Social impairment during POIS - anyone else experience this?

[Prospero]

This to me sounds like a hormonal issue, which are a known cause of POIS. Its possible that the POIS didn't cause your slow development; rather, something like low testosterone caused both problems. Demografx, one of the main moderators on this forum, has dramatically reduced his symptoms with TRT. I would recommend reading this thread: https://poiscenter.com/forums/index.php?topic=17.0

My testosterone and free testosterone levels are normal (and even rather in the high norm).

For me generally I became minimally functional in the 2-4 days period. As in, I won't make friends, but I also won't be painfully awkward and can deal with short interactions (though exercise can make this period much better). Around day 5 or 6, I typically get a pretty significant boost. From there on out, things are generally better, but can go pretty wild. Sometimes I can consistently have a couple weeks where I am feeling comfortable socially, but I also occasionally will find myself getting POIS symptoms, including social impairment, at random times during long periods of abstinence. I am trying to work out what triggers my orgasmless POIS symptoms.
...
We definitely have the same issue. It's hard knowing who I'm capable of being, when only through great struggle can I manage to get a couple days a month at my best. I agree with the parsing issues as well. For me, this is not just auditory - it also applies to reading, or anything that requires information processing.

It's also interesting that you use social abilities to gauge POIS. For me, this is far and away the most reliable indicator, as I do not have physical symptoms. For a long time, I didn't know that I had any other symptoms!

I can countersign a lot of your sentences.
For my part I have no other trigger than orgasm, arousal and physical effort, but I'm very sensitive. To vacuum my room or think for a few seconds about a girl can induce a mild-to-intermediary POIS state, which might potentially generate different waves of symptoms as time passes.
Social abilities are indeed a very reliable indicator of POIS, but now this indicator is always 'on', so in order to monitor my condition I also use my heart rythm (POIS produces sinusal tachycardia for me), my digestion (constipation or not) and my nervosity (when I'm healed I feel much more relaxed, I guess that my sympathetic nervous system is constantly overstimulated in POIS).

I am curious what you have found most effective or reducing social POIS (or any POIS, if you find that your symptoms tend to correlate)?

As for me, I have good results since mid-August with a daily supplementation of Omega-3 (EPA 400 mg, DHA 200 mg) and vitamin D3 (800 UI, my tests showed that I had a deficiency), which significantly reduced my now-permanent physical symptoms (in particular sinusal tachycardia) as well as the duration of post-orgasmic 'hard-POIS' periods. I guess it's the anti-inflammatory effect.
I have also benefited from taking flaxseed oil (1000 mg) daily in July, which nuked all my POIS symptoms and my constipation, but after a week it ceased working and normal POIS returned.
Recently I have discovered that taking 500 mg of Paracetamol immediately after a nocturnal emission, and then sleeping for some time, was very efficient to prevent a POIS crisis. I'm still tired and a bit weakened the day after, but nothing comparable with what I suffer usually. I'll try to concoct a pre-pack taking this into account and see its effects on a deliberate orgasm.

BUT, the point I wanted to make is that all this did not suppress the 'social impairment' problem (and the depressed mood/lack of psychological well-being that is coterminous to it). To be sure, it softened the 'hard' social impairment which comes with the first days of acute POIS, but it didn't bring back the state of complete remission, both physical and psychological/social, that I experienced in former years after a week of POIS or so. So even if I'm feeling better with my current supplementation, I know that POIS is still here.

[Journey]

This to me sounds like a hormonal issue, which are a known cause of POIS. Its possible that the POIS didn't cause your slow development; rather, something like low testosterone caused both problems. Demografx, one of the main moderators on this forum, has dramatically reduced his symptoms with TRT. I would recommend reading this thread: https://poiscenter.com/forums/index.php?topic=17.0

My testosterone and free testosterone levels are normal (and even rather in the high norm).

For me generally I became minimally functional in the 2-4 days period. As in, I won't make friends, but I also won't be painfully awkward and can deal with short interactions (though exercise can make this period much better). Around day 5 or 6, I typically get a pretty significant boost. From there on out, things are generally better, but can go pretty wild. Sometimes I can consistently have a couple weeks where I am feeling comfortable socially, but I also occasionally will find myself getting POIS symptoms, including social impairment, at random times during long periods of abstinence. I am trying to work out what triggers my orgasmless POIS symptoms.
...
We definitely have the same issue. It's hard knowing who I'm capable of being, when only through great struggle can I manage to get a couple days a month at my best. I agree with the parsing issues as well. For me, this is not just auditory - it also applies to reading, or anything that requires information processing.

