@Lostinaustin
In my individual case it’s highly likely. These spices act like a natural antibiotic/antimicrobial, which supposedly help SIBO and calm down immune response to gut inflammation. That’s my theory.
The key word here is “inflammation”. Chronic inflammation hits the adrenals hard and causes shift in Cortisol/DHEA ratio leading to many of the symptoms PFSers report. This is not to say this is the complete story, I’m sure there’re others with more issues at play.
My advice is to use this approach:
Adrenals > Thyroid > Gonads
Fixing the adrenals should be made a first priority.
Edit: I also just read about Oregano Oil potentially increasing Progesterone:
“Oregano intake may help increase the production of the hormone progesterone, according to a study conducted by researchers at Aeron Biotechnology. Scientists discovered that oregano is one of the main herbs that binds to intracellular receptors for progesterone and increases its release. Progesterone plays a role in several functions in the body, from promoting normal sleep patterns to normalizing blood sugar levels. In addition, it stimulates new bone formation. Although oregano impacts progesterone, it has no impact on other hormones in the body. The findings were published in the March 1998 issue of “Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine”.
I’m not exactly sure if this is a bonus effect that’s helping too but there were a few PFSers on the forum reporting good stuff on Progesterone.
This is another study that’s done on pigs this time around (not mice) that may help explain the mechanism behind oregana oil reducing gut’s inflammation.
" Oregano Essential Oil Improves Intestinal Morphology and Expression of Tight Junction Proteins Associated with Modulation of Selected Intestinal Bacteria and Immune Status in a Pig Model
Abstract Oregano essential oil (OEO) has long been used to improve the health of animals, particularly the health of intestine, which is generally attributed to its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. However, how OEO acts in the intestine of pig is still unclear. This study was aimed at elucidating how OEO promotes the intestinal barrier integrity in a pig model. Pigs were fed a control diet alone or one supplemented with 25 mg/kg of OEO for 4 weeks. The OEO-treated pigs showed decreased ( P < 0.05) endotoxin level in serum and increased ( P < 0.05) villus height and expression of occludin and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) in the jejunum. These results demonstrated that the integrity of intestinal barrier was improved by OEO treatment. The OEO-treated pigs had a lower ( P < 0.05) population of Escherichia coli in the jejunum, ileum, and colon than the control. This is in accordance with the greater inactivation ( P < 0.05) of inflammation, which was reflected by the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), protein kinase B (Akt), and nuclear factor κ B (NF- κ B) signaling pathways and expression of inflammatory cytokines in the jejunum. Our results show that OEO promotes intestinal barrier integrity, probably through modulating intestinal bacteria and immune status in pigs."
Perfect! This goes in line with my previous understanding. I’ll be using OEO for a few more weeks before final conclusion. Meanwhile, I’ll try and observe how this is playing out for me.
Hold on there in my first crash they checked everything before diagnosing my panic attack only this igE was off the chart like yours !!
All inflammatory rheumatoid markers and anti nuclear antibodies were normal except this igE …
Would you mind messaging me with the doses of the stuff you’re taking and maybe the brands of oregano, cumin, etc? I would like to try and replicate your protocol as I have not had morning wood in 8 years
@Lostinaustin just for curious, do you have gut issues? And have you tested SIBO and/or Comprehensive Parasitology? Antimicrobial treatments are important and effective pieces of the puzzle when healing your gut and seeking for a balanced microbiome.
I do have gut issues but when I went to a gastro he just did a stool sample and said all was good. But recently I’ve been taking butyrate and it’s made my bowel movements a lot more normal so I know the gut is a component. Also in January I took antibiotics for sickness and on the last day I had a milkshake and it made my stomach swell up and I felt like I had to throw up all night. @Finfina
@Lostinaustin going to a western medizine gastro is totally useless, I can guarantee that they dont know or they wont do shit. What was the test that he did? It would be curious to see your SIBO test result. The only way is to find a really experienced naturopath who can get you the SIBO test and also interpret the results. And a plus would be that the naturopath knows a lot about gut.
This is a long thread I’m just checking out for the first time. It covers so many topics. Is there any insight that’s come out of it, or is it more of a running journal of different treatments?
