- In early august, I took two amino acid supplements for 2 days, Monday and Tuesday. Thursday, my sex drive returned for the first time in 18 yrs. I was also drinking beet juice sweetened with oranges. By Sunday it returned to normal, PFS normal.
- 2nd week I started back on acids. By end of the week my drive got fairly strong, but nothing like it did the first week. Continued with mct oil. Body started feeling different.
- 3rd week, I continued same as 2nd but added another acid, Leucine. Same acid found in oranges.
- Last week of august. Taking one scoop each of the 3 amino acid supplements, L-arginine AKG, L-Citrulline, Leucine. Drinking beet juice sweetened with oranges and 2 teaspoons of mct oil a day. Drive still strong, not like first week though. August 31, end of week 4, I added BCAA with Glutamine and L-carnitine.
Note- 9-1-2018 I want an amino acid blood test to check levels of AA in blood and a urine test to check for AA wasting.
9-1-18, not much change today, Took the L-arginine AKG, L-Citrulline, Leucine, BCAA with Glutamine, and L-Carnitine. Also had beet juice sweetened with navel oranges.
9-3-18, Took the L-arginine AKG, L-Citrulline, Leucine, BCAA with Glutamine, and L-Carnitine, legs look a little thicker, stomach fat has noticeably changed, not sagging as bad. Worked out yesterday. Did legs, the soreness from working out feels different than it ever has. I can actually see a small difference. My sleeping at night has definitely improved. I’m sleeping much better than I can ever remember, a lot more restful. My gynecomastia started itching last night. It is much less sensitive than it has been since it showed up 4 years ago. Almost like it is trying to just go away.
9-4-18, Took the L-arginine AKG, L-Citrulline, Leucine, BCAA with Glutamine, and L-Carnitine. Mixed with the beet juice sweetened with navel oranges. Put on a pair of pants tonight for the first time in a while because this is summer in the southeast. My legs have gotten so thick that I just about couldn’t wear the pants. I had sex with my wife tonight and my refractory period kicked in within about 30-45 minutes. I got hit directly on the left nipple where my gynecomastia is and it didn’t hurt. After pinching it and pushing on it, it seems to be going away slowly. So far, all of my symptoms seem to be easing off. The skin on my hands actually looks better. I will be adding another amino acid for skin as soon as it comes in the mail.
9-5-18, stopped taking all acids. Getting my plasma and urine amino acid test done on 9-17-18. I want true level readings.
9-10-18, As far as I can tell, sex drive seems to be normal again. When I’m taking the acids daily, my drive is good, but not normal. When I come off of them, a few days later my drive seems to come back. We’ll see how long it lasts. (Maybe my wife will comply to help me test it out for a few days (;). Something about quitting seems to make things normal for a bit. First time I took Arginine and Citrulline for two days and quit (Mon & Tues), everything normalized by Thursday thru Saturday and then PFS again by Sunday. When PFS set back in, my gynecomastia got real tender for a few days.
9-11-18, Had sex once yesterday afternoon about 6ish, was pretty much reset by bed time, just tired and didn’t feel like engaging. My wife was tired as well so I didn’t want to bug her. Refrac is very much reset this morning.
9-14-18, it’s been a few days since I’ve updated. It’s been 9 days since I quit taking the acids. Things seem to be about the same as the day I quit taking them. It’s as if when I was on the fin., my batteries depleted from 100% to 80% and wont charge past the 80% now. Since I’ve been taking the acids, it brought my batteries maybe to 90% and since quitting, they have maintained that. I don’t know for sure, we’ll see. Hopefully if I don’t have to go out of town to work the hurricane next week, I’ll get my blood and urine work done to see what my levels really look like.
9-17-18, still feel about the same. I got hit on the left side of the chest yesterday, hard. It barely hurt. Gyno is kind of dormant it would seem. There is a little knot there, but not real tender at all. Sex drive seems just a little down, but still a whole lot better than it was before I started this. Not complaining at all. Refrac is still at several hours sometimes, but less than 24. Got blood work done today for amino acid check, plasma and urine.
9-20-18, had sex last night. Best orgasm I can remember having since PFS. Refractory period reset within 30 minutes to an hour. This seems to be getting more consistent. Still not taking any amino acids. It’s been about 3 weeks now. Woke up this morning very horny. Could have easily had sex again.
9-22-18, started taking Niacin today. Bad mistake, called ambulance. Thought I was having an allergic reaction. Lol Turns out that is normal for this stuff.
10-5-18, I haven’t posted in a while. Things are about the same right now. I haven’t had any acids since this past Sunday due to being sick. I bought some new stuff today. I started DL-Phenylalanine, L-Tyrosine, L-Proline, L-Lysine. I turned in my findings yesterday to Dr. Healy on Rxisk.org.
10-8-18, Mind feels much more connected to groin. My thoughts and visual aspects certainly get the message down stairs again. Cracked hands are looking better but too soon to tell if they are going to heal completely. I’ve noticed that I’m not as horny in my sleep and about an hour or so after I wake up, my body starts catching up. Also, after sex, I am a lot more satisfied
For anyone interested:
- Tryptophan to encourage the release of important neurotransmitters and hormones for mood and sleep, such as serotonin and melatonin.
