9 replies to this topic

[AlexCanada]

Hello. I am trying to figure out what can correct or reverse slow time perception?  I generally have a lot of chronic fatigue, low pulse Bradycardia (below 60 most the time), poor energy, low drive/motivation, and strong anhedonia, lack of emotions. Low Cortisol (adrenal fatigue) and Low Testosterone. Underlying candida and for a long time I been suspecting Hypoglycemia. 

 

Tonight Gabapentin + some milk thistle + yogurt + Xiao Yao Wan (Liver Qi tonic) and low dose valium allowed me to feel more engaged for the first time in days. Gabapentin was largest factor. Xiao made my vision more blurry initially but may have enhanced colors. Tv footage would look more natural in the end, I could feel more connected to what I was viewing and it didn't feel like it was in slow motion anymore. I didn't feel so detached. Truly a blessing.

 

Perhaps this is related to low blood sugar or low dopamine and norepinephrine levels?              "Both the GABAA and GABAB receptor have a role in the secretion of insulin. Alternatively, direct binding of gabapentin to the specific subunits of the voltage-gated calcium channels could also affect insulin release." 

 

I know Aniracetam and other racetams make this sensation worse.  Sulbutiamine I tried a few days ago as well and it felt like things were slowing down immensely! But I took it because it allowed me to initiate some tv viewing but at the cost of a more slow motion existence. Eventually I'd regret taking it.

 

What substances may speed up time perception? Or what is responsible for this phenomenon? I want to feel more involved in life. And what substances should be avoided??? Omega 3 EPA seems to give me a boost for 30 minutes and then slow me down shortly after and colors become more washed out plus it lowers my pulse and lowers blood sugar. Vyvanse makes colors more rich yet somewhat darker.  

 

Any insight or theories would be greatly appreciated.

Edited by AlexCanada, 17 April 2015 - 09:30 AM.

[YosefANaumovich]

For your testosterone problem, I've heard that there is a a very good alternative to actual steroid use, which doesn't have long-term problems associated with it, that is used by teens and the extremely old; the drug is an anti-estrogen called clomid (look it up on Wikipedia). I haven't used it myself but the research done on it (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) proves it to be highly effective for men of all ages with testosterone problems.

After only a month of treatment, testosterone is around 600ng/dl for most.

 

Obviously, testosterone problems can lead to blood sugar problems, anhedonia and many of the side effects you probably experience, thus it would be the primary thing to go for fixing.

But you don't even need to consume any drug for testosterone, you only need to abstain from the sexual for at least 5 (recommend 7) days and do heavy exercises (carry weights), that alone can fix the problem quickly as it surely did for me.

 

As for myself, I too experience anhedonia and all the negative symptoms of schizophrenia minus the lack of insight into my own mental life, and possibly minus another symptom as well.

What has worked for treating my anhedonia (inability to experience any emotions, whether painful or not) was St. John's Wort.

I take it SJW works because of serotonin, since serotonin negatively effects hormones and I noticed that while on SJW I could do less physical exercises; obviously, SJW has other effects on the brain.

While on SJW, my social anxiousness returned, which was probably shielded by my emotional flatness, so-called schizophrenia. Yay to such a cure!--this is why I personally don't take SJW anymore.

 

Raising dopamine is very easy: you only need to supplement with an amino acid like l-tyrosine or l-dopa (l-tyrosine makes l-dopa) and do so on an empty stomach, with no other amino acid, and abstain from eating for at least half the day, as far as you can go without getting sick, passing out, or whatever it is.

Fasting is the quickest and best way to increase dopamine and other brain chemicals, that strengthen focus and emotions, since fasting does not have long-term damaging effects (tyrosine does neither) that many drugs do.

 

After I did this process with tyrosine and fasting, I was finally able to enjoy commercials again! Oh the joy of watching mindless commercials!

Joking aside, dopamine, as we both know, has a major effect on anhedonia - a positive one.

 

Good luck.

 

- Yosef

[drg]

I experience time dilation while on hallucinogenics like lsd and shrooms. Maybe there is some correlation between serotonin and time dilation. 

[AlexCanada]

For your testosterone problem, I've heard that there is a a very good alternative to actual steroid use, which doesn't have long-term problems associated with it, that is used by teens and the extremely old; the drug is an anti-estrogen called clomid (look it up on Wikipedia). I haven't used it myself but the research done on it (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) proves it to be highly effective for men of all ages with testosterone problems.

After only a month of treatment, testosterone is around 600ng/dl for most.

 

Obviously, testosterone problems can lead to blood sugar problems, anhedonia and many of the side effects you probably experience, thus it would be the primary thing to go for fixing.

But you don't even need to consume any drug for testosterone, you only need to abstain from the sexual for at least 5 (recommend 7) days and do heavy exercises (carry weights), that alone can fix the problem quickly as it surely did for me.

 

As for myself, I too experience anhedonia and all the negative symptoms of schizophrenia minus the lack of insight into my own mental life, and possibly minus another symptom as well.

What has worked for treating my anhedonia (inability to experience any emotions, whether painful or not) was St. John's Wort.

I take it SJW works because of serotonin, since serotonin negatively effects hormones and I noticed that while on SJW I could do less physical exercises; obviously, SJW has other effects on the brain.

While on SJW, my social anxiousness returned, which was probably shielded by my emotional flatness, so-called schizophrenia. Yay to such a cure!--this is why I personally don't take SJW anymore.

 

Raising dopamine is very easy: you only need to supplement with an amino acid like l-tyrosine or l-dopa (l-tyrosine makes l-dopa) and do so on an empty stomach, with no other amino acid, and abstain from eating for at least half the day, as far as you can go without getting sick, passing out, or whatever it is.

Fasting is the quickest and best way to increase dopamine and other brain chemicals, that strengthen focus and emotions, since fasting does not have long-term damaging effects (tyrosine does neither) that many drugs do.

 

After I did this process with tyrosine and fasting, I was finally able to enjoy commercials again! Oh the joy of watching mindless commercials!

Joking aside, dopamine, as we both know, has a major effect on anhedonia - a positive one.

 

Good luck.

 

- Yosef

 

Thanks so much for the input! The Clomid sounds like a miracle. Maybe my pdoc will be able to prescribe it. I have had trouble finding positive experiences from it though. Some people on a few forums haven't stated much benefit but perhaps that is from users whom already have decent testosterone levels.

 

My Testosterone levels are that of a really old man and I really hardly have any energy for life right now. Such apathetic, dull, tired, unmotivated days. I couldn't even bring myself to reply to this until now. 

 

Clomid raises T levels significantly but does this increase on paper directly correspond with improvements in health? Such as more masculine appearance, improved mood, motivation, energy etc? I look very non-hormonal these days and have pretty much all the general symptoms of low testosterone. 

 

I tried Tyrosine in the past. Has had some motivational benefits but mood felt worse a lot of the time. Perhaps it wasn't good for upregulation. I'd notice some dysphoria here and there. L-Dopa Mucuna herb sometimes worked small wonders but it was very inconsistent. I felt kinder, more affectionate, and loved some of those feelings but also would make me tired a fair bit of the time and sometimes just made my mood feel worse overall. Tolerance onset perhaps but it was bit unpredictable. Sometimes I'd feel better, sometimes just want to sleep.     -Fasting after Tyrosine I don't believe is something I've tried but maybe I'll give it a shot one day.   SJW I don't think i can try any time soon since even if I quit vortioxetine 5mg I still am on 1.2mg valium which i am doing a slow withdrawl. SJW effects other med levels thus can be troublesome to mix suppossedly. 

