Hello Dr,
So I’d like to get some advice on how to tackle this ongoing battle with my own body. I was unfortunately exposed to Masturbation at quite a young age (10-11~), and Now I am 17. Sometimes I’d do it daily, sometimes every 2-3 days.
I regret every single second, i spent on this filth.
This case is going to be a bit long, because I don’t want to miss out any detail.
Well, I decided to go cold turkey on Masturbation about 85 days ago. The thing is, I wasn’t totally aware of the Withdrawal symptoms & knowledge about SE / Masturbation addiction.
I first looked at yourbrainonporn.com and got a bit knowledge about it as a Chemical Addiction or so. However, About 60 days into the withdrawals, I found out this website and it has confused me.
YourBrainonporn claimed that, withdrawals will take about 3 months to about 1 year, depending on severity of the addiction. However, when I went through a lot of articles & cases on this website, I found out that I’m stuck in a permanent state of Fight or flight response. I hope you can clarify me on this.
Anyways, 3 days into the withdrawals, I got a full-fledge panic attack, out of no where. I had heart racing & fainted for 30 seconds, and it all ended suddenly.. but I did go to the Doctor immediately and he checked my electrolytes, which were fine.
After that, It all went down, I had Anxiety, partial insomnia, Restless legs syndrome, tremors, shaky feeling, inflammation, weight loss, migraines, fatigue, hair loss, Ear buzzing (not alot), Eye floaters, Mood swings, Heart palpitations (Only for sometime) etc.
I’ve had these tests done, some of them maybe, unrelated due to my lack of knowledge about the addiction at first, apparently.
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Tests:-
Vitamin B12 – 176 [Ref range: 156-675] pmol/L
Vitamin D [Done twice] : 4 and 35 (After injection)
Serum Calcium [Done thrice] – Diagnosed with mild Hypercalcemia (This worries me ALOT)
A mistake here done is, S.Calcium wasn’t measured before giving Vit D injection.
After Vit D injection:- 2.6 [Ref range: 2.10-2.55] in mmol/L.
A week after last test:- 2.74 [Ref range: 2.20-2.65] in mmol/L.
Two weeks after last test of (2.74) | :- 11.0 [Ref range: 8.4-10.2] in mg/dl .. This is about 2.75 in mmol/L. (from different hospital.)
This worries me alot, but doctors said, at my age it’s completely fine and it rose a bit due to me being anxious all the time and breathing alot.
Should I be worried? Is there any neurological connection between calcium & neurotransmitters imbalance (which I’m facing currently)…?
PTH – 20 [Ref range: 9-65] in pg/mL… This was done when I had calcium 2.6 mmol/L.
Doctors said, no problems with PTH.
Multiple tests of T3, T4, TSH done –
The lastest one is:
TSH – 0.84 [Ref range: 0.35 – 4.94] uIU/ml
Free T4 – 18.92 [Ref Range: 9.01 – 19.05] pmol/l
Free T3 – 5.26 [Ref Range: 2.63-5.70] pmol/l
Dr’s said, Thyroid readings have been going up and down randomly, but not like completely out of range.
S.Magnesium – 0.76 [Ref range 0.70 – 1.00] in mmol/L
CPK – 174 U/l
ANSWER
Hello,
Yes, panic attacks and extreme anxiety are not uncommon in cases where abrupt and prolonged sexual activities discontinuation, combined with lack of any external support for serotonin – GABA nervous modulation, is observed. Statistically, I’d say it’s encountered in about 10 to 20 percent of the cases where the mentioned conditions are met.
You’re right to assume you’re stuck in an overactive sympathetic nervous functioning for increased fight or flight response. In fact, I think I’ve seen similar cases on the forum as I occasionally go through it. Regrettably, I still don’t have the time to answer to the numerous threads there.
Unfortunately, as you have noticed yourself, conventional tests are usually ineffective in detecting the imbalanced state through the inability to monitor neurotransmitter levels in the brain, the wide range of acceptable results, and the flat ratio of hormone-neurohormone-neurotransmitter interactions monitored.
Let me elaborate a bit more on the mentioned condition.
As you’re already well aware of, sexual activities of any kind are known to directly affect one’s dopaminergic system. During these activities, much dopamine is released into the synaptic cleft, where it’s either burned as a fuel for nervous transmission (meaning it’s metabolized through different neuroendocrine circuits during and after usage) or is upregulated. Much of the bioavailable dopamine is also used for dopamine – norepinephrine – epinephrine conversions, as norepinephrine is actually synthesized from dopamine by dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH). So, sexual activities are constantly lowering both its bioavailability and respective receptors.
