I haven't been following so forgive me, but what heart issues do you mean?
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I've a strong heart "pounding" since crash. It's way better than at the start, but still is alltime there and seems to get like a bit lower every month. But some months ago was still so strong that I had to sleep on my right side cuz otherwise it would move half of my body and no chance to fall asleep like that.
After I got sick a month ago it stopped beating so strong for the first time since crash for like 3 weeks, felt more close to like it was before.
Got a pulsmachine, with Sys/Dia/Pul/PP to check and first 2 months I had okeish bloodpressure but arythmias. These are gone for 4months+ and didn't come back. Otherwise bloodpressure is great now, so it's weird. Seems more like a cortisol issue or even gutissue than actual Heart one. When I drink or eat sth wrong it sometimes sets of a racing heart and stronger beat. Sometimes without reason aswell. Back then it was always going nuts at night.
Had a blast on the trip. Definitely felt symptoms. Especially the first few days. But was able to have fun regardless. New Zealand is incredibly health conscious so staying on diet was easier then expected. I varied from the diet a few times to be sure, but this didn't have any negative affects. Went to a wine tour island and drank all day also didn't have any affect. The last night of the trip got wasted and feel fine. Good to know I can survive without all my herbs and sups. But it's back to business now. Started a 7 day juice cleanse yesterday. Then herbs for another week or two then andro. Im actually excited to be back on the protocol. Life just makes sense now whenever im following it 100.
Just a quick check in here. That juice feast was awesome. I went the 7 days this time and felt almost perfect the entire 7 days. After the juice reintroduced paleo slowly and the herbs. Couple weeks later started my 3rd andro cycle with the musclegelz. Have been doing that for about a week now. I've noticed a slight spike in energy levels with it this time which is better then the last two times when I noticed basically nothing while on the cycle. Only slight gains after I completed the cycles. Im 14 months in now and am definitely a new and improved person. Most days are pretty damn good. Unfortunately I still suffer downsings that are mostly mild, but (hence me checking in here) today I had a pretty good down swing. I was in a conversation with a guy talking about endocrine cancer and he was telling me he had a friend who had it who tried to recover holistically but died. And I felt my head fill up with pressure and brain fog and couldn't kick it for hours. This is so ridiculous because none of us suffer from this but it was just too close to the shit that I am dealing with and my stupid brain isn't rational enough to separate endocrine cancer from PFS. So I discovered I still have a pretty low tolerance for this kind of stress lol. But I had been hovering around 90%. Alot of the time 100%. I consider 100 to be when I go hours thinking like a normal rational person about life an goals and making plans and not thinking about PFS as an inhibitor in my life or as a thing in this world at all. Those are glorious moments and over the last couple months those moments have sometimes been hours and even half a day at a time. The 90 is when I am conscious of PFS and know its there hovering but its not really bothering me. Its just there reminding me that I can't stray from the protocol or else it will pounce. So hopefully this cycle will give me some good gains and I will be PFS free sometime this year. Thats the goal but ill keep grinding as long as it takes.
4 weeks symptom free. Then the last 3 days as if those 4 weeks never existed. PFS ladies and gentlemen
We’re in a pandemic. We can’t underestimate the underlying stress that it causes, whether we’re conscious of it or not. Four weeks is a huge milestone & I bet this downswing ain’t going to last long. Keep going man - great work!
I am sure that this crazy pandemic has a lot to do with it. I wonder how long you can go without having a downswing before you feel confident that you wont have one. For me I was thinking if I could just make it a month I would be in the clear from the worst of it. And I found out that is not true. I guess it's two months? WTF! How can it just sit dorment like that for a whole month and then spring out and hit you. I don't think I will ever understand that.
Thanks CD. I did eventually come out of that downswing. Probably a week ago. Then I went through a post downswing mood where I get through almost the whole day without symptoms and then sometime around 5 or 6 PM I start to feel symptoms creeping. So I've started doing extensive meditation at around that time through the rest of the night. The meditation aspect has been the hardest part of the protocol for me. To just sit down or lay down and breathe for a period of time is just not something I would never do without PFS. But I realized the other day that it is probably the one reason I haven't totally healed yet. My diet is near perfect and all the herbs and sups are on point. But I have still damaged my brain from all the stress and anxiety of the last year and half and it needs to be calmed down daily. Even days like today or yesterday where I have been relatively symptom free I forced myself to sit and listen to mediation. I think that if I stay consistent with that I will be recovered in a matter of months.