 

 

Fasting may have played a role 2 days ago. I had to go on a clear liquid only diet in preparation for a colonoscopy. I was dreadfully hungry and mega dose of magnesium oxide as laxative was uncomfortable.  eventually i'd notice some greater motivation several hours later and bit more receptive and reactive to my surroundings. Including in the afternoon 28+ hours without food, and zero sleep (magnesium insomnia kept me up + perhaps hunger).  But something like this is not usually sustainable for me. Eventually I may have had a hypoglycemic episode when I was shiveringg and shakingg after the colonoscopy procedure. blankets did very little to keep me warm.  I been having lot of chills this past month on and off, sometimes after eating, and often just randomly and my skin dries up intensely. blood sugar issues or general low testosterone + whatever else.  I'm not literally shaking now but my body is still very very cold especially my hands.   That extreme shaking scenario manifested itself a year ago when I was hooked up to an IV as well. They were doing an ACTH stimulation or supression test and insulin was involved. There would be cortisol and blood sugar fluctuations through out the test as shown in the printed results. My cortisol would climb from 200 to 530ish. Surely only to drop when the testing was over. Anyway... Middle way through it I felt so much better, thoughts became so incredibly more clear and I felt I wanted to actually go out and do things, even be around people,  then after being taken off the IV or near the end I'd be so cold and shaking (no magnesium involved these days) and within 30 minutes my improved mood would rapidly decline into foggy tired dull apathy again.  I don't understand why this is.  intense fog, slow mindedness, poor ability to think, etc. 

 

But thank you so much for the Clomid information. I had no idea such a med existed. Hopefully my dr can try me on it, sometimes I feel so hopeless. 

[YosefANaumovich]

 

For your testosterone problem, I've heard that there is a a very good alternative to actual steroid use, which doesn't have long-term problems associated with it, that is used by teens and the extremely old; the drug is an anti-estrogen called clomid (look it up on Wikipedia). I haven't used it myself but the research done on it (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) proves it to be highly effective for men of all ages with testosterone problems.

After only a month of treatment, testosterone is around 600ng/dl for most.

 

Obviously, testosterone problems can lead to blood sugar problems, anhedonia and many of the side effects you probably experience, thus it would be the primary thing to go for fixing.

But you don't even need to consume any drug for testosterone, you only need to abstain from the sexual for at least 5 (recommend 7) days and do heavy exercises (carry weights), that alone can fix the problem quickly as it surely did for me.

 

As for myself, I too experience anhedonia and all the negative symptoms of schizophrenia minus the lack of insight into my own mental life, and possibly minus another symptom as well.

What has worked for treating my anhedonia (inability to experience any emotions, whether painful or not) was St. John's Wort.

I take it SJW works because of serotonin, since serotonin negatively effects hormones and I noticed that while on SJW I could do less physical exercises; obviously, SJW has other effects on the brain.

While on SJW, my social anxiousness returned, which was probably shielded by my emotional flatness, so-called schizophrenia. Yay to such a cure!--this is why I personally don't take SJW anymore.

 

Raising dopamine is very easy: you only need to supplement with an amino acid like l-tyrosine or l-dopa (l-tyrosine makes l-dopa) and do so on an empty stomach, with no other amino acid, and abstain from eating for at least half the day, as far as you can go without getting sick, passing out, or whatever it is.

Fasting is the quickest and best way to increase dopamine and other brain chemicals, that strengthen focus and emotions, since fasting does not have long-term damaging effects (tyrosine does neither) that many drugs do.

 

After I did this process with tyrosine and fasting, I was finally able to enjoy commercials again! Oh the joy of watching mindless commercials!

Joking aside, dopamine, as we both know, has a major effect on anhedonia - a positive one.

 

Good luck.

 

- Yosef

 

Thanks so much for the input! The Clomid sounds like a miracle. Maybe my pdoc will be able to prescribe it. I have had trouble finding positive experiences from it though. Some people on a few forums haven't stated much benefit but perhaps that is from users whom already have decent testosterone levels.

 

My Testosterone levels are that of a really old man and I really hardly have any energy for life right now. Such apathetic, dull, tired, unmotivated days. I couldn't even bring myself to reply to this until now. 

 

Clomid raises T levels significantly but does this increase on paper directly correspond with improvements in health? Such as more masculine appearance, improved mood, motivation, energy etc? I look very non-hormonal these days and have pretty much all the general symptoms of low testosterone. 

 

I tried Tyrosine in the past. Has had some motivational benefits but mood felt worse a lot of the time. Perhaps it wasn't good for upregulation. I'd notice some dysphoria here and there. L-Dopa Mucuna herb sometimes worked small wonders but it was very inconsistent. I felt kinder, more affectionate, and loved some of those feelings but also would make me tired a fair bit of the time and sometimes just made my mood feel worse overall. Tolerance onset perhaps but it was bit unpredictable. Sometimes I'd feel better, sometimes just want to sleep.     -Fasting after Tyrosine I don't believe is something I've tried but maybe I'll give it a shot one day.   SJW I don't think i can try any time soon since even if I quit vortioxetine 5mg I still am on 1.2mg valium which i am doing a slow withdrawl. SJW effects other med levels thus can be troublesome to mix suppossedly. 

 

 

Fasting may have played a role 2 days ago. I had to go on a clear liquid only diet in preparation for a colonoscopy. I was dreadfully hungry and mega dose of magnesium oxide as laxative was uncomfortable.  eventually i'd notice some greater motivation several hours later and bit more receptive and reactive to my surroundings. Including in the afternoon 28+ hours without food, and zero sleep (magnesium insomnia kept me up + perhaps hunger).  But something like this is not usually sustainable for me. Eventually I may have had a hypoglycemic episode when I was shiveringg and shakingg after the colonoscopy procedure. blankets did very little to keep me warm.  I been having lot of chills this past month on and off, sometimes after eating, and often just randomly and my skin dries up intensely. blood sugar issues or general low testosterone + whatever else.  I'm not literally shaking now but my body is still very very cold especially my hands.   That extreme shaking scenario manifested itself a year ago when I was hooked up to an IV as well. They were doing an ACTH stimulation or supression test and insulin was involved. There would be cortisol and blood sugar fluctuations through out the test as shown in the printed results. My cortisol would climb from 200 to 530ish. Surely only to drop when the testing was over. Anyway... Middle way through it I felt so much better, thoughts became so incredibly more clear and I felt I wanted to actually go out and do things, even be around people,  then after being taken off the IV or near the end I'd be so cold and shaking (no magnesium involved these days) and within 30 minutes my improved mood would rapidly decline into foggy tired dull apathy again.  I don't understand why this is.  intense fog, slow mindedness, poor ability to think, etc. 

 

But thank you so much for the Clomid information. I had no idea such a med existed. Hopefully my dr can try me on it, sometimes I feel so hopeless. 

 

 

I can see the irony of my suggestion that you should do physical exercises and abstain from sexual acts as a way to increase testosterone, since in your case you probably don't have a libido that needs controlling nor the ability to do sufficient physical exercises.

Nonetheless, should you suddenly get energy to do things then the first thing I would recommend is weight training and you don't need to go to any gym or buy any weights, you only need to let your upper body strain your legs by bending your legs and stretching them up again, all while standing with a straight back and your arms pointing out from the center of your body. I do 200 repetitions of these everyday and the hormonal effect is seen within the day, greatly increased after sleeping.

Interestingly, you say your cortisol and testosterone are both low and both of which are increased by doing physical exercises, though cortisol drops down around an hour after stress exposure.