It's also interesting that you use social abilities to gauge POIS. For me, this is far and away the most reliable indicator, as I do not have physical symptoms. For a long time, I didn't know that I had any other symptoms!

I can countersign a lot of your sentences.
For my part I have no other trigger than orgasm, arousal and physical effort, but I'm very sensitive. To vacuum my room or think for a few seconds about a girl can induce a mild-to-intermediary POIS state, which might potentially generate different waves of symptoms as time passes.
Social abilities are indeed a very reliable indicator of POIS, but now this indicator is always 'on', so in order to monitor my condition I also use my heart rythm (POIS produces sinusal tachycardia for me), my digestion (constipation or not) and my nervosity (when I'm healed I feel much more relaxed, I guess that my sympathetic nervous system is constantly overstimulated in POIS).

I am curious what you have found most effective or reducing social POIS (or any POIS, if you find that your symptoms tend to correlate)?

As for me, I have good results since mid-August with a daily supplementation of Omega-3 (EPA 400 mg, DHA 200 mg) and vitamin D3 (800 UI, my tests showed that I had a deficiency), which significantly reduced my now-permanent physical symptoms (in particular sinusal tachycardia) as well as the duration of post-orgasmic 'hard-POIS' periods. I guess it's the anti-inflammatory effect.
I have also benefited from taking flaxseed oil (1000 mg) daily in July, which nuked all my POIS symptoms and my constipation, but after a week it ceased working and normal POIS returned.
Recently I have discovered that taking 500 mg of Paracetamol immediately after a nocturnal emission, and then sleeping for some time, was very efficient to prevent a POIS crisis. I'm still tired and a bit weakened the day after, but nothing comparable with what I suffer usually. I'll try to concoct a pre-pack taking this into account and see its effects on a deliberate orgasm.

BUT, the point I wanted to make is that all this did not suppress the 'social impairment' problem (and the depressed mood/lack of psychological well-being that is coterminous to it). To be sure, it softened the 'hard' social impairment which comes with the first days of acute POIS, but it didn't bring back the state of complete remission, both physical and psychological/social, that I experienced in former years after a week of POIS or so. So even if I'm feeling better with my current supplementation, I know that POIS is still here.

I too got ok T, the lower growth might be due to body focusing on pois instead of growing.

[Nas]

Do you guys describe your selves as hypersensitive personalities? Like small things that shouldn't matter, matter to you and make you react inflammatorily?

If yes check this out: My Hypersensitivity Is Real: Why Highly Sensitive People Have ADHD

My father's side relatives are very sensitive people and that gets them into lots of trouble. My father still has ADHD at age 65; he can't figure out how to open a bag of chips and gets easily pissed off at for example.

Perhaps we suffer from a type of ADHD that makes us sensitive to strong dopaminergic stimuli such as sex due to bad dopamine levels in general.

[Muon]

My father's side relatives are very sensitive people and that gets them into lots of trouble. My father still has ADHD at age 65; he can't figure out how to open a bag of chips and gets easily pissed off at for example.

Perhaps we suffer from a type of ADHD that makes us sensitive to strong dopaminergic stimuli such as sex due to bad dopamine levels in general.

I wonder if your father and relatives suffer from premature ejaculation.

[Journey]

Do you guys describe your selves as hypersensitive personalities?

I got low latent inhibition meaning mind filters out less stimuli e.g. many talking, I can't focus fully as my mind still processes sounds around even if I'm focused on 1 thing, I notice audial/visual changes faster due to it, in home I hear what others do, sounds outside, as long as it's in range I do, I don't get overstimulated unless it reaches certain barrier/length of time, I haven't had meltdown anything like that in asd, it's just filtration that's lower. Younger I'd react more to things that upset me, would feel it for longer time, it lingered in mind and I'd need time to shift to another state of mind, I've become calmer tho.

[Prospero]

Do you guys describe your selves as hypersensitive personalities? Like small things that shouldn't matter, matter to you and make you react inflammatorily?

If yes check this out: My Hypersensitivity Is Real: Why Highly Sensitive People Have ADHD

My father's side relatives are very sensitive people and that gets them into lots of trouble. My father still has ADHD at age 65; he can't figure out how to open a bag of chips and gets easily pissed off at for example.

