no libido - losing my mind

[PeatFeat]

I remember Ray Peat saying Vitamin E is very important for reproductive health. My libido is up and down. Sometimes it's non-existent, but sometimes it's crazy for a day.

 

[kiran]

So what exactly do you mean when you say no libido. Is it a lack of desire, or something like erectile dysfunction, or what?

 

[frustrated]

frustrated: How much salt are you getting?

About two teaspoons (not including the salt in broth and cheese). I just eat it straight

frustrated-
I believe one of our most Peat-knowledgeable posters here said she got like 3 TABLEspoons per day.
So with the liquid proportion...maybe you need to be more in that territory.

Generally though, I think the answer may simply be patience.
Sounds like you ate your share of PUFA like most of us,
and Peat says that can take up to 4 years to evacuate.
But you are young, so that bodes well.
I guess you're taking thyroid supplements? (Sorry if you said so and I missed that.)
How about your pulse and temps?
That might tell us something.
The poster who noted seafood--like oysters...that's a good idea:
zinc, copper, selenium...very sex hormone related.

I've been doing peat for 2 years and paleo for 2 years before then. I should not have much pufa in me at all.

Piluse is 75-80. Temps are ok. I have taken thiroyd and cytomel and they didn't seem to do anything for libido.

I don't eat shellfood because there isn't much selection here. Oysters are ridiculously expensive, only leaving shrimp which isn't very nutrient dense.

 

[frustrated]

So what exactly do you mean when you say no libido. Is it a lack of desire, or something like erectile dysfunction, or what?

No morning woods.
Used to get boners just looking at girls, now need way more stimulation.
Penis sensitivity sucks. Sometimes dull or even painful.

 

[narouz]

frustrated-

In short...I don't know.
But a couple of thoughts.

Around these parts "we"
(and by "we" I mean "not me" )
have been everso finicky and resistant to establishing, generally,
what a Peat diet is,
if it should be called a "diet,"
or even if such a thang even exists.
So...when you say you've been doing a Peat diet for 2 years,
obviously there is some (and by "some" I mean "ginormous") room for miscommunication.

And--not food oriented,
but a Peatian thought.
Although it is common in my view to abuse Peat's comments like
"Context is everything,"
in your case I think it might be accurately employed.
I've had times in my life when I felt a lot like you,
like when I've been alone--not in a sexual relationship.
I felt I had no libido.
Then I met the right woman, and...viola!
instant and boundless (okay, I exaggerate) Libido!

 

[charlie]

I felt I had no libido.
Then I met the right woman, and...viola!
instant and boundless (okay, I exaggerate) Libido!

Hmmmm, maybe that's my problem.

 

[kettlebell]

Deleted. No constructive content.

 

[narouz]

re my last post...

just to say:
the imagination,
especially in matters of love and sex,
is a powerful and mysterious beast.

Less mystically:
things like pheromones (is that spelled right?)

There's a lot going on that falls outside the realm of diet.

 

[Yves]

How's your digestive health? How's your sleep?

I don't see a lot of zinc in your diet. I would try a ZMA supplement at night, it seemed to benefit me in the libido department. I would also experiment with more salt, red wine (works great for me for libido and digestion as it's antimicrobial) and start drinking coffee. Antibiotics/antimicrobials helped me as well, but I had major digestion issues.

What's helped me -

Vit e, Vit A, Vit D, zinc/magnesium, coffee, red wine, aspirin, antibiotics + carrot salad with vinegar,salt

Maybe helped me:

Boron (was in my zn/mg/ca sup)
Easy on meat and dairy, and more potatoes + gelatin for protein
Cayenne pepper (good for digestion, blood flow)
Turmeric (lowers Cytokines)
Lactoferrin/Xylitol (anti-biofilm antibiotic combo. I have taken vinegar + large handful of lactoferrin capsules on a few occasions and had wood all day)

 

[frustrated]

Yves, thanks a lot man.

I definitely have a f*cked up gut. I fixed a lot of problems with Peat, I can digest his foods fine, but I think I likely just have an innately deranged gut flora. I cannot tolerate starches for the life of me.

I might try the lactoferrin + vinegar + xylitol combo. I will try charcoal too. Somewhere in the back of my mind I keep thinking Peat said something negative about xylitol though...

 

[frustrated]

There's a lot going on that falls outside the realm of diet.

I agree and thanks for your comments. I think in this context though, that is not likely to be the case, i.e., a 22 yo male shouldn't need to be with his soulmate to get a boner

 

[kiran]

Carrot/activated charcoal/cascara might be useful to help your gut. Apart from that you might really benefit from anti-serotonergics like ondansetron/tianeptine/acetazolamide/lisuride/bromocriptine, etc. I personally use and benefit from aceazolamide and ondansetron. Someone I know started on tianeptine and is seeing benefits for libido.

