Sprstriken,
-Mushrooms are Aromatase and 5-AR Inhibitors. I always had low libido after eating them.
-Olive Oil affects negatively and i am “glad” you have the same observation
-Salmon had mixed results.
-DIM, Brocolli, Cabbage appear to affect negatively libido
-Stress (no surprises here) and alcohol affect it negatively.
how long (days or weeks) did you try mushrooms and what quantity?
At one point i was eating mushrooms (should have been 50 grams per day but not sure) for a straight 15 days and of course i had no “attacks” but my libido was down to 0 (because i was inhibiting DHT) and also having the “disconnected penis” sensation. This is when i made the connection about autoimmunity to DHT. I just happen to be in a “between state”. I get my libido back at times but then something happens (what i call the “attack”) and then i am back to neurological / psychological problems and of course ED.
I am certain that this is caused by the immune system. I will have an MRI in the next 10 days. As you know i already have a lesion in my brain which an MRI almost 6 months ago has shown. If this lesion has changed in any way or lesions appear in other areas of my brain then the hypothesis of the immune system attacking brain regions is correct.
I will keep you posted. So far no problems with “attacks” with my regimen. Libido stable, i lowered the dosage of red peppers (5-ar inhibitor) down to 1 gram.
mariovitali
you wrote carrots are not good. why? what is your exprience? I eat carrots every other day for almost 3 years.All I would say it enhances my appetite I feel very hungry after 2 hours of eating and feel good.
For some things i am not certain unfortunately… It appears that when i would add Vitamin A with Vitamin D3 i had more Neurological Side Effects. Vitamin D3 taken on its own however has -definitively- a positive effect.
Hi All,
I have some news :
-I found my “sweet spot” of 5-AR inhibition with Astaxanthin. I had Less than 1.0 grams yesterday morning and sure enough, yesterday night i had one “attack” and also today one more. I started N-Acetyl Glucosamine to see how things will go. I will up the dose of astaxanthin to 2 grams and try to lower it again slowly.
-I’ve been contacted by someone from the PFS Foundation, i am expecting to talk with some of their research advisors over the next days.
Some more good news.
Yesterday i went to my endocrinologist because i made some Basic Thyroid Testing (T3, TSH, Anti-TPO) and 25(OH)D 10 days ago.
My previous results showed i had average TSH (close to 2) and low-normal T3. My doctor informed me that now TSH is within ideal levels (1.20) and also T3 hits the middle of the range. He asked me whether i changed anything (he knows about the theory of DHT autoimmunity) and i just said to him that i do not have “attacks” anymore. He instructed me to continue doing exactly what i do and that based on these results we will speak again in September.
This is great stuff.
N-Acetyl-Glucosamine seems to be working but i have to wait more to be sure. Dosage is 4500 mg which i increased slowly within a week.
Salmon and carrots are bad for me.
Hey Guys,
In a couple of days i will post in the “Recoveries” section. I feel great, libido is getting better and so is my thyroid function. Started losing weight more easily, i still sleep through the night, remembering dreams. Next i want to see whether my testosterone will be restored naturally or i will have to keep injecting HCG.
I have complete control over my “attacks”. I am certain that this is autoimmunity to DHT now. One day i totally forgot to get astaxanthin (through red pepper) in the morning and at around 14:00 i had an attack which then reminded me that i haven’t taken astaxanthin.
Has anyone tried doing the same regimen by the way?
Do you think you could get tested for DHT auto antibodies via doctors/scientists involved with the PFS foundation?
Is there such a test? If yes then i’d happily travel all the way from Europe to get tested! 
Thanks for the post mariovitali. Red paper rallly helps me for libido.
Hi All,
I started Finasteride around 1999-2000, i am 43 years old and ever since i had problems with ED on and off. Back then my crash resembled an autoimmune response and the only thing found was some mild hypothyroidism and urticaria that lasted for more than 1 year.
