PIED might not be the problem! (Low FSH count)

Hello,

I'm quite new here so hopefully this has ended up in the right section. I've just completed a 90 day reboot, but I don't feel very different from when I began. What I will suggest here is that for the minority of you who might have a similar condition to me, rebooting might not be the real underlying problem.

I tried having sex for the first time when I was 20. To my detriment, my little fella was sleepy, but I didn't think too much of it; I was nervous and a bit drunk, so in my mind what I had experienced was just a common case of 'whisky-dick'. However, the condition persisted with other girls as well, even when I wasn't drunk. I then went to my GP to explain the situation and he said it might still be nerves. He prescribed me some 'wood-pills' to help boost my confidence. Confident I now had science on my side, I went home with the same girl again (who by the way was really great about the whole thing). Inevitable success? Hardly! (pun intended). I got an erection, but didn't even manage to keep it for long enough to penetrate. For a 20-year-old this kind of disappointment inevitably warrants a thorough session of internet research the day after. This is how I came across NoFap. I read about the 90-day reboot system and decided to try it, thinking that maybe my excessive use of porn had numbed my sexual sensitivity and messed up my brain a bit. However, I also continued to visit my GP.

Since my condition had not resolved itself, I took a blood test to find out if there could be a physiological problem. I was healthy in every aspect except one: my FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) was way below normal levels. Now while this is usually the cause of a low sperm-count (who the f*ck knows, I might be sterile too haha) rather than ED, the two are connected in the sense that they are both dependent on the regulation of hormones produced in the brain. Since these hormones have peaks and troughs, my GP said it could be an anomaly. However, this being the case he also referred me to a specialist on men's sexual health at a nearby clinic. I went to my appointment there a month later and took another blood-test: same result - abnormally low levels of FSH. So while my testosterone was in the low end of the range considered normal (and as such unlikely to be the problem), this one hormone was being severely under-produced. The specialist concluded that with two coherent results, the likelihood was that the problem was physiological and connected to the hormone-producing parts of the brain. I have now, therefore, got an appointment with an endocrinologist to assess what might be causing this problem (will update when this has happened in May).

My point here is that while PIED might fit your symptoms (and for all I know it was still a contributory factor to my problem) it is not necessarily the main culprit. I didn't think to begin with that I was addicted to porn, but I decided to try a reboot anyway. I have now been PMO free for 90 days and, while I have not yet tried having sex, I must say that I don't feel very different. With this in mind, I am still glad I've rebooted, but I don't expect my ED to go away because of it.

You might think that this kind of diagnosis is rather crushing, but to quote the purple-pee episode from scrubs 'just knowing what it is makes it so much easier to deal with'. Now, I still don't know what the cause is, but I do know that it is unlikely to be anything that I ever really had control over. This in itself is a comforting realisation. For all I know I might have a brain tumour (however unlikely). I might be popping pills for the rest of my life. But if you recognise what I am describing (ie. you've tried rebooting or doubt that this is the cause of your ED) then go to your doctor, explain the situation and ask to take a blood test. My story doesn't end here because I still don't know what the cause is for my hormonal imbalance. But I do feel like I can take pride in the fact that I had the courage to ask for help when I needed it; and it payed off. I feel like I'm homing in on a resolution, whatever the verdict may be. In essence: double-tap the problem (pun, yet again, intended).

Hope this might be of help to some of you, and good luck. Peace!

/Dan

 

Cheers, I see your point. I don't have problems getting erections while masturbating (ie with physical stimulus from the start), but I very rarely get morning wood and I also loose any erection very quickly without continued physical stimulus. It will begin to falter after like 20 seconds. The way I see it, a hormone imbalance fits the symptoms. An erection is sustained by two things: physical stimulus sending signals to the brain and hormone-controlled signals from the brain to the penis when it perceives a situation as sexually arousing. Therefore it makes sense that I can only have and maintain erections predominantly through physical stimulation - I think it is the signals from my brain that are lacking somewhat. That said, I suppose a lacking signal from the brain could also be the consequence of PIED.

In any case, like PositiveChange1974 mentioned, I'm taking the holistic approach. I'm still not watching porn after the reboot, only occasionally having a wank. The only difference I've noticed is that I'm not as sensitive and last longer now. I think that's probably because the reboot has gotten rid of some of the quick-ejaculation triggers typical of porn use. But I think you're right in that many men like to find a convenient shortcut. The thing is that you can't know how much of a factor any medical anomaly might be before you've 'fixed it'