Using Corticosteroids for POIS

[Jimmy]

Hi all,

This is has been posted on other forum:. And is aligned with the autoimmune theory:




Post Orgasmic Illness and a treatment that has helped me /aquantiVFeb 2, 2016
For those unfamiliar, Post Orgasmic Illness is exactly what it sounds like.

I am a 20 year old male living in the bay area. I started noticing POIS symptoms somewhere in my early teens, it's hard to be sure since I didn't know to look for it at the time. I have all the symptoms. Keeping up socially and academically was nigh impossible. Thanks to the pseudoscience of YBOP I fell prey to believing that the pain I was experiencing was somehow "my fault", a result of too much PMO draining my energy, that I could "fix myself" with a little "discipline". Seeking answers and relief I found NoFap and got some relief from my symptoms during those months of abstinence but it didn't get me closer to understanding or treating my condition. It wasn't the truth.

I discovered the literature on POIS in July 2015 and showed it to a doc who promptly began experimenting with me for a treatment. For the past five months, I have been on Prednisone, a corticosteroid. I started with 10 mg doses before and after orgasm to marvelous effect, but lowered my dose substantially after researching the negative sides of Prednisone. I am still getting the desired effects.

So now I'll cut to the chase: The symptoms of POIS can easily be mistaken for what you guys talk about on this sub. My current regimen of 2.5 mg Prednisone 1-2 hours before orgasm and then another 2.5 mg immediately after has nearly erased my POIS symptoms. I'm talking 85%-90% improvement. I can orgasm as often as I like with the only ill effect being some groin cramps if I ejaculate more than once in a single day.

More information:

My symptoms all worsen proportional to orgasm frequency. One day last year I came 4 times in one day and for the next three consecutive days I literally woke up gasping and screaming in pain.

Marijuana (esp. Indica variety) helped the symptoms before I was on Prednisone, and it still does, but not enough to just use on its own.

Prednisone's list of pharmaceutical war crimes is quite long: it can make you more susceptible to infections; it can cause eye problems, including cataracts, and glaucoma; it can have dependency and withdrawal symptoms; those with high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, kidney disease, osteoporosis, myasthenia gravis, or ulcers can have their conditions aggravated by the drug; it is not considered safe for pregnancy.

My doctor says I should be safe from the harmful effects of Prednisone if I keep my dose where it's at now and take a day off of it here and there. I certainly haven't felt any of the ill effects so far. I plan to get second opinions and possibly look for other treatments long term but haven't yet.

Prednisone's anti-immune qualities having such success here convinces me that Dr. Waldinger's autoimmune hypothesis for POIS is presciently accurate.

Timing with the dose is crucial. If the first dose is not taken at least 30 mins before ejaculation, the POIS symptoms are still there, not as strong but still pretty unpleasant. 1-2 hours before is ideal.

This treatment may not work for you quite as it does for me, but if you suffer from POIS, please run this by a doctor at the very least to give it a try. I was resigned to live with the symptoms forever, maybe someday join a monastery/castrate myself (only half-joking). I can't describe how relieved I am and I want that for all of you afflicted with this poetically horrible disease. PMO addiction may very well be real for some of you and NoFap may be beneficial for that, but some of you on /r/NoFap are probably afflicted with this disease and think the symptoms are signs of PMO addiction. If you experience post orgasmic symptoms any time you orgasm, including during sex, you may have my disorder instead.

I'll leave this open for discussion now, I just wanted to share with you fine folks a treatment that has been absolutely turning my life around (and my girlfriend's - my oh my isn't she pleased).

[Jimmy]

A question:

Can we use up to 5mg of Prednisone just upon orgasm ? According to my knowledge Corticosteroids should be taken daily. And cant be stopped.

But maybe the situation different with small doses.

The other question what kind of doctor that can prescribe Corticosteroids for pois ?

Any thoughts or feedback is appreciated.

Thanks.

[Quantum]

Hi Jimmy,

Thanks for posting this information here. This account has good information, like the dosage, timing of the intake, results, side effects, etc...

If 2.5mg is efficient, it is preferable to any higher dosage, because of the side effects of prednisone.  The lowest efficient dosage is always the best way to go.  Anyway, it has to be discussed with a physician, I am quite sure that prednisone is prescription only in any country, 


The timing is important too, it seems, with prednisone.  That's my own experience with my pre-pack, it is a lot more efficient if taken at least 20 minutes before release, and better if 1 hour before, but not always possible in the context of a relationship.

Oral corticosteroids can cause withdrawal symptoms if taken in high enough dosage for enough long.  For example, if you take high dosage for over a week, you will need to taper off the dosage at the end, you can not stop abruptly.  It is because oral corticosteroids will, by biofeedback, shutdown the body's production of corticosteroids by the adrenal glands.  After a few days of being "asleep", the glands cannot "wake up" in a single day, back to usual production, so you have to decrease the dose of oral corticosteroids slowly, so your adrenal glands will slowly come back to their full production.   Otherwise, lack of corticosteroids in the blood will lead you to symtoms like fatigue, hypotension and intolerance to any stress  ( not unlike my own symptoms of POIS...).