Yep that was such a long journey! I’m currently 95% recovered. I’d be confident to say I’m cured when I pass the 3 months mark without any major relapses. I’ll also share my final conclusions with others in similar condition as me.
Quick update: I’m still going forward with my recovery plan with minor adjustments. First of all, I dropped Cinnamon and Cumin out of the equation because they appear to be lowering my blood glucose and Cholesterol levels significantly and this is resulting in weird Metallic taste in mouth and pesky night sweats. In case anyone is experiencing night sweats it’s usually low T or E2, low blood sugar, adrenal insufficiency; some sort of infection or at the worst case cancer.
I’ve also added grape seed extract to the mix for its antibacterial/antifungal and anti-inflammatory/ antioxidant effects. I’m now doing everything I can “naturally” to solve the gut inflammation problem.
This is a super interesting study done on people with IBS and having Adrenal problems:
“Individuals with IBS showed an elevated cortisol/DHEA ratio after awakening compared with individuals without IBS, and the elevated ratio peaked under the prolonged stress. The present study suggests that the cortisol effect is dominant in individuals with IBS under prolonged stress.”
EUREKA! I FUC**NG KNEW IT!! This is the missing link between the the gut and many of the PFS symptoms. I always knew the gut was the root cause. I mean come to think of it, most of us were under tremendous stress chronically due to rumination, sense of doom, emotional stress, ED stress, low libido stress, insomnia stress, brain fog stress, work stress, social stress, depression stress, low motivation stress bla bla bla STRESS and on top of it we have major problems with the gut probably due to this prolonged stress (sometimes years) and probably previous abuse of antibiotics/probiotics/prebiotics/… etc. leading to further physical stress from gut inflammation/leaky gut/IBS/SIBO/Endotoxins and whatnot. The result is major imbalance in Cortisol:DHEA in form of adrenal insufficiency. The shift in ratio results in low sex hormones (T; DHT; E2) and the symptoms many are suffering here. This is NOT everything; there’re many PFS cases with HPTA dysfunction in form of primary or secondary hypogonadism and/or issues with hypothyroidism. There’re also those who do not respond to trt and are having problems with genes expression/epigenetics/AR silencing theory. All I’m saying that in order to solve significant % of the problem we need to solve all issues detected on the labs.
This excerpt is from a renowned Thyroid diseas doctor:
“…Under periods of stress, the conversion of T4 to T3 goes down. That is well known—for decades. When that happens, the reverse T3 goes up. Again, the T4 and reverse T3 can further suppress the deiodinase enzyme”
Stress = High Cortisol/Adrenaline. That’s why many PFS sufferers will have high rT3 and low T3 and this is bad for all metabolic processes.
This is all really similar conclusion that I have ended up after this over 2 years period having PFS. Im think Im going to go measure my rT3 just for curious after reading this… I just got my Dutch adrenal test which is a 24h test also but measured from urine. I also took G.I.Map test to see where everything is going. Interesting to see the results to figure out what to do next. On top of that I took amino acid test to update the situation.
I wish I reached this conclusion years ago. It would have saved me PRECIOUS years. I always observed that when even my gut issues would go away temporarily I feel amazing with killer libido and raging boners all day every day. It’s just that I couldn’t connect the dots.
I’m keen to learn the link between diet and improved mental state. I’m theorizing that both keto & carnivore diets are low in carbs/sugars and this induces favorable changes to gut microbiome and attenuate intestinal inflammation. This helps in healing adrenals and yield better Cortisol:DHEA and hence improved cognition and sex drive.
This has become my area of focus as of late. One way to prove (or disapprove) it is to test the following:
-am Cortisol
-DHEA-s
-WBC count in CBC
-E2
In my case, I’ve high morning Cortisol, low DHEA-s, and low E2. So I’m 100% compatible with this theory. I hope more forum members get tested and share their results.
It never occurred to me that the titanium plate and screws used for stabilizing my previously feactured cheekbone may also be causing inflammation.
This is from NCBI:
" Multiple investigators have found that titanium implants can induce inflammation in the surrounding tissue over time, leading to the expression of certain mediators known to cause local and systemic health problems. While acute disease is unavoidable, chronic diseases (cancer, autoimmune diseases, etc.)"
