Originally Posted by
DefRecover
Lads
Sorry for the long silence. Looks like a number of new faces around here - so welcome to all.
I have just come back from my wedding and honeymoon. This has meant the last few months has been pretty patchy on the protocol with the silly season, then (multiple) stag parties, a multiple day destination wedding and then honeymoon. In short, lots of non paleo food, gluten, booze, late nights, less exercise, no herbs while travelling etc - the anti protocol!
The good news is that none of this seems to have set me back much if at all. I am now back into the protocol full swing again. About 9 months in, my main remaining issues are low / no libido, digestion problems and sleep. Even the sleep seems to be getting SLIGHTLY better. Most nights I can sleep from 11pm to 5am, but then I often wake up and have trouble getting to sleep again, usually drifting off around 6/6.30am not long before my alarm goes off! There is definitely a correlation between my digestion and sleep, so once I get the digestion sorted I am hoping everything else will click into place...
Otherwise things are pretty decent. I didn’t lose much strength in the gym and seem to have maintained my muscle mass. No mental issues really (other than libido). I do have a couple of questions though:
1) herb shelf life - what is the lifespan of our herbs once they have been opened? I have about 10 which I have been cycling and still have quite a lot left of each. However, my tongkat, eleuthero, and he shou wu have started clumping together and are no longer really powders. Does this mean they have gone bad? Is it ok to keep using the herbs when they are in this state? I am assuming this is because of exposure to moisture or air? How do you guys store your herbs - in the plastic zip lock bags they come in or airtight jars or something?
2) pine pollen powder - pretty much every time I take pine pollen powder it seems to throw my digestion off, which in turn wrecks my sleep. Has anyone else experienced this? Should I switch to the tincture instead? I am still cycling it but it is either a crazy coincidence or the pine pollen isn’t sitting well with me.
3) weights - pretty much every time I lift weights it seems to throw off my sleep. I typically sleep much lighter with more wake ups than non weights days. I assume this is some kind of cortisol issue - even though I try not to over exert myself. I generally lift at 3pm which is far from the recommended at least 2 hours before sleep. Should I switch to morning sessions? Any other ideas?
4) baby - yep the b word. Now we are married, the girl wants to start trying for a kid. Do you think it is ok for us to try and reproduce whilst I am not fully recovered from PFS? I wonder whether it might reduce fertility and, even if you can get one past the keeper, will it affect the health of the baby? Thoughts? While I am 42, the wife is only 29, so I probably have a little time...
Cheers
Def