 

Did you try 50mg of zinc? In my case, I experience that when I feel that my libido is down or my energy is low, taking zinc sufficiently quickly fixes the problem. If you try zinc, make sure to stay below 60mg to avoid neurotoxicity and if you supplement with zinc in high doses every day, you need to supplement with at least 1mg of copper every 3 days or so to avoid zinc-induced copper deficiency.

It may also be good to couple the high amount of zinc with proteins to increase the androgen-activity of the zinc.

 

Are you on any psychiatric medication that may down regulate dopamine or some such, like Risperidone (Risperdal)? 

Several psychiatric medication are known to reduce testosterone and cause long-term brain issues, both SSRIs and antipsychotics.

 

Did you get your vitamin levels checked by a doctor? Chances are, either as the cause behind your condition or caused by the condition, you may be vitamin deficient. If you could, it would be advisable to get the actual lab test on a paper instead of letting the doctor say that the results are fine since doctors are notorious for slipping into the trap of taking normal results as also healthy results.

 

For me, the biggest problem with fixing mental issues (whether they have a physical cause or not) is contacting doctors, whether normal doctors that treat physical problems or psychiatrists, since they often worsen the issue with their methods of alleviating the problems, as opposed to making the problems better. 

From my own experience, it's never a good thing to trust any so-called doctor as only a very small fraction of them care about truth, and an even smaller fraction desire helping their clients.

 

Much of what I've said is of course common sense and are things you've understood to begin with, I would assume. I mention this because I get irritated by people who advise to me the self-evident things and I assume you may, too.

 

Edit:

I forgot to answer your question ("Clomid raises T levels significantly but does this increase on paper directly correspond with improvements in health?") and the answer is absolutely yes! 
There is free and total testosterone and at least 2 types of testosterones, and multiple androgens, and yada yada, but trust me that you will notice the effects of high testosterone while on the anti-estrogen clomid if at all it has any effect on you (which I am sure it would). 
Couple clomid with weight training and you may further drastically increase testosterone and I would assume that you could get it to the 800ng/dl amount (which I believe is the ceiling for tests).
Best of all, you don't even need a prescription since you can buy it online (like viagra pills) but you didn't hear it from me! And I am not sure of which website would sell it (docsimon dot com sells various anti-estrogens but couldn't find clomid on there).

If you want advice for the usage of clomid then merely look at bodybuilding.com There are a lot of steroid users taking anti-estrogen meds on there, legally and illegally. They know of the worst case scenarios, best dosages and so on.

Edited by YosefANaumovich, 24 April 2015 - 11:28 AM.

[AlexCanada]

 

 

For your testosterone problem, I've heard that there is a a very good alternative to actual steroid use, which doesn't have long-term problems associated with it, that is used by teens and the extremely old; the drug is an anti-estrogen called clomid (look it up on Wikipedia). I haven't used it myself but the research done on it (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) proves it to be highly effective for men of all ages with testosterone problems.

After only a month of treatment, testosterone is around 600ng/dl for most.

 

Obviously, testosterone problems can lead to blood sugar problems, anhedonia and many of the side effects you probably experience, thus it would be the primary thing to go for fixing.

But you don't even need to consume any drug for testosterone, you only need to abstain from the sexual for at least 5 (recommend 7) days and do heavy exercises (carry weights), that alone can fix the problem quickly as it surely did for me.

 

As for myself, I too experience anhedonia and all the negative symptoms of schizophrenia minus the lack of insight into my own mental life, and possibly minus another symptom as well.

What has worked for treating my anhedonia (inability to experience any emotions, whether painful or not) was St. John's Wort.

I take it SJW works because of serotonin, since serotonin negatively effects hormones and I noticed that while on SJW I could do less physical exercises; obviously, SJW has other effects on the brain.

While on SJW, my social anxiousness returned, which was probably shielded by my emotional flatness, so-called schizophrenia. Yay to such a cure!--this is why I personally don't take SJW anymore.

 

Raising dopamine is very easy: you only need to supplement with an amino acid like l-tyrosine or l-dopa (l-tyrosine makes l-dopa) and do so on an empty stomach, with no other amino acid, and abstain from eating for at least half the day, as far as you can go without getting sick, passing out, or whatever it is.

Fasting is the quickest and best way to increase dopamine and other brain chemicals, that strengthen focus and emotions, since fasting does not have long-term damaging effects (tyrosine does neither) that many drugs do.

 

After I did this process with tyrosine and fasting, I was finally able to enjoy commercials again! Oh the joy of watching mindless commercials!

Joking aside, dopamine, as we both know, has a major effect on anhedonia - a positive one.

 

Good luck.

 

- Yosef

 

Thanks so much for the input! The Clomid sounds like a miracle. Maybe my pdoc will be able to prescribe it. I have had trouble finding positive experiences from it though. Some people on a few forums haven't stated much benefit but perhaps that is from users whom already have decent testosterone levels.

 

My Testosterone levels are that of a really old man and I really hardly have any energy for life right now. Such apathetic, dull, tired, unmotivated days. I couldn't even bring myself to reply to this until now. 

 

Clomid raises T levels significantly but does this increase on paper directly correspond with improvements in health? Such as more masculine appearance, improved mood, motivation, energy etc? I look very non-hormonal these days and have pretty much all the general symptoms of low testosterone. 

 

I tried Tyrosine in the past. Has had some motivational benefits but mood felt worse a lot of the time. Perhaps it wasn't good for upregulation. I'd notice some dysphoria here and there. L-Dopa Mucuna herb sometimes worked small wonders but it was very inconsistent. I felt kinder, more affectionate, and loved some of those feelings but also would make me tired a fair bit of the time and sometimes just made my mood feel worse overall. Tolerance onset perhaps but it was bit unpredictable. Sometimes I'd feel better, sometimes just want to sleep.     -Fasting after Tyrosine I don't believe is something I've tried but maybe I'll give it a shot one day.   SJW I don't think i can try any time soon since even if I quit vortioxetine 5mg I still am on 1.2mg valium which i am doing a slow withdrawl. SJW effects other med levels thus can be troublesome to mix suppossedly. 

 

 

Fasting may have played a role 2 days ago. I had to go on a clear liquid only diet in preparation for a colonoscopy. I was dreadfully hungry and mega dose of magnesium oxide as laxative was uncomfortable.  eventually i'd notice some greater motivation several hours later and bit more receptive and reactive to my surroundings. Including in the afternoon 28+ hours without food, and zero sleep (magnesium insomnia kept me up + perhaps hunger).  But something like this is not usually sustainable for me. Eventually I may have had a hypoglycemic episode when I was shiveringg and shakingg after the colonoscopy procedure. blankets did very little to keep me warm.  I been having lot of chills this past month on and off, sometimes after eating, and often just randomly and my skin dries up intensely. blood sugar issues or general low testosterone + whatever else.  I'm not literally shaking now but my body is still very very cold especially my hands.   That extreme shaking scenario manifested itself a year ago when I was hooked up to an IV as well. They were doing an ACTH stimulation or supression test and insulin was involved. There would be cortisol and blood sugar fluctuations through out the test as shown in the printed results. My cortisol would climb from 200 to 530ish. Surely only to drop when the testing was over. Anyway... Middle way through it I felt so much better, thoughts became so incredibly more clear and I felt I wanted to actually go out and do things, even be around people,  then after being taken off the IV or near the end I'd be so cold and shaking (no magnesium involved these days) and within 30 minutes my improved mood would rapidly decline into foggy tired dull apathy again.  I don't understand why this is.  intense fog, slow mindedness, poor ability to think, etc. 

 

But thank you so much for the Clomid information. I had no idea such a med existed. Hopefully my dr can try me on it, sometimes I feel so hopeless. 

