P.A.W.S. - what are they, cure, duration

Thanks for the warning..but my intention was not to go into the rabbit hole. It was like a sec or two when I was showering and I was like meh this shit is broken for good. Like, if you get a cut on your skin and after it heals, you touch and see if you have any sensation. something like that. I don't know how to explain. I jus got out of the shower right away.

I have no intention to masturbate and orgasm ever again. Even without porn. Jus sex or do any stuff only with a partner.

And I wish you the same man! Much love!

 

Hi guys,

A quick update from me. 2 weeks ago I decided to spend the night with a girl I work with. To cut a long story short, while I didn’t O, there was a substantial amount of seminal leakage due to being aroused. A few days later I slipped into a flatline and last night I believe I stepped out of it.

That night was the first time I experienced a good strong erection in a long time. While it wasn’t 100% it was a lot stronger than I’ve had in some time, maybe 60%. For me it confirmed that after 28 months of recovery I AM healing.

9 months ago, I was in the same situation and found that after “sex”, flatline recovery took a good 2-3 months. Whereas after 12 days, my libido has returned with some sexual function. Just to point out, I am nowhere near where I used to be emotionally, mentally and in some ways physically. I still feel somewhat numb, mentally I’m not as sharp as I used to be, my skin and hair is dry and somewhat grey without any ‘light behind my eyes’ but I think for someone like me that has been recovering for so long, it helps to see a glimmer of progress.

Sharing for anyone it might help.

 

Thanks for sharing. It gives me hope!

 

So your mental symptomps dissapeared?So you finally feel you joy from life again?Cause Iam at day 240 and anhedonia is worst mental symptom for me.Like i dont remember where i felt great about something.

 

Just on the point of anhedonia, I think anhedonia is actually at the base of PAWS. While we mostly discuss it in relation to PMO withdrawal, there are a lot of people out there who suffer from anhedonia for different reasons. For example, this person had anhedonia after having surgery from cancer and found that the 6 years that followed, caused him to fall deep into anhedonia. He said he tried everything to get rid of it but that taking l-tyrosine actually cured his anhedonia for good. Worth a watch.



I think this video is also one of the best explanations of anhedonia in terms of how it relates to addiction and dopamine.

 

Hey Fellas I just wanted to give you an update on my progress. I’m somewhere around 680 days, so close to my 2 year mark. I have to say that over the past month I have been experiencing longer and longer stretches of normal mood rarely any brain fog and minimal dizziness from time to time. I still have my occasional moments especially 4 days after having sex. I see a return of all my classic symptoms but the time of their duration is shortening. I am not saying I am recovered but I am saying that there definitely is hope. I can also see why the forum gets abandoned by people who have recovered. I don’t agree with it but I can see why most people would want to move on and not dwell on the horror that is paws. At least I think a big part of being out of paws is not having to think about paws anymore. In my personal journey I didn’t do hardmode. I think if I had this would have been a lot quicker for me but the connection I have created with my wife was worth the cost. Please stick to this. If I am experiencing a glimpse of what life can be like on the other side of this thing it’s really damn good. I am not saying I won’t hit another big wave. That is definitely a possibility. What I am saying is that I am getting there. Sorry for the long post and God bless.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share and congrats on the progress!

I also find that 4-5 days after ejaculation, I see a return of symptoms. Almost like a return of the flatline. A question from me; 4 days after having sex when the symptoms return, how long do they last for you? What are the symptoms that you experience?

 

Congrats on your perseverance and success.Its worth and will be one of most importants.

Can you explain this dizziness,that how you feel it? I feel continuous tingling of head.its like frontal cortex area say front portion of head is making some cyclic patterns and something is tremoring with heart beat or like head is shaking very minutely every second.its very unresting and scary.Its like that portion is superactive and some moulding or shape changing work like a factory is going on inside.

I too have chosen to try to rewire with my wife but it's not working.i am around 7 1/2 months without any relapse to PM but while trying to rewire and be intimate I have ejaculated several times due to PE & PIED and it's there since a while.Post any ejaculation ,I'll be like dead and lifeless and most of all symptoms hit back hard.I am telling it's really difficult to express and be in this situation ,coz it's not about only me but my wife is also there who's getting effecetd by it.I am lucky that shes understanding and cooperates with me.But still I'm unable to perform normal however I'm sticking to it to see results.

You have crossed the line and it's something.so just wanted to have your perspective on these above.
Thanks for sharing and best wishes.

 

My symptoms mostly consist of depression, anhedonia, anxiety, brain fog, and dizziness. The duration of the subsequent wave varies. I’ve had symptoms usually last a couple of days to a week. After combining alcohol with sex I’ve had symptoms last for over a month. I never experienced the sexual side effects of the flatline like, PIED or low sex drive. When I quit Porn, I quit weed addiction at the same time. I never really knew which one caused PAWS. I never crave weed and do still crave Porn from time to time. Now my symptoms seem like much smaller waves of depression and dizziness. When I say smaller I mean duration not intensity. It’s Like the addicted part of me is still rebelling trying to convince me that Porn is the answer or that I should be dissatisfied by my current way of life. It just seems like the strength of that part is still there but it’s endurance is waning. I don’t know if that makes sense but I hope it helps.

