Nicotine Reduces Erectile Response In Nonsmoking Males

Drareg

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Dopamine

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Interesting study.

Acute nicotine administration stimulates prolactin release (Wilkins et al., 1982; Rasmussen, 1995). However, serum prolactin levels are significantly lower in both male and female chronic smokers who smoke more than 10 cigarettes per day (Andersen et al., 1984). This apparent discrepancy could be explained by a similar mechanism to that with ACTH (Fuxe et al., 1989).

Decreased physiological arousal probaly resulted from slight increases in prolactin after acute nicotine intake. Acute caffeine can have the same effect. I think prolactin release is a response to elevations in FFA and 5HT from low blood sugar. Acute nicotine and caffeine on an empty stomach can raise 5HT, FFA, and prolactin... this effect is diminished or eliminated in chronic adaptation and/or in the presence of adequate glucose. In the study the subjects fasted for at least 2 hours prior, then took an intermediate dosage of stimulant that they aren't normally exposed too, then watched a physiologically exciting movie. Overstimulation and elevations of FFA and prolactin would be expected.

Maybe this is another point for chronic caffeine and nicotine being more beneficial than acute usage as you wouldn't see these acute stressor effects or they would be less likely. Also if they had some coke or OJ with the nicotine maybe there wouldn't have been prolactin elevations and other low blood sugar symptoms...

Chronic nicotine treatment increases dopamine levels and reduces dopamine utilization in substantia nigra and in surviving forebrain dopamine nerve... - PubMed - NCBI
"Chronic nicotine treatment under the present conditions did not significantly alter serum levels of corticosterone and reduced prolactin serum levels in sham-operated rats."

Nicotine acts directly on pituitary GH3 cells to inhibit prolactin promoter activity. - PubMed - NCBI
"Nicotine was also observed to yield a concentration-dependent inhibition of the stimulation by thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) of PRL promoter activity, implying that nicotine can also interfere with hormonal regulation of the PRL gene."
 
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lvysaur

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I don't take sexual arousal too seriously, because in my experience, it seems to be another part of the compensatory "virilizing" process, along with facial hair and hair loss.

Since getting my metabolism under control and improving my mood, I feel the need to orgasm only once a week or so. My hair grew back, and my facial hair is now soft and slow-growing. My voice pitch, on the contrary, got slightly deeper.

Sexual arousal can be healthy or unhealthy, and medical studies do not differentiate between the two.
 
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I don't take sexual arousal too seriously, because in my experience, it seems to be another part of the compensatory "virilizing" process, along with facial hair and hair loss.

Since getting my metabolism under control and improving my mood, I feel the need to orgasm only once a week or so. My hair grew back, and my facial hair is now soft and slow-growing. My voice pitch, on the contrary, got slightly deeper.

Sexual arousal can be healthy or unhealthy, and medical studies do not differentiate between the two.

what does sexual arousal have to do with orgasms?
 

Dopamine

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Nicotine and cotinine inhibit steroidogenesis in mouse Leydig cells
Nefa Inhibit Steroidogenesis

Increases in testosterone are not always a good thing because excesses are converted into estrogen...

"The objectives of this study were to determine if nicotine and cotinine, two alkaloid products of cigarettes, affect luteinizing hormone(LH)-stimulated steroidogenesis in isolated adult mouse Leydig cells."

This study stated nicotine reduces LH induced steroidogenesis which makes sense because nicotine lowers LH. This is a good thing as LH is a pituitary hormone and as with most pituitary hormones- they are highest in poor states of health and lowest in healthy metabolic states. Pituitary hormones are adaptive for when metabolism isn't functioning 100%.

"Estrogen's stress-mimicking action probably tends to increase the secretion of LH, in ways that can be corrected by supplementing progesterone and thyroid."
-Ray Peat

"LH (luteinizing hormone) increases when progesterone or testosterone is deficient, and growth hormone and prolactin (which are closely associated in evolution) both increase under a variety of stressful situations, and with estrogenic stimulation. Prostate cancer patients who had higher levels of LH and lower testosterone died most quickly. (Harper, et al., 1984.)"
-Ray Peat

Nicotine lowers LH stimulated testosterone but overall testosterone levels remain stable.

Involvement of D1 dopamine receptors in the nicotine-induced neuro-endocrine effects and depletion of diencephalic catecholamine stores in the male... - PubMed - NCBI
"Nicotine treatment and to a minor degree also acute intermittent exposure to cigarette smoke produced a reduction in serum prolactin, LH and TSH but not in serum FSH, vasopressin and testosterone levels."

The study you posted is a good demonstration of the adaptive benefits of nicotine.
 

