Hey
I did a 5 days long water fast.
My symptoms seemed to be worse during the fast. My sex was in decadick mode.
This morning was already better.
Fwiw, I’ve seen people say that your symptoms are supposed to improve afterwards, not during the fast itself.
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@BibFortuna is correct. The improvements come when you start eating again. Your testosterone goes down during a fast - your body is trying to survive a famine, so it’s not prioritizing reproduction.
There are many ways to start “re-feeding”, though. Breaking the fast with a whole pizza is not going to be as good as easing into with juices and broths, for instance.
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Does anyone have tips on how to do a water fast? I get headaches at about the 20hr mark, even staying hydrated. Is a juice fast as effective as a water fast?
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I think of the headache and discomfort as my body readjusting to an equilibrium. We become addicted psychologically, and physically dependant upon sugar, fat, salt, carbohydrates, etc. When we suddenly go an entire day without taking any of these things into our body, we have withdrawal symptoms. They can range from mild to severe. I personally notice that they’re at their worst around the 20 hour mark. If I can get past that first night, I always start to feel better the next day, as my body has had a chance to adjust.
All that said, if the discomfort is too much, consider taking something to ease the symptoms. Yes, you’re technically breaking the fast, but there’s a big difference between having a little something to reduce your withdrawal symptoms, and giving up entirely.
Things that I will sometimes do:
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Have some salt. If we only drink water, but we don’t have enough salt in our body, we can’t retain the water/hydration. It just goes right through us. My favorite way to consume salt during a fast is some hot vegetable or chicken broth. It can do wonders, and it’s not many calories, allowing your body to resume ketosis after you digest it. It has definitely softened my headaches before.
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If I feel like eating something a little more substantial, I will go for a piece of fruit. Again, it’s technically breaking the fast, but some healthy natural sugars could soften the blow if you’re experiencing negative symptoms from low blood sugar. If you feel you want more than just a piece of fruit, consider also having a bit of plain yogurt for some fat and protein.
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Black coffee; it basically has 0 calories, and caffeine can relieve headaches. It doesn’t break the fast.
If you make it through a 3 day fast by “cheating” a bit, it’s still a huge step in the direction of achieving the positive effects of fasting. And the more you succeed at making it through fasts (with tiny bits of cheating), the easier it will be to fast more thoroughly and for longer periods of time. It’s like you’re training your mind and body for the next fast.
Hope this helps!
It does a ton, thanks. What kind of improvements have you seen from fasting? Not a complete resolution of symptoms I’m guessing or you wouldn’t be here 
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Prior to ever developing PFS symptoms, I had already had some positive experience with fasting years ago. So while fasting isn’t an immediate cure for fixing PFS, those same benefits, to whatever extent they occur, were still helpful with PFS symptoms.
Benefits that I’ve noticed, in general, are:
During the fast:
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Increased mental sharpness/clarity of thought. This though can be competing against whatever headache type symptoms I’m experiencing. But when the headache lessens, I feel much more clearheaded, mentally. Creative energy increases.
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I have long had painful digestive issues. It may be along the lines of IBS or something, but I’ve never sought a diagnosis. These symptoms resolve.
The period after the fast/longer term effects from repeated fasting:
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Libido increases. I can’t say that it was some magical cure, but it helps. Libido usually isn’t very high when in the thick of the fast though.
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General feelings of wellbeing, comfortable in my own skin, more confident, less depressed and anxious.
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Appetite is more manageable (I tend toward overeating/binge eating for comfort). When I’m fasting regularly, I’m much better at portion control and at being satisfied with a single serving of healthy food.
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More energy and alertness in the mornings.
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More resilience in the face of adversity.
Let me know how it goes for you. I’ve slacked off for two weeks so I’m due for another fast next week.
Is fasting really beneficial when you have PFS? I’m not so sure.
I have fasted prior to PFS and acknowledge the health benefits of it to some degree.
But it looks to me like it would be bad for PFS suffers.