- Lysine, which, if deficient, can result in a deficiency in niacin (Vitamin B), as well as slow connective tissue repair.
- Methionine to supply sulfur and other compounds required by your body for optimum metabolism and growth.
- Valine, which is needed for muscle fiber firing, tissue repair, and for the maintenance of proper nitrogen balance in the body.
- Leucine, which stimulates muscle protein synthesis and may be the major fuel involved in anabolic (tissue building) reactions.
- Isoleucine, which is important for blood sugar regulation, muscle development and repair and energy regulation.
- Threonine, which is important for antibody production, immune system activity, and can be converted into glycine and serine.
- Phenylalanine, which stimulates the release of neurotransmitters and hormones such adrenaline and noradrenaline, which are necessary substances for optimum activity of your central and peripheral nervous systems.
i take nitric oxides daily for a pump in the gym. this means L Citruline, Taurine, Glycerol Powder and Nitrosigine. I also take Glutamine and l Tyrosine. I just got a sample of BCAA today from GNC and can’t tell if it’s placebo but i feel a libido i haven’t felt in a while. I don’t see how L citruline or any nitric oxides plays a role in Drive specifically. It does send blood to the penis yes, but in a neurological sense i don’t see it. With that being said and me adding Leucine, isoleucine. and Valine to my stack, what else do I add them? phenalanyn? Histidine? throw some aminos at me @alteredlife
Has anyone thats been around the forum for a while consulted with PFS specialists about Amino Acids and how they play a part in PFS? Can any of the long timers weigh in, @axolotl? I know there are threads from years ago describing experiences with Amino Acids and for the most part they were positive, but inconclusive since nobody shared any long term results. Haven’t read any threads where guys said it made them worse (such as cases with TRT, HGB, Clomid, Viagra, etc.) which is great, however I’m interested in knowing if they have lasting effects albeit taking them continuously, or discontinuing them after a certain time period and experiencing a prolonged recovery after discontinuation.
Just wanted to share a quick and easy to read article on l-carnitine that also sites studies within the text. It seems to be working well for me, but I don’t know how others will interract with the supplement. The logic behind its functionality seems to make sense. Like everything else, take it in moderation in case you experience any negative side effects (diarrhea, headaches, or stomach pain). Any side effects are reversable.
I agree with @Pete1989, Amino Acids are the answer. I’m going to follow protocol on this site and say, I don’t “believe” there is anything wrong with our androgens. Apparently Pete figured out the same thing I have figured out. Amino Acids seem to be the problem with us. I’ve been taking a bunch of different ones now for two months and nearly completely reversed all of my symptoms, including gynecomastia. I posted in Therapeutic Efforts yesterday titled “My regimen, and it’s working” where you can see why I came to the conclusion that I have come to.
@alteredlife It’s not really something wrong with our androgens as such but rather how our body utilizes them.
This is why our disease is almost “invisible” to the average doctor. It’s at an epigenetic level. Our hormones seem normal, maybe some too high or too low, this is more than likely due to an overexpression of these receptors which aren’t using the hormones correctly, hence why we have so many issues and why, for the large majority of people, nothing has really worked or “cured” them per say.
As why some lucky people actually do recover I haven’t a clue, maybe they’re gene expressions returned to normal or maybe there’s something else at play? Regardless, the study’s being done will hopefully shed some light for us on thr matter and I’m happy you’ve seen significant improvements, it’s why you’ve getting these improvements I’m interested in 
@Devolution I’ll say to you what I said to another guy in an earlier post. What do you have to lose? Amino acids are cheap and the only people that I have seen that have had any kind of real improvements, took some form of amino acid. One guy on this site took L-Histadine one time and had a full 2-3 day recovery. So, again, this is my opinion, but if it’s an androgen problem, then how could this happen? Either it is messed up, or it isn’t.
I’m rotating out and taking like 4 to 8 different acids at the time for about 2 to 3 weeks at the time. It’s been several years now but I’ve taken quite a few different anabolic steroids including Masteron which is strait DHT. Nothing has helped me in any way like the amino acids.
Yeah i think I will give some a try, definitely worth a shot as I could be one of the lucky ones who experience some improvement.
But think about it like this, if epigenetics are a volume knob for our gene’s, if the volume knob is stuck at 100% for us with this disease that’s going to cause us issues, maybe some people are able to get the knob to fluctuate but it keeps returning to 100% as their bodies adjust to their new protocol, then maybe others can get it to drop permeantly and see improvements?
That’s what I’d think could possibly be going on but as I said I don’t know, just a guess. We are all very different and its finding what works for everyone which is the issue, but I’m not discrediting what your saying, i definitely think this could potentially help since there has been a number of good reports from people so I’m willing to try it and see. I’m open to different ideas but thr foundation of what I believe to be wrong is what is being studied.