Overactive sexual activities can definitely lead to imbalanced neurotransmitter levels, including dopamine. Same goes for sudden alterations in organism functioning (abstinence) without taking the necessary precautions. As sexual exhaustion sufferers frequently have their nervous modulation imbalanced, any severe increases of dopamine can result in extreme sympathetic functioning through its then constant direct conversion to norepinephrine – epinephrine. Normally, the process is carefully regulated by the serotonin – GABA nervous modulation on excitatory / inflammatory response, meaning that if excessive conversions are detected, the inhibitory GABA (and serotonin through different circuits) will balance organism functioning. However, this is frequently not possible in cases where sexual exhaustion is already present, as it has already drained much of the potential of this modulatory mechanism. That’s one of the reasons why healthy individuals that used to abstain from the beginning (certain religions, etc.), won’t usually have a problem with prolonged abstinence, while masturbation / sex addicts may experience various ill consequences.
Naturally, external activities, such as exercise, may also play their role in balancing dopamine – norepinephrine – epinephrine levels.
Note that excessive dopamine – norepinephrine – epinephrine conversions also happen during sexual activities themselves, with serotonin – GABA nervous modulation spending some of its potential on it. That’s why many individuals may notice anxiety – irritability related issues after. The difference is that the process is self-controlled through the already chronically lowered dopamine levels, the duration of the activity, and prolactin release.
Dopamine – norepinephrine – epinephrine conversions as a result of excessive abstinence is heavier and more drastic in nature. It won’t start to occur until a couple of months into abstinence, during which dopamine levels will go into an all-time high. The extreme conversions will become unavoidable at some point, and will start to show through symptoms of extreme sympathetic functioning. One may even be unable to then masturbate again as every attempt will lead to even excessive dopamine – norepinephrine – epinephrine conversions, which will be too much for his already imbalanced system to handle (given it’s already trying to suppress the increased sympathetic activity) and result in severe panic attacks.
“Should I be worried? Is there any neurological connection between calcium & neurotransmitters imbalance (which I’m facing currently)…?”
Calcium is known to participate in the sympathetic nervous system activation. As you can see here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9534092 (for example), various treatments designed to treat excessive sympathetic nervous functioning, hypertension, and the respective coronary artery disease (mentioned in the study to frequently occur as a result of such – “overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system may lead to hypertension and is involved in heart failure.”) include calcium antagonists.
It’s dangerous to prolong the condition as it’s well known that any kind of neuroplasticity occurs quickly in the presence of heightened excitatory / inflammatory hormone-neurotransmitter levels. It was once a positive evolutionary trait important for fast and proper organism behavioral modulation and adaptation through times of acute stressor exposure. However, similar archaic evolutionary traits can sometimes work against us in modern environments.
I’d suggest addressing the weakened serotonin – GABA nervous modulation first. Particularly useful for this purpose would be 5HTP-Nettle (or L-Tryptophan) and GRB6-GABA (or GRB7-GABA). Simultaneously, you may want to also use Multi-Alpha, Alpha-Amino, Balance-Essentials, and Ultra-Purified-FishOil to additionally improve nervous and endocrine functioning, stabilize acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine, GABA levels, aid hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-testicular axis proper functioning, increase androgens, increase elasticity prostaglandin E1 E3 and Nitric Oxide, alter numerous gene expressions, and eventually rewrite the negative neuroplasticity developed.
This case is particularly severe in terms of proper serotonin – GABA nervous modulatory functioning, so I will advise to continue addressing it for at least 3 to 6 months after the complete resolution of your symptoms. It will then be crucial to keep the positive neuroplasticity you’ve created.
Naturally, the usual beneficial practices apply:
* Exercise
Running, in this case, will be beneficial in regards to epinephrine burning and proper parasympathetic functioning restoration. You should be careful not to overdo it, though, as it may result in excessive inflammatory response (especially in this condition).
* Proper diet
Much fiber, fruits, avoid milk with prostaglandin E2 analogs, avoid empty calories and much red meat.
* Negative ion exposure
The general rule is wherever there is water, there are negative ions: rivers, lakes, oceans and ponds, even your own shower.