NathanK

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Increases in testosterone are not always a good thing because excesses are converted into estrogen...

"The objectives of this study were to determine if nicotine and cotinine, two alkaloid products of cigarettes, affect luteinizing hormone(LH)-stimulated steroidogenesis in isolated adult mouse Leydig cells."

This study stated nicotine reduces LH induced steroidogenesis which makes sense because nicotine lowers LH. This is a good thing as LH is a pituitary hormone and as with most pituitary hormones- they are highest in poor states of health and lowest in healthy metabolic states. Pituitary hormones are adaptive for when metabolism isn't functioning 100%.

"Estrogen's stress-mimicking action probably tends to increase the secretion of LH, in ways that can be corrected by supplementing progesterone and thyroid."
-Ray Peat

"LH (luteinizing hormone) increases when progesterone or testosterone is deficient, and growth hormone and prolactin (which are closely associated in evolution) both increase under a variety of stressful situations, and with estrogenic stimulation. Prostate cancer patients who had higher levels of LH and lower testosterone died most quickly. (Harper, et al., 1984.)"
-Ray Peat

Nicotine lowers LH stimulated testosterone but overall testosterone levels remain stable.

Involvement of D1 dopamine receptors in the nicotine-induced neuro-endocrine effects and depletion of diencephalic catecholamine stores in the male... - PubMed - NCBI
"Nicotine treatment and to a minor degree also acute intermittent exposure to cigarette smoke produced a reduction in serum prolactin, LH and TSH but not in serum FSH, vasopressin and testosterone levels."

The study you posted is a good demonstration of the adaptive benefits of nicotine.
All your quotes relate to female physiology. Ask any man with secondary hypogonadism (low testosterone derived from low pituitary LH and FSH), which seems popular these days, if they are in high health. The context of high LH from stress and estrogen is largely based on women and men on estrogenic clomid (Testosterone treatment in hypogonadal men: prostate-specific antigen level and risk of prostate cancer. - PubMed - NCBI). I can't speak for men with abnormal physiology that are about to die from prostate cancer, but there is a connection between prostate problems and high estrogen.

People forget that Ray has made an emphasis on writing about female physiology and forget the context of some things he has said. A common example are people who read Ray's email response saying it's fine to supplement with around 4mg of testosterone, which is an utterly ridiculous amount for men. Testosterone is an important protective hormone that cannot be synthesized without LH stimulating leydig cells in the testes. Men need testosterone and therefore need enough LH. Same goes for the pituitary hormone FSH. Without that you would be ejaculating dust.
 

Dopamine

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All your quotes relate to female physiology. Ask any man with secondary hypogonadism (low testosterone derived from low pituitary LH and FSH), which seems popular these days, if they are in high health. The context of high LH from stress and estrogen is largely based on women and men on estrogenic clomid (Testosterone treatment in hypogonadal men: prostate-specific antigen level and risk of prostate cancer. - PubMed - NCBI). I can't speak for men with abnormal physiology that are about to die from prostate cancer, but there is a connection between prostate problems and high estrogen.

People forget that Ray has made an emphasis on writing about female physiology and forget the context of some things he has said. A common example are people who read Ray's email response saying it's fine to supplement with around 4mg of testosterone, which is an utterly ridiculous amount for men. Testosterone is an important protective hormone that cannot be synthesized without LH stimulating leydig cells in the testes. Men need testosterone and therefore need enough LH. Same goes for the pituitary hormone FSH. Without that you would be ejaculating dust.

Ok I honestly don't know much about hormones like LH and you are right. My main point is that chronic nicotine use has not been shown to give men or women low testosterone though it may have upstream effects in certain contexts that would suggest it should. Cigarette smoke has estrogenic compounds but nicotine has been shown to have a neutral or positive effect on testosterone when viewed in the bigger picture.
 
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MrFreeman

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With this, vaping nicotine (Whole Tobacco Alkaloids, it includes myosmine, nornicotine, anabasine etc.) probably causes this, but pipe tobacco seems to enhance my... performance. The same substance is likely completely different if the route of administration is slower and calmer than the immediate effects of lung absorption.
 

NathanK

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Ok I honestly don't know much about hormones like LH and you are right. My main point is that chronic nicotine use has not been shown to give men or women low testosterone though it may have upstream effects in certain contexts that would suggest it should. Cigarette smoke has estrogenic compounds but nicotine has been shown to have a neutral or positive effect on testosterone when viewed in the bigger picture.
When my testosterone was tested low before peating, I blamed some of that on excessive FFA from tobacco use (though I didn't really smoke). In all, it doesn't necessarily mean nicotine is the sole cause of lowered steroids (there's plenty of guys with low T that don't use tobacco), but I think in a bigger picture that chronic use can play a part with dietary, physical, psychological, and environmental stresses.
 