I did a little reading on my most prevalent symptoms, which i have not done any research or reading on anything for the past year and a half to avoid being psyched out by some bull shit article. But I only really have two symptoms remaining. The downswings just make these more prominent and painful. I have pressure in my head that causes the back and sides of my head to audibly pop. I believe this is a variation of chronic tension headaches. And I am pretty sure I suffer from chronic stress because of all the anxiety and stressful moments I had compounded over the last year damaged my brain. Luckily the remedy for both of those is extensive meditation and breathing. So I know what I have to do. I also have eye floaters but fuck those.
Exactly...you know what you need to do. Taking the time to meditate is half the battle, believe it or not. If this is difficult it makes you realize just how unsettled you actually are. FORCE YOURSELF. Take the time. It's ALWAYS worth it. Once you get into a groove with this, you'll WANT to take the time to meditate and it will stop feeling like such a fucking chore.
Keep at it dude. You'll get there.
And I know it feels like it, but your brain is NOT damaged. At all.
I'm going through a really stressful transition at work right now. I am actually getting a promotion but it requires me to do lots of studying and sitting in a classroom type setting for 7-8 hours a day. The studying is no problem because I am by myself and can stop and do breathing exercises or meditate when I start to feel symptoms. But the classroom has been a different story. I had a pretty bad day last Friday. One thing has been totally confirmed to me though and that is that my symptoms are almost completely stress induced now. If I am just having a normal day at home or even going to a friends I feel about 90%. But if there is some stressful situation I have to deal with that day all bets are off. I start to feel weak and my head starts to hurt and then I just settle into a downswing that lasts until I get out of the situation and get back home. I have been consistently meditating now for a month and wim hof breathing multiple times a day now for 3 weeks. I'm hoping I can become a zen master someday soon and maintain a calm state in all situations.
Yeah stress reduction has been huge for me during pfs recovery. Had a few weeks of bad stress a couple of months ago (not PFS related), and some of my old symptoms came back. Stopped stressing, and they went away after a week or so.
Crazy how that works.
Yeah I know I have been questioning my decision to take this promotion while I am still dealing with this shit. But I want to keep living life. And I dont want to have that in the back of my mind that I am not taking a promotion because of PFS. Thats almost worse then dealing with the stress.
I know exactly how you feel. I used to have this bad while sitting in class in college, usually at the 1 hour mark I would feel the urge to leave the room ASAP and go home, and I’d begin to feel panic. I think that this would fall under the inability to handle stress category. At home I feel fine, which definitely leads to isolation. I assume it’s a pretty common thing for most of us.
Yeah its weird for me because its so inconsistent. Like Friday was terrible but than Saturday I was fine all day in class and I would say Saturday should have been the more stressful day. There's no way to predict it. I have been having a lot more ups and downs now throughout the day and week. I was having long stretches of ups followed by long stretches of downs. I feel like this is going backward kinda. But I don't know if that's true. It's just something different. I remember reading guys are always searching for that new baseline. I feel like I haven't reached a new baseline since November. I still have days that are just as bad as back then. I feel like I'm long overdue for a new baseline.
Towards the end you will get the swings that come and go more quickly instead of long drawn out ones. This is a good sign. It means it's starting to break. As always, just keep doing what you're doing.
And dude, go for that promotion. Definitely. You got this.
If you're feeling super stressed, try the 4,7,8 breathing method to really calm you down. Use it in conjunction with the WHM. Use WHM in the morning to get going, but when you feel stressed during your work day, use the 478 method. It will immediately calm you down.
Well that's good to hear! I will try that. I've done that a few times. I've been searching for something I can do while I am around people and in those situations. So hopefully that works for me.
Started my 4th andro cycle a week ago. Androhard td with steel 4-andro. Been feeling pretty good lately. Hoping to make some major gains on this cycle.
