The Story Of How I Overcame ED

[Johnathan PC Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Johnathan PC]

Hi - I know first hand what it is like to struggle with ED. I went through the pains, disappointment, confusions and doubts countless times.

I had my first encounter with erectile dysfunction when I was in my late 20's. It was so frustrating I pretty much lost all my energy in life. But I refused to just accept that I couldn't have a normal and natural sexlife.

To deal with it, I first tried some herbal supplements, but it just didn't work. I then started researching my condition to try to figure out what was wrong with me. I tried lots of different things, but nothing worked.

I then tried pharmaceutical drugs (viagra, etc.) and it worked really well. But hated taking a pill every time I had sex. And my face got flushed, my vision got messed up and I got a stuffy nose. And after a while, the pills started having less effect. And then they stopped working. My body had built tolerance to them


So I decided to make it my quest in life to find a way to overcome ED naturally and permanently. I experimented with all kinds of lifestyle changes (different diets, different exercise, sleeping more, spoke to doctors, had blood tests and testosterone measured, tried lots of different herbal supplements, etc.). I researched, read, investigated -- I wanted to find out exactly why I - a healthy young male should have to deal with this. And I found the answer in the end.


Believe it or not, it did take me a little more than 10 years to figure all this out. Which is the unfortunate part, because the answer was actually quite simple and simply common sense.


To make a long story short, the solution was to be nice to my body. Without knowing, I was not particularly nice to my own body (and mind). I would not eat what I should, I would not exercise enough, I would overexpose myself to porn, get bad sleep, etc. As a result, my body was almost always out of balance in one way or another.


And for me, one of the first functions to stop working when my body is out of balance is the ability to get erections / have sex.


Only when I learned to listen to my body and give it what it needs, and also remove from it what it shouldn't have, was my body back in balance. And what happened then was remarkable. I was able to get hard and persistent erections again. I regained my libido. I was again able to have sex!


I know first hand how frustrating it can be to deal with ED (and a low libido), and I think what I have learned could benefit lots of other men.


There are probably many men out there who struggle with ED, but who simply don't know why, and who therefore don't know how to overcome this.


To try to be of help, I have taken all my knowledge and all my major experiences and put it into a website. You are more than welcome to visit and learn from my experiences. The website is free to use for anyone. I dont think I am allowed to include a link with this post, but you find it if you search for <REMOVED BY ADMIN>. Hope my experiences can be of help to some of you

[needingalift Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close needingalift]

This post reflects my own personal experiences, almost right down to the last detail!

The only slight difference is that I've now had 27 years of this Hell and am still no nearer to resolving it, but I reckon that lack of sleep could be the biggest single factor. I intend to address this issue ASAP, along with my depression, although I don't know whether the insomnia causes the depression or vice versa?? Like you say, once your body gets out of whack one thing leads to another and it becomes a real mess to untangle after a while.

I'm sure that in the majority of cases there is no single cause for ED - it's just the result of our bodies failing to cope with their burdens and lifestyle changes are called for. It's very frustrating when, like me, you're very fit and healthy in every other respect because this just increases the sense of 'injustice', but simply by the process of elimination I've come to think that sleep deprivation is the missing piece in my jigsaw.

I also managed to track down your website and it's very informative. Thanks a lot!

[Dongo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dongo]

Why not post your info here?

[Johnathan PC Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Johnathan PC]

Hi Needingalift - it sounds like we have had a similar experience with ED. I have been able to overcome mine - I am now totally free from this hellish condition - so let me see if I can help you with my experiences.

Btw, I am just a regular guy who was hell-bent on curing my problems. I am not a doctor and do not have a professional license or anything similar. So I won't try to give you or anyone advice, but I can tell you what worked for me.

I lived a life where my body was pretty much constantly out of balance. Either I didn't sleep enough, my diet was crap, I stressed too much, I masturbated too much, etc. - and more often than not, it was a combination of more than one of these factors. So even though I was fit and on the surface healthy, my body was still almost constantly out of balance due to one or more bad habits. And for me, as soon as my body was out of balance, my sex drive and ability to have sex simply went down the drain. My body's ability to function sexually was (and still is) in other words super sensitive to whether my body was running well. And it turned out that all I had to do to regain my libido and ability to have sex was to bring my body back in balance.

Our modern lifestyles are so far removed from the way we lived, say 20,000 (or even 200) years ago, it is no wonder our bodies (and minds) have difficulties keeping up.

