So my libido is pretty pathetic page 2

[NowhereMan]

Well, thanks everyone. I never thought about Iodine. I'm not convinced it's definitely the problem but it can't hurt to check it out.

Aside from that, I think there are some pretty clear, purely psychological, reasons behind my anxiety and depression. I'm currently meeting with a therapist bi-weekly and I'm about to start group therapy. I've done reading about amino acids and whatnot. I didn't notice a difference with Typtophan, but it's pretty clear that I need to supplement B vitamins and vit D so I've added those. Lots of fish oil too, although I think it might do me good to eat some actual fish. All my bloodwork for vitamins and thyroid was "normal". Other hormones: test, cortisol, etc. were not covered in my latest bloodwork, although I thought they would be. My father has had low test problems in the past and I suspect currently. He fought depression for a while too, but I don't know all the details. They're probably connected.

As for physical symptoms... I'm tired a lot; I burn out very easily; I have trouble sleeping sometimes. Either not falling asleep or waking up early and not falling back asleep. Aside from that, I definitely don't feel amazing but I'm not sure what's connected or not.

As for eating, I do the best I can with my meal plan, which is pretty good since I appealed it. Tons of vegetables and meat, fruit, good starches when I can get them. My only major complaints are the lack of red meat and cooking facilities. Otherwise, I'd be supplementing with store bought food. My biggest deviation is alcohol, which happens more often than it should. That said, I don't drink to the point where I'm falling over or throwing up. Nowhere near it. I drink coffee as well, usually one cup a day of really good quality stuff. Lately I've been thinking that I should give it up but that's just instinctual and not really based on any science.

If anything else is relevant let me know, but mostly I was just asking for recommended reading. I don't expect you guys to break this whole thing down and work it out for me I just want some resources.

[Uncephalized]

Go away, Grizz. Seriously.

Do you ever read a forum thread where one person is coming in and acting all crazy, and everyone is telling them they are nuts and to go away, and they won't listen, BECAUSE THEY ARE NUTS? Yeah, that person is you.

OP, I suppose it's possible you're iodine deficient. It's also possible you have one or more of about a bazillion other problems that can cause low libido, including simply having too much stress in your life or not sleeping enough, or just being one of those people who is on one end or the other of the normal distribution, whose traits don't match what everyone else thinks is "normal".

If you are eating low carb, try increasing the amount of carbs you eat significantly and see if that helps, too. Low libido and decreased energy are pretty common in long-term low-carbers.

[DavidBrennan]

To the original poster, I want to give you some good news: from my personal experience, it might be a good thing that you're struggling with this (emotionally and psychologically) now rather than in your later years. I say this because I went through extended periods in my early twenties where I had virtually no desire (granted, I also rarely had opportunities with women, and that didn't help, probably). When this dearth of desire occurred, it then lead to a vicious cycle: I felt little or nothing, so I got stressed out. Then, I became so stressed out and fixated on my near impotence, that it caused me still more stress. So, my libido was then worse than before, so I'd get MORE stressed....and on and on the cycle would go.

After a year or two of periodically freaking out, I eventually reached this common sense conclusion: It's perfectly fine to go a few weeks or even months where your libido is low....especially if your life is stressful outside of it. I was always worrying about making rent, buying food, and other life essentials, so of course I was going to have low libidos at such times! I came to embrace and accept the ebbs and flows of libido (and, for that matter, of all emotional states: sometimes I'm jazzed up for work, other times I'll go weeks where I have to force myself to miserably open up my work files).

By the time I was 25 or so, I don't think I ever had sexual problems. (One other note is to understand that sex, as coarse as this sounds, is not always the graceful, idyllic shit in staged movie scenes: usually, it's just a reflexive, organic bodily function. So don't buy into the shit that you've gotta be some sex god or whatever. Simply let nature take over, if you're not especially passionate.)