During the last decade i had periods of ED and before each period i had the same thing happening over and over again : Some slight tinnitus (1-3 sec) on either my right or left ear would signal problems of ED for the next 4-5 days. Of course the doctors were saying that it was all in my head.
As time passed by the occurrences of me experiencing Tinnitus (and after that ED) began to happen more frequently. Lately i had these incidences every 3-4 days (as opposed to twice a year in the old days). Then neurological problems kicked in. Low self-esteem, couldn’t sleep, bad memory, not being social. Brain Fog etc.
I decided to take things in my hands. I started keeping a daily log for four-hundred and eight days (408) on how my libido was, whether i slept good, supplements that i was getting,whether i had tinnitus, whether i had any neurological side effects.
This information was analyzed so that some patterns could be found. All of this information you will find it on a document that i attached. Basically, i wanted to find what differentiates good days vs bad days in terms of libido and neurological problems. I also wanted to predict when i would have tinnitus because i knew that tinnitus was the signal for problems later on. The analysis has shown that Sugar, 5-AR inhibitors such as Astaxanthin and to a less extent Vitamin D3 were limiting the incidences of tinnitus
Now i have complete control over my tinnitus.
In a nutshell here is what i believe happens (of course this could be applicable only to a percentage of us) :
[b]For some, PFS is an autoimmune disease (quite possibly) to DHT. Since DHT exists in many sites including the Brain, Liver, Adrenals, Skin and Prostate, the immune system attacks these sites creating a multitude of problems. My tinnitus incidences are simply times where my immune system hits regions of my brain.
In other words : Too much DHT you feel ok for some time until your immune system kicks in. Too little of DHT then your immune system. If you have neurological problems try inhibiting DHT and see what happens. If this theory is correct then you will start feeling better (in terms of neurological side effects) but your libido will go down to 0. Catch-22.[/b]
After 13 years of problems i am almost cured. And i say almost because i have to keep a regimen that inhibits DHT in such a way that i have libido but i keep my immune system happy.
I have complete control over my immune attacks now. Regarding side effects :
-I am now dreaming
-Morning libido great
-I sleep through the night (as opposed to waking up very often at 4:30 - 5:30 am for the past 3-4 years)
-My thyroid panel is normal as opposed to trying hard keeping T3+TSH in ideal levels (T3+TSH levels now are great - but I still receive 62mcg of T4 daily )
-Libido to 80%. I can function and there are no “up” and “downs” anymore.
-Memory getting slowly better
-No Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) at night
-Losing weight more easily
-Feeling ok Psychologically and there are virtually no periods of Depression any more. In the past i would get depressed very often.
I already contacted the PFS Foundation (and sent them the document which contains the analysis ) and several docs. The document is a bit outdated but you will find the information you need.
I am not in a position to know whether i will be able to regulate my immune system for the rest of my life. I am trying N-Acetyl Glucosamine for this and i need more time to see whether this supplement is working as immunosuppressant. I was also supposed to have an MRI but couldn’t find time to do it. Hopefully i will have one soon and of course i will keep you all posted.
I am happy to share all of my Blood tests, MRIs, etc should you wish more details.
I feel great after so many years, i hope this stays that way.
Mario
PFS.pdf (219 KB)
Hi All,
I posted yesterday in the Recoveries section but the post wasn’t accepted because i completed 1 month of recovery instead of four. Fair enough.
All is going well, libido very good i feel a normal man again. Over the next few days i will have the MRI and purposely i will stop my regimen in order to have one more attack. If the theory is correct, i will have new lesion(s) as opposed to the one found 6 months ago.
Once i have the new MRI results in my hands i will post both (old+new) here.
Hi Guys,
A quick update :
First of all i feel great. Libido is back to 100%. I still sleep well, no neurological side effects.
As you know i had an MRI six months ago which showed a lesion in my Brain and most specifically in the left basal ganglia. The lesion was 8mm.