You might be similar. Your body may not function well sexually because your body is out of balance. And it may very well be sleep that causes this. I have learned first hand that sleep is extremely important, not only for sexual function, but for how you feel, how well and efficient you can do tasks, etc. (If you play chess, try to play when you are tired )

I have had periods were my sleep has been really bad because of work or having too much on my mind. When my sleep has been bad over some time, my libido has been terrible. And it has been difficult for me to get it up.

Most of the testosterone our bodies make are made while we sleep. So if you don't sleep enough, chances are your testosterone levels are low as well. Men with sleep apnea and sleep disorders generally have far lower testosterone levels than average, and ED is also much more prevalent among these people.

Testosterone is one of the most crucial elements in a healthy sex life for a man, and if testosterone levels are low, ED is much more likely to present itself.

Depression on the other hand, can by itself also lead to ED. I wrote a chapter dedicated to Psychological factors on <REMOVED BY ADMIN>. You can read that and see if that helps you in any way. Happy to provide my further thoughts if you have any more details to share.

Johnathan

[hg088 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hg088]

Did you ever get tested for testosterone and did it came up low?

[Johnathan PC Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Johnathan PC]

I'm not sure whether you're asking me or Ineedalift, but if you're asking me, then the answer is yes. I had my testosterone levels checked (and also had a number of other bloodtests). My levels were within the range that is considered normal, but towards the bottom of that range. However, the range is so wide that it is very unusual to be outside of this normal range.


I am not a doctor, however, based on what I have learned, having testosterone levels towards the bottom of the range means that one has quite low levels of testosterone. And having low testosterone may make it more difficult (all else equal) to function normally sexually. And without knowing, I assume that this was part of the reason I struggled with ED and a low libido.

[hg088 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hg088]

Yes I was asking you. I just realized a few days ago that all the symptoms of low testosterone apply to me. I got tested a couple of days ago, still waiting for the results. Another possible I might have is thyroid issues and the most likely of the three PIED.

I've been doing nofap for over 30days and I feeling a bit better. Haven't been able to try if my ED has improved.

[Johnathan PC Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Johnathan PC]

I think its a great idea that you get your testosterone tested.

The fundamental / underlying cause for ED is pretty much always poor blood flow to the penis. This in turn, from what I have learned, is in most cases caused by a lack of either dopamine, testosterone on nitric oxide. If your testosterone levels are shown to low, you may be likely to face ED, but on the other hand, you have gotten a real clue as to what the problem may be.

For you and anyone else getting blood test taken, it may be a good idea to test both total testosterone and free testosterone. Only about 3% of the testosterone in our bodies is free (or unbound to proteins) and can be used by the body. The other 97% needs to be "freed" from the proteins before it can be used. A person may have adequate total testosterone levels, but low free testosterone. You can learn more in the section called Testosterone on <REMOVED BY ADMIN>.

Also, if your ED is due to porn (porn induced ED - or meaning you have watched porn / masturbated too much), your condition may (based on what I understand and my experiences), be fairly easily solvable. What normally happens when a person watches too much porn / masturbates too much (or even has too much sex), as that the dopamine receptors in the brain get numbed, or overloaded with dopamine. Porn can produce such amazing sensations in a person that our brains can have a hard time handling it. As a result, dopamine receptors get overloaded and slowly stop working. More dopamine is then needed for the same sensation (meaning more extreme porn) and one can end up in a viscous circle. You can also read more about this on <REMOVED BY ADMIN> in the section called Porn.

What a brain / body needs in order to get back in balance is total abstinence from porn and masturbation. Depending on the severity, this can take weeks end even months. The brain needs time to re-wire, and this simply takes time in some cases. I have learned from some cases that overexposure to porn can cause damage that can take up to six months to restore. This is not however, a super heavily researched topic, so the knowledge out there is somewhat limited. There is a good research if you want to learn more called yourbrainonporn.

[needingalift Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close needingalift]

For the record, my testosterone level as of a few years ago, age 55 (I'm 59 next week) was 571 and so "absolutely nothing to worry about", I was told. Personally, I don't understand all the complexities of testosterone and thought that if you had a deepish voice with hairs on your chest etc.. you were generally okay.

I'll have to look into the free testosterone issue a bit more carefully, but right now I'm pursuing the sleep theory because on the rare occasions I've had an erection recently - we're talking about 2/3 worthy of the name over the past fortnight - it's been after a decent night's sleep with 'decent' for me meaning ≈ 4 hours!

