TalkingAnt summary/log

[climb]

My advice to anyone reading this wanting to emulate my trials is to start with lifestyle changes first, as it's practically free and low risk. It will take a lot of effort and discipline but it's worth a shot. Regarding HCG and/or TRT, only try that after you have given all your effort towards lifestyle changes, and also wait until COVID settles down so you can actually get blood tests frequently to avoid the hormonal rollercoaster I went through.

1) Very good post, thanks
2) Good advice. I had my first (one-month) window of improvement after doing... exactly what you said about lifestyle changes. After two months of lowcarb diet + cardio + HIIT, I was feeling 50% cured (which is clearly enough to be happy). Then, as I felt better, I became less strict... and most of improvements went away. But like you I did several things so I cannot be sure if this is the cause. My other good explaination would be my taking hydroxyzine (window started after a few days of hydroxyzine... but it didn't last although I still was taking it)

I've been trying a low carb diet for about 3 days.
I cut out rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and have been eating loads of meat, fish, eggs and fresh fruit and veg.
I've also been running everyday for a week (no problem since I'm an active person anyway).

Last night I woke up, got up to go to the toilet and on my way there, passed out, fell over and hit my head on a wall. I woke up Lying against a wall with a big bump on my head. This seems very likely to have been caused by low blood sugar.

Thomas and TalkingAnt:

How do you guys manage to maintain this kind of diet without risking the dangers of low blood sugar(which can be very serious).
Today I've eaten some pasta. I wonder if just reducing intake of carbs a bit would be sufficiently beneficial?

Thanks.

[arahant]

My advice to anyone reading this wanting to emulate my trials is to start with lifestyle changes first, as it's practically free and low risk. It will take a lot of effort and discipline but it's worth a shot. Regarding HCG and/or TRT, only try that after you have given all your effort towards lifestyle changes, and also wait until COVID settles down so you can actually get blood tests frequently to avoid the hormonal rollercoaster I went through.

1) Very good post, thanks
2) Good advice. I had my first (one-month) window of improvement after doing... exactly what you said about lifestyle changes. After two months of lowcarb diet + cardio + HIIT, I was feeling 50% cured (which is clearly enough to be happy). Then, as I felt better, I became less strict... and most of improvements went away. But like you I did several things so I cannot be sure if this is the cause. My other good explaination would be my taking hydroxyzine (window started after a few days of hydroxyzine... but it didn't last although I still was taking it)

I've been trying a low carb diet for about 3 days.
I cut out rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and have been eating loads of meat, fish, eggs and fresh fruit and veg.
I've also been running everyday for a week (no problem since I'm an active person anyway).

Last night I woke up, got up to go to the toilet and on my way there, passed out, fell over and hit my head on a wall. I woke up Lying against a wall with a big bump on my head. This seems very likely to have been caused by low blood sugar.

Thomas and TalkingAnt:

How do you guys manage to maintain this kind of diet without risking the dangers of low blood sugar(which can be very serious).
Today I've eaten some pasta. I wonder if just reducing intake of carbs a bit would be sufficiently beneficial?

Thanks.

Yo Climb, what an accident, glad you are fine... I had this "lightheadness" when I started low carb. Read about keto-flu and how to alleviate it. But it's basically drinking more water, increasing your salt intake (electrolytes).

[Thomas]

I've been trying a low carb diet for about 3 days.
I cut out rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and have been eating loads of meat, fish, eggs and fresh fruit and veg.
I've also been running everyday for a week (no problem since I'm an active person anyway).

Last night I woke up, got up to go to the toilet and on my way there, passed out, fell over and hit my head on a wall. I woke up Lying against a wall with a big bump on my head. This seems very likely to have been caused by low blood sugar.

@climb
Wow, sorry for you, hope you are ok.
Your body needs energy. I you decrease carbs, you need to balance this with fat. I am not sure you did enough.
Without carbs, the daily amount of fat you need is enormous. It cannot be reached with only meat, etc. You need to eat high fat food. For instance, I eat walnuts.
I decreased carb slowly: 1) no desserts and no added sugar 2) less and less slow burning carbs (but still eating lots of fruits) = low carb 3) almost no fruits = keto. And increased fat slowly, listening to my body (munchies? => eat fat)
I am 176cm tall and weigh 62kg, so I did not have much fat stock

Disclaimer to everyone
Keto diet is risky for you health and complex to achieve if you don't know how to do it. Please don't try keto without proper knowledge.
Low carb is less risky, especially if you eat lots of fruits, but it requires some knowledge. Please don't switch from one day to the other, give yourself a month to slowly adapt fat intake.

[Thomas]

PSSD timeline

• 2012: got it.
• 2013-2015: miserable and hopeless.
• 2016: certain events changed my attitude to do hard work and fix myself.
• 2017: first significant improvements.
• 2018-2019: gradual significant improvements.
• 2020: dramatic improvements, 80% back to normal

Reading this, it is obvious some of your symptoms could have been explained by psychological reasons from 2013 to 2016. Looking backwards, do you think so?
I myself have a "PSSD baseline" when I feel well, but when feeling bad my PSSD is much worse, even if this is only "slightly bad" (which did not affect my sexuality before, only depression did).
This makes my wonder how much my PSSD is some "unconscious" depression/anxiety, even if I generally feel well.

