:-XmHi all,
New here. Just wanted to jump on and introduce how POIS began for me.
At worst, if I became very sexually actively, I?d get a headache, and maybe a bit fatigued. Nothing that even caused me to think it was anything, actually.
In October of 2020, full blow POIS attacks began.
The first one mimicked vertigo. Severe dizziness, some cognitive symptoms, anxiety. I chalked it all up to vertigo. It took 1 week to function and an additional 2 weeks for the dizziness to pass completely. I still attributed it to vertigo at this point. BPPV can take weeks to pass.
Some attacks thereafter were less severe, some worse. New symptoms experienced, like this amnesia brain-dead feeling. Balance. Processing. Word finding. Etc.
I was very concerned at this point, but the symptoms passed and I continued on with life.
Then they began getting worse in January, with symptoms I had never experienced before. Tremors. Mild paranoia. Just insane stuff.
I first learned about POIS about two weeks ago. Looking back, it all makes sense.
In October when this started, I was on an antibiotic for a month. And I was eating like crap, too. I ate poorly more than I did healthy.
This entire time, I was using an acne mediation - retinol - which I was allergic to, but didn?t realize it at the time. It affected my breathing at night. I chalked it up to sleep apnea. I had been applying retinol for 6 months.
Not only was my diet horrible, I?m confident I had a vitamin D deficiency as well. I never ate salmon, or took supplements, and it?s always grey and cloudy in the winter where I live. I ate eggs, but they?re very low in vitamin D. So the dopamine theory rings true for me, too.
So a slaughtered microbiome, an allergy I was subjecting myself to daily for months, and low vitamin D/dopamine.
It also began making sense why my POIS attacks were worse. Our bodies are truth to tell us something. For me, the gut health and low dopamine really ring true. What was I doing about it? Nothing. Of course they?d worsen.
My last O was January 27th.
A week ago, I would?ve sworn my 2-week POIS attack was over. But I reverted back to ?normal food?. Moderate fat and carbs. Symptoms came roaring back. (Another ?ding ding ding? moment that my gut biome had something to do with it)
For a week now, I?ve been on a prebiotic, anti-inflammatory, salt-free, sugar-free diet and I?m slowly but surely improving. In fact some moments in the day, I feel pretty close to 100%.
I worked a busy shift Sunday night and it really revved me up. I slept horribly and yesterday was a terrible day because of that.
But last night I slept great, and today is a week on that diet I described.
I know there are a lot of theories out there, I was skeptical of the microbiome / gut health one, too. But if food brought back my symptoms, and now seems to be slowly healing me, I?m sticking to it.
The microbiome takes weeks to months to heal, so I am expecting a slow and steady recovery. And I certainly have no interest in trying to have an O anytime soon.
Actually the person that brought this to my attention, had similar experiences. He felt great at 3 weeks, and at 2.5 months of a prebiotic diet, he could had an O for 15 days in a row and only experienced POIS sxs for an hour.
Even if it?s more of the allergy that may have caused this, actual well-known autoimmune diseases have been known to heal by gut health and vitamin D, so, I?m remaining hopeful and positive this will be my journey, too. But I think it?s a combination.
Hope everyone is managing well.
Insearchofhealing
