Ive said it a ton of times, marihuana does have an addictive quality to it. Been there, done that. I live near an indian reservation in NY, and the indians grow a gazillion strains with a gazillion dispensaries around. It’s cheap, widely available, legal, and strong.
You need to quit it cold turkey. It’s like anything else. I used it for sleep too, but it turned into more. Every day after work i’d smoke right as I got home. Weekends. I had headaches every morning and my clarity sucked.
Quitting was hard, and you def go thru withdrawal. Mainly the urge to smoke. You tell yourself “i’ll use it just before bed”. Doesn’t work. And as a bodybuilder, it ABSOLUTELY destroys your diet and motivation to lift. The mornings i’d wake up and just lack the motivation to push to lift. I’d go, but it was blah. I’d go thru the motions, usually leaving early cause i’d have to crap from all the junk i’d eat the night prior. No dopamine for it.
But after a few days to weeks, you become less dependant on in. It’s horrid on your throat and lungs. And your dopamine levels/receptor sensitively.
So you are telling me to stay away from testosterone? How can i stay away from that when i have a testosterone deficiency?
I didn’t take anything for 2 years after i decided i wanted to quit the “substances”…
It didn’t make my life any better…
I skimmed though all the replies and I believe that folks have pretty much hit on all of the normal ‘libido’ issues. Libido is a poorly defined term that means different things to different people. Here’s my take on a few of the issues discussed here:
Your E2 does look to be a bit high. I find it’s best to keep it in range, or at least near the top end of the range if you go over. Going over slightly is not uncommon. HOWEVER, make sure you are using the correct test. Most docs don’t have a clue and simply order the standard test designed for women. Men will always test high on this test. Make sure it uses the MS/LS test method, which is often called the “sensitive” or “Ultrasensitive” test.
Also be very careful with AIs if you go down that road. They are often overused and end up crushing your E2. Guys need E2 too for normal libido and erections.
Someone mentioned psychological issues. Best not to overlook this possibility, but unraveling it can be tricky. I have no advice or experience to give.
Someone mentioned PT-141. This is where I would advice you to go next if you can get a hold of it. At least experiment with it. I very recently (yesterday?) posted in another string on my experience and recommendations for using the drug. My best advice is to start small and not overuse it. I find that with repeated use the effect diminish. As a recreational user, I limit use to once per week at the most. It takes some experimentation to zero in on the optimum dose and timing, but it does work
PT-141 works synergistically with PD-5 inhibitors (like Viagra and Cialis). As I discuss in the other thread, it works at the level of the brain to stimulate melanocortin receptors, which in turn feed into the neuro cascade that sends the signal to the penis to come to attention. It’s much like a radio, PT-141 helps to increase the strength of the signal while PD-5 inhibitors act like a larger antenna to process the signal. The net result is a stronger and more easily initiated erection, much like when we were teenagers.
Regarding nocturnal erections (morning wood) as an indicator of libido. Be very careful in interpreting this as a positive or negative sign. Nocturnal erections are normal for men when we enter REM sleep. You go in and out of REM sleep many many times during the night, more so during the early morning hours (e.g., 3-4 AM). If you happen to wake during a REM cycle, you may experience morning wood. However, it’s all dependent on timing. If you happen to wake during a deep or light sleep cycle, you will not experience morning wood, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t have it earlier in your sleep.
Yes totally agree, i used to be just like that and absolutely mad on the stuff tbh though! However, i have actually got to the point where I only smoke it on an evening and just to sleep now. Yes, ive been there with the junk food but don’t do that now!
I usually train in evenings and tbh its fine with motivation as by then so many hours have passed. I think the main reason for me cutting down on cigarettes is due to knowing and looking forward to one on an evening.
Its when i go abroad to Rotterdam/Amsterdam with family it all goes haywire and i smoke more.
However, yes will quit in due course, but wiukd there be any specific TRT that would work well despite have the one on a night? Without worrying about the issues with platelets sticking together due to the smoke etc?
Im just wondering if this could be the reason why my test is showing as low T in 1st place? Could receptors be off and throwing the test results off, and i’m actually ok?