Still, this at least means that the mechanics are in order so it must be the brain signals that are not getting through for some reason. I have literally NO erotic imagination and cannot get any fantasies going in my head - it's as simple (or complicated?) as that!!! Does this sound familiar to you, Jonathan (..or anyone else?) I don't know what others with zero libido feel but in my case there's a total inability to focus on any images of women in sexual situations.

I may even start a new thread about this because I'm curious to know what others with no sex drive feel, if anything. I should add that my penis is just as numb as my mind, with a complete lack of sensation that came on overnight!

[Johnathan PC Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Johnathan PC]

Your total testosterone level of 571 for your age is smack in the middle and totally normal. So it sounds like your testosterone level (assuming its the same today) is not critically low. That said, who knows if you would feel different if your level was 800?

I do not suggest testosterone therapy, steroids or anything similar. I am just a firm believer in living a life that provides an ideal environment for the body to produce lots of testosterone and generally be in an optimal state.

To have a body in balance, is in my experience so important for sexual function, I cannot say this enough.

I would say your sleep condition is key. My guess is that since you only get 4 hours (or less) sleep at night, this causes your body to be unhappy and out of balance. Sleep is super important in many ways, not just for testosterone production. Sleep is essential for recovery, learning, cleaning out toxins from the body, etc. My best guess is that since you don't get enough sleep, your body is more or less in a constant state of stress.

Sleep disorders are unfortunately quite common, and in many cases not at all easy to fix. Personally, in order to ensure I sleep well I make sure (to the extent possible) I don't stress, don't worry and don't have too many things on my mind. When I do, I find it hard to fall asleep, and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and just lay awake. I also make sure my bedroom is totally dark, and also quiet (I live on a busy street so I sleep with earplugs).

I also live a fairly active life, work out every day and I am generally exhausted when I go to bed. That helps me sleep. There are also herbal remedies and foods you can ingest that have been reported to help people sleep. I have not experimented with this.

Since you have no sexual or erotic thoughts, it sounds like your body is not interested in sex (or pro-creating). Instead, I am guessing your body is pre-occupied with other and more urgent matters. It sounds like your body has other problems it channels its energy towards that it wants to fix that have priority over sexual function.

For instance, when a person is faced with a dangerous threat to its existence (say chased by a dangerous animal), the body will shut down functions that are not essential to survival. That means that functions such as the immune system and reproductive functions will be given no attention, and that all energy will be devoted to those functions that can help the person escape the threat.

But based on my experience, one doesn't need to face such a grave threat as being chased by a dangerous animal, in order for the body to shut down some of its functions.

Based on my experience, my guess is that your body is in distress and is spending lots of energy to fix or cope with this situation. As a result, no or little energy is channeled towards sexual functions.

And yes, I know the feeling of having no sex drive. For me it was beyond frustrating, it would make me angry, give me the worst mood swings and by and large zap energy out of me. I have lots of sympathy.

I do think and hope however, that you can solve this. If I were you, I would certainly start with sleep. I would do my uttermost to try to get enough sleep, and if I could only get 4 hours a night, I would try to get 2-3 hours (if possible) in the middle of the day.

[petter546464 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close petter546464]

Hi Johnathan:

I too have struggled bigtime with ED. Its been a drain on my life at times and put me through periods of depression. I am 51 and have basically dealt with this situation for 20 years. For the last few years, I have taken generic viagra and it has made it possible for me to have sex. However, I had a similar experience to you in that in periods when I have used it a lot, it has not worked very well. I have a love/hate thing with viagra. It helps me, but I wish I could rid myself of taking it.

I have dealt with ED for so long, I had basically resigned myself to having ED forever and using drugs. Its almost become second nature. But its super inspiring that there is another person out there who have solved his own ED and who offers advice to the ones that struggle. I spent an evening on your website, which I by the way find super informative, and I am inspired by the solution you propose. If it is possible to cure myself, I am definitiely happy to give it a shot. So I will take you up on your advice and try the solution to propose.

But wanted to ask one question please: you say in one of the solution pages that you recommend taking a whole tablespoon of tongkat ali, horny goat weed, etc. Is this safe?? I have tried supplements in the past, and it was just one or two capsules (which must have been less than one gram)

Thank you!

[Dangler Senior Administrator☼ Wizard ☼ White Tiger Award 2015 Find all posts View Profile Close Dangler]

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