 

 

I can see the irony of my suggestion that you should do physical exercises and abstain from sexual acts as a way to increase testosterone, since in your case you probably don't have a libido that needs controlling nor the ability to do sufficient physical exercises.

Nonetheless, should you suddenly get energy to do things then the first thing I would recommend is weight training and you don't need to go to any gym or buy any weights, you only need to let your upper body strain your legs by bending your legs and stretching them up again, all while standing with a straight back and your arms pointing out from the center of your body. I do 200 repetitions of these everyday and the hormonal effect is seen within the day, greatly increased after sleeping.

Interestingly, you say your cortisol and testosterone are both low and both of which are increased by doing physical exercises, though cortisol drops down around an hour after stress exposure.

 

Did you try 50mg of zinc? In my case, I experience that when I feel that my libido is down or my energy is low, taking zinc sufficiently quickly fixes the problem. If you try zinc, make sure to stay below 60mg to avoid neurotoxicity and if you supplement with zinc in high doses every day, you need to supplement with at least 1mg of copper every 3 days or so to avoid zinc-induced copper deficiency.

It may also be good to couple the high amount of zinc with proteins to increase the androgen-activity of the zinc.

 

Are you on any psychiatric medication that may down regulate dopamine or some such, like Risperidone (Risperdal)? 

Several psychiatric medication are known to reduce testosterone and cause long-term brain issues, both SSRIs and antipsychotics.

 

Did you get your vitamin levels checked by a doctor? Chances are, either as the cause behind your condition or caused by the condition, you may be vitamin deficient. If you could, it would be advisable to get the actual lab test on a paper instead of letting the doctor say that the results are fine since doctors are notorious for slipping into the trap of taking normal results as also healthy results.

 

For me, the biggest problem with fixing mental issues (whether they have a physical cause or not) is contacting doctors, whether normal doctors that treat physical problems or psychiatrists, since they often worsen the issue with their methods of alleviating the problems, as opposed to making the problems better. 

From my own experience, it's never a good thing to trust any so-called doctor as only a very small fraction of them care about truth, and an even smaller fraction desire helping their clients.

 

Much of what I've said is of course common sense and are things you've understood to begin with, I would assume. I mention this because I get irritated by people who advise to me the self-evident things and I assume you may, too.

 

Edit:

I forgot to answer your question ("Clomid raises T levels significantly but does this increase on paper directly correspond with improvements in health?") and the answer is absolutely yes! 
There is free and total testosterone and at least 2 types of testosterones, and multiple androgens, and yada yada, but trust me that you will notice the effects of high testosterone while on the anti-estrogen clomid if at all it has any effect on you (which I am sure it would). 
Couple clomid with weight training and you may further drastically increase testosterone and I would assume that you could get it to the 800ng/dl amount (which I believe is the ceiling for tests).
Best of all, you don't even need a prescription since you can buy it online (like viagra pills) but you didn't hear it from me! And I am not sure of which website would sell it (docsimon dot com sells various anti-estrogens but couldn't find clomid on there).

If you want advice for the usage of clomid then merely look at bodybuilding.com There are a lot of steroid users taking anti-estrogen meds on there, legally and illegally. They know of the worst case scenarios, best dosages and so on.

 

 

vitamin and mineral levels appeared fine in a test a month ago and around 8 months ago.  TSH fluctuated at 5.5, 3.5, 2.8 4.3, 4.8 etc. usually above 4.  Free T3 was higher end at 6 at one point but never been tested since. At that time I had tremendous anxiety and worst period of my life. I felt 1.5 years ago i was dealing with a severe adrenal crisis. I could not even lay in bed without some intense adrenaline stress attacks incoming plus various other intense symptoms of Adrenal Exhaustion. 

 

I have recovered from that to an extent but I am still long ways off from being healthy especially with my intense chornic fatigue, poor energy, tiredness, poor interest, and lackluster cognition. Very difficult to handle stress but Vortioxetine helps with that to some extent.

 

The values on blood tests for CBC and other routine tests all appeared to be fine. Others not so much. 

 

Cortisol AM was once at 60!  Another time at 240. But never higher than that. Usually 200 or less at other times but these tests are taken when I usually feel my best which is early in the morning and when cortisol is meant to be highest. Pretty unreliable testing but I cannot afford cortisol saliva tests.

 

UREA (kidney function etc) 2.6     range:   2.7- 7.5 

 

Cholesterol  5.49             range desired:  <5.2

HDL:  1.96

LDL:   3.30

Microalbumin (RDM U)    <2                 -outside the limits of detection*           

Microalb/creatine ratio     *.                   -outside the limits of detection*

 

Oct  23rd 2014 tests:

Creatine 94            60-110umol/L

eGFR 81               >=60. mL/min/1.73m**2

TSH 2.88        

T4 Free  16         12-22

Cortisol am   240          170-540

ACTH  2.3                <10.0

 

Urinechemistry:

Volume 24h  3100  H         600-1800

Creatine 24h U  12.8      M:8.6 - 19.4

Epinephrine <10                <100

Norepinephrine  273          <500

Dopamine 1713                  <2600

 

Metanephrines Fract .24h U:

normetanephrine  1.2    <3.3 UMOL/D

metanephrine  0.4         <1.7 UMOL/D 

 

during the october tests I was taking high dose royal jelly which helped in some ways and may have influenced results considerably. had to stop taking due to bad blood sugar crashes and candida die off/aggravation issues.  In general btw I have very frequent urination. Seems no matter the day. May be an important symptom. Often feel dehydrated. Thirsty often. 

 

Here is an earlier test for May 27th 2014-

 Free Testosterone 28   L       31-94pmol/L

ACTH  <2                      <10

Norepinephrine 1.2           0.8 - 3.4 nmol/L

Epinephrine  <0.1            <0.8 nmol/L

Metanephrines free <0.20       <0.49 nmol/L

Normatenephrines free  0.40       <0.89 nmol/L

TSH  3.31

T4 Free  14        12 -22

LH  2 (luteinizing hormone)               2 - 9 IU/L

Free T3   4      2.6 - 5.7

Cortisol am      60 L             170-540 nmol/L

FSH 4          2-12 IU/L

Testosterone  12.6      M: 7.6-31.4 nmol/L

Prolactin 8          <18 ug/L

Estradiol  57           <157 pmol/L

 

 

Other test on March 12th 2015-

Free Testosterone  181   L      196- 636 pmol/L

 

 

 

 

So I may have some possible kidney issues aside from low Testosterone, will have to do some further testing. if anyone has suggestions for which tests specifically please let me know. My gastrologist will be ordering the tests because my horrid family doctor refuses to help me in any way shape or form. 

Edited by AlexCanada, 26 April 2015 - 04:02 PM.

[AlexCanada]

tried zinc before btw but gave me some anxiety especially last few days which I've taken it so i try to avoid it. 

 

 i will try more excersizes.

 

today i have a little more energy because I took 2.5mg Cytomel (T3) and 1.5mg Pregnenolone.

 

Unfortunately my skin is getting scalyyy and dried upp rapidly after oral pregnenolone. This has happened many times before. Wish I knew why. Along with some acne on chin within hours. Clearly something is wrong. I probably will avoid preg in the future because the cold scaly skin especially on my hands is not welcome, it was much worse at higher doses. Maybe my body cannot use this oral form properly. 

 

I will try to find a good source for Clomid. 

[YosefANaumovich]

 

 

 

For your testosterone problem, I've heard that there is a a very good alternative to actual steroid use, which doesn't have long-term problems associated with it, that is used by teens and the extremely old; the drug is an anti-estrogen called clomid (look it up on Wikipedia). I haven't used it myself but the research done on it (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) proves it to be highly effective for men of all ages with testosterone problems.