Fasting increase autophagry and cortisol.
According to Baylor study we already have upregulated autophagry gene expression and a hard time clearing cortisol.
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I certainly don’t think it’s a fix-all for PFS. It isn’t going to suddenly reverse ED symptoms in 3 days, or a week, or even a month. But I consider it a step in a healthy direction, overall, which can reduce or halt the mental and physical downward spiral that I experienced during the seven months that I had PFS symptoms.
Like everything related to PFS, people have to try it for themselves to see how they respond. Regardless of diet or fasting, I found that the only thing that ultimately helped my PFS symptoms was time. I’ve now had minimal symptoms for 3 months, and I hope that trend holds.
But my general sense about fasting is that it allows the body and mind to repair itself in an environment that isn’t constantly being bombarded with sugar, salt, fat, etc.; and that a body that is fasting tends toward finding equilibrium. I suspect this is true with hormones as well as other systems in the body. But of course, the only way to know for sure is with larger scale scientific studies. Different people often react differently to drugs, treatments, etc.
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Did you ever try a “juice feast” or juice fast and notice improvement with that?
I haven’t done a juice fast, so I can’t really speak to that. Preparing/always have juice on hand is somehow not appealing to me.
Hello everyone,
I’m 4-5 months post-fin and am considering a water fast of some length, Likely a shorter one of 3-5 days as I’m very thin. My worst sides are severe anhedonia and emotional blunting. Also, my sleep is not great but is a much lesser concern compared to the other two. Have any here seen improvements in these sides in particular after a water fast?
If so, how long should I try for? Any tips for breaking a fast after this short of length?
Hey everyone!
I’m starting a water fast. I’m aiming for 20 days but don’t know if that will be possible. I am mostly posting this for the accountability and motivation, because I’m sure I’ll need every bit I can get. And of course I’ll give you the results after.
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It could be huge it takes about this amount of time to heal gut permeability which is a major player in the symptoms list. I’ve done multiple short term fasts.
Not that I think it’s worth anything yet, but today my libido jumped from a baseline 1/10 to a 4/10. Also, the first 3 days have been rather easy given that everyone says they are the hardest. I think what actually helped is that I totally overate the days before the fast to gain some fat so I can make the 20 days. I’m more of a slim person.
Definitely happy to see that things are progressing, but as long as there aren’t any positive permanent changes afterwards, I’m keeping my enthusiasm low.
Hi,
so I broke my fast yesterday because I couldnt go any longer. On day 11 I almost collapsed twice and felt absolutely awful. My sleep during the nights got shorter and shorter. from 6 to 5 to 4 h and on the night of the 11th day I woke up after 2 h and felt terrible. So I got up, had two eggs and went to sleep again.
The whole experience was extremely hard and except in the mornings, I only felt really good on two days. Usually they say that after two weeks you begin to feel light and very energized. Not me. It probably had to do with me losing way more weight than normally. I lost 18 pounds in 11 days and you’d expect 8-11. I went to the gym 3 times for very short sessions but that doesn’t explain 8-9 pounds of weight. I cant explain why I am losing so much.
Anyways. My first night today was still short with 5h and I’ll wait what happens now that I slowly start eating again. But I have a feeling it was not a magical fix for my short sleep, which was my initial hope. Libido is still a bit higher but I also think that won’t last.
However, one big thing changed during the fast. I got a lot more empathetic towards my friends and also overall more positive. I used to be a very happy person before pfs and although I feel “normal” again now, I never got back to my careless old self. I definitely regained quite a bit of that old energy of mine. I’m looking way more forward to seeing my friends now, and I woke up energetic and in a good mood.
So even I didn’t get what I was hoping for, if this change is here to stay, it was totally worth it.
If anything spectacular happens during my refeeding time I’ll let you know, otherwise that’s it from this experiment.
i’m past the phase that i tought fasting would do anything to an absolutelly wrecked system, but thanks for logging it