* Massages
Similar practices definitely have positive effect on local inflammatory processes and help you deal with the excessive sympathetic functioning.
Exception here will be my recommendation of sexual activities discontinuation. I’d actually advise you to masturbate 1 to 3 times per week for the next couple of months.
Please, keep me updated on the case!
Glad if I could help!
UPDATE
Hello Doctor, This is an update for the “Masturbation withdrawal? Extreme anxiety and panic attacks.” Case.
Its been about 1 week into the supplements, I’m taking Multi-Alpha, Alpha Amino, Zeolite, GRB6-GABA, 5-HTP, Balanced Essentials, Fish Body Oil (local).
I’ve noticed quite a lot of improvements:-
Anxiety has decreased by 50%
Depression decreased by 50%
Fatigue/Tiredness has reduced by 75%. I feel a lot more energetic.
Erections are quite strong when laying down, and much better when standing up.
Overall, body fat has been decreasing and Muscle mass has been increasing.
Hair loss has definitely decreased.
Ear Buzzing/Ringing which used to happen sometimes, has diminished.
Urinary urgency has definitely improved by 50% at least.
Chest pains/discomfort have decreased considerably in frequency.
Libido is quite high.
No Improvements:-
Eye floaters & Eye Redness is still there. [This seems to annoy me the most]
Concentration is still kind of lacking, and it’s kind of hard due to Eye floaters.
Excessive Sweating, My Underarms get sweated, when i’m doing nothing at all.
My whole body especially, my head, eyes, spine, lower abdomen feels very heated and warm. What is the reason for this?
I still have broken/light sleep, (Not deep sleep).
Muscle twitches, Random twitches, specially in the legs, thighs, arms which last for 1-3 seconds.
I have a few questions:-
1) I had a wet dream today (7 days into the treatment), which I think is due to excitatory/increased sympathetic function.. as I had trouble sleeping / light sleep that day and once I ejaculated due to that dream (I couldn’t control it), I actually felt a lot sleepy after that and went straight to sleep.. Not sure why….?
2) I’m a college student (A Levels), however I took this year off, just so I could recover and come back strong, would you recommend me currently to study & memorize? I feel like, it could stress me more and slow my recovery? However, I do love enjoying studying, it’s just that I want to recover from this Exhaustion.
3) Eye floaters & Eye redness have been very annoying, what is the reason for this and how much time do you think it will take to resolve? Also, I have yellow color at the corners of my eye balls, however I did check my liver functions around a month ago which were completely fine.. I’m not sure what could be the cause of this?
I got my eyes checked by a vision doctor, when I went into abstinence, The doc said, she couldn’t find anything wrong apart from the redness, which she gave me an anti-histamine drops for, but those just made my eyes a lot dry and not much improvement. She had no clue why I had Alot of Eye floaters.
4) My whole body especially, my head, eyes, spine, lower abdomen feels very heated and warm. What is the reason for this?
5) I have Muscle twitches, which are Random twitches, specially in the legs, thighs, arms which last for 1-3 seconds. No clue about this why? It’s not painful or annoying, just that it’s weird.
6) I’m planning to order more supplements, I ordered only for 2 months at this time, and it takes a lot of time for me to get the supplements, so I’d like to ask how many months supplements should I order? I’ll probably order 6 months of Multi-Alpha, Alpha Amino, Fish Oil, however I’m not sure about GRB6-GABA, Balanced Essentials & 5-HTP.
How many months in total would I probably need to address the GABA-Serotonin modulation? (Around 3-4 months?) and Balanced Essentials, should I take it for 3-4 months? or discontinue it aswell and when?
Lastly I’d like to Thank you so much to you Dr Richards & your team, who made this website, for a very noble cause. You have helped me so much.
Best Regards.
ANSWER
Thank you for your detailed report. I’m certainly glad notable improvements are being observed. Of course, there is still much to be done in regards of proper organism functioning restoration. I’ve gone through the case once again just to make sure I won’t miss anything.
Let me expand really quickly on your initial report.
The reported improvements are usually expected and I must say you’re even going ahead of the curve with many of the symptoms. 50% decrease in major complaints during the first month is usually a very positive sign, although you may notice frequent symptom fluctuations as it is usually how it goes. This means that you may observe symptom improvement ranging anywhere, say, between 20% to 50% with respective “good” and “bad” days. So it might be useful to report the range itself, as it is a more accurate way to judge overall improvement.