PhilParma

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Chronic nicotine use (gum) has increased my libido. By what mechanism could it do that? It also gives me brain fog (due to short half life?)
 

PhilParma

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Chronic nicotine use (2-6mg spread throughout the day) has increased adrenaline/anxiety. Experiment terminated. It was nice having an actual libido for a few weeks though. I wonder how that happened. DHT? I've been off of nicotone for a week or two--background anxiety is gradually lessening but still persists. And I'm back to not caring about sex again, just like old times.

:studying
 

TubZy

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Chronic nicotine use (2-6mg spread throughout the day) has increased adrenaline/anxiety. Experiment terminated. It was nice having an actual libido for a few weeks though. I wonder how that happened. DHT? I've been off of nicotone for a week or two--background anxiety is gradually lessening but still persists. And I'm back to not caring about sex again, just like old times.

:studying

How is your glycogen stores?
 
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I don't take sexual arousal too seriously, because in my experience, it seems to be another part of the compensatory "virilizing" process, along with facial hair and hair loss.

Since getting my metabolism under control and improving my mood, I feel the need to orgasm only once a week or so. My hair grew back, and my facial hair is now soft and slow-growing. My voice pitch, on the contrary, got slightly deeper.

Sexual arousal can be healthy or unhealthy, and medical studies do not differentiate between the two.

I think healthy male sexuality should be in response to fertile ovulating females. Men shouldn't walk around horny all the time.

I'm horniest when my estrogen is high.
 

PhilParma

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How is your glycogen stores?

I wouldn't know how to gauge that really. The storage is probably better now than it was during my nicotine experiment because I'm eating twice as much sugar daily, and I'm supplementing with taurine. Even so, I don't feel like nicotine again--at least not at the moment. The anxiety sucked.
 

TubZy

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I wouldn't know how to gauge that really. The storage is probably better now than it was during my nicotine experiment because I'm eating twice as much sugar daily, and I'm supplementing with taurine. Even so, I don't feel like nicotine again--at least not at the moment. The anxiety sucked.

Do you you hypoglycemic easily like having to eat every two or three hours? How do you handle caffeine and do you get anxiety from caffeine compared to nicotine? The reason I ask is b/c taking niacinamide at the same of my big caffeine dose eliminated the anxiety from caffeine, I think nicotine plus niacinamide should work similar in that respect.
 

PhilParma

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Do you you hypoglycemic easily like having to eat every two or three hours? How do you handle caffeine and do you get anxiety from caffeine compared to nicotine? The reason I ask is b/c taking niacinamide at the same of my big caffeine dose eliminated the anxiety from caffeine, I think nicotine plus niacinamide should work similar in that respect.

I've always handled caffeine well; 5+ coffees per day, no anxiety. I get hypoglycemia symptoms no matter how often I eat, but I have to say that I don't think the nicotine anxiety was from hypoglycemia because it was more of a low-level anxiety that persisted throughout the day regardless of other symptoms. What dose of niacinamide did you take?
 
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I've always handled caffeine well; 5+ coffees per day, no anxiety. I get hypoglycemia symptoms no matter how often I eat, but I have to say that I don't think the nicotine anxiety was from hypoglycemia because it was more of a low-level anxiety that persisted throughout the day regardless of other symptoms. What dose of niacinamide did you take?

How do you link physiological states to hormones?

For example I get light headed and tired if I smoke when I haven't eaten. What would that be?

I get a warm also sedating progesterone feeling when I smoke while digesting a meal. What is that?

I get really angry and start to hate everyone and feel like I'm PMSing at night. Smoking helps but what is that?
 

X3CyO

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How do you link physiological states to hormones?

For example I get light headed and tired if I smoke when I haven't eaten. What would that be?

I get a warm also sedating progesterone feeling when I smoke while digesting a meal. What is that?

I get really angry and start to hate everyone and feel like I'm PMSing at night. Smoking helps but what is that?
Im just gonna take a whack at each of those but it could be something else; These are just based off me.

1) Stress hormones; adrenaline, and a depressent effect of tobacco amplified due to lack of adequate glycogen.

2) Thyroid speeding up and thus androgen production goes up.

Kind of like how coffee is a stressor without being paired with food.

3) Could be a symptom of withdrawl if you use chronically or acutely.
If thats the case thats what happens to me sometimes. Ive never actually had a craving for cigarettes during those periods of time though so idk.
 

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