First of all to the op. Never listen to someone saying its mental. Its an easy way for a doctor to not do his job or for someone that doesnt know what libido is trying to help you. Even with stress u will have some kind of ability. Its what nature wants. If something is wrong its mostly the body. Now we dont understand this perfectly. Ur libido will crush on trt anyway maybe in 5 or 10 years. All ur hormones pregnelone etc are crushed when being on it. We dont know what it does to your brain. For example clomid destroys your libido even tho ur levels can be perfect. Ask the “its mental” guys why that is.
This seems like A LOT of vitamin D. Also there was a comment on Europe and vitamin D supplementation. My understanding is that is a more significant concern for dark skinned people.
I disagree w the notions that it cannot be “all mental”.
Most libido IS mental. It derives from dopamine and its associated receptors. And the correct amount of serotonin and their receptors. That’s ALL mental.
However, in the same breath, those amounts and receptor activity are greatly influenced by hormones.
@lordgains no im not on any medication and do not jerk.
For the guys who are talking about the mental part…
I do believe some of this is mental.
But i also strongly believe that my protocol and my T/E2/DHT ratio play a big part in this.
Reason why i think this is because im already a few years on trt. I think 2018 or something. And i have found a sweet spot once like 2 years ago. It was when i switched from injections to cream.
So i did my last shot of enanthate, and the day after I started cream 50mg am and pm.
After about 11-12 days I started feeling really good, steel hard boners and yes libido was present! This lasted for about a week or 2 and then vanished.
So i tried upping the cream dose with no succes. And returned to 50mg am and pm
Then i figured why not inject 1cc enanthate again(i dont even know why i injected again then xD) and keep doing the cream.
And yes after about 11-12 days it happened again! Life was good. After 2 weeks it vanished again.
So i started thinking lets inject a small amount and see how long it lasts.
So i injected 75mg of enanthate and damn the next morning steel hard erections with a very good mood!
This lasted for about 14 days again. So when i felt its started to vanish i injected 75mg again. And yes it worked. So what i ended up doing was 75mg of enanthate every 10-12 days with daily cream 50mg am and pm.
Ah life was good. I thought I finally figured this out. Yes ofcourse a huge weight fell off my shoulders!
This worked really really well! But then i needed a new supply of cream and it was alot thicker then the previous cream. And unfortunately my good weird protocol stopped working.
The good working cream was so liquid it just fell of my finger. So i suspect the absorption was great!
Never had a cream like that anymore
So i strongly believe it has something to do with ratio’s too.
Put it this way, when you were younger by touching yourself and then it would stay hard even when you stop for quite some time. I mean also doing that without sex in mind at all.
Some of this “mental” thing is semantics. Getting an erection should not be a chore, when everything was fine with us in the past, the stars didn’t have to align for everything to be PERFECT to get an erection.
Some people even use sex as stress relief while they feel like crap and got nothing good going for them. What gives? How do they do it?
I am not saying it’s black or white but just shedding light that “it’s all in your head” is a tiresome cop out to hear over and over. Like I also said semantics, maybe it is all in my head but that mechanism is being driven by hormones. Which in that sense won’t change no matter what i do mentally unless i fix hormones first. Etc.
Psychogenic ED is proven and researched. It comprises a significant portion of ED cases.
Sometimes it is, even for me who has perfect TRT optimized levels. I’m not saying that this IS THE CASE for you or the OP. It may not be. I’m certainly in the camp that prolonged cases of ED are likley not just mental. To firmly say that it can never be a mood/mental issue is patently false.
Agreed. For me too. Now that I’m 40 and have kids, work stress, and I’m being nagged literally up until the moment we close the bedroom door… I kind of have to get in the mood first.
I swear I am envious of my 40 year old brother who has a multiple arrest records, was almost deported, did a bunch of drugs and is a former alcoholic.
He admitted after the split from his baby mama he did have a down period and had transient ED. But in general even now at 40, never needed to use PDE5 or anything ever to get down and perform with a woman.
When I hear mental, I think of shit like “well u are focused on the wrong things”, or “maybe you are under stress, hows the cats health lately” or “ur mind is in the wrong space”.
IE, psychological, mindset.
Im not talking about brain chemistry, OFCOURSE, that is 100% it, its ALL about that. And yes, dopamine,serotonin, gaba, all that shit, which again is effected by hormones.
So yes, if we by mental mean brain chemistry, 100% agree.
If we mean mindset, thoughts blabla… eeeeehhh i doubt it.
