un-explained erectile dysfunction/impotence; even with normal harmone levels

[tired.sick]

hi All,

i tried searching the forum for a thread that would help me out in some way, but i couldn't find any thread where the problem quoted was similar to mine. so, here goes. i am a male, 28 years of age. all the blood tests i got done are within normal healthy range. i get a boner in the morning, at around 6:00 am. sugar/blood pressure are normal and healthy.
testosterone: 588ng/dl
estradiol: 35(sorry i forget the units)
prolactin: 20.6ng/ml (the reference range is 3.4-19.4, so its slightly raised)

fsh/lh are also normal

now, coming to the real problem. i fail to achieve a satisfactory erection when i'm with my girl. i have had this problem for the past 5/6 years when i took some steroids of which i dont even know the name of. some guy at the gym used to give them to me, which i took un aware of the side effects, being un-educated.

i do manage to achieve an erection with porn, but even that takes ALOT of time, and doesnt stay very long. i have to ejaculate or the erection goes away. i cant hold it back like i used to(i could hold back ejaculating upto 20/25 minutes, now its just a matter of 2/3 minutes or i loose the erection).

i have had psycho-therapy, been on anti depressants, taken herbal/ayurvedic/homeopathic/every other bull shit of a hope medication there is on the planet earth but nothing helps. nothing cures, the only thing that did offer a bit of help was clomid but it was really difficult to tollerate. i got really really bad constipation. my throat got drier than the sahara desert and i started to drink so much water and piss so much, that i thought my liver/kidneys were going to break. secondly, all the endocrinologists i went to told me that clomid wouldn't help because you don't have hypogonadism(i am thank full for the size of sack).

so, i have tried to strike out the two major causes of erectile dysfunction over the past 6 years: psychological and endocrine but the problem persists. i have tried visiting several endocrinologist but all of them say that if your testosterone is in healthy limits, then we cant help you. the urologists weren't able to help either, neither were psychologist & psychiatrists.

i am trying and struggling really very hard, but i cant find more places to look at.

i also got into a very committed relation ship with a fabulous fabulous girl who holds on but i think if i don't sort this out soon, i might loose her

one more thing, i also don't get that sensation in my "organ" when i am having sex or masturbating, or at least not the same intensity of the sensation like i used to before i did steroids. i was able to get very healthy erections, have sex in several positions/ standing up and lifting my partner , but now, its only missionary position, and if i try to switch into a new position, i loose the partial erection that i might have. getting an erection while standing up has become a dream.

i hate to say it loud but i'm really desperate. what can i look at besides testosterone, estradiol, fsh/lh, prolactin, progesterone? what doctor should/can i go to in order to seek help?

i'd really appreciate any help i could get.

 

[Alpin]

what time was this blood test?
are you training currently?
maybe you have been pushing too hard in the gym?
hows your diet, zinc intake?
do you have a sleep study done?
I know for me sleep apnea ruined my T and caused me the worst symptoms.

 

[Alpin]

Your doc say clomid won't help because you don't have "hypogonadism" they say?
there are two forms of hypogonadism, primary, secondary...
if you don't have "hypogonadism" as they say...your LH/FSH are in the normal range...
Hypogonadal males have "High" or "low" FSH, LH usually.
clomid elevates the FSH, LH and results in increase in total t usually in healthy males as well.

 

[riprockwell]

How is your diet and your sleep patterns?? Also are you still on anti-depressants?? I will say that a lot of this is mental. Once you have an issue with ED, it seems like it mind fucks a lot of guys and they are constantly stressing and thinking about it. I know when I constantly stress or think about it, it can give me performance anxiety. Generally what you can do in the meantime until you figure out your problem is get some Cialis and have some sex. It will give you that renewed sense of confidence and help you get over that mental block if you have one. I am not saying Cialis is the solution but it will help the problem in the meantime.

 

[halfwit]

Cialis for the mental issues and I'd try a low-dose dopamine agonist to see if that helps too. I know some guys are really sensitive to prolactin, and what you're describing sounds like a mild case of deca dick which is caused by elevated prolactin levels. Pramipexole or caber would suffice. You can find prami at RUI (red lion at the top of your screen) and I'd try .25mg EOD for a few weeks before bed WITH food. It can make you nauseous if you don't take it with food, so be aware of this. Otherwise, I agree that a sleep study might be in your best interest as adrenal fatigue can mess with your johnson as well - since apnea constantly causes a surge of adrenaline followed by ever-increasing levels of cortisol.