After only a month of treatment, testosterone is around 600ng/dl for most.

 

Obviously, testosterone problems can lead to blood sugar problems, anhedonia and many of the side effects you probably experience, thus it would be the primary thing to go for fixing.

But you don't even need to consume any drug for testosterone, you only need to abstain from the sexual for at least 5 (recommend 7) days and do heavy exercises (carry weights), that alone can fix the problem quickly as it surely did for me.

 

As for myself, I too experience anhedonia and all the negative symptoms of schizophrenia minus the lack of insight into my own mental life, and possibly minus another symptom as well.

What has worked for treating my anhedonia (inability to experience any emotions, whether painful or not) was St. John's Wort.

I take it SJW works because of serotonin, since serotonin negatively effects hormones and I noticed that while on SJW I could do less physical exercises; obviously, SJW has other effects on the brain.

While on SJW, my social anxiousness returned, which was probably shielded by my emotional flatness, so-called schizophrenia. Yay to such a cure!--this is why I personally don't take SJW anymore.

 

Raising dopamine is very easy: you only need to supplement with an amino acid like l-tyrosine or l-dopa (l-tyrosine makes l-dopa) and do so on an empty stomach, with no other amino acid, and abstain from eating for at least half the day, as far as you can go without getting sick, passing out, or whatever it is.

Fasting is the quickest and best way to increase dopamine and other brain chemicals, that strengthen focus and emotions, since fasting does not have long-term damaging effects (tyrosine does neither) that many drugs do.

 

After I did this process with tyrosine and fasting, I was finally able to enjoy commercials again! Oh the joy of watching mindless commercials!

Joking aside, dopamine, as we both know, has a major effect on anhedonia - a positive one.

 

Good luck.

 

- Yosef

 

Thanks so much for the input! The Clomid sounds like a miracle. Maybe my pdoc will be able to prescribe it. I have had trouble finding positive experiences from it though. Some people on a few forums haven't stated much benefit but perhaps that is from users whom already have decent testosterone levels.

 

My Testosterone levels are that of a really old man and I really hardly have any energy for life right now. Such apathetic, dull, tired, unmotivated days. I couldn't even bring myself to reply to this until now. 

 

Clomid raises T levels significantly but does this increase on paper directly correspond with improvements in health? Such as more masculine appearance, improved mood, motivation, energy etc? I look very non-hormonal these days and have pretty much all the general symptoms of low testosterone. 

 

I tried Tyrosine in the past. Has had some motivational benefits but mood felt worse a lot of the time. Perhaps it wasn't good for upregulation. I'd notice some dysphoria here and there. L-Dopa Mucuna herb sometimes worked small wonders but it was very inconsistent. I felt kinder, more affectionate, and loved some of those feelings but also would make me tired a fair bit of the time and sometimes just made my mood feel worse overall. Tolerance onset perhaps but it was bit unpredictable. Sometimes I'd feel better, sometimes just want to sleep.     -Fasting after Tyrosine I don't believe is something I've tried but maybe I'll give it a shot one day.   SJW I don't think i can try any time soon since even if I quit vortioxetine 5mg I still am on 1.2mg valium which i am doing a slow withdrawl. SJW effects other med levels thus can be troublesome to mix suppossedly. 

 

 

Fasting may have played a role 2 days ago. I had to go on a clear liquid only diet in preparation for a colonoscopy. I was dreadfully hungry and mega dose of magnesium oxide as laxative was uncomfortable.  eventually i'd notice some greater motivation several hours later and bit more receptive and reactive to my surroundings. Including in the afternoon 28+ hours without food, and zero sleep (magnesium insomnia kept me up + perhaps hunger).  But something like this is not usually sustainable for me. Eventually I may have had a hypoglycemic episode when I was shiveringg and shakingg after the colonoscopy procedure. blankets did very little to keep me warm.  I been having lot of chills this past month on and off, sometimes after eating, and often just randomly and my skin dries up intensely. blood sugar issues or general low testosterone + whatever else.  I'm not literally shaking now but my body is still very very cold especially my hands.   That extreme shaking scenario manifested itself a year ago when I was hooked up to an IV as well. They were doing an ACTH stimulation or supression test and insulin was involved. There would be cortisol and blood sugar fluctuations through out the test as shown in the printed results. My cortisol would climb from 200 to 530ish. Surely only to drop when the testing was over. Anyway... Middle way through it I felt so much better, thoughts became so incredibly more clear and I felt I wanted to actually go out and do things, even be around people,  then after being taken off the IV or near the end I'd be so cold and shaking (no magnesium involved these days) and within 30 minutes my improved mood would rapidly decline into foggy tired dull apathy again.  I don't understand why this is.  intense fog, slow mindedness, poor ability to think, etc. 

 

But thank you so much for the Clomid information. I had no idea such a med existed. Hopefully my dr can try me on it, sometimes I feel so hopeless. 

 

 

I can see the irony of my suggestion that you should do physical exercises and abstain from sexual acts as a way to increase testosterone, since in your case you probably don't have a libido that needs controlling nor the ability to do sufficient physical exercises.

Nonetheless, should you suddenly get energy to do things then the first thing I would recommend is weight training and you don't need to go to any gym or buy any weights, you only need to let your upper body strain your legs by bending your legs and stretching them up again, all while standing with a straight back and your arms pointing out from the center of your body. I do 200 repetitions of these everyday and the hormonal effect is seen within the day, greatly increased after sleeping.

Interestingly, you say your cortisol and testosterone are both low and both of which are increased by doing physical exercises, though cortisol drops down around an hour after stress exposure.

 

Did you try 50mg of zinc? In my case, I experience that when I feel that my libido is down or my energy is low, taking zinc sufficiently quickly fixes the problem. If you try zinc, make sure to stay below 60mg to avoid neurotoxicity and if you supplement with zinc in high doses every day, you need to supplement with at least 1mg of copper every 3 days or so to avoid zinc-induced copper deficiency.

It may also be good to couple the high amount of zinc with proteins to increase the androgen-activity of the zinc.

 

Are you on any psychiatric medication that may down regulate dopamine or some such, like Risperidone (Risperdal)? 

Several psychiatric medication are known to reduce testosterone and cause long-term brain issues, both SSRIs and antipsychotics.

 

Did you get your vitamin levels checked by a doctor? Chances are, either as the cause behind your condition or caused by the condition, you may be vitamin deficient. If you could, it would be advisable to get the actual lab test on a paper instead of letting the doctor say that the results are fine since doctors are notorious for slipping into the trap of taking normal results as also healthy results.

 

For me, the biggest problem with fixing mental issues (whether they have a physical cause or not) is contacting doctors, whether normal doctors that treat physical problems or psychiatrists, since they often worsen the issue with their methods of alleviating the problems, as opposed to making the problems better. 

From my own experience, it's never a good thing to trust any so-called doctor as only a very small fraction of them care about truth, and an even smaller fraction desire helping their clients.

 

Much of what I've said is of course common sense and are things you've understood to begin with, I would assume. I mention this because I get irritated by people who advise to me the self-evident things and I assume you may, too.

 

Edit:

I forgot to answer your question ("Clomid raises T levels significantly but does this increase on paper directly correspond with improvements in health?") and the answer is absolutely yes! 
There is free and total testosterone and at least 2 types of testosterones, and multiple androgens, and yada yada, but trust me that you will notice the effects of high testosterone while on the anti-estrogen clomid if at all it has any effect on you (which I am sure it would). 
Couple clomid with weight training and you may further drastically increase testosterone and I would assume that you could get it to the 800ng/dl amount (which I believe is the ceiling for tests).
Best of all, you don't even need a prescription since you can buy it online (like viagra pills) but you didn't hear it from me! And I am not sure of which website would sell it (docsimon dot com sells various anti-estrogens but couldn't find clomid on there).

