Is this POIS? My story..

[fsol]

Dear POISers. First of all I want to say that I'm so glad I found this forum. For many years I've had symptoms very similar to POIS without even realizing that this was in fact a condition. I'm so happy to have found this pot of gold full of valuable information.

I would like to introduce myself briefly. I'm a 33 year old male from Denmark. I have a pretty normal sex life, with many different partners over the years. I have no medical conditions otherwise and never had either. For years I've felt this very strong fatigue after having an "O" but I always figured that was just how it was. Who could I ask about this anyway? Someone told me that having an O is like running a 10k race.. But for me it's not just a saying, it's literally how I feel.

The last year I've started to become more and more aware of it. I've had a partner for the last year and every time we've had sex I've been totally drained the next day. If I had a bad sleep (which you can often have, sleeping next to someone else), it's been even worse. Some people here describe it as being hit by a bus. For me it's more like being hit by a mini-van.. I have a heavy brain-fog and I look really tired. The muscles around my eyes and my cheeks are for some reason relaxed so I have almost saggy eyes often with a slight dark area underneath them. My muscles are also sore, mostly in the lower part of my body, my hips, lower back and my thighs being hit the hardest.

Energy-wise I feel that I have very limited energy for the whole day. In my mind I'm trying to conserve that energy by making plans like - should I drive all the way there or not? Then I might not have enough energy for the way back.. and so on. And when my energy is about to go in the red, things get really bad. Especially because I can get a bit irritable, so I often just pretend that everything is fine and try to make it through the day without my partner noticing. She sometimes comments that I look tired though, and I know I do.

The same goes for when I have an O by myself. I can literally decide if tomorrow is going to be a crap day or not, by deciding to have an O or not. If I do, I can be sure to wake up without any energy at all, and my head in a light to medium brain fog..

My symptoms mostly only last for a day, but I can definitely feel them stronger if I have O's two days in a row. With abstinence the symptoms disappear.

I've read other people's symptoms which seem to be a whole lot stronger. How much fatigue is natural to have after an O and when does it become POIS? Are my symptoms related to POIS or is this something else?


Thanks for reading this and thanks in advance.

Best regards.

[Daveman]

Your symptoms sound a lot like mine! I guess you're lucky that your POIS is only one day, but that doesn't really mean much, it can be one HELL of a day.

My POIS changed from being 3 to 9 days to 2 to 4 days, but those few days became really heavy, so finally it was almost worse.

There are a lot of possibilities for relief, albeit partial, but everything helps.

have a look at the xanithiol Nicotinate / Niacin thread. My POIS has been practically eliminated by niacin. Now it MIGHT last 1/2 a day, and a lot lighter.

It's not a cure, but somewhere in there is an answer to what POIS might be!!

[Vincent M]

I've found benadryl to be most effective at reducing my physical exhaustion after an orgasm if I take it about an hour before the orgasm. I take the generic version. I also take saw palmetto about 15 min before an orgasm to reduce inflammation. I believe my POIS is caused by inflammation due to either an autoimmune or allergic reaction to some component of my semen. Fenugreek taken with tea or garlic the day after an "o" reduces my facial inflammation fairly well and gives me a lot of energy.

[Nightingale]

I have a heavy brain-fog and I look really tired. The muscles around my eyes and my cheeks are for some reason relaxed so I have almost saggy eyes often with a slight dark area underneath them. My muscles are also sore, mostly in the lower part of my body, my hips, lower back and my thighs being hit the hardest.

Exact symptoms I get.  I have yet to find a remedy that gives me any relief except abstinence.  Which doesn't work well...  Interesting that this started later in life for you.  I can trace it back to 13-14 years of age.  I am 25 now

[fsol]

Thanks for the replies guys. I am, like most of you, willing to try anything to get better. So far I've ordered Niacin and Claritin. I read somewhere that Claritin helps, so I will try that next time. Still waiting for the Niacin off eBay and really looking forward to trying that, since a lot of people have good experiences with that.

Oh, I wanted to ask - what type of Niacin are you using Daveman? What brand and so on? The one I ordered is no flush it seems..