Gravity's Recovery Update

Hi everyone,

I was going to wait until I made a full recovery to post, but I think it's better that I post now to help some of those who are going through the thick of it.

I took Saw Palmetto (SP), Fin, and Dut, and crashed on August 25th, 2021. I was taking SP for a couple months with no symptoms. I transitioned to Fin for 3 days and began to see symptoms (light sleep, no morning wood, lack of sensitivity down under), so I stopped both SP and Fin for a month. It only took a week or 2 for all the symptoms to completely disappear, so I felt safe to give 5ar Inhibitors a longer try. After that month break, I took 1 pill of Dut followed by 4 days of Fin (genius, right..). After that 4th day of Fin, I was having serious trouble sleeping. I remember waking up feeling anxious, like I was late for some important event. I ceased taking the Fin, Dut and SP, but the symptoms continued to progress. This was my crash.

Here were my initial symptoms:
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Anxiety (especially at night)
- Loose, stretchy skin
- Change in muscles (not as dense)
- Moderate lack of sensitivity on penis
- Major lack of sensitivity on the boys down under
- Cracking ankles
- Sore feet (my feet would get wider as I walked compared to pre pfs, something to do with the change in muscle)
- Difficult to get or stay hard
- No morning wood
- Acid reflux
- Heart pain (like my heart was being pinched)
- Nipple sensitivity
- Discomfort in right shoulder/bicep
- Rapid eardrum fluttering

I was lucky enough to find this site almost immediately after crashing. In the early days of this journey, reading through CD's (and other recovered members) posts helped me stay sane. I hopped on the protocol instantly. Since I was very thin at the time, I opted for a week long juice feast instead of a longer water-fast. After the cleanse, I hopped on the supps, herb rotation, breathing exercises, cold showers, and the rest of the protocol.

I want to point out that insomnia was by far my worst symptom. In the first month, I was only sleeping about 2 hours a night. There was even a 5 day stretch where I didn't sleep at all. Needless to say, it was a very difficult time. Positive affirmations helped a lot.

Over the course of the following months, my sleep slowly but surely improved. 6 months after crashing and I was able to get about 6 hours of sleep a night (pre pfs I would usually get 7-9 hours). It is now 8 months post crash and my sleep is truly about 85-90% back to what it used to be. This in itself is a massive success for me, even if I am not yet 100% recovered.

In hindsight, I think it was the meditation, diet, proper sunlight, daily exercise, nightly walks, and magnesium + glycine (Sleep brand for magnesium and the Now Brand for glycine) that helped most with restoring sleep. I also tried Ziziphus and Albizia powder from LEH. They were somewhat helpful, but I stopped using them as they weren't making much of a difference for me.


After 8 months of protocol, here are the symptoms I am left with:


- Loose, stretchy skin
- Change in muscles (not as dense)
- Moderate lack of sensitivity on penis
- Major lack of sensitivity on the boys down under
- Cracking ankles
- Sore feet (my feet would get wider as I walked compared to pre pfs, something to do with the change in muscle)
- Testicle pain (right side only)


Pain in my right ball is a new symptom that developed in Jan, 2022. After it developed, I stopped the herb rotation for a month and got bloods done. I wanted to see if there was something specific causing the ball pain. Most of my bloodwork came back fine, but my estrogen levels came back very high, outside the normal range. I don't think this imbalance is due to the herb rotation but rather due to a lack of 5ar from SP, Fin, and Dut that never recovered. I'm back on the herb cycle again, and soon will move forward with a pro-hormone cycle. What do you think is the best pro-hormone to take in my case?

Apart from the ball pain, the other symptoms are totally manageable and not even that big of issues. Of course I'd like them to resolve, but they are not substantially hindering my quality of life. In addition, my life is in many ways better than pre-pfs. I just moved to Austin Texas with a college friend, I'm lifting, going out to bars (sober), creating relationships with beautiful woman, sleeping well, and am in the final stages of landing a job as software engineer. Before PFS, I was day-dreaming my life away - truly letting the potential of my life slip through my fingers. PFS gave me a somewhat necessary smack in the face, and through the protocol I began to realize limitations I had unknowingly placed upon myself. This last 8 month period has been a metamorphosis of sorts for me, and I like who I am becoming.