Now, let’s get to the symptoms that are not improving and expand on the probable cause for it.
Eye floaters & Eye Redness is still there. [This seems to annoy me the most]
It is actually a very common complaint. The issue here is that the eye floaters, although frequently caused by a range of internal biochemical in nature imbalances, are usually very physical in nature and have protein structures. They will be dissolved eventually but it frequently takes more time.
Concentration is still kind of lacking, and it’s kind of hard due to Eye floaters.
It usually improves on par with symptoms like anxiety and depression. However, it may occasionally lag behind due to temporary fluctuations in dopamine and acetylcholine.
Excessive Sweating, My Underarms get sweated, when i’m doing nothing at all.
It is usually indicative of an ongoing excessive excitatory / inflammatory response so it freqeuntly improves on par with anxiety and depression as well. However, you have reported increased body heat, which may be directly responsible for the symptom and I’ll get back to in in a moment.
4.) My whole body especially, my head, eyes, spine, lower abdomen feels very heated and warm. What is the reason for this?
Similar symptoms are actually not uncommon. The heat is usually caused by a dilation in your blood vessels, which are finally adjusting to a proper way of functioning, getting rid of the previous excitatory / inflammatory narrowness. The increased blood flow to your internal organs and skin is probably creating the warm sensation. Similar responses are usually considered healthy.
I still have broken/light sleep, (Not deep sleep).
This may take a while and can definitely be improved with exercise.
5) Muscle twitches, Random twitches, specially in the legs, thighs, arms which last for 1-3 seconds.
Now, this may be caused by a number of things but is usually related to slight magnesium imbalances.
Now, let me get straight to the rest of your questions:
1) I had a wet dream today (7 days into the treatment), which I think is due to excitatory/increased sympathetic function.. as I had trouble sleeping / light sleep that day and once I ejaculated due to that dream (I couldn’t control it), I actually felt a lot sleepy after that and went straight to sleep.. Not sure why….?
You’re very correct in your assessment. The wet dream should definitely be considered inflammatory / excitatory in nature given it took only 7 days to occur. Even so, proper organism reactions to this orgasm might be expected (especially with improving neurochemical balance during treatment), causing you the natural sleepiness.
2) I’m a college student (A Levels), however I took this year off, just so I could recover and come back strong, would you recommend me currently to study & memorize? I feel like, it could stress me more and slow my recovery? However, I do love enjoying studying, it’s just that I want to recover from this Exhaustion.
Studying and memorizing information can be very demanding indeed. However, I do not believe similar practices can affect the recovery in a major way. It is usually the other way around – you will be unable to concentrate and study productively even if you wanted to.
3) Eye floaters & Eye redness have been very annoying, what is the reason for this and how much time do you think it will take to resolve? Also, I have yellow color at the corners of my eye balls, however I did check my liver functions around a month ago which were completely fine.. I’m not sure what could be the cause of this?
You may want to take a look at: https://cure-erectile-dysfunction.org/vision-problems-eye-floaters-sexual-activity for this. Generally speaking, it is inflammatory in nature.
As for the yellow color at the corners, it shouldn’t be alarming if it is not that noticeable. Even perfectly healthy individuals may develop such as a result of minor external irritants.
6) I’m planning to order more supplements, I ordered only for 2 months at this time, and it takes a lot of time for me to get the supplements, so I’d like to ask how many months supplements should I order? I’ll probably order 6 months of Multi-Alpha, Alpha Amino, Fish Oil, however I’m not sure about GRB6-GABA, Balanced Essentials & 5-HTP.
How many months in total would I probably need to address the GABA-Serotonin modulation? (Around 3-4 months?) and Balanced Essentials, should I take it for 3-4 months? or discontinue it aswell and when?
That seems about right. It usually takes 3 to 4 months to address serotonin-GABA nervous modulation in a lasting manner, and is when I usually recommend discontinuing GRB6-GABA and 5HTP-Nettle. Of course, you may want to keep probably a month’s supply on top just in case you need to use it in a supportive manner (if such need is to arise) further down the road.
There shouldn’t be any immediate need to discontinue Balance-Essentials. It’s a very nice formula addressing quite a few major neurotransmitters in the brain in a very balanced manner.
I’d like to thank you for your kind words and assure you it’s always a pleasure.
Be sure to keep me updated on the case.
Glad if I could help!