I had them for over ten years and I sometimes had some soreness and sensations to the side of my face where they’re fixed but I thought nothing of it. I’m now seriously considering having them removed but that means another surgery with all the involved risks that come with it.
Inflammation is inflammation; be it the in the gut or anywhere else. It has to be resolved.
I’ve contacted the maxillofacial surgeon who did my reconstructive surgery ten years ago and voiced my concern regarding having the Ti implant and screws removed. He was very understanding and invited me over for a consultation. There’s a chance that it has been osseointegrated.
I don’t suffer from typical PFS anymore. My issue lies in the adrenals (Cortisol:DHEA), so more like a slight CFS case. I thought my solution lies only in the gut and while it is a main component to my recovery, there’re other issues that may be causing further inflammation (Titanium plates & screws).
Moral of the day: Pay attention to your adrenals. They may be your key to salvation!
So I’ve been doing deeper research to fathom immune system and its effect on endocrine function. This is my humble understanding thus far:
Immune system have several mechanisms (AKA arms) to fight off infections (Th0, Th1, Th2, Th17). Each arm is activated for certain infection/threat. For instance, Th1 fights pathogens that are intracellular whereas Th2 attacks extracellular parasites via antibodies. There are cytokines (chemical messengers) for each arm. These arms normally coexist in a balanced state. However, various “conditions” may lead to any of the said mechanisms to be dominant and exhibit certain symptoms.
I seem to have a biased Th1/Th2 ratio with dominance toward Th2 and this is based on several factors such as:
Allergy symptoms (history of eczema, food sensitivities, IBS, histamine intolerance, mucous in stool, etc.)
Hormonal profile: High Cortisol, Low DHEA
Blood tests: Increased IgE
Question is how does this Th1/Th2 shift fit my case scenario? My best explanation is that having Th2 dominance causes immune system to be over active mainly through inducing allergic reactions. It’s a known fact that “chronic allergies” or “inflammatory response” hits the adrenals hard and induce partial insufficiency over time. I proved via several blood tests that my AM Cortisol always turn out high normal whilst DHEA-s below reference range, which indicates that the body is attempting to contain some sort of inflammation and is set to be in “safe mode”. Healthy adrenal is a major mile stone to complete recovery.
So the only way to go about this is to restore healthy Th1/Th2 balance.
I found several factors that could set off Th2:
Hidden or chronic infections
Certain medications or herbs
Gut dysbiosis or inflammation
Zinc deficiency
Heavy metals poisoning
High level of antioxidants
Genetics
Next step is to examine each of the above via elimination process.
Restarted spices + Turmeric. I’m adding Turmeric because the active ingredient curcumin is said to be anti-allergic and suppresses the secretions of TNF-α, IL-4 and histamine release and eicosanoid generation through the inhibition of Syk kinase pathway in IgE/Ag-induced mast cells.
This is exactly what I need at this time because I’ve reviewed my past CBC tests for WBC to look for any signs of abnormailties. Interestingly, cells targetting allergic reactions or parasitic infections (AKA Eosinophils) were slightly elevated:
Numbers seem unremarkable at a first glance but Eosinophils represent a tiny fraction of WBC count so diagnosing chronic allergies can be tricky. That said, there appears to be an upward trend toward the end of 2019 and early 2020. This coincides with my Probiotic intake (L. Reuteri strain) so I must have been allergic to them due to their purported histamine release. The ultimate goal is to curb allergy to give adrenals a break and restore healthy Cortisol:DHEA. This in turn should help with sex drive and well-being.
My surgery to have the Titanium screws removed was postponed until further notice due to ongoing Covid-19 outbreak. Just perfect
In the meantime, I’ve a history of consuming antioxidants (e.g. Vitamin C, GSE, polyphenols, CoQ10, etc). This may also cause a subtle Th1 /Th2 shift.
…“There are potentially harmful effects of “antioxidative stress,” especially in the cases of overconsumption of synthetic antioxidants. Antioxidants can neutralize ROS and decrease oxidative stress”.
Ironically, I happen to look 10 years younger and most people would never guess my age. In a nutshell, I need to lower antioxidants and give more room for oxidative stress to balance out Th1 / Th2.
