Some thoughts on testing hormones etc

General Discussion
#1

There seems to be a lot of wishful thinking here, but honestly, I don’t think that just getting tested at random will solve this puzzle.

Blood tests rarely detect or point out the underlying causes of this problem. The problem may be too complex to solve just upon a few variables, like blood tests. What if there are hidden variables as well, things that doctors know nothing or little about.

Trial and error may be the best approach here, pick a medication or product that makes you feel better, test it out. I’ve done that, and found a few things that are transitory but will restore my libido and orgasms for some time, like fresh royal jelly (though it doesn’t seem to be working anymore, at the peak of my FRJ usage I felt incredibly horny and my orgasms were 9 out of 10 at least.)

Sometimes taking nothing at all is better than taking stuff that hampers your libido or orgasm. It gets more complicated as dosages and regularity also play a role in the issue.

I’ve just stopped Arimidex (think I was taking too much, 1mg a day for 7 days, 0.5 twice a day), my libido fell to the ground. Now, it seems to be slowly coming back. Prior to Arimidex, I had some libido, but orgasms were mediocre.

At the beginning of this year I was able to have great orgasms, and libido was great too, I wasn’t on anything, too bad it went away in about 1 month. My first thought was to rush to get blood tests to see what changed in my body chemicals, but I had just moved to NY from Canada, and don’t have insurance, or time, for that matter.

#2

Dude - I think most here would tell you you were taking WAY too much arimidex.

Arimidex stays in your system 36 hours - most folks take it every other day. Body builders say 0.25 mg EOD; I am on 0.5 EOD - you basically at 2 mg EOD.

At that level your estrogen will fall below normal (I believe) which causes just as much libido issues as being too high.

#3

I know your not very active on the forum (at least posting wise) but yes these are all things commonly known around here. Obviously blood tests arn’t going to “point out the underlying cause(s)”. “Normal” levels of hormone don’t really apply to us anymore. I believe some members who are on HRT have even abandoned blood tests all together and just adjust dosage by feeling.

#4

Yes, I’ve just joined this forum.

I’ve been struggling with sexual anhedonia for years, but my case is not as grave as many users here, I think.

My orgasms and libido come and go, all the time, though I spend most time with EA than without.
The hormonal setting that enables me to have good orgasm is so hard to maintain or to control,
at times I take stuff, get great libido and orgasms (few things do this), at times I take things
which seem to backfire, my libido takes longer to recover, and thus I’m overwhelmed in this guessing game.

I was om Nolvadex for some time, hopeful that high estrogen could be my problem, as I go the gym, and took supplements
like Monster stack that used to kill my libido and I couldn’t even ejaculate.
So, I thought I had high estrogen due to those supplements, but didn’t work at all.

Tried Arimidex, thinking it would be better, with the same disappointing results, my libido has vanished again.

I will now try Yohimbe, and Adderall after that. Wellbutrin gave me some good orgasms, but I couldn’t sleep at all,
and I love to sleep.

Though my main concern is sex drive and orgasms, I’ve been moody and grumpy since I can remember, I was stupid
enough to never suspect that the onset was when I started the finas crap, but now when I think of it, finas must have
screwed me there too. I always thought I had bad moods as a natural consequence of work stress, and having to wake
up early in the morning to go to work, which is something I hate. Maybe it’s another side effect of finas, that never occurred
to me, I think I may not be a good observer for this stuff.

#5

Ok, that makes sense. I just want to ensure that you guys are not pursuing your tails.
I know it would be great if the problem was as simple as testing your blood for known hormones
and finding out your reading is way off of the normal range.

But that, like the idealized case studies that we see in college, math, chemistry, MBA, are idealized situations that don’t happen
in the real world.

I can’t even tell if finas is the ultimate cause of my anorgasmia. For me it comes and go at random, I don’t know if the other finas sufferers are like that or worse.
I’ve used minoxidil with bad results too, even saw palmetto screws me up, I can’t ejaculate on that.
Even some simple gym supplements like Whey seem to affect my libido. I think we became sensitive after finasteride.

The worst thing is hearing from idiotic friends that this is psychological. It’s not psychological at all. That would be akin to saying
that only the good effects of a medicine are for real, whereas the bad side effects are psychological.