplement. But when I take a single iron pill, I feel a pressure in my head and an headace, along with numbness in the penis.

It looks like iron is not being deposited in the body. Anyone knows about this situation?

I have normal blood pressure. Does anyone have any idea what to look for?
Any help will be greatly appreaciated.
Best Regards

 

[Prosper]

Do you know if you have any genetic issues with methylation? That much synthetic folic acid could cause a lot of problems to people with certain MTHFR mutations. The rest of the ingredients and their amounts don't look that harmful based on my limited knowledge.

 

[tankasnowgod]

Very Low Ferritin 11 on a range of [20 - 300]. Before taking the supplements, it was 70.

Doctor suggested iron supplement. But when I take a single iron pill, I feel a pressure in my head and an headace, along with numbness in the penis.

It looks like iron is not being deposited in the body. Anyone knows about this situation?

I have normal blood pressure. Does anyone have any idea what to look for?
Any help will be greatly appreaciated.
Best Regards

I wouldn't think a multivitamin could cause a drop in iron. Especially one that contained iron in the first place. The fact that both TSAT and Ferritin are low are probably an indication of another problem, like some hidden parasite or infection.

It could also happen with a change in diet. If you stopped eating red meat, and started getting most of your protein from eggs and dairy, or started eating a lot of food that contained iron inhibitors, like whole grains or soy or olive oil or coffee, that could have caused it too. Aspirin also lowers body iron stores.

Also..... Intermittent Fasting? I've had mixed results with that practice myself. If you're having health problems, I think an everyday 16 hour fasting window might just be too aggressive.

Iron supplements are known to cause all sorts of unpleasant reactions. I would think dessicated liver pills would be superior. They also sell iron in ferritin pills, and have "gentler" forms of iron, like iron bis-glycinate.

You might want to do more research on the Iron Disorders website, they specifically deal with high and low iron issues. Here's where patients talk about their own experiences- Iron Blog

 

[bboone]

Hi,

I am 38 yrs male and I took a multivitamin + skin/hair and nail multivitamin tablet, each everyday (12 hours a part, one in the morning and the other in the evening after meals) just for 18 days (in Feb 2017). In 18 days, they caused extreme depression and loss of libido + erectyle dysfunction+penile shrinkage (symptoms similar to post finasteride syndrome). My hair were falling all my life and they stopped falling first time in my life.

I stopped taking them immediately after 18 days and the depression susided. Still hair are not falling and the sexual side did not improve either. The supplements were bought from boots pharmaceuticals (UK). Standard, over the counter supplements. I have asked the helplines several times and checked the details and they contain no DHT blockers.

View attachment 6363 View attachment 6364
The ingredients are attached above.

Blood reports:
==========
Total Testosterone is normal i.e 571 ng/dL on a range of 240-830.
Free Testosterone 12.10 ng/dL [9-30]
Estradiol 30 pg/mL [7.6-42]
SHBG 31 nmol/L [14-49]
serum Zinc is 140 ug/dL on a range of 50-150.
Ceruplasmin is 0.24 [0.20 to 0.6]

After quiting them for 5 months now, I felt slightly better, still far from what I was.
Although, when I observe an intemittent fast (hungry 16 hours and eat 8 hours a day) for a week, then I start feeling a recovery. As soon as I stop fasting, it goes back to low libido.

And the multivitamin pill (not the skin/hair and nail multivitamin), I was using it on and off for over a year already with no side effects.

Recently, my GP check my blood and found that I was turning anemic. The blood results are attached below:

View attachment 6365

Very Low Ferritin 11 on a range of [20 - 300]. Before taking the supplements, it was 70.

Doctor suggested iron supplement. But when I take a single iron pill, I feel a pressure in my head and an headace, along with numbness in the penis.

It looks like iron is not being deposited in the body. Anyone knows about this situation?

