Thyroid Supplementation Ruined Me As A Man. How Can I Recover?

Sumbody

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It's a bold title, I know, and my apologies, but I would do anything to go back and change my uninformed decisions at the time.

In April-May of 2018, I was prescribed 50mcg Levothyroxine because my TSH was hovering steady at around 8.x (mU/L).

At around the second week of supplementation, I started to notice slight dizziness, as well as a weird feeling of being overwhelmed or overstimulated by things I would see while shopping. Displays, shelves of products, etc. At this time I also began to experience a very slight dull ache in my left testicle. Two weeks later I would come to find that my ability to achieve an erection, become excited/stimulated or interested was completely gone! My libido went in reverse and I was almost repulsed by the thought of the opposite sex.

The dull ache in my testicle became a dull constant ache in both testicles, throughout the second month. Testicular volume, as well as ejaculate volume, shrunk considerably if I was even able to achieve an erection. At this point, I had never in my life, had so much difficulty or ever experienced a "half-****" erection.

For years prior to this, I was on another level with libido and performance. Often achieving almost instantaneous, painfully engorged erections with nearly zero refractory periods. Even nighttime tumescence erections were rock solid ALLWAYS! I had never experienced any type of difficulty in that department whatsoever in my life, until those first 30 days of thyroid, more precisely right about at the 30-day mark.

I took thyroid for one more month but realized I needed to stop. It took several months to "somewhat" recover. But here's the thing...

I have never quite felt the same!

My libido or desire for sex completely sucks compared to what it used to be. And I still experience weak erections from time to time. I had never experienced this EVER until thyroid was introduced to me.

Now since then, I have made huge strides in my thyroid recovery, without supplementation. I am now in the "normal" range according to the medical field but am still continuing towards improvement.

I have always felt that somehow taking the thyroid in a sense "re-wired" my brain. Somehow, somewhere, I don't know how but I just feel it. I feel like what I am experiencing is very similar to what folks describe as Post-Finasteride Syndrome. It doesn't seem possible from what I've learned and such, and my case seems to be somewhat rare, but I just know that based on how I feel somehow thyroid altered receptors in my brain. Which might explain why I felt so dizzy and awkward while taking thyroid.

Please bear with me, I still don't know how to use this forum as other folks do, but I came across this thread...
Thoughts On 5ar And Post Finasteride Syndrome

And this makes sense to me...
It is my belief that PFS is caused by a down regulation of the 5ar enzyme. At first I thought this was not the case as certain supplements (creatine and sorghum flour) which are known to increase 5ar activity worsened my symptoms. This theory has further been dismissed by the observation that Proviron and other steroids generally worsen symptoms in men. I and many others on this forum and elsewhere have observed that GABA enhancing substances (benzodiazepines, alcohol, marijuana) dramatically improve symptoms, libido, brain fog, memory ect. This has been the case for me, so far the one thing which has produced the most profound improvements has been Valium. It is my belief that the most severe cases of PFS are caused by a 5ar downregulation in the Brain/CNS. Normal blood levels of Testosterone and DHT are observed in PFS sufferers. So any attempts to increase 5ar and/or DHT peripherally without directly increasing 5ar in the Brain/CNS causes a negative feedback on the HPG axis

So with that said, what are some safe options and suggestions to go about increasing GABA quickly and effectively as well as 5ar activity in the brain?

I feel that this is absolutely what I need! And stumbling around this forum and elsewhere has kinda drawn me towards this conclusion. Even the old things that used to excite me sexually in the past, just don't seem to register like they once did. And mind you, this change happened almost overnight! Like within a week or so.

For the most part, I have a very stable mood, but at times do lack a little motivation or drive, but no major depression or axiety. Sometimes I can be slightly irritable, but most of the time right down the middle with everything.

I just want to re-awaken a part of my brain that thyroid seemed to somehow turn off.

Thank you so much in advance for any insight you all can provide!
 

sebastian_r

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Before you jump from one crazy supplement recommendation to the next, get bloodwork done. Everything else would be guesswork.
Estradiol sensitive
Testosterone, Fee, Total
DHEA
LH & FSH
DHT
 
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Sumbody

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Before you jump from one crazy supplement recommendation to the next, get bloodwork done. Everything else would be guesswork.
Estradiol sensitive
Testosterone, Fee, Total
DHEA
LH & FSH
DHT

Thanks! But I already did the jumping around with supps.

I did have testosterone checked back then, and I started somewhere like at 532, just after thyroid, but then maybe a few months later tested at about 650 for total testosterone. Free test was middle of the range.

I do have health insurance, but it's impossible to suggest testing hormones to a doctor unless they really feel its necessary, not just based on what I say I think needs to be done.

I have found some sites online that you pay to have testing done through Quest Labs, but I really can't afford it at the moment. I do realize that that would be best. I do have an upcoming test for TSH and free T4, a Celiac test as well that I've yet to take. But I don't know how to convince a doctor to test for those other hormones as well.
 

thomas00

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What is your TSH now? You know Ray considers the normal range as defined by the endocrinology societies to be absurd...