Here is a chart I downloaded early on just to simplify things a little. It shows different acids and what they target. http://www.aminoacidsguide.com/ I posted this link in an earlier comment but I’ll put it again. It informs you on several but not all acids and what their function is. If you have muscle wasting or atrophy, there are 5 different acids you can try. I have atrophy, and have had it since the beginning. The BCAA’s which has 3 for muscle in it has been great so far. Also, @Pete1989 posted some good info on acids and their functionality.
This is interesting.
I’d be interested to see a list of symptoms and the resolution that came from these amino acids.
I’d be most interested to know what people regard as the “sleep” amino acid.
For many, sleep is a troubled area, it is for me. If I could take something and see an improvement, then it’d be hard to argue against it.
Before everyone rushes to buy lots of powders and tablets, tempting though it may be, perhaps we should try and pin something down and compare notes.
I said this in an earlier post as well. Get a amino acid blood test. Some amino acids are formed with enzymes. If you have an enzyme deficiency in that area, taking an acid could cause a bad adverse reaction. If anything, start off real lite and work your way up. I don’t want someone dying and me getting blamed for telling everyone to take something.
Hey @Pete1989,
I don’t really like to pitch in re therapeutic discussions at the moment (except cautioning against antiandrogen use), but I can share what I’ve read. By the sound of it you’ve already run searches - there’s plenty to be found regarding experiences with the supplements mentioned via search. There was a significant chunk of time where many users would be taking a very extensive lists of these, often in combination with various other supplements. I found it inconclusive, and while on the whole some cases sometimes reported various benefits and routinely took them for years, I wasn’t able to identify anything significant or consistent across them. Many reported no change, and there’s descriptions of a temporary improvement that wore off (I see Scott reported the same yesterday regarding his response to histidine). I didn’t see any evidence of the very severe phenotypes responding.
Some of the benefits seen in this study might be applicable to a case as @alteredlife describes. This study also used the same EAA mixture which encompasses a lot of those mentioned in this thread, and found an upregulation of IGF-1 without an increase in AR mRNA levels (however this was in female subjects). On the whole there’s not much useful and applicable science about these large supplemental doses and what they might be doing. I would always caution about drawing conclusions from alternative therapy sources in absence of scientific citation - I don’t know what is meant by “target” but that chart encompasses vital amino acids in translation and primary protein structures across cell lines so this doesn’t make sense to me.
Personally, I’ve taken most of what’s mentioned here a long time ago and over months of messing with doses most of them were like water to my symptoms. I recall a negative reaction to glycine and tyrosine but have seen reports of the opposite. However, I am a very severe case so I wouldn’t want to suggest others might not see benefits and it’s great that you’re experiencing such an improvement @alteredlife. As always it’s most helpful to be specific about symptoms and their resolution in response to therapeutic attempts, to help other cases see what might be useful to their issues.
The way I have been posting makes me feel like I’m lazy in terms of asking what specific aminos you’re taking @alteredlife but can you tell me/us the brands you are using? or anyone in that matter what seems the most bang for your buck? it makes it a lot easier for everyone to just see it and copy paste it to buy. We need all 3 BCAA along with ones we think would help in regards to the chart you gave us?
The mention of N.O. Explode really caught my attention. In Fall 2008 I was taking the old-school formulation of N.O. Explode (average 1 scoop 4 nights per week) and had the best 4-5 months symptom-wise, in nearly every aspect, since crashing after Accutane in 1999.
Looking back, I always attributed this to either the exercise itself, or the B6 and B12 vitamins the product contains.
The thing is, I have also used whey protein regularly during the time periods I have been working out steadily and noticed no beneficial effects from it, with the possible exception of bulking up a little. A 32g scoop of whey protein should contain far more of most amino acids than one would ingest in a typical daily pill-form amino acid supplement.
Profile
Whey protein concentrate, or WPC, containing about 80 percent whey protein by weight is a commonly available type of whey supplement. It contains the following essential amino acid profile measured in mg/g of protein: leucine, 105 mg; lysine, 93 mg; tyrosine, 32 mg; cysteine, 21 mg; isoleucine, 63 mg; valine, 58 mg; threonine, 69 mg, tryptophan, 18 mg; histidine, 17 mg. Over 60 percent of the total protein in whey comes from EAAs, according to the U.S. Dairy Council.
I have also tried many of the individual amino acids in pill form for a month each and noticed nothing.
Inspiring to hear you are in such good shape after 20 years of PFS. I’m on my 19th year and my situation has deteriorated tremendously in the past 8 years.
Is there a healthier way of getting the benefits of NO explode? Any healthier versions of it?
It may not be inherently unhealthy when not taken in excess. The old formula N.O.X. has L-Arginine, L-Citrulline, Rutacarpine, and L-Histidine listed as the first ingredients, in that order.
I believe the old formula N.O.X. is what @alteredlife was taking when he noticed his first window of improvement?
I would like to try the regimen above, is there a specific Protein powder that would include these necessary Amino Acids and BCAA’s?
Which protein powder provides the widest spectrum of AA’s? Or should I not try and take them all at once? Better to cycle?
Feels odd to purchase multiple bags of AA that may not have an effect; but I would definitely use Protein powder.
I had a really bad reaction to Glycine.