If prednisone is taken only 1 or 2 times a week, the side effects will be less important, and there will be no withdrawal issue.  But long term use, even at occasional low dose, is tricky, because oral corticosteroids are very potent drugs.   ( My pre-pack of many natural products is less convenient, but I still prefer it over trying prednisone or dexamethasone, because of that )

Prednisone have been mentioned on the forum before, sometime with good results, sometime not. By using the search box on the home page, many mentions are found.   

As I have already mentioned, it seems that there are more than one type of POIS, and no single treatment is efficient for every POIS sufferers.   Hence my Chart of POIS Types.... I have updated my section, at the end, about a proposed "Oral corticosteroids" type ( see at http://poiscenter.com/forums/index.php?topic=2338.msg19448#msg19448 ).  There have also been an interesting account about the use of dexamethasone on the NSF forum.  But in both that case and the one shared in this thread, we don't have any reference member from here, and have only some information, that we cannot verify or complete, because we cannot contact the sources.   

This account from another forum is however very interesting, because of the details about efficiency, dosage, and timing.



P.S.  Do you still have good result with turmeric, Jimmy ?

[Jimmy]

Thank you very much Quantum for the rich information!

The efficacy of turmeric has decreased for me but still feel relief in about 50%. My symptoms now last two days after an ejaculation with around 50% intensity. When I tried to ejaculate two days in a raw the symptoms last for 3 days from the first ejaculation.

Im looking for other supplements that may introduce more improvement. I've ordered gaba and will give it a try. And will update you with the results.

Back to the Predinsone, is 5mg considered a low dose ? and if used daily for 5 days. Does it require tapering before stopped?

Here I provide the link for the post above in case anyone wants to communicate with the author:

https://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/43ymlj/post_orgasmic_illness_and_a_treatment_that_has/

[Going less Crazy]

That's good it's helping you.  However the reference to doctor W being accurate I don't agree.  I believe it is an autoimmune mechanism but not necessarily towards semen.

[Quantum]

Thank you very much Quantum for the rich information!

The efficacy of turmeric has decreased for me but still feel relief in about 50%. My symptoms now last two days after an ejaculation with around 50% intensity. When I tried to ejaculate two days in a raw the symptoms last for 3 days from the first ejaculation.

Im looking for other supplements that may introduce more improvement. I've ordered gaba and will give it a try. And will update you with the results.

Back to the Predinsone, is 5mg considered a low dose ? and if used daily for 5 days. Does it require tapering before stopped?

Here I provide the link for the post above in case anyone wants to communicate with the author:

https://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/comments/43ymlj/post_orgasmic_illness_and_a_treatment_that_has/

Hi Jimmy,

5mg for a day or two won't need tapering.

At 5 days of 5mg in a row, it depends on the physician.  Some will give a few days of 2.5mg before stopping. 

But, the two cases we have about oral corticosteroids use in POIS are about one dose before release in one case, and one dose before and one after, in the other case.  Considering this, I think a 5 days regimen is not what seems to be needed to discuss with the physician.  Is there any reason you ask about a 5 days dosage ?

With oral corticosteroids, less often possible and minimal dosage is clearly better.

[Jimmy]

I was thinking in trying Predinsone while releasing everyday for 5 days to test if Predinsone can mask pois symptoms regardless of the O frequency ( this is to find the limit ).

If this succeed with me , then i can use it daily for some period , and then reduce it back to one or twice a week.

Im 35 , still single trying to find a relief method that allow me to get married ( and acts normal just for the first couple of months after marriage.

Im in love with a girl, and it is really painful & depressing for me that i can't step forward in the relationship (((. I wish i will not loose hope

Thank you guys for the support,

[Quantum]

Hi Jimmy,

5 days in a row, that's quite hard on yourself. .. With any method, I would try 1 time, than later 2 days in a row, maybe... but not 5, since my symptoms are cumulative, like if the new POIS cycle is adding to the previous unfinished one.

Be safe. 

Well, if you get in a long term relationship, you won't have to release 5 days in a row, if you are open about your syndrome, which is inevitable.  And, if you want this relationship to last, you will surely have to talk about it, and you will surely have to be with a kind, intelligent and open minded person.

I had been married for 26 years now, and it wouldn't have been possible if my spouse had not been at ease with adjusting our sexual life because of my POIS.  In the 22 first years or so, I had near to nothing to help me with my symptoms, so it would have been impossible to hide my "problem".  I often became an anxious and exhausted madman, so without her patience and understanding, she wouldn't have stayed.

I wish you to find someone that will understand what POIS is, and will love you enough to accept it.

I wish that to every POIS sufferer as well, for sure!

[Jimmy]

Thank you Quantum,

Hope one day we all solve the secret of this damn disease.

[demografx]

Jimmy: