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General Discussion
#1

Hey guys, I got seriously fucked up after a crash diet in the summer of 2016. Never took fin/prop/accutane/ssri.

Symptoms include:

Severe Restless Legs (Went away about a year ago)
Numb genitals
No morning/spontaenous erections
Strange body odor, no sweat from armpits, groin areas
Dry tired eyes
High and tight scrotum
low semen volume and force
0 libido

Anyways I asked a guy on T nation who claims hes an endocrinologist and he told me that my issues could be from dopamine insufficiency. I found there is a link between restless legs, erectile dysfunction , and dopamine?

Could this be a key piece to the puzzle? https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20110614/restless-legs-linked-to-an-increased-risk-for-erectile-dysfunction#1

#2

While dopamine may be affected as consequence of the molecular driver of our condition, it is unlikely to be a key piece. A lack of dopamine does not explain key symptoms of condition like muscle wasting and other physical effects.

We already have a good idea of what is broadly behind our condition. Pretty much all symptoms can be explained by a lack of androgenic signaling. We know that our androgen receptors are overexpressed (making us more sensitive to androgens) and there is reason to believe that the body may correct (or in our case: overcorrect) a perceived oversensitivity to androgens leading to a reduction in androgenic signaling. Neurosteroids, for example, are generated by an enzyme called 3α-HSD which relies on androgenetic signaling. Some of those neurosteroids seem to interact with dopamine release and dopaminergic response. The key, though, is not dopamine but androgenetic signaling.

Note, that I am not a scientist and not deeply familiar with the details of the concepts I describe. But this is a high level overview of what more knowledgeable people have found out.

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#3

@Northern_Star

so do you think I have pfs? I’ve been contacted by someone on allthingsmale forum who also says he has similar symptoms after atkins diet? Has been suffering for 8 years?

#4

Are you SURE that you never took anything like a 5AR inhibitor? What was your diet? How did it happen?

#5

There is no way of knowing for sure. We don’t know what “PFS” looks like in detail at the molecular level and there is no way of testing for it. But there is evidence that a significant reduction in calories leads to a reduction of androgens, which is what all the medications we typically discuss here have in common. So, it’s not unreasonable to assume that severe calories restriction may lead to the same syndrome in predisposed people.

5 Likes
#6

anyone else think this is a neurotransmitter issue?

#7

thats crazy, because ive been on a very low calories keto diet, my mental clarity improved, and feel no worsening of my other symptoms.

insane how this affects everyone completely differently

1 Like
#8