Have you read anything Ray has written about thyroid? Or listened to any of the podcasts? Going by bloodwork alone is no good for determining whether you are still hypothyroid or not. If you were hypothyroid then you could still be hypothyroid now, seeing as t4 does not solve the problem.

You're approach to this makes no sense- trying to increase GABA and addressing 5ar when you have not taken finasteride. I don't doubt there are lot of conditions which share the same symptoms of 'PFS'. T4 only is a foolish treatment that causes people harm.


Starting with your pulse and temps plus would surely be a better position to begin from.....
 

sebastian_r

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Without lab values, and playing the guess game, I would try tackling the variables that are responsible in most cases for libido / ED problems. Estradiol and DHT.
I found Levothyroxine to be highly estrogenic in my testings. Maybe that ****88 you up.
You could try supplementing with Vitamin E and K2 MK4 for a couple days.
Those are rather safe and won't do any longtime harm.
 
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Sumbody

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What is your TSH now? You know Ray considers the normal range as defined by the endocrinology societies to be absurd...

Have you read anything Ray has written about thyroid? Or listened to any of the podcasts? Going by bloodwork alone is no good for determining whether you are still hypothyroid or not. If you were hypothyroid then you could still be hypothyroid now, seeing as t4 does not solve the problem.

You're approach to this makes no sense- trying to increase GABA and addressing 5ar when you have not taken finasteride. I don't doubt there are lot of conditions which share the same symptoms of 'PFS'. T4 only just screws people up.


Starting with your pulse and temps plus would surely be a better position to begin from.....

TSH now is 4.x. Please note my quotations around what the medical field considers "normal" in my original post. I am well aware of what Dr. Peat suggests. Hence my quotations may be kicking in a direction of sarcasm on that fact toward the mainstream medical community.

I was subclinically hypothyroid for who knows how long prior to the T4 prescription. T3 and T4 in the normal range, and TSH being 7-8 all the while having a raging libido, rock hard erections and muscle throughout. Although at this time I did start to accumulate a little body fat. At the time I was 35. My TSH was elevated for at least 6-9 months to my knowledge and probably much longer prior to supplementation.

I never had any problems with mood, libido, performance, gaining muscle, having energy, etc. Even while my TSH was elevated.

It was only after those 2 months of T4 that things got ****88 up. TSH did come down to about 3.x or so. But I stopped taking it after 2 months.

I'm well aware of taking pulse and temps. Even before I found this forum or the ideas of Dr. Peat.

In November of this last year, TSH was 17 and T4 just off the reference range. By this point, I really did feel like ***t!

Since then I have dropped TSH to 4.x and T4/T3 back in the middle of the reference range. Pulse and temps are dramatically better! I am feeling great! Parts of my personality, appetite, and things I didn't realize left, have all come back, and continue to improve. With the exception of my previous sexual appetites and erection quality prior to T4 supplementation.

My goal is to get TSH closest to .2 and feel my best throughout which I will continue to succeed towards and know I will achieve based on how much improvement I have made thus far.

I really don't think that there was anything absurd or nonsensical in my post, I was only asking for suggestions or insight into how thyroid could possibly cause what has happened and things that might increase GABA or 5Ar activity to ultimately reach a state I feel would make things better in that department.

My comment "still continuing towards improvement" should have been enough to say that I know I may not be 100% yet, but am still on my journey.
 
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Sumbody

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Without lab values, and playing the guess game, I would try tackling the variables that are responsible in most cases for libido / ED problems. Estradiol and DHT.
I found Levothyroxine to be highly estrogenic in my testings. Maybe that ****88 you up.
You could try supplementing with Vitamin E and K2 MK4 for a couple days.
Those are rather safe and won't do any longtime harm.

Thank you!

I have tried K2 and such, and I really don't feel like I get much from those supplements. I have dabbled with various IdeaLabs supps as well.

I found it interesting here in this quote that adding androgens, or boosting already "normal" levels seems to make things worse...

It has been observed that blood T and DHT levels are relatively normal in patients with full-blown PFS. It has also been found that 3a-diol-g (intracellular biomarker for 5ar levels) are exceptionally low. Blood levels of T and DHT seem to be a superficial indicator of androgen/5ar status. Since normal levels of T/DHT are often found in the blood of PFS sufferers, merely increasing T/DHT levels in the blood may only serve to induce a negative feedback on the HPG axis. To truly treat PFS one may need to increase 5ar levels in the CNS where the most significant deficiency of 5ar lies.
 
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Sumbody

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Basically everything that is an issue in the sex department at the moment happened overnight, April 29th, 2018, while on T4 and did not return, regardless of my current state of thyroid or health. That's how adamant I am about what happened!