As a last note: Thank you CD and the rest of the community who selflessly come here to help those of us who are in recovery. I don't know if I'd be alive today if it wasn't for you guys..

- Gravity

Hi !

The protocol worked really well for you! You recovered when your erections in the morning, and a good quality of erection?

For the prohormone it's ultra hard you need. It increases DHT and thus lowers estrogen. Judging from the nipple pain, you have way too much estrogen. (There are two PFS cases: too much estrogen and not enough estrogen)

Good Luck from France !

Yes, great quality. On par with pre-pfs. Thanks for the recommendation!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gravityhaha

Hi everyone,

I was going to wait until I made a full recovery to post, but I think it's better that I post now to help some of those who are going through the thick of it.

I took Saw Palmetto (SP), Fin, and Dut, and crashed on August 25th, 2021. I was taking SP for a couple months with no symptoms. I transitioned to Fin for 3 days and began to see symptoms (light sleep, no morning wood, lack of sensitivity down under), so I stopped both SP and Fin for a month. It only took a week or 2 for all the symptoms to completely disappear, so I felt safe to give 5ar Inhibitors a longer try. After that month break, I took 1 pill of Dut followed by 4 days of Fin (genius, right..). After that 4th day of Fin, I was having serious trouble sleeping. I remember waking up feeling anxious, like I was late for some important event. I ceased taking the Fin, Dut and SP, but the symptoms continued to progress. This was my crash.

Here were my initial symptoms:
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Anxiety (especially at night)
- Loose, stretchy skin
- Change in muscles (not as dense)
- Moderate lack of sensitivity on penis
- Major lack of sensitivity on the boys down under
- Cracking ankles
- Sore feet (my feet would get wider as I walked compared to pre pfs, something to do with the change in muscle)
- Difficult to get or stay hard
- No morning wood
- Acid reflux
- Heart pain (like my heart was being pinched)
- Nipple sensitivity
- Discomfort in right shoulder/bicep
- Rapid eardrum fluttering

I was lucky enough to find this site almost immediately after crashing. In the early days of this journey, reading through CD's (and other recovered members) posts helped me stay sane. I hopped on the protocol instantly. Since I was very thin at the time, I opted for a week long juice feast instead of a longer water-fast. After the cleanse, I hopped on the supps, herb rotation, breathing exercises, cold showers, and the rest of the protocol.

I want to point out that insomnia was by far my worst symptom. In the first month, I was only sleeping about 2 hours a night. There was even a 5 day stretch where I didn't sleep at all. Needless to say, it was a very difficult time. Positive affirmations helped a lot.

Over the course of the following months, my sleep slowly but surely improved. 6 months after crashing and I was able to get about 6 hours of sleep a night (pre pfs I would usually get 7-9 hours). It is now 8 months post crash and my sleep is truly about 85-90% back to what it used to be. This in itself is a massive success for me, even if I am not yet 100% recovered.

In hindsight, I think it was the meditation, diet, proper sunlight, daily exercise, nightly walks, and magnesium + glycine (Sleep brand for magnesium and the Now Brand for glycine) that helped most with restoring sleep. I also tried Ziziphus and Albizia powder from LEH. They were somewhat helpful, but I stopped using them as they weren't making much of a difference for me.


After 8 months of protocol, here are the symptoms I am left with:


- Loose, stretchy skin
- Change in muscles (not as dense)
- Moderate lack of sensitivity on penis
- Major lack of sensitivity on the boys down under
- Cracking ankles
- Sore feet (my feet would get wider as I walked compared to pre pfs, something to do with the change in muscle)
- Testicle pain (right side only)


Pain in my right ball is a new symptom that developed in Jan, 2022. After it developed, I stopped the herb rotation for a month and got bloods done. I wanted to see if there was something specific causing the ball pain. Most of my bloodwork came back fine, but my estrogen levels came back very high, outside the normal range. I don't think this imbalance is due to the herb rotation but rather due to a lack of 5ar from SP, Fin, and Dut that never recovered. I'm back on the herb cycle again, and soon will move forward with a pro-hormone cycle. What do you think is the best pro-hormone to take in my case?