My .02c

 

[tired.sick]

thank you riprockwell for your input. i do realize that a major part of the problem is psychological. i do spend quite a lot of time obsessing about it, but the fact can not be neglected that there is a major physiological problem also. my sleep patterns are fine, i guess. although the night's sleep is not allays as refreshing as it should be. 5 mornings out of 10, i wake up with a tired feeling and a sleepy/heavy head. it takes until afternoon to get my senses back. the other 5 days is normal.

Cialis might be a good idea. i ll do some reading about it, learn how to use it and give it a try

 

[tired.sick]

How is your diet and your sleep patterns?? Also are you still on anti-depressants?? I will say that a lot of this is mental. Once you have an issue with ED, it seems like it mind fucks a lot of guys and they are constantly stressing and thinking about it. I know when I constantly stress or think about it, it can give me performance anxiety. Generally what you can do in the meantime until you figure out your problem is get some Cialis and have some sex. It will give you that renewed sense of confidence and help you get over that mental block if you have one. I am not saying Cialis is the solution but it will help the problem in the meantime.

thank you riprockwell for your input. i do realize that a major part of the problem is psychological. i do spend quite a lot of time obsessing about it, but the fact can not be neglected that there is a major physiological problem also. my sleep patterns are fine, i guess. although the night's sleep is not allays as refreshing as it should be. 5 mornings out of 10, i wake up with a tired feeling and a sleepy/heavy head. it takes until afternoon to get my senses back. the other 5 days is normal.

Cialis might be a good idea. i ll do some reading about it, learn how to use it and give it a try

 

[tired.sick]

Cialis for the mental issues and I'd try a low-dose dopamine agonist to see if that helps too. I know some guys are really sensitive to prolactin, and what you're describing sounds like a mild case of deca dick which is caused by elevated prolactin levels. Pramipexole or caber would suffice. You can find prami at RUI (red lion at the top of your screen) and I'd try .25mg EOD for a few weeks before bed WITH food. It can make you nauseous if you don't take it with food, so be aware of this. Otherwise, I agree that a sleep study might be in your best interest as adrenal fatigue can mess with your johnson as well - since apnea constantly causes a surge of adrenaline followed by ever-increasing levels of cortisol.

My .02c

thank you halfwit for responding,
i did take bromocryptine for 5 days to try to suppress the prolactin which was border line. i didn't measure the level again, but the 5 days on bromocryptine didn't help. i do intend to use cialis though.

 

[tired.sick]

what time was this blood test?
are you training currently?
maybe you have been pushing too hard in the gym?
hows your diet, zinc intake?
do you have a sleep study done?
I know for me sleep apnea ruined my T and caused me the worst symptoms.

the blood test i got done was in the afternoon. i am not training at all. i try to take zinc for one month after every 2 or 3 months. havnt done a sleep study done, i m not sure if its available in my area. thank you so much for replying, its alot of help

 

[Alpin]

the blood test i got done was in the afternoon. i am not training at all. i try to take zinc for one month after every 2 or 3 months. havnt done a sleep study done, i m not sure if its available in my area. thank you so much for replying, its alot of help

Afternoon is not accurate T....
You need to go at 8 a.m for blood work on T...
some people argue that anti D's mess up T by down regulating androgen receptors. Medical community is still out.
Anti D's and can bring on ED.
Sleep study is good thing to do.

 

[aiden_p]

Did you ever take accutane?

 

[tired.sick]

Did you ever take accutane?

no, i never tried acuutane. how would it help in decreasing prolactin?