Cycle complete. 8 weeks of andro. 20-24 pumps a day stacked with the 4-andro. Overall.. Its hard to say how much I gained on this cycle. Positive note is I never had a prolonged downswing. I had a few terrible days and about 80/20 ratio good days to bad. I was hoping for perfection and I think that's a mistake. It's just a spoke in the wheel of recovery. The head pressure symptom is still as prevalent today as it was a year ago. Just a gnawing of the brain that comes and goes. Especially during stress related times but doesn't always relate to stress. Anxiety spiked occasionally but this symptom is practically under control. Anhedonia occasionally as well. One thing, for sure, is I gained muscle. After I finish a WOD I am completely jacked. I look like I'm getting ready for a body building competition. Relevant because looking good builds confidence in myself and increases serotonin which I feel a wash of when I'm at the pool or whatever.
Back on the herbs starting tomorrow. I am going to slam the bacopa, L-theanin, Gotu Kola, and Lions mane hard over the next couple of months. Along with the 17 herb cycle and the talked-about upswing we get after coming off andro I'm hoping for major baseline jump.
P.S. I got news from work today that I am getting 8 months paid leave at slightly less than my normal salary starting in October. That's probably the best news I have ever gotten in my life. Total dedication to health time. If i'm not hearing fat ladies singing by the end of that than something aint right :)
What are your thoughts on Ultra Hard?
I haven't looked into it yet but I will try it on my next cycle. I've done the Super R and the Androhard both at pretty much max doses and didn't ever feel euphoric or even really notice I was doing anything different. That was a feeling I was chasing but never got it. Just slight improvements after cycle. Maxout seems to really like it so ill give it a go next run.
I am feeling pretty well. Just wondering how long after the cycle do you get that good post cycle feeling? Is it like a week after or should it happen right away? The first day after cycle was kind of rough but yesterday was great and today is down a little more.
Give it two weeks to a month total in my experience. Benefits will come gradually. Estrogen rebounds from being blocked within 2-3 weeks, among other hormones. Just be patient and follow the protocol during the time. Keep us informed!
Was doing pretty well. The last couple of weeks have been pretty bad. Only thing ive done differently is add Vit B-. I am assuming that has to be the culprit. Im going to give it through the weekend though and see. I know it has helped some guys and negatively affected some guys. But I dont want to give up on it too quickly in case the other side is shiny.
I noticed that once I was in a good place health wise, the "daily vitamins" I took during active recovery were no longer necessary on the scale they once were. I went from daily, to a few times a week, to once a week, to once every two weeks, to now which is taking no supplemental vitamins unless they come from food/juices. Vitamin B was one of them for me.
If your diet is on point and your living healthfully, you probably don't need such a concentrated amount of B vitamins. The only thing my body still appreciates to this day, concerning vit/min. supps, is the powedered magnesium that you add water to. Everyone's different when it comes to this due to genetics, metabolism, etc.
Point being, at this point in your recovery, if it makes you feel like shit.....bin it.
I honestly don't know what point of recovery I'm at these days. I thought I was doing pretty well but have been swinging pretty violently the last month or so. I think I'll give this new B i just got a try and if it makes me crash again ill give up on it. Im starting another andro cycle this weekend or next week so I will probably stop it anyway for that. Im planning on taking Niacinamide with my next cycle. I saw an old post somewhere where someone did that and liked it. What say you to that?
In order for you to properly gauge how your body likes ultrahard I would highly suggest stopping the B vitamins and running it solo while also excluding the niacinamide at first. You want to be able to tell what is doing what before adding in questionable variables.
Let us know. Everyone that used it has loved it, myself included. It's almost too strong for me. Towards the end of my short test cycle I dropped it to 2 pumps of U and 2 of the four, and I was GOOD. Maintained and looked awesome, lol.
Honestly I wouldn't want to run them at full doses simply because of my job. With that much juice in me it makes doing business shit difficult. I don't want to sit and focus on tiny words or numbers. I want to lift, break things, move and use my body, lol. I would love to just cut lose for a month of work and try them at full throttle.
Started the Ultra Hard last Thursday and have felt pretty great on it so far. I have felt this euphoria feeling everyone has been describing. Ive been doing 6 pumps in the morning but it kinda wears down by the late afternoon. So today I did 4 more pumps in the early afternoon and that helped spike it again. Im not going to do that everyday but was just trying it today and so far so good i think. Looking forward to the coming weeks on this cycle and of course the post cycle gains. Ill update if there are any major changes but so far so pretty good.
