Update: I have been taking Nystatin at high dose (up to 8 tabs or 20ml, 4x a day) for about 1 1/2 months.
I first noticed my skin clearing up (a subtle change, but a distinct one to one familiar with seb. dermatitis). I then observed strong, rigid nocturnals that would wake me up. And then routine morning erections that would come and go. The most rigid erections I felt were typically the nocturnals. I would wake up elated, because normally when I wake up, I put my hand on my penis and it’s shriveled up. I would be half-asleep and thinking to myself “no way this is permanent,” I just felt alive in those moments. The erections were never quite 100%. They would vary in rigidity. Typically, the morning erections wouldn’t be quite as hard. I would guesstimate around 70-85%, sometimes fuller or more rigid. I Also noticed more flaccid size when urinating. It was so damn dramatic. My penis looked so much healthier, so much more stretched and loose…I realize what some of the guys who report fluctuations in flaccid penis appearance were talking about now. Oh yeah, even after masturbation, blood/size would hang around even through my post-masturbation urination.
At my best, I had slow/steady arousal to porn…there was some delay in the reaction, but it was less than my baseline PFS state. My erection came straight out with some rigidity, but would not reach full potential or last without some manual assistance. But this was improvement. I felt like I had taken a step forward out of 10 very big, long steps to potential recovery. Unfortunately, I didn’t stay in this improved state (which lasted less than a week)…but the nocturnals/morning episodes continued steadily. And manual arousal was generally easier than it had been in a long time. So overall: high dose Nystatin gave life to my dead penis, particularly nocturnals and morning erections. Although not as rock hard as one year ago when I did this same Nysatin experiment.
Over the weekend, I tried tapering down on Nystatin as I incorporated some natural/herbal antifungals and sleep/adrenal supps. I had a clear drop off. Back to back nights/mornings where there was virtually no erection. Kind of freaky and distressing. Very little libido, it’s like the turtle’s head went back inside the shell. Masturbation regressed to how it was pre-Nystatin, where I had to force myself to do it, really work hard to keep blood flow, and I wasn’t necessarily fully engorged when I came. Same when I went to urinate: back to the old, shriveled, shrunken, dead-looking penis.
So I re-incorporated Nystatin yesterday, and went SUPER HIGH on my bedtime dose last night. I again re-experienced rigid nocturnals and some morning movement.
Seems like clear cause and effect for me. Nystatin helps my erections at high dose. It’s frustrating, because I would like to believe that natural/herbal antifungals are strong enough to do the job, but I am unsure. I am going to keep on with the natural anti-pathogen formula (GI Synergy) that I recently started taking (many of the same ingredients as stuff IHP took), continue with the Nystatin, and today I also incorporated InterFase Plus, a biofilm buster. I’ve also been on high-dose probiotics at night. And I’ve incorporated homemade Kefir (live active cultures) with that nightly probiotic dose. I did a month of GAPS Intro Stage 1 dieting (bone broths with meats and veggies) and am now back on a full GAPS/Paleo/Primal/Weston Price/Perfect Health Diet regimen: whole foods, no grains.
After a few weeks of the new herbal supplements/biofilm buster, I will monitor and see if I can taper down from Nystatin. I would like to ideally focus on rebuilding gut-ecology instead of just nuking one thing as the natural docs all suggest. But if I again drop off significantly, I will have to keep Nystatin as a staple, and perhaps reconsider stronger antifungals like fluconazole and itraconazole. I’m very weary of these, 'cause they’re so toxic and it’s tough to distinguish die-off from side effect. They made me feel really ill.
One point I’d really like to make is that my facial skin getting itchy as I tapered down the Nystatin doses was the sign that Nysatin’s action was antifungal. Skin and penile health go hand in hand for me, so it’s a clue that fighting fungus is what Nystatin does and what helps me. I still can’t precisely explain the mechanism, I’m still frustrated by experiencing such strong positive signs but not being able to take a few more steps forward. I struggle with sleep, especially since finasteride, and so I’m afraid that getting restful, recuperative deep sleep is part of helping my system cool down and recover. I’m working on that.
It’s interesting to me that the first improvements come at night when the body is repairing itself and inflammation is at its lowest. I wish I could get the modified EMG and SSEP and doppler ultrasound testing that Blase, JG, Venceremos, Claro and other PFSers have been getting in France (they are now 7 for 7 in diagnosing pudendal nerve inflammation in PFS cases, in addition to guys like Frustrated, Tlecum and Voice who received similar diagnoses of neuropathy from other doctors: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=5661). I think they have a smoking gun picture of the spot of the inflammation between the gut/prostate area, in the general uro-genital region. And somehow, gut inflammation and/or fungus and other pathogens have some association and culpability (a couple of them who tried antifungals had positive experiences & doctors agree that this is a possibility–hence their reluctance to treat with traditional immuno-suppressing anti-inflammatories). Additionally, some of these PFSers continue to get diagnoses of prostatitis. There appears to be a gut-prostate-nerve-brain axis or continuum. These organs do not exist in isolation, it’s safe to say that finasteride damages your uro-genital organs, one way or another, you just don’t see these kinds of test results in such young men. Even with these clues, fixing this problem does not appear easy.