 

[tired.sick]

ok, so here's some new update.

i got some blood tests done.
every thing seems to be normal,
estradiol, total testosterone, thyroid function, cholestrols, progesterone.

the only problem i could find was with prolactin and free testosterone. prolactin oscilates above the upper normal limits(it varies between 21 and 26 over a months period where normal limit is below 17 for men between 25 to 40 years of age) and free testosterone hardly touches the lower normal limits.

other than that, i got a brain MRI scan to check for tumors, hypothalmus and pituitary seemed ok with no signs of tumor.

i also got a semen analysis done, it said "olegospermia", which is understandable given the circumstances

i tried bromocryptine 2.5mg/day for 5 days, which wasnt usefull(just got saggy balls). but i've started it again, 5mg per day and plan to use it for 3 weeks. lets hope it works out this time.

any help would be appreciated

 

[tired.sick]

could any one please help me about suppressing prolactin? i've done some reading and it seems that bromocryptine is the weapon of choice here. but the problem with bromo is that its either not working on me, or its too slow. its the third day and i dont feel any considerable changes. i am also taking a suppliment by gnc named "magna rx" in hope that it might suppliment bromo. does any one know of a way which can lead to faster results?

 

[tired.sick]

How is your diet and your sleep patterns?? Also are you still on anti-depressants?? I will say that a lot of this is mental. Once you have an issue with ED, it seems like it mind fucks a lot of guys and they are constantly stressing and thinking about it. I know when I constantly stress or think about it, it can give me performance anxiety. Generally what you can do in the meantime until you figure out your problem is get some Cialis and have some sex. It will give you that renewed sense of confidence and help you get over that mental block if you have one. I am not saying Cialis is the solution but it will help the problem in the meantime.

i tried using viagra which turned out to be a nightmare! the chinese herbal suppliments work better(even though their effect almost negligible)
i got real bad headaches, the color white turned into blue. it was a shit experience. i talked to a freind of mine and he said there are 2 conclusions that can be drawn: 1 is that your problem is not psychological, and the 2nd is that its most probably endocrine/hormonal, cuz viagra fails only when you have an underlying hormonal problem.

any help or suggestions?

 

[halfwit]

could any one please help me about suppressing prolactin? i've done some reading and it seems that bromocryptine is the weapon of choice here. but the problem with bromo is that its either not working on me, or its too slow. its the third day and i dont feel any considerable changes. i am also taking a suppliment by gnc named "magna rx" in hope that it might suppliment bromo. does any one know of a way which can lead to faster results?

Unfortunately bromocriptine is one of those DA's that doesn't work for everyone. I'd try pramipexole and see if that helps as you should see results within a week. I've yet to see an OTC targeted towards hormones ever work, so while the "magna rx" might have some pretty sturdy claims, it's likely not doing much of anything for you. Cialis didn't do anything? Viagra is a different animal and while it should help to rule out other causes, I wouldn't rule out psychological causes just yet.

I'd honestly seek the care of a urologist worth two shits as honestly this has me stumped. Given the amount of health care professionals you've seen, I'm surprised there hasn't been some sort of discovery yet. We could keep suggesting different medications and hormones, but this is really where a doctor should be able to step in and take charge. I wish I had more insight, but your case is truly a challenging one.

If you do indeed find out what is going on, please feel free to let us know! I always like learning from the experiences of others so that knowledge can be passed onto others that may find themselves in your shoes.

Best of luck and godspeed.

 

[tired.sick]

my case is indeed a challenging one, i admit, but i'm not giving up! thanks for the wishes mr. halfwit.
the problem that i was facing was that my sex-performance used to go back and forth over the period of a month. i had "peak" days, then i had "down" days. up untill now, i couldnt put my finger on what was causing this. a couple of weeks ago, some random doctor i was chatting with came up with the idea to monitor prolactin along with total test and estrogen and progesterone. upon monitoring prolactin, i found out that my down days started with a rise in prolactin and my peak days came with a drop in prolactin. so, this is the first time i could put my finger on something that could be related to the problem. total T has allways remained healthy. along with prolactin, i was also lucky to find a lab that conducted the free testosterone blood tests. so, for the first time, i got tested for free T, which came out to be surprisingly low. all the docs i met said that if ur total T is in healthy limits, so should you free T be, but in my case, that wasnt what was happening.

so, for the first time, i'm treating for high prolactin because its only now that i've discovered that my sex health is co-related with it. as for free T, me and my doctors are thinking about testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), which i'm trying to avoid at all costs. i plan to do some international travel and getting the testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) abroad wouldn't be very easy i guess.