Apart from the ball pain, the other symptoms are totally manageable and not even that big of issues. Of course I'd like them to resolve, but they are not substantially hindering my quality of life. In addition, my life is in many ways better than pre-pfs. I just moved to Austin Texas with a college friend, I'm lifting, going out to bars (sober), creating relationships with beautiful woman, sleeping well, and am in the final stages of landing a job as software engineer. Before PFS, I was day-dreaming my life away - truly letting the potential of my life slip through my fingers. PFS gave me a somewhat necessary smack in the face, and through the protocol I began to realize limitations I had unknowingly placed upon myself. This last 8 month period has been a metamorphosis of sorts for me, and I like who I am becoming.

As a last note: Thank you CD and the rest of the community who selflessly come here to help those of us who are in recovery. I don't know if I'd be alive today if it wasn't for you guys..

- Gravity

---

Thank you. I have moved a copy of this to the recovery section as you are well on your way.

Thank you for coming back and sharing. That is the best thing to do for this forum and this cause.

Keep on going my man. It's just going to get better and better.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by isseo

Hi !

The protocol worked really well for you! You recovered when your erections in the morning, and a good quality of erection?

For the prohormone it's ultra hard you need. It increases DHT and thus lowers estrogen. Judging from the nipple pain, you have way too much estrogen. (There are two PFS cases: too much estrogen and not enough estrogen)

Good Luck from France !

---

When followed properly, the protocol works for everyone.....

I tried a hair oil for dandruff about a month and a half ago, and it messed up my sleep. Ends up some of the oils were 5ar inhibitors. My sleep has pretty much returned to where it was before taking the oil. About 85-90% of what it was before my initial crash. Sometimes I have a racing mind before bed, and most days I don't wake up feeling like my sleep was as deep as it used to be, but I am certainly improving.

Also, I drank alcohol a few times in the last month and a half, and it added to the sleep issue / lack of recovery. I was very close to being back to normal so I thought that drinking couldn't hurt my recovery much, but I was wrong. Lesson learned.

I will start a ph cycle when my sleep recovers a little more, until then I'm on the herb cycle and the rest of the TMO protocol. :)

Courage bro, you will take this.

When did your ED heal? :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by isseo

Courage bro, you will take this.

When did your ED heal? :)

---

I was never hit super hard with ED. It was one of the first things to recover. Healed within the first 2 months of the protocol. But don’t feel hopeless if yours hasn’t resolved yet. All of our timeline’s are different.

Indeed, I could see a strong improvement at the very beginning of the protocol on the sexual side.
I woke up from time to time with strong erections.

Then I lost that improvement, I regressed. Since then I no longer feel the strong progression I had.

Overall I'm better than before starting the protocol because I never had erections when I woke up before.

At the moment I have it from time to time but with a much lower intensity

(Sorry for my english)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gravityhaha

I was never hit super hard with ED. It was one of the first things to recover. Healed within the first 2 months of the protocol. But don’t feel hopeless if yours hasn’t resolved yet. All of our timeline’s are different.

---

You got lucky there. Definitely be thankful as that tends to lag with most guys, until finally clearing up.

- - - Updated - - -

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by isseo

Indeed, I could see a strong improvement at the very beginning of the protocol on the sexual side.
I woke up from time to time with strong erections.

Then I lost that improvement, I regressed. Since then I no longer feel the strong progression I had.

Overall I'm better than before starting the protocol because I never had erections when I woke up before.

At the moment I have it from time to time but with a much lower intensity

(Sorry for my english)

---

Just because it doesn't feel like you're making huge strides anymore doesn't mean anything. When the plateaus happen, the body is working "internally" and on a level we can't see. It's gearing up for the next baseline increase which comes after a strong upswing........keep going.