If you want advice for the usage of clomid then merely look at bodybuilding.com There are a lot of steroid users taking anti-estrogen meds on there, legally and illegally. They know of the worst case scenarios, best dosages and so on.

 

 

vitamin and mineral levels appeared fine in a test a month ago and around 8 months ago.  TSH fluctuated at 5.5, 3.5, 2.8 4.3, 4.8 etc. usually above 4.  Free T3 was higher end at 6 at one point but never been tested since. At that time I had tremendous anxiety and worst period of my life. I felt 1.5 years ago i was dealing with a severe adrenal crisis. I could not even lay in bed without some intense adrenaline stress attacks incoming plus various other intense symptoms of Adrenal Exhaustion. 

 

I have recovered from that to an extent but I am still long ways off from being healthy especially with my intense chornic fatigue, poor energy, tiredness, poor interest, and lackluster cognition. Very difficult to handle stress but Vortioxetine helps with that to some extent.

 

The values on blood tests for CBC and other routine tests all appeared to be fine. Others not so much. 

 

Cortisol AM was once at 60!  Another time at 240. But never higher than that. Usually 200 or less at other times but these tests are taken when I usually feel my best which is early in the morning and when cortisol is meant to be highest. Pretty unreliable testing but I cannot afford cortisol saliva tests.

 

UREA (kidney function etc) 2.6     range:   2.7- 7.5 

 

Cholesterol  5.49             range desired:  <5.2

HDL:  1.96

LDL:   3.30

Microalbumin (RDM U)    <2                 -outside the limits of detection*           

Microalb/creatine ratio     *.                   -outside the limits of detection*

 

Oct  23rd 2014 tests:

Creatine 94            60-110umol/L

eGFR 81               >=60. mL/min/1.73m**2

TSH 2.88        

T4 Free  16         12-22

Cortisol am   240          170-540

ACTH  2.3                <10.0

 

Urinechemistry:

Volume 24h  3100  H         600-1800

Creatine 24h U  12.8      M:8.6 - 19.4

Epinephrine <10                <100

Norepinephrine  273          <500

Dopamine 1713                  <2600

 

Metanephrines Fract .24h U:

normetanephrine  1.2    <3.3 UMOL/D

metanephrine  0.4         <1.7 UMOL/D 

 

during the october tests I was taking high dose royal jelly which helped in some ways and may have influenced results considerably. had to stop taking due to bad blood sugar crashes and candida die off/aggravation issues.  In general btw I have very frequent urination. Seems no matter the day. May be an important symptom. Often feel dehydrated. Thirsty often. 

 

Here is an earlier test for May 27th 2014-

 Free Testosterone 28   L       31-94pmol/L

ACTH  <2                      <10

Norepinephrine 1.2           0.8 - 3.4 nmol/L

Epinephrine  <0.1            <0.8 nmol/L

Metanephrines free <0.20       <0.49 nmol/L

Normatenephrines free  0.40       <0.89 nmol/L

TSH  3.31

T4 Free  14        12 -22

LH  2 (luteinizing hormone)               2 - 9 IU/L

Free T3   4      2.6 - 5.7

Cortisol am      60 L             170-540 nmol/L

FSH 4          2-12 IU/L

Testosterone  12.6      M: 7.6-31.4 nmol/L

Prolactin 8          <18 ug/L

Estradiol  57           <157 pmol/L

 

 

Other test on March 12th 2015-

Free Testosterone  181   L      196- 636 pmol/L

 

 

 

 

So I may have some possible kidney issues aside from low Testosterone, will have to do some further testing. if anyone has suggestions for which tests specifically please let me know. My gastrologist will be ordering the tests because my horrid family doctor refuses to help me in any way shape or form. 

 

Your testosterone (not free testosterone) really appears to be fine for someone your age and for someone who probably doesn't do regular, thorough exercises like I do.

12.6 nmol/l converts to 363 ng/dl. The range on ng/dl is about 200-800, as far as I know. There are men with testosterone around 200 who do not experience psychotic symptoms but to the contrary are very social (they're usually the overweight, always-smiling types).

After thorough exercises, my own testosterone turned out to be 18,7 nmol/l, which is around 538 ng/dl. Even at this range of total testosterone, I experienced the usual psychotic-like symptoms that I mentioned in my new thread.

The only big effect that came with testosterone was after abstinence from any sexual actives throughout a week plus doing many things that clearly raise testosterone. The combination of these two made me extremely apathetic, I felt couldn't care if I died the next day and sleeping was difficult, but by G-d I felt extremely good and felt as if nothing could have a negative impact on me. Sadly, I didn't test my testosterone levels when I felt this good but I would estimate that my test. was closer to the ceiling of the test than before.

 

Sadly, I don't think the test paper I have shows free testosterone so I cannot compare with you, but I'd take it that it's increased by physical exercises (while total test. increases through days of sleep, eating, exercise and so on).

 

Estrogen is what gives away to social behaviors, both good and bad, as opposed to testosterone which only makes one want to withdraw from social activities (especially if test. is high while estrogen is low).

It seems according to your test that your problem is more too low estrogen, cortisol and prolactin, as opposed to too low testosterone, but I may be wrong. Though, I would still advise you to try clomid and get your testosterone raised. Once testosterone is raised, you can take herbs that increase estrogen instantly and significantly (i.e. motherwort) or you can simply do exercises and through having high testosterone, some will get converted into estrogen by itself, thus fixing any deficiency in estrogen.

 

I know that estrogen has been suggested in the treatment of emotional symptoms of schizophrenia, and I believe prolactin, too. Of course, the dosages used cause feminization so it probably is not a route a man would take unless his symptoms are truly unbearable.

 

As for zinc, why it would cause you anxiety is hard for me to grasp, but I know that when my emotional bluntness is removed then various anxieties return (a reason I prefer to be emotionally blunted in the social sense).

[AlexCanada]

 

 

 

 

For your testosterone problem, I've heard that there is a a very good alternative to actual steroid use, which doesn't have long-term problems associated with it, that is used by teens and the extremely old; the drug is an anti-estrogen called clomid (look it up on Wikipedia). I haven't used it myself but the research done on it (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) proves it to be highly effective for men of all ages with testosterone problems.

After only a month of treatment, testosterone is around 600ng/dl for most.

 

Obviously, testosterone problems can lead to blood sugar problems, anhedonia and many of the side effects you probably experience, thus it would be the primary thing to go for fixing.

But you don't even need to consume any drug for testosterone, you only need to abstain from the sexual for at least 5 (recommend 7) days and do heavy exercises (carry weights), that alone can fix the problem quickly as it surely did for me.

 

As for myself, I too experience anhedonia and all the negative symptoms of schizophrenia minus the lack of insight into my own mental life, and possibly minus another symptom as well.

What has worked for treating my anhedonia (inability to experience any emotions, whether painful or not) was St. John's Wort.

I take it SJW works because of serotonin, since serotonin negatively effects hormones and I noticed that while on SJW I could do less physical exercises; obviously, SJW has other effects on the brain.

While on SJW, my social anxiousness returned, which was probably shielded by my emotional flatness, so-called schizophrenia. Yay to such a cure!--this is why I personally don't take SJW anymore.

 

Raising dopamine is very easy: you only need to supplement with an amino acid like l-tyrosine or l-dopa (l-tyrosine makes l-dopa) and do so on an empty stomach, with no other amino acid, and abstain from eating for at least half the day, as far as you can go without getting sick, passing out, or whatever it is.