That I can track it back to the exact date, and weeks leading up. I had never taken any type of prescription meds ever in my life with the exception of the Levo. I am well aware of how thyroid can affect things down there, but this was not a gradual change or something I feel was related to my health at the time.

I immediately blamed the medication, and still do to this day for somehow altering things, and I've spent over a year trying to learn how and why it did that.

I feel had I stopped taking T4 when I began to start having those dizzy spells I probably wouldn't be posting here right now and would have never run into the issues that I feel I have today.
 
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I would always suggest K2 MK4, progesterone and DHEA, probably also pregnenolone.

It would be my theory that your higher thyroid depleted your body of the androgen feedstock. Replenishing might help a great deal.
 
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Sumbody

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@Peopleface If you were feeling so great before, why did you took thyroid in the first place?

I was visiting a nurse practitioner about a work injury and as per that visit an annual checkup of sorts, blood work, CBC, thyroid etc. That's when it was discovered, TSH was outside their reference range. Waited a few months later to retest to see if it would come down, so they eventually prescribed Levothyroxine.

I knew nothing about thyroid at the time and the NP asked if I was experiencing fatigue or depression, or any of those types of issues but I wasn't.

He told me it needed to come down, and to try the T4 for a couple months and retest.

I should have never taken it.
 
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Sumbody

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I would always suggest K2 MK4, progesterone and DHEA, probably also pregnenolone.

I have tried these but they seem to be very hit or miss with me.

Progesterone kinda does the opposite of what I would like it to do, similar to the reactions of other males on the forum.

I do like Pansterone, however I really can't do much more than a few drops a day or so and then take a few days off, otherwise it tends to make me irritable, slight water retention, etc. Although that subsides very quickly after cessation.

I tried Androsterone, but I won't touch it after trying it only a few times. Very weird stuff with that and there does seem to be something to it that can create tension/social problems that I experienced, as others did as well on the forum.
 
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Sumbody

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Is it possible that synthetic "bio-identical" hormones can be interpreted differently by the body for some people?

My own natural thyroid hormones never caused me any harm, only exogenous.

Even Tyromix and an NDT product had the same effect, and I quickly stopped those once I began to feel the slight testicular ache begin.
 

rei

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Such high TSH as you had means some serious hormonal imbalance and probably sky high estrogen, which results in hard erections and sexual desire. Testosterone is not what makes you horny, it makes you care/love. Supplementing testosterone makes you horny only because supraphysiological doses effectively convert to estrogen.

Fixing your thyroid function allowed your liver to clear the estrogen, and now in contrast to the previous state this normal state seems off. But it will get better with time. Not because the situation would dramatically change, but because your memory of the past fades and soon the current situation will start to feel normal.

Having sex is not normal unless you feel desire towards your partner. If your complaint has to do with performance during masturbation you need a psychiatrist and not nutritional advice.
 
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Sumbody

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Such high TSH as you had means some serious hormonal imbalance and probably sky high estrogen, which results in hard erections and sexual desire. Testosterone is not what makes you horny, it makes you care/love. Supplementing testosterone makes you horny only because supraphysiological doses effectively convert to estrogen.

Fixing your thyroid function allowed your liver to clear the estrogen, and now in contrast to the previous state this normal state seems off. But it will get better with time. Not because the situation would dramatically change, but because your memory of the past fades and soon the current situation will start to feel normal.

This is something I've come to understand as I have researched and read across this board and in other places.

But at the same time, a halfway hardon still doesn't feel normal, and I hope that it is not something that will persist. I do believe that perhaps 15-20% of what is going on is probably psychological, and it's not something that is persistent 100% of the time, but it's definitely bothersome for sure, as any man would feel.

It does seem that after a year or so that things would improve, and they definitely have since those few early months after stopping T4, but it just seems that recovery is all too slow going. Patience is a virtue they say, but no man wants to wait on his weiner, thats for sure!
 
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Sumbody

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If your complaint has to do with performance during masturbation you need a psychiatrist and not nutritional advice

No this is performance while with my GF. And overall desire to engage in sex.
 
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danishispsychic

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I agree get labs , but I would add, detox your body and go off everything, clean out your colon and then start over. In my experience, people with estrogen dominance kind of have that overly dramatic way for putting things as well, like " I am ruined as a man" thing. No offense but go about this step by step calmly and start with a clean slate. Getting all that gunk out will take about 3 months if you really try to detox. A lot of times the thyroid is not functioning is because of toxicity.
 
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Sumbody

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Thanks!

For sure the title is ridiculous. I kind of put it that way as an attention grabber, as previous posts in the past may have went unnoticed.

I agree, I really do want to have labs done. It would be interesting to know those values.

But I do feel that the brain plays a massive role in sexual response with stimuli and such and that hormones quite possibly secondary to that. A lot of people here seem to place quite a bit on hormones alone.

I remember reading a post about a man on here having similar issues that I am and his blood work, thyroid, labs, etc were perfect.

I would have to do some digging to pull that post up.
 

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