 

[Yves]

Yves, thanks a lot man.

I definitely have a f*cked up gut. I fixed a lot of problems with Peat, I can digest his foods fine, but I think I likely just have an innately deranged gut flora. I cannot tolerate starches for the life of me.

I might try the lactoferrin + vinegar + xylitol combo. I will try charcoal too. Somewhere in the back of my mind I keep thinking Peat said something negative about xylitol though...

Sure, no problem. I searched Ray Peat's website and he does state Xylitol may be involved in cataracts: http://raypeat.com/articles/aging/trans ... acts.shtml . So maybe it's not the best to take it long term. It has antibacterial and anti-fungal effects which is why I take it now and then. The lactoferrin and vinegar carrot salad seemed to give me the immediate jolt in libido so you might be able to skip the xylitol. Jarrow's Lactoferrin brand used to be cheap ($15/bottle on amazon) and is what I used.. Unfortunately they seem to have supply issues the past 6 months so I am using symbiotics. I do use charcoal and forgot to mention it.

If you have the funds I would look at getting a metametrix stool analysis to see what pathogens you have. It costs about $220 for the pathogen test and around $400 for the deluxe test which includes sIGA and other immune system markers. The pathogen one is more bang for your buck. Once you know what you're dealing with acquire the appropriate antibiotics/antifungals/anti-parasitics. There are dozens of pathogens, so you can really be shooting in the dark if you don't know what you have. I've had a rainbow of infections over the years, worms, protozoa, fungal, bacterial. No joke, as a result I avoid eating out, salad bars, or sharing utensils since I tend to get food poisoning easily. If you have a sexual partner they could be a source of these infections too (from kissing or other "intimate contact").

If tests are out of the question I would try to diagnose them empirically or just try a combo of broad spectrum antibiotics and anti-biofilm substances and hope somethings sticks.. What are your digestive symptoms?

 

[narouz]

Just saw this and it is somewhat related:

HIGH PROLACTIN

Either vitex or bromocriptine would probably stop it, but I think it's probably caused by mild hypothyroidism, and that the best way to handle it would be with a thyroid supplement, and that would probably help your libido too.

Prolactin and TSH tend to increase together, so when you didn't need the prolactin to be high, the TSH--which might have been keeping your thyroid active despite high estrogen--could have decreased, letting the gland be suppressed by estrogen (and maybe PUFA, from the nuts and any non-ruminant meats). Optimally, the TSH should be very low, but the thyroid gland should keep functioning without needing much stimulation.

Salt and thyroid usually lower it, but you might want to try a little vitamin B6; even a small amount, about 10 mg per day, can lower prolactin.

from D. Roddy's site: "Building Peat's Brain"

 

[Combie]

I temporarily lost my libido, specifically erctile dysfucntion a few months ago. I had started eating liver twice a week and supplementing Vit D/K2 5000iu/1mg just prior. Everything i then read said that these should help with this, but my experience was contrary. Ive never had great wood, but id never had too much trouble raising one prior to that. It was like it got going, but the slightest pause, like putting a condom on, and it flopped, never to return that day. Stopped the D/K2/Liver, it came back. Started taking smaller dose D/K2 recently rubbed into skin instaed of oral, and no liver for a while. Havent had a chance to try things out tho. Ive found baking soda seems to make things swole down there.

 

[charlie]

Combie, thats crazy about the D, K2 and liver affecting you like that. I believe you, just saying dang thats weird!

 

[Combie]

Combie, thats crazy about the D, K2 and liver affecting you like that. I believe you, just saying dang thats weird!

Thats what i thought! Im not sure which caused it, or even for sure those were responsible. But they were the only changes i made around that time, i think. Think i was taking calcium carbonate too...but have been taking that recently too with no known probs... Maybe too much too soon? ~56000iu of retinol, 35000iu of D and 7mg of K2 in a week is a lot, no?

 

[charlie]

Well, I could be wrong but that does seem like a lot. I do know Ray Peat has said these big changes cause a lot of stress on the body.

 

[Combie]

Yeah, i wont be making these types of mistakes again. Its like the dessicated thyroid thing. Going in at 1 1/2 grains a day made me feel like poo, so it put me off using it. Now im just nibbling abit here and there im getting the benefit.

 

[charlie]

Yep, slow and easy. It takes a while for the chemical reactions to adjust in the body.