[climb]

[/quote]

@climb
Wow, sorry for you, hope you are ok.
Your body needs energy. I you decrease carbs, you need to balance this with fat. I am not sure you did enough.
Without carbs, the daily amount of fat you need is enormous. It cannot be reached with only meat, etc. You need to eat high fat food. For instance, I eat walnuts.
I decreased carb slowly: 1) no desserts and no added sugar 2) less and less slow burning carbs (but still eating lots of fruits) = low carb 3) almost no fruits = keto. And increased fat slowly, listening to my body (munchies? => eat fat)
I am 176cm tall and weigh 62kg, so I did not have much fat stock

Disclaimer to everyone
Keto diet is risky for you health and complex to achieve if you don't know how to do it. Please don't try keto without proper knowledge.
Low carb is less risky, especially if you eat lots of fruits, but it requires some knowledge. Please don't switch from one day to the other, give yourself a month to slowly adapt fat intake.
[/quote]



@arahant
@Thomas

Thanks guys, I'm fine but realised this can be dangerous if you're not careful.

I've read about keto flu today.
For fat i'm eating loads of cheese and meat. Drinking full fat milk.
I'm getting plenty of fresh fruit and some yoghurt. I've also been drinking plenty of water.

I don't really eat processed sugars anyway, since I like to keep my sugar levels constant. It's better to stay in a good mood.
It seems like it might be because I went from 10 to zero with carbs, so if I'm going to do this low carb thing, I think I'll have to do it more gradually and leave some in there. Thanks for the advice.

[arahant]

It seems like it might be because I went from 10 to zero with carbs, so if I'm going to do this low carb thing, I think I'll have to do it more gradually and leave some in there. Thanks for the advice

I have a friend who had passed out while at a gym. He suddenly went from 10 to zero carbs and thought he would still keep his working out regimen.
The body needs a few weeks to adapt to other sources of energy, then it's normal noticing reduced performance during this period, but it goes back to your baseline performance at exercising.

[Thomas]

For fat i'm eating loads of cheese and meat. Drinking full fat milk.

Meat won't ever be enough (besides, it's too much proteins for keto, if you want to try keto)
Cheese includes too much insaturated fat
Not so easy

[TalkingAnt]

Thomas, I do suspect that some of my symptoms were psychological. But for instance, genital numbness, lack of response to drugs, and genetic risk factors suggest real PSSD. I think loss of interest in sex and anhedonia regarding activities can be psychological in origin, in other words, due to depression. But the suffering from PSSD can cause depression and other ailments like anxiety and insomnia. Then all your symptoms get amplified. So, I think for virtually every PSSD patient, there are improvements to be had merely from resolving secondary psychological issues. That does not mean that PSSD is purely psychological. I had real tangible improvements in pure PSSD symptoms in direct response to medication and lifestyle regimens. I currently have dramatic qualitative improvements in all my PSSD-related symptoms without having to do anything other than maintain a reasonably healthy lifestyle. Even on my worst days, say when I'm sick or feel bad for whatever reason, my PSSD symptoms are better than my best days a few years ago. So to those members who accuse me of not really recovering or never having "real" PSSD, your hopelessness is denial of reality.

Climb,

To do low carb/keto, you have to balance your macronutrient intake carefully. You need to make sure you eat enough protein and fat to offset the energy you would have gotten from carbs. Using a diet tracker app like MyFitnessPal can help in the beginning. Over time your body will become "fat adapted" and you will be able to go without carbs or fast without energy issues. Unless you are diabetic, your blood sugar won't drop low enough to cause a medical emergency. Get a blood glucose monitor and test yourself when you are feeling low energy to be sure. Fasted exercise can speed up fat adaptation. If you are doing 16:8 time-restricted feeding, you can exercise in the morning before you eat your first meal for example. As others have said, supplement electrolytes via things like Lite-salt, gatorade, bone broth, etc.

[Thomas]

So, I think for virtually every PSSD patient, there are improvements to be had merely from resolving secondary psychological issues. That does not mean that PSSD is purely psychological. I had real tangible improvements in pure PSSD symptoms in direct response to medication and lifestyle regimens.

I fully agree. Cf. Ghost's protocol: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2681

So to those members who accuse me of not really recovering or never having "real" PSSD, your hopelessness is denial of reality.

If clarification was needed: I wasn't accusing you of anything. PSSD is a combination of 0-100% of psychological factors + 100-0% of physiological factors. And the former contribute to the later. And vice versa. I am still wondering about my percentage.
Thanks again

[climb]

@Thomas
I was just aiming for low carbs but clearly went too fast. Will maybe try again by slowly reducing.

@Talking Any
Got it, thanks for the advice, mate.