I’m think Rhodiola might be a 5-AR inhibitor or at least contains 5-ari fillers/waste. Because it’s a root of a plant. ACL is pro-androgen so this might be another 5-ar inhibitor + pro androgen recovery…
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@livid171 i believe you. You are definitely onto something
I started l arginine and l carnitine and in 4 days i had a very very very very feeble but definite recovery which went away in half a day.
I have been wondering since then what was the reason for this recovery. That time I had thought it was pelvic relaxation exercises but I have been doing them since april and they have done nothing.
I have been taking l arginine and carnitine since april.
I would love your advice on how to proceed
Thank you so much for posting your recovery story. You’re a hero and I hope more people share their recovery story here, it gives hope and perspective.
To clarify, you had PFS for 5+ years then? And are recovered for 2 years.
And why did you choose Acetyl L- Carnitine and Rhodiola? Could you explain why you chose these two and not for example a more conventional supp like tribulus?
This user also recovered and was taking L- Carnitine; Recovery: Gym, L-Arginine, L-Carnitine Regimen
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Good find indeed Das.
@Livid171 thank you SO much for coming back and posting. Please stay around as long as you can. I see you’re a veteran of the forum as well as recovery threads so I guess you know what’s coming… But thank you very much. Gives a lot of hope to a lot of people seeing folks cured as I’m sure you know indeed. 
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i believe our problems mostly on serotonin. check this topic:
Rhodiola playing with serotonin system.
Gamma Irradiated Rhodiola sachalinensis Extract Ameliorates Testosterone-Induced Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia by Downregulating 5-Alpha Reductase and Restoring Testosterone in Rats
So yeah, it’s an anti androgen. This is another anti-androgen + pro-androgen recovery.
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@Das Sorry, I thought I stated that. I had PFS for literally almost exactly 10 years. I have been recovered for almost 2 years.
Hard to say why I stuck with those two supplements. I tried a lot of things and found those to help the most with overall “well being”. When I decided to start cycling them is when recovery started to occur.
Also, I left this out of my story - severe tinnitus! That is also essentially gone. I think everyone’s ears probably ring a little, but not like that.
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Makes sense. Women during menopause take Rhodiola to help because they have low estrogen. I personally linked my PFS to low estrogen years ago and cured it with TRT. I just take a lot of testosterone which raises my E2 and I feel normal again. I stay away from anti estrogens wich bring my PFS back for weeks. I see a lot of people playing with anti estrogen medications all the time in here and believe it makes you worse. I have posted this many times. I discovered my problem after having an ultra sensitive estrogen test. It made perfect sense as the only time I felt marginally better was when I took things that increased estrogen. I also noticed I would be marginally better after long nights out with friends drinking beer which increases estrogen. Normal estrogen tests most doctors give are not sensitive enough for men. My estrogen test using the cheap “normal” test they give women showed as normal but My ultra sensitive always showed under 15 which is crazy low. Anything under 20 will give you every PFS symptom listed on this site. Eye issues, lifelessness, depression, a dick that doesn’t feel real. It made my cock cold and lifeless and tiny among a bunch of other problems that everyone with PFS has. I live in New York City and see one of the few specialists in PFS here. I’ve been told Low estrogen is a commonly mis diagnosed issue with men. Doctors don’t test for low estrogen in men. They give the standard test sometimes but it’s just not made for men. Everyone is different but that was my cure along with gym daily. Most men who fail on trt with PFS have failed because they took AI’s like anastrizole … I still have issues from time to time but it’s always my crazy estrogen
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Do you still cycle L-Carnitine and Rhodiola? And if not, then how long were you taking them for?
I also feel a lot better when I smoke a lot of thc which increases estrogen. But wouldn’t clomid without anti estrogen medication be a cure?
For some clomid has been claimed to cure. I tried it and got some benefit for a while but it made me feel funky. Clomid will also raise e2
hcg also raises estrogen. my estrogen is 118 reference 10-48. so very high. I am using hcg and arimidex. arimidex was unable to lower estrogen. Do you believe increasing estrogen is the key?
I have been taking l-carnitine (ALCAR) and Rhodoila for years. Also cycling, although not strict at 2 weeks on and off. I will adjust my dosages to try that. I will also up the dose to 2g per day per the study below. I think I’ve typically done 1-1.5g.
FWIW, LCLT is the actual type of carnitine that studies showed helped. However, you can assume ALCAR or other types of carnitine work as well.
Carnitine Stimulates The Synthesis Of Androgen Receptors
Prior to the discovery of carnitine stimulating the production of more androgen receptors, this was a fantasy only imagined in the minds of researchers and athletes alike. Yes, carnitine if one of the very few things that can bring about an increase in the number of androgen receptors found in the male body, as well as “upregulating” them, or making more sensitive to the effects of androgens[[i]
But why is this important? Because it is considered the rate limiting step on how fast you can build muscle. A good analogy to put this into perspective would be to consider testosterone as “passengers” at a bus terminal, and the buses as “androgen receptors”.
There is a limited number of buses/seats, which means that only so many people can be accommodated at once. Increase the number of buses (receptors), and in turn more passengers can board and get to where they need to be (the testosterone).
Thus, [carnitine] is one of the few things that can yield greater results than that obtained from increasing testosterone levels only. As a result, greater muscle synthesis occurred, and better preservation of lean muscle tissue
while dieting or trying to reduce body fat.
On this same topic, weight training, tribulus, and intermittent fasting both have shown to increase AR density just like carnitine.
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Just FYI this post:
I have been researching and it sounds like a minimum timeframe to see improvements would be around 6 months. I have began taking ALC and will try to stick with it for at least 6 months and hopefully create a log to document changes.
Seems like (and i could be wrong here,) that the people in the link above seemed to benefits but maybe didn’t cycle it as long as they needed?
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@das @BibFortuna You two asked similar questions. I still cycle the Acetyl L-Carnitine and every two or three months (it’s not an exact science) I will cycle the Rhodiola again. I want to stress that I only continue this regimen for all around well being. I am sure if I discontinued both of them entirely I would still be “recovered”. These supplements are good for more than just curing PFS.
If you stick to that schedule you should start to see significant improvement at around 3 months - or at least I did.
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This is a great recovery story. My drug/symptom history is almost identical (substitute paroxetine for the accutane). I’ve been suffering from this shit since 2009 and only just started making some improvements with DHT (Proviron); but this is by far easier, safer, and cheaper. I’m definitely going to add these in after my current PCT ends.
There must be something “enhancing” about Rhodiola, since the world’s most sophisticated cheaters (Russians) were interested in it:
I did have one question: Do you take these supplements with food or empty stomach?
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