The new MRI i had two days ago has shown a reduction of the lesion by 2mm which means that the lesion is now 6mm. I have a consultation with my neurologist this coming Tuesday and i am curious to know if this is a random fact (ie i moved my head during the previous MRI ) or something else is happening. AFAIK, lesions in the brain do not shrink.
I was trying to find out what connects Vitamin D3, Zinc, Magnesium and Autoimmune disease and Glutathione came up. So i started taking NAC to test this which means i completely stopped taking Red Peppers and/or Mushrooms (so now i am not inhibiting DHT thus the libido back to 100%) . All i take now is NAC 500 mg a day. I haven’t had a single attack in the last 5 days but i need to see that this continues.
Glutathione is boosted with Vitamin D3, Vitamin C, Zinc and Magnesium. You will also recall that i supplement my self with Vitamin D3, Zinc, Magnesium. Zinc and Magnesium were substances that i knew were working but i did not have sufficient data to back this up (this is discussed in my study).
I then saw this post : viewtopic.php?f=27&t=7178
If i continue to have no problems with “attacks” the missing key was Glutathione…and i am so happy that i will not have to inhibit DHT any more.
I will post the next update on Tuesday.
Oh and some links :
Vitamin D3 increases Glutathione levels in the brain
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutathione
Zinc and Magnesium raises Glutathione Levels
jn.nutrition.org/content/111/6/1098.full.pdf
and
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3945642
Glutathione, oxidative stress and neurodegeneration.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10931172
Vitamin C and Glutathione
ajcn.nutrition.org/content/58/1/103.short
This is a good read on Glutathione, P450 and Detox : tuberose.com/Liver_Detoxification.html
brain lestion might be due to autoimmune attack. Many women on Mirena IUD report the same lesion in the brain.
mylifeaftermirena.blogspot.ca/se … results=25
Hey Guys,
My last update :
My neurologist said that the brain lesion has not changed and he also said that i should forget about it. Really happy for that.
I am still symptom-free,libido to 100%, i am supplementing with whatever increases Glutathione. More specifically
-NAC
-Vitamin D3 5000 IU
-Zinc
-Magnesium
-Selenium
-Alpha Lipoic Acid
I do not inhibit DHT anymore. In case that i stop supplementing with NAC i immediately get “attacks” (as tinnitus in my ears). I am not sure for how long i can continue taking NAC because it is mucolytic and this causes to me coughing mucus from my lungs all the time. I should ask ASAP a Pathologist about this. Anyway i am down to a minimal dosage of 300mg/day as any less than that i immediately have “attacks”
I Will keep you guys updated.
It seems you have a good knowledge of what natural things can inhibit 5ar etc.
I have been trying to find a good link that will list these things for me, but so far I just have not been able to track down anything solid.
Any chance you have this list (i.e. which vegetables will inhibit 5ar etc.)? Maybe you know of a link you can paste?
I am very happy for you. It must be great to feel good.
Thank You.
This definitely seems promising. Finally a theory that appears to fit with the profile of this syndrome and it’s progression. Our efforts seem to mirror the process Celiac suffers went through in order to find their diagnosis.
I’m a little confused about something though. You said that you were experiencing big gains from this protocol but now seem to be forced to take immuno suppressants to continue with similar results. Do you think it was necessary to go through the red pepper phase first before the suppressants would have any effect? In other words, do you think the red pepper phase actually did any retraining of your immune system or are your decreased symptoms coming just from a suppressed immune system?
Impressive work in detailing this condition for so long. Thanks
Hi, This is the list to my best of knowledge :
-Mushrooms (Agaricus Bisporus) - This is probably the most potent based to my experience.
-Astaxanthin (Red Peppers, Salmon contains much less)
-Saw Palmetto (haven’t tried this)
-Maca Root (haven’t tried it)
-Lycopene (haven’t tried it)
This is all it comes to my mind now. If something else pops up i will PM you