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Wellness Wednesday for November 16, 2022

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

  • Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.

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My libido fell off a cliff last Saturday (the 5th). Just woke up and it was like sex had lost all appeal to me. I can only get erect with VERY focused extended stimulation. I’m single atm and on a bit of a dry spell so I guess this isn’t a super pressing issue but it feels odd considering I’m only 24. I don’t watch porn so that’s not it. Though I’ve made a habit of rubbing one out to salacious texts from college flings which I guess could have the same effect? Still odd it would affect me this suddenly and all at once. I quit weed cold turkey on the 3rd and have been noticing weird side effects, even though I’ve had multiple t-breaks of similar length in the past with no issues at all. Been waking up slightly nauseous, usually goes away after some dry heaving. Got my testosterone levels checked last week and they’re at 380, which I think is on the low end of normal but shouldn’t itself be the explanation. I did test positive for a UTI last week accompanied by some bladder pain but it went away after 4 days on antibiotics, which I’m still taking. My doctor said my EKG was “slightly off but nothing too concerning” and referred me to a cardiologist and a urologist just to be sure, both appointments set for next week. I suppose they’d have the most relevant advice but this has me extremely concerned and sort of depressed so would appreciate any input. I don’t think I’ve gone a single day without an orgasm since I was 12 and now I do it without even trying. My body fat is at 10.5% and I don’t undereat. I’m not any more stressed than I’ve been at any other point in my life, just minor work-related stuff but I’m financially secure. It has been over a week of this so I’m very concerned.

Try taking 10mg of zinc once a day and see how you feel after a week. I used this to combat the side effects from antidepressants (both reduced libido and erectile dysfunction) and it worked wonders.

I’ve been taking 15mg forever so doubt that would make a difference. That being said this issue has mostly cleared up since I made this comment but thanks anyway. Think it was just withdrawal symptoms.

You’re single and don’t watch porn. Low libido sounds well within the range of normal.

For a young guy?

Yea. Date a girl you’re really into, and if you still have a low sex drive, only then is it a problem.

Alright man this hems a bit close to sounding like medical advice so let me say I've not examined you so it's pretty hard to say

But it really does sound like you're pretty anxious given what's going on. You're getting pretty rapid and comprehensive medical care for likely-nonconcerning things, let that keep happening to be safe, but it does sound like you might be struggling with a bit of anxiety/depression here. That's def. not a trivial possibility to contemplate, but at the same time I've found it can help if you know you're anxious, to realize things you're worried about are not very likely, and that your main battle is to fight the mood rather than something you can't control with your mind like (random example) malaria.

Also, you've been on antibiotics for a bit. That can mess with your gut, which can also mess with your immune system, mood, and even - downstream - hormones. Finish the med course so you don't breed a superbug in your urethra, but also look into probiotics and gut-helping things.

Personally, I have celiac sprue, and my main symptoms if I have gluten accidently are, kinda atypically, anxiety and depression - which I don't have normally. I found that having a good high-EPA fish oil at highish dose for the duration of reaction really helps, but everyone's physiology is different. Some like cucurmin.

Finally, real speculatively - when you're in this freaked-out state, just don't try to jerk it! If you physically need to you won't stop yourself, and if you try to force it you reinforce the anxiety/lack of performance/more anxiety cycle. Focus on a different goal for now lol

Edit to add - this whole situ is actually something that can happen for some time after giving up weed, MJ can become a coping mechanism over time without the user noticing - usually when they're already using it, and then a bad thing happens and they continue, and therefore have no context as to what they would feel like if they weren't using it.

Replied to wrong comment

It sounds like the doctors will identify physiological causes if there are any. If what they say don't end up changing anything, I guess the next logical thing to do is psychological?

Since you're financially secure, maybe take a week off from work and enjoy vacation somewhere warm, and focus on simply having fun and nothing else.

From what I know the testosterone measurement as a single number doesn't mean much without having a baseline number from when you felt a normal sex drive. You need to couple the amount of testosterone with the sensitivity of your receptors to its presence, so for you 380 might be a severely decreased state from normal, even if some other dude might stay year-round at 380 and have high sex drive with that amount.