 

So the dizziness is predominately visual. When I put on my glasses it tends to go away or at least become manageable. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a panic attack but it’s like that kind of dizziness just without the panic. I never really experienced what you are describing. It sounds awful. I’m so sorry that’s happening to you. I did for most of this experience get weird headaches in the back left hemisphere of my brain. I haven’t had one in a while though. They were weird, like they were creeping over the top of my head. I also experienced a fair amount of derealization which really sucks.

As far as the situation with your wife. Every experience with your wife comes at a very high cost. I just think the cost is worth paying. I’ve had to have something to fight for outside of myself. My family is that motivation. I don’t know if I could have done this without her. I never experienced PIED though. I did get ED one time after trying antidepressants but that was about it. Had I had PIED I would have tried hardmode for a little while at least.

At 7.5 months you are right in the thick of things. You got to think, I’ve been doing this thing for 17 more months than you and I’m still experiencing symptoms. Just keep going you will get there. This is a long horrible process, but at least it’s not slavery.

 

I didn't and no headaches,touchwood!

Thanks for your reply.
I am on track and will be on track.Its a hard fight from self.
Cheers!

 

Just an idea: it might be worth counting how many days it takes to recover after your next O. I think it’s a good way of measuring just how far along in recovery you are.

While I have no evidence, I am confident that our recovery is aligned with some form of hormonal clock. Almost similar to women when they are on their period.

The reason I say this is because after almost every O, whether via wet dream or via an attempt to have sex, it takes me pretty much 14 or 21 days to recover. It always seems to fall on or very closely to these days. Please note this only seems to be the case as of recent (after around 2 years of recovery). The same can be said with the flatline, for me it doesn’t kick in immediately after O. It’s always day 5 after an O that the flatline seems to hit. I think slowly the symptoms are lessening but for me, (and probably everybody else) recovery it is extremely gradual.

 

Just like you said:" recovery is gradual." It used to take me 2 weeks after each O from P for the flatline to hit. The first time I thought I was cured. I was on top of the world and felt free. As soon as I passed 15 days or so I became suicidal and full of paws.
Last week I mo from P. And I didn't feel too good or bad but after 4 or days symptoms gradually become worse.

 

D

id

 

Hi,

I’m in a relationship 18 months. Seeing your post wanted to no .. how long did you flatline,I’m desperate in getting answers as sadly my partner doesn’t communicate. Look at my post if it helps as it explains my story. But I wanted to ask did it take 2 years to get erections? Is this with no porn at all? It’s been 18 months he apparently hasn’t watched it but there’s no improvement at all? Your opinion pls on that. During intimacy he’d go flat mid way, now it’s totally flat and over an hour of foreplay very dead no erection at all! Would you say realistically is this part of recovery or is there something not right in this happening 18 months if he’s supposedly not looking at porn. I am desperate for answers as my relationship is hanging by a thread . Many thanks.

 

Hi first off I want to say how incredibly strong I think you are for sticking through this with your boyfriend. Unfortunately I’m not the guy to ask about this topic. I never had a traditional flatline in the sense of erectile disfunction and low Sex drive. Most of my symptoms are brain and mood related. From what I’ve read, what your boyfriend is experiencing is not uncommon, but I can’t tie it into my personal experience. I quit smoking marijuana at the same time I quit Porn so I’ve always wondered which one was causing the PAWS. I’m so sorry I can’t be more of help but I’m sure there are a ton of guys in here who can give you better perspective than I can on this particular topic. Good luck. One thing I will say is his problems are no reflection on you or your worth. We all made our choices even though we didn’t know the consequences would be so severe. Unfortunately the people we love most are casualties to this horrible addiction as well.

 

Would be so interesting to hear from all the old timers like Big Lewboski, Don Quixote etc and see how they are coping with life and sexuality

 

Hey fellas just checking in. So after my last post I hit a pretty massive wave. It was kinda disheartening but that’s the name of this game I guess. It was my wife’s birthday and we had sex that night. 2 nights later I had a wet dream. I never usually have wet dreams so soon after sex. I think the combination of the 2 right on top of each other really did a number on me. Thankfully I’m on the down side now, but man this whole thing sucks.
I found an article that that’s really interesting. In an adaptation on that “Staying Sober” book that is quite popular in the broader PAWS community. If you’ve never read this material check it out. It may help. For some reason reading stuff like that always takes the edge off a bit. It lets me know I’m not completely nuts. If you are interested, let me know what you think, or if anything jumps out at you. http://adstv.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Post-Acute-Withdrawal-Handouts.pdf

 

Hello guys, back here after a long while - shit just got a little worse. Still in PAWS, bland life, got psoriasis after vaccine 1st dose and constant headaches too. Not taking any shit dose now until things get better.

I relapsed as well after 13 months. Yeah that sucks.

 

Sorry to hear that. Were you making progress before your relapse? How has it affected you since?