Fasting is the quickest and best way to increase dopamine and other brain chemicals, that strengthen focus and emotions, since fasting does not have long-term damaging effects (tyrosine does neither) that many drugs do.

 

After I did this process with tyrosine and fasting, I was finally able to enjoy commercials again! Oh the joy of watching mindless commercials!

Joking aside, dopamine, as we both know, has a major effect on anhedonia - a positive one.

 

Good luck.

 

- Yosef

 

Thanks so much for the input! The Clomid sounds like a miracle. Maybe my pdoc will be able to prescribe it. I have had trouble finding positive experiences from it though. Some people on a few forums haven't stated much benefit but perhaps that is from users whom already have decent testosterone levels.

 

My Testosterone levels are that of a really old man and I really hardly have any energy for life right now. Such apathetic, dull, tired, unmotivated days. I couldn't even bring myself to reply to this until now. 

 

Clomid raises T levels significantly but does this increase on paper directly correspond with improvements in health? Such as more masculine appearance, improved mood, motivation, energy etc? I look very non-hormonal these days and have pretty much all the general symptoms of low testosterone. 

 

I tried Tyrosine in the past. Has had some motivational benefits but mood felt worse a lot of the time. Perhaps it wasn't good for upregulation. I'd notice some dysphoria here and there. L-Dopa Mucuna herb sometimes worked small wonders but it was very inconsistent. I felt kinder, more affectionate, and loved some of those feelings but also would make me tired a fair bit of the time and sometimes just made my mood feel worse overall. Tolerance onset perhaps but it was bit unpredictable. Sometimes I'd feel better, sometimes just want to sleep.     -Fasting after Tyrosine I don't believe is something I've tried but maybe I'll give it a shot one day.   SJW I don't think i can try any time soon since even if I quit vortioxetine 5mg I still am on 1.2mg valium which i am doing a slow withdrawl. SJW effects other med levels thus can be troublesome to mix suppossedly. 

 

 

Fasting may have played a role 2 days ago. I had to go on a clear liquid only diet in preparation for a colonoscopy. I was dreadfully hungry and mega dose of magnesium oxide as laxative was uncomfortable.  eventually i'd notice some greater motivation several hours later and bit more receptive and reactive to my surroundings. Including in the afternoon 28+ hours without food, and zero sleep (magnesium insomnia kept me up + perhaps hunger).  But something like this is not usually sustainable for me. Eventually I may have had a hypoglycemic episode when I was shiveringg and shakingg after the colonoscopy procedure. blankets did very little to keep me warm.  I been having lot of chills this past month on and off, sometimes after eating, and often just randomly and my skin dries up intensely. blood sugar issues or general low testosterone + whatever else.  I'm not literally shaking now but my body is still very very cold especially my hands.   That extreme shaking scenario manifested itself a year ago when I was hooked up to an IV as well. They were doing an ACTH stimulation or supression test and insulin was involved. There would be cortisol and blood sugar fluctuations through out the test as shown in the printed results. My cortisol would climb from 200 to 530ish. Surely only to drop when the testing was over. Anyway... Middle way through it I felt so much better, thoughts became so incredibly more clear and I felt I wanted to actually go out and do things, even be around people,  then after being taken off the IV or near the end I'd be so cold and shaking (no magnesium involved these days) and within 30 minutes my improved mood would rapidly decline into foggy tired dull apathy again.  I don't understand why this is.  intense fog, slow mindedness, poor ability to think, etc. 

 

But thank you so much for the Clomid information. I had no idea such a med existed. Hopefully my dr can try me on it, sometimes I feel so hopeless. 

 

 

I can see the irony of my suggestion that you should do physical exercises and abstain from sexual acts as a way to increase testosterone, since in your case you probably don't have a libido that needs controlling nor the ability to do sufficient physical exercises.

Nonetheless, should you suddenly get energy to do things then the first thing I would recommend is weight training and you don't need to go to any gym or buy any weights, you only need to let your upper body strain your legs by bending your legs and stretching them up again, all while standing with a straight back and your arms pointing out from the center of your body. I do 200 repetitions of these everyday and the hormonal effect is seen within the day, greatly increased after sleeping.

Interestingly, you say your cortisol and testosterone are both low and both of which are increased by doing physical exercises, though cortisol drops down around an hour after stress exposure.

 

Did you try 50mg of zinc? In my case, I experience that when I feel that my libido is down or my energy is low, taking zinc sufficiently quickly fixes the problem. If you try zinc, make sure to stay below 60mg to avoid neurotoxicity and if you supplement with zinc in high doses every day, you need to supplement with at least 1mg of copper every 3 days or so to avoid zinc-induced copper deficiency.

It may also be good to couple the high amount of zinc with proteins to increase the androgen-activity of the zinc.

 

Are you on any psychiatric medication that may down regulate dopamine or some such, like Risperidone (Risperdal)? 

Several psychiatric medication are known to reduce testosterone and cause long-term brain issues, both SSRIs and antipsychotics.

 

Did you get your vitamin levels checked by a doctor? Chances are, either as the cause behind your condition or caused by the condition, you may be vitamin deficient. If you could, it would be advisable to get the actual lab test on a paper instead of letting the doctor say that the results are fine since doctors are notorious for slipping into the trap of taking normal results as also healthy results.

 

For me, the biggest problem with fixing mental issues (whether they have a physical cause or not) is contacting doctors, whether normal doctors that treat physical problems or psychiatrists, since they often worsen the issue with their methods of alleviating the problems, as opposed to making the problems better. 

From my own experience, it's never a good thing to trust any so-called doctor as only a very small fraction of them care about truth, and an even smaller fraction desire helping their clients.

 

Much of what I've said is of course common sense and are things you've understood to begin with, I would assume. I mention this because I get irritated by people who advise to me the self-evident things and I assume you may, too.

 

Edit:

I forgot to answer your question ("Clomid raises T levels significantly but does this increase on paper directly correspond with improvements in health?") and the answer is absolutely yes! 
There is free and total testosterone and at least 2 types of testosterones, and multiple androgens, and yada yada, but trust me that you will notice the effects of high testosterone while on the anti-estrogen clomid if at all it has any effect on you (which I am sure it would). 
Couple clomid with weight training and you may further drastically increase testosterone and I would assume that you could get it to the 800ng/dl amount (which I believe is the ceiling for tests).
Best of all, you don't even need a prescription since you can buy it online (like viagra pills) but you didn't hear it from me! And I am not sure of which website would sell it (docsimon dot com sells various anti-estrogens but couldn't find clomid on there).

If you want advice for the usage of clomid then merely look at bodybuilding.com There are a lot of steroid users taking anti-estrogen meds on there, legally and illegally. They know of the worst case scenarios, best dosages and so on.

 

 

vitamin and mineral levels appeared fine in a test a month ago and around 8 months ago.  TSH fluctuated at 5.5, 3.5, 2.8 4.3, 4.8 etc. usually above 4.  Free T3 was higher end at 6 at one point but never been tested since. At that time I had tremendous anxiety and worst period of my life. I felt 1.5 years ago i was dealing with a severe adrenal crisis. I could not even lay in bed without some intense adrenaline stress attacks incoming plus various other intense symptoms of Adrenal Exhaustion. 

 

I have recovered from that to an extent but I am still long ways off from being healthy especially with my intense chornic fatigue, poor energy, tiredness, poor interest, and lackluster cognition. Very difficult to handle stress but Vortioxetine helps with that to some extent.

 

The values on blood tests for CBC and other routine tests all appeared to be fine. Others not so much. 

