I don’t have anything huge to report, but do have a few interesting things to mention.
Last year (around November 2013) I tried stopping all supplements for a week as an experiment. The improvements I’ve felt recently (see previous posts) lasted for about 4 days before fading away. This was disappointing but I got back on the supplements and didn’t worry about it.
Then in February this year I was traveling abroad for a couple of weeks and decided to take another break from the supplements. This time the improvements lasted around a month in total. I noticed the point when the improvements disappeared was a very stressful week for me - dealing with various business & personal issues.
It was disappointing again of course, but I was excited by the period of normality with no help from supplements. I did stick to my diet during this time - gluten free, very low sugar and avoiding certain foods according to IgG testing.
These experiments suggested that my body is slowly getting better but also that stress (of any kind) absolutely needs to be avoided or handled better.
I started taking additional supplements earlier this year to help the Mitochondria (D-ribose, Vitamin B3, Acetyl-L-Carnitine). These had a noticeable effect on energy levels and also something unexpected - my sweat started smelling “normal” again. I’d actually not even noticed that my sweat was no longer smelling, but when it returned it was a welcome surprise. Never thought I’d enjoy the scent of male sweat!
Last week I met my doctor to get results from my latest round of testing. Based on the huge amount of testing we’ve done over the past 18 months, his current theory is that poor liver function is at the root of everything.
He said my liver was probably struggling before, and then I started taking Finasteride and this either overburdened the liver so much that it developed serious problems, or because the liver was functioning more slowly than usual, the level of Finasteride built up in my system and this caused some other damage.
Some other points: My DHEA was in normal range for the first time in 18 months. Cortisol was also just inside normal range for the first time. So I’m no longer taking DHEA but will continue with Pregnenolone and Thyroid hormones. My doctor also recommended saunas to help the detox process.
My current daily regimen for the next five months:
Spirulina/Chlorella
Sam-E
B-2, B-3, B-9, B-12
Vitamin D
Acetyl-L-Carnitine
Magnesium
D-Ribose
Borage Oil
Hemp Seed Oil
Fish Oil
Novothyral (T3/T4)
Pregnenolone
Iodine
Selenium
Zinc
Astaxanthin
NAC
Reduced L-Glutathione
Co-Q10
Curcumin
Probiotics
(I’m not sure about NAC - I’ve taken it twice so far and got a killer headache each time.)
Diet:
Gluten free
Very low sugar (max 20g fructose per day - from fruit/veg)
Avoiding foods according to IgG testing
Avoiding caffeine, alcohol