Conversely, I know that some dudes who were sex gods in their twenties or whatever, and now in their 30's these dudes are already using the repulsive Viagara. (Hell, I know one dude who started using the fake boner drugs at age 26!)

So, if you're like me at all, then you'll learn to accept the rhythms of your emotions (in this case, libido) and even to embrace these rhythms, rather than to get a wave of cortisol to stress you out every time you don't get horny on cue.

And, of course, the paleo diet and its saturated fats are phenomenally helpful for boosting your hormones and androgens (like testosterone and HGH), and stabilizing your energy levels overall. So if you live Primal, and learn to go with the flow, you'll be fine.

(And please, don't ever use Viagara. I'm embarrassed for my half of the species that any dude ever touches that shit.)

The X-factor could be porn if you watch it at all. STOP porn. It rewires your brain.
TEDxGlasgow - Gary Wilson - The Great Porn Experiment - YouTube
Rebooting | Your Brain On Porn

YES! Thank you for sharing this, wiltondeportes.

I personally include "avoid pornography" in my exercise logs. That shit fucked me up, causing me to waste thousands of hours of my life staring at disgusting sex, and perverting my standards for women and what sex should be like. So, for the past few years, my rule has been to avoid porn. To the extent that I need to shoot a wad but there's no girl present (which is most of the time), I use my own imagination, and then I just get the shit over with quickly, rather than staring at some other dude's contrived sexual conquests via porn.

Along with those articles, here is a riveting article (written by a woman) detailing how porn fucks you up:
Part 1: http://www.theoccidentalobserver.net...-brain-part-1/
Part 2: http://www.theoccidentalobserver.net...-brain-part-2/

[Grizz]

NowhereMan,

As for physical symptoms... I'm tired a lot; I burn out very easily; I have trouble sleeping sometimes. Either not falling asleep or waking up early and not falling back asleep. Aside from that, I definitely don't feel amazing but I'm not sure what's connected or not.

All are symptoms of severe iodine deficiency. Unless you are eating a lot of sea foods & seaweeds, you are iodine deficient. Every cell in the human body requires iodine to be healthy. Especially the brain, thyroid & sex organs.

Here is a list of some of the symptoms:
See how many of these symptoms you have.
Iodine-related bromide symptoms may include but are not limited to:
eye lid twitching
foot twitching
tingling in hands or feet
dark thoughts (e.g., there is no reason to live)
depression (e.g., there is no reason to get out of bed)
anxiety
emotionality
mouth and tongue sores and cuts or "sore mouth"
"different" acne,"bromide acne," "acne-like eruptions" without "coniform." (Some iodine
users found zinc helps bromide acne.)
skin "cuts"
hair loss
brain fog
leg and hip ache (feels like arthritis)
rash (bromaderma)
metallic taste
sinus ache
cherry angiomas
runny nose
headache
sedation
lethargy
odd swallowing sensation (reported in old medical literature as "swollen glottis")
body odor (bromos is Greek for stench)
unusual urine odor
dry mouth
ureteral spasm, frequent urination (mistaken for urinary infection)
diarrhea
constipation
vision changes
irritability
increased salivation
dream changes
hormone changes ( your lack of libido falls into this category )
kidney pain
breast tenderness (transient symptom reported to resolve)
Iodine-related bromide detox symptoms and strategies

Complete list of symptoms here:
http://tinyurl.com/Iodine-Deficiency

Grizz

[Grizz]

Go away, Grizz. Seriously.

Who are YOU? Who do you think YOU are?? The Gestapo of the message board? This is a public message board and I will post messages freely.

Grizz

[DavidBrennan]

Grizz, that list reads like the phony, Big Pharma "Do you have any of these symptoms?" commercials that Chris Rock mocks here:
Chris Rock - Drugs - YouTube

Based upon my research, iodine, selenium, zinc, and (most of all) Vitamin D are indeed all important. But if you're eating Primal, then you should be getting healthy dosages of all of them (save for Vitamin D, which many of us are inside too much to receive enough of, and so that requires supplementation).