I have normal blood pressure. Does anyone have any idea what to look for?
Any help will be greatly appreaciated.
Best Regards

i just saw this, but isn't the primrose oil quite suspicious? for future reference

 

[TheBeard]

Hi,

I am 38 yrs male and I took a multivitamin + skin/hair and nail multivitamin tablet, each everyday (12 hours a part, one in the morning and the other in the evening after meals) just for 18 days (in Feb 2017). In 18 days, they caused extreme depression and loss of libido + erectyle dysfunction+penile shrinkage (symptoms similar to post finasteride syndrome). My hair were falling all my life and they stopped falling first time in my life.

I stopped taking them immediately after 18 days and the depression susided. Still hair are not falling and the sexual side did not improve either. The supplements were bought from boots pharmaceuticals (UK). Standard, over the counter supplements. I have asked the helplines several times and checked the details and they contain no DHT blockers.

View attachment 6363 View attachment 6364
The ingredients are attached above.

Blood reports:
==========
Total Testosterone is normal i.e 571 ng/dL on a range of 240-830.
Free Testosterone 12.10 ng/dL [9-30]
Estradiol 30 pg/mL [7.6-42]
SHBG 31 nmol/L [14-49]
serum Zinc is 140 ug/dL on a range of 50-150.
Ceruplasmin is 0.24 [0.20 to 0.6]

After quiting them for 5 months now, I felt slightly better, still far from what I was.
Although, when I observe an intemittent fast (hungry 16 hours and eat 8 hours a day) for a week, then I start feeling a recovery. As soon as I stop fasting, it goes back to low libido.

And the multivitamin pill (not the skin/hair and nail multivitamin), I was using it on and off for over a year already with no side effects.

Recently, my GP check my blood and found that I was turning anemic. The blood results are attached below:

View attachment 6365

Very Low Ferritin 11 on a range of [20 - 300]. Before taking the supplements, it was 70.

Doctor suggested iron supplement. But when I take a single iron pill, I feel a pressure in my head and an headace, along with numbness in the penis.

It looks like iron is not being deposited in the body. Anyone knows about this situation?

I have normal blood pressure. Does anyone have any idea what to look for?
Any help will be greatly appreaciated.
Best Regards

The same exact symptoms happen to me everytime I take a multi.

The reason? The amount of zinc and the form of B6 they use are potent 5AR inhibitors and aromatase inhibitors.

So you end up with low E2 and low DHT, best cocktail for depression and shrunken penis

 

[Whichway?]

The same exact symptoms happen to me everytime I take a multi.

The reason? The amount of zinc and the form of B6 they use are potent 5AR inhibitors and aromatase inhibitors.

So you end up with low E2 and low DHT, best cocktail for depression and shrunken penis

Does the B6 have to be the P-5-P version to not cause this problem?

I thought zinc was necessary and good for the health of your sexual glands and function as it is involved in testosterone production.

 

[bboone]

Does the B6 have to be the P-5-P version to not cause this problem?

I thought zinc was necessary and good for the health of your sexual glands and function as it is involved in testosterone production.

i'm just starting to piece this together too. my somewhat sudden drop in lack of sexual interest coincides with several events, but i was taking a multi that contained both B6 and zinc for quite some time. it never made sense to me either, seeing as my androgenic profile improved markedly as my sexual interest declined rapidly lol

 

[TheBeard]

androgenic profile

Can you elaborate?

 

[bboone]

Can you elaborate?

testosterone and strength increased. im back to thinking its serotonin receptor downregulation tho

 

[magnesiumania]

Waaaay too much iron. And most likly its not in a very bio-available form. We dont need alot of iron, in fact 24mg is supposed to be recycled of what we use and we need about 1mg through our mouth. The best you can do is to support the enzymes that drive copper/iron metabolism.

Iron in our tissues and organs is at the root of oxidative stress > inflammation > mineral dysregulation.

Also supplemental zinc tend to stimulate too much Metallothionein that binds up all your copper and most already seriously lack bio-available copper due to low ceruloplasmin ferroxidase enzyme activity.