Sup ya filthy animals. Finished my andro cycle last week. 8 and a half weeks on cycle with the Ultra hard 5 or 6 pumps a day. Definitely feeling my best these days. Ultra Hard is the first supplement that has given me noticeable immediate reprieve from my symptoms. I miss it a lot already. Not that everyday was perfect on it or anything but at least in the few hours after applying it I would feel invigorated and good nearly every time. I wish we didnt have to come off it for 8 weeks. Bottom line: Highly Recommend Ultra Hard! Already in the last week since coming off I can tell my downswings are stronger now then they were on cycle. But hopefully they arent as bad as they were pre cycle. It's hard to judge that shit as you all know. But so far they dont last all day. Just in the morning here or the evening there ill feel like shit. But when I feel good now.. I feel perfect. Its not like there's even a little bad feeling when I feel good. It's like i feel perfect. Then all of a sudden I wont again.
Anyway trying to keep my mind occupied and off pfs. Still checking on here every now and again to see how everyone's progressing. Keep pushing and sticking with the protocol and improvements will come. 2 steps forward 3 steps back 3 steps forward 2 steps back and so on. Happy holidays
Hey man! Great to hear and thanks for checking back in with your progress. Love that shit.....lol. You well know the drill by now so you can certainly see your way out is coming very soon my friend! Awesome job!
I got a spot saved for you over in the recovery section when ever you're ready!
Keep us posted bro.
Sup. Its been a minute since I have made a post on here. So I feel like doing a status update today for my own personal log. I still come on here ever so often to check in with how a few of the guys that are on my timeline are doing. Glad to see a few of them are very close to recovered. I, unfortunately am not. Overall since my last post I feel like I have made incremental improvement. My day to day right now seems to be more consistent than in the past. By that I mean I don’t really have long lasting downswings or upswings. Just more day to day changes. I have really only one symptom remaining. And it just doesn’t seem to want to get any better. It causes other symptoms like not wanting to eat or be social and a little bit of anxiety and stress and anhedonia. But it all stems from this wicked head pain.
Its usually on the right side of my head but can sometimes be behind the ears and on some occasions just the whole head. It’s a gnawing agitating pain that sometimes (rarely) lasts all day but usually doesn’t appear in full until the afternoon or evening. It actually causes my head to audibly pop and grind. Meditation and breathing helps the secondary symptoms, like anxiety and such from building or metastasizing. But nothing seems to hit this head pain directly on.
Bottom line is: When I don’t feel the head pain, I am 100%. Easy. All the underlying symptoms are gone. But when I have the head pain, all the old symptoms seem to want to slide in with it.
I don’t know if anyone else has this symptom or knows wtf I am even talking about lol. But that’s what I am dealing with still. And it maybe has improved in terms of how often I experience it. But what hasn’t improved is how severe it can get when its there.
I'm riding the protocol harder than ever. I finished another andro cycle a few weeks ago. And have been dosing all the herbs and supplements on the list plus some. My kitchen is literally covered in my supplements. Drives my girl crazy. Looking forward to my next andro cycle. That definitely does make a difference. The last one I was doing 6 pumps of AH in the morning and 6 of the A4 in the afternoon and felt amazing most of the time. So hopefully that will be the antidote eventually to this head pain bull shit. Other than that life is good. Keep working boys and I have no doubt that this shit will be a thing of the past. Just needs time and consistency. Which i've had a lifetimes worth of lessons on in the past two years.
Thanks for checking in.
Have you tried a cold shower when your head pain/pressure comes on? I know this feeling you're speaking of.
Are you staying fully hydrated? Are you running creatine with the PH's? Sometimes it eats up more water then you're putting in.....just something to look out for.
That pain is most likely your brain battling it's way to the promised land. This is why it seems some symptoms come back when it happens.
But you are for sure, 100% doing the right thing by hitting it harder. THAT, is what you're supposed to do! So good on you for intuitively knowing that is what needed to be done. This is where alot of guys, that are SO close to recovery, just drop everything out of pure anger and frustration. It's a trick! Your brain is fighting to rebalance it's homeostasis.
I have actually that about that. If I am super strict with the protocol my head sometimes seems to feel worse. If I take a week off of working out and drink 2 or 3 times my head doesn't hurt as bad. So I think you might be right about that.
Cold showers definitely help momentarily. Every once in a while they will knock it out completely. Especially at night before bed. But most of the time just momentary relief before it comes back.