 

Cortisol AM was once at 60!  Another time at 240. But never higher than that. Usually 200 or less at other times but these tests are taken when I usually feel my best which is early in the morning and when cortisol is meant to be highest. Pretty unreliable testing but I cannot afford cortisol saliva tests.

 

UREA (kidney function etc) 2.6     range:   2.7- 7.5 

 

Cholesterol  5.49             range desired:  <5.2

HDL:  1.96

LDL:   3.30

Microalbumin (RDM U)    <2                 -outside the limits of detection*           

Microalb/creatine ratio     *.                   -outside the limits of detection*

 

Oct  23rd 2014 tests:

Creatine 94            60-110umol/L

eGFR 81               >=60. mL/min/1.73m**2

TSH 2.88        

T4 Free  16         12-22

Cortisol am   240          170-540

ACTH  2.3                <10.0

 

Urinechemistry:

Volume 24h  3100  H         600-1800

Creatine 24h U  12.8      M:8.6 - 19.4

Epinephrine <10                <100

Norepinephrine  273          <500

Dopamine 1713                  <2600

 

Metanephrines Fract .24h U:

normetanephrine  1.2    <3.3 UMOL/D

metanephrine  0.4         <1.7 UMOL/D 

 

during the october tests I was taking high dose royal jelly which helped in some ways and may have influenced results considerably. had to stop taking due to bad blood sugar crashes and candida die off/aggravation issues.  In general btw I have very frequent urination. Seems no matter the day. May be an important symptom. Often feel dehydrated. Thirsty often. 

 

Here is an earlier test for May 27th 2014-

 Free Testosterone 28   L       31-94pmol/L

ACTH  <2                      <10

Norepinephrine 1.2           0.8 - 3.4 nmol/L

Epinephrine  <0.1            <0.8 nmol/L

Metanephrines free <0.20       <0.49 nmol/L

Normatenephrines free  0.40       <0.89 nmol/L

TSH  3.31

T4 Free  14        12 -22

LH  2 (luteinizing hormone)               2 - 9 IU/L

Free T3   4      2.6 - 5.7

Cortisol am      60 L             170-540 nmol/L

FSH 4          2-12 IU/L

Testosterone  12.6      M: 7.6-31.4 nmol/L

Prolactin 8          <18 ug/L

Estradiol  57           <157 pmol/L

 

 

Other test on March 12th 2015-

Free Testosterone  181   L      196- 636 pmol/L

 

 

 

 

So I may have some possible kidney issues aside from low Testosterone, will have to do some further testing. if anyone has suggestions for which tests specifically please let me know. My gastrologist will be ordering the tests because my horrid family doctor refuses to help me in any way shape or form. 

 

Your testosterone (not free testosterone) really appears to be fine for someone your age and for someone who probably doesn't do regular, thorough exercises like I do.

12.6 nmol/l converts to 363 ng/dl. The range on ng/dl is about 200-800, as far as I know. There are men with testosterone around 200 who do not experience psychotic symptoms but to the contrary are very social (they're usually the overweight, always-smiling types).

After thorough exercises, my own testosterone turned out to be 18,7 nmol/l, which is around 538 ng/dl. Even at this range of total testosterone, I experienced the usual psychotic-like symptoms that I mentioned in my new thread.

The only big effect that came with testosterone was after abstinence from any sexual actives throughout a week plus doing many things that clearly raise testosterone. The combination of these two made me extremely apathetic, I felt couldn't care if I died the next day and sleeping was difficult, but by G-d I felt extremely good and felt as if nothing could have a negative impact on me. Sadly, I didn't test my testosterone levels when I felt this good but I would estimate that my test. was closer to the ceiling of the test than before.

 

Sadly, I don't think the test paper I have shows free testosterone so I cannot compare with you, but I'd take it that it's increased by physical exercises (while total test. increases through days of sleep, eating, exercise and so on).

 

Estrogen is what gives away to social behaviors, both good and bad, as opposed to testosterone which only makes one want to withdraw from social activities (especially if test. is high while estrogen is low).

It seems according to your test that your problem is more too low estrogen, cortisol and prolactin, as opposed to too low testosterone, but I may be wrong. Though, I would still advise you to try clomid and get your testosterone raised. Once testosterone is raised, you can take herbs that increase estrogen instantly and significantly (i.e. motherwort) or you can simply do exercises and through having high testosterone, some will get converted into estrogen by itself, thus fixing any deficiency in estrogen.

 

I know that estrogen has been suggested in the treatment of emotional symptoms of schizophrenia, and I believe prolactin, too. Of course, the dosages used cause feminization so it probably is not a route a man would take unless his symptoms are truly unbearable.

 

As for zinc, why it would cause you anxiety is hard for me to grasp, but I know that when my emotional bluntness is removed then various anxieties return (a reason I prefer to be emotionally blunted in the social sense).

 

 

 

Estrogen boosting herbs like Eleuthero Root Ginseng have given me some significant benefits in the past especially for mood. Unfortunately the herb can have a host of horrible side effects including severe neck carotid artery pains possibly relating to the blood thinning properties. Also it can lower blood sugar. Thus I'd be sometimes feeling so drained and apathetic but hours later bounce back and have more interest and more fond feelings for others. Even some very pleasant heart melting emotions.  

 

What other estrogen boosting options are there? I looked much healthier on Eleuthero. Also I looked remarkably healthier on Progesterone but my mood was more negative in some ways. May be due to all the gaba antagonism. A real love hate relationship I had with progesterone. I looked remarkably more attractive and healthy, didn't look like some non-hormonal bland faced almost genderless person.

 

Just how low are my estrogen levels anyway?  I never personally looked into this. 

 

Maybe I will try progesterone cream again but it really worsens my mood an hour or so after taking it at various times. Maybe I just need to get used to it. I am withdrawling from Valium and the gaba antagonism from progesterone thus may have a relation to that.    Or maybe I need to take better supplements with it?

Edited by AlexCanada, 30 April 2015 - 11:52 PM.

[YosefANaumovich]

Estrogen boosting herbs like Eleuthero Root Ginseng have given me some significant benefits in the past especially for mood. Unfortunately the herb can have a host of horrible side effects including severe neck carotid artery pains possibly relating to the blood thinning properties. Also it can lower blood sugar. Thus I'd be sometimes feeling so drained and apathetic but hours later bounce back and have more interest and more fond feelings for others. Even some very pleasant heart melting emotions.  

 

What other estrogen boosting options are there? I looked much healthier on Eleuthero. Also I looked remarkably healthier on Progesterone but my mood was more negative in some ways. May be due to all the gaba antagonism. A real love hate relationship I had with progesterone. I looked remarkably more attractive and healthy, didn't look like some non-hormonal bland faced almost genderless person.

 

Just how low are my estrogen levels anyway?  I never personally looked into this. 

 

Maybe I will try progesterone cream again but it really worsens my mood an hour or so after taking it at various times. Maybe I just need to get used to it. I am withdrawling from Valium and the gaba antagonism from progesterone thus may have a relation to that.    Or maybe I need to take better supplements with it?

 

I personally feel that when I take motherwort then my "confidence, " in the woman's sense of the word, immediately skyrockets. This may explain why so many athletes act like teenagers - it's the increased estrogen from test-to-estrogen conversion that gives away to this behavior and the feelings of being tough, confident, etc., as opposed to testosterone which acts as a blocker of certain emotions.

 

Doesn't progesterone reduce estrogen in men, increase muscle mass and so on, while in women doing the exact opposite?

 

My statement about your estrogen levels came from estradiol which was mentioned in the test results you posted. I compared the results to my own and they seemed low, also in view of Wikipedia's estrogen range.

Edited by YosefANaumovich, 01 May 2015 - 02:46 PM.