But anybody who eats seafood once or twice a week, and a diversity of veggies (especially seaweed) should be getting PLENTY of iodine (in fact, I believe that you risk stressing out your thyroid with too much of it, and this can cause cortisol spikes).

It's also highly, highly unlikely that there is such a simple biochemical solution for something as dynamic, psychological, and subjective as libido. So the solution is likely to be something far beyond "Just take this supplement."

[Miscellangela]

To be honest, low libido is only a problem if you think it is. Like David said, people ebb and flow. Even if you mostly ebb, you're most likely fine. The media tells you that guys should humping constantly like a pubescent dog, but the truth is that there is a HUGE range of normal. And with everything else you're dealing with right now, i'll bet dollars to doughnuts that it'll work itself out. Especially if you meet a potential love interest who really knocks your socks off in every way. They are rare.

But stop stressing about it - that definitely won't help.

[NowhereMan]

Grizz- I appreciate that you're trying to help, but did you miss the part where I said I'd look into it?

As for porn, I'm not really a big fan. I thought it was awesome when I was going through puberty and all this was new to me, but these days it's pretty rare that I'll actually watch it. I literally can not remember the last time.

It's also possible you have one or more of about a bazillion other problems that can cause low libido, including simply having too much stress in your life or not sleeping enough, or just being one of those people who is on one end or the other of the normal distribution, whose traits don't match what everyone else thinks is "normal".

If you are eating low carb, try increasing the amount of carbs you eat significantly and see if that helps, too. Low libido and decreased energy are pretty common in long-term low-carbers.

There's definitely something to this. Stress is a constant struggle for me. Not to mention my anxiety about sex because of my low libido and, compared to most of my acquaintances, limited experience. As for other people's expectations... I'm sure they exist but I'm personally not satisfied with my sexual appetite. Two reasons:

1. I think it's a sign that something hormonal or psychological is out of whack, which I already know.
2. Sex is pretty great, I just have a hard time getting myself to put any effort into it.

I don't consider myself to eat low carb (probably around 100-150 g/day if I had to guess) but I can probably stand to eat a few more. That's definitely the simplest and most immediate change I can make, so I'll try that first. I'm a firm believer in only changing one thing at a time, so that you actually know what's working.

[cori93437]

Who are YOU? Who do you think YOU are?? The Gestapo of the message board? This is a public message board and I will post messages freely.

Grizz

OP, Please don't listen to this guy...

He posts in almost any thread with this same SPAM.
It's a copy and paste fest with him... want an example...
A few days ago he said that a woman needed the SAME Iodine treatment for Endometriosis... etc.
And prescribes the same for PCOS (which he says is "cures" though is may only decrease the symptoms) and FBD, as well as about 40 other random things...
Here's the link.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread66696.html
It's ridiculous.

Also, every single person who disagrees with his MASSIVE doses of Iodine as a CURE for every ailment known to man, even if they agree with small doses for general health, is a TROLL.

So, take it all for what it's worth... with a grain of salt maybe.

FWIW I'd have a look at my diet and see if I was getting all my minerals adequately particularly the selenium and zinc as that's where people miss IMO... the best sources are odd and not often eaten by many people.
A couple of Brazil nuts a day will get your selenium taken care of, how about some oysters once every week or two for a good hit of zinc?
Plenty of iodine too can be gotten from whole foods such as kelp if you don't use iodized salt...
And Vitamin D... sunshine, raw organic grass-fed milk if you drink any, or good D-3 drops if find you are really lacking via test.

[Drumroll]

Don't say shit that you have no idea about. If you have not PERSONALLY run this test on this guy, you don't know this. Based on ONE symptom, you cannot say someone is deficient in anything.

Except Grizz says iodine deficiency is the cause of EVERY major health problem of the modern era.