Perhaps we suffer from a type of ADHD that makes us sensitive to strong dopaminergic stimuli such as sex due to bad dopamine levels in general.

I don't believe that I'm 'hypersensitive' as you mean it (though when I was younger I was indeed very sensitive to noise), however since teenage years I'm extremely sensitive to stress triggers such as speaking in public, watching a nerve-racking film/series, playing a videogame that requires me to 'act in a situation of emergency', or simply having a planned meeting with someone. My heart rate speeds up very importantly, my breathing is distorted, I'm trembling, and it can even provoke something like a crisis of tetany or spasmophilia, with an 'internal paralysis', pins and needles... Even if I know perfectly that there's nothing at stake and I do my best to relax.
A few years ago, the anguish resulting from my first big POIS crises also used to provoke such a crisis of tetany, until I get used to it and began to hear about POIS.
Strangely enough, it has also happened that spasmophilia / anxiety attacks provoked by other triggers than sex/POIS, while I was already in a POIS state, would suppress all my symptoms, as if there had been a complete reboot in my body at the end of the attack.

[Clues]

As a counterexample wrt the idea of an ADHD connection: I'm personally very even-tempered and patient when I don't have symptoms. When I do have a symptom episode though, I can be testy, quick to anger, clumsy and restless.

[LookingForACure]

I spend a lot of time researching conditions that have some similarities to POIS in terms of symptomatology, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, sluggish cognitive tempo, and hypothyroidism with the idea that treatments for these conditions may apply to POIS. For those of you who are not familiar, these conditions are all associated with brain fog and fatigue, often as primary symptoms. One symptom I have not seen in any other condition is social impairment like the type we have been discussing in this thread. I am wondering if anyone has found another condition associated with this symptom? Social impairment is more specific than brain fog and fatigue, which mean different things to different people, so another condition that shares it seems very likely to have at least some pathophysiological similarities. Whereas, the fatigue described by us POISers may be very different than the fatigue experience by someone with POTS, for example, meaning the conditions are likely not similar.

[bdn9494]

Yes, I've spent the last 7 years rather socially isolated because I just couldn't come up with stuff to say in conversations, but now that I'm fixing my POIS by abstaining from masturbation, I'm regaining the desire to be social.

[cyberguy137]

I have struggled with POIS for the past ~5-6 years. I ability to socialize, social anxiety, and brain fog are major symptoms for me.

I have tried many supplements and medication without much success.

I find abstinance is the best. So I limit O to once a week or once every week and a half. I am hoping to move to biweekly soon.

One issue though is I get 'on edge' and anxious after about a week of abstinence. Still, it's better than POIS!

[Clues]

cyberguy137, I can identify with that. I've mostly been abstinent for 4 months or so. While abstinent, I have constant light symptoms. While having an orgasm (or exercising) regularly, it's more of a rollercoaster, where I have peaks where I'm nearly symptom-free, but obviously crashes post-orgasm that are quite bad. Overall, abstinence seems like the better option for me right now.

[OpiesDad]

I strongly relate to OP's description of his condition, even the four day post ) cycle matches mine.  The brain fog, disassociation from personality and emotional disturbance all part of the POIS symptoms kind of explain the social awkwardness.  I do find that the most helpful medication I have treated with is propranolol (beta blocker).  Anywhere from 30-80 MG increases my ability to handle social situations.  I also use adderall, but interestingly, anything more than 10 MG overwhelms my brain and causes severe brain fog and confusion.

[LookingForACure]

I strongly relate to OP's description of his condition, even the four day post ) cycle matches mine.  The brain fog, disassociation from personality and emotional disturbance all part of the POIS symptoms kind of explain the social awkwardness.  I do find that the most helpful medication I have treated with is propranolol (beta blocker).  Anywhere from 30-80 MG increases my ability to handle social situations.  I also use adderall, but interestingly, anything more than 10 MG overwhelms my brain and causes severe brain fog and confusion.

This is very interesting. In what ways would you say propranolol helps your social abilities?

[OpiesDad]

I was getting intense involuntary stress reactions in advance of and during social situations including rapid heartbeat, sweating, and light headedness. It was not a panic attack in the ordinary sense as I did not actually feel nervous/anxious psychologically, just exhibited all the bodily manifestations of it. The propranolol in the right dosage just shut that all down so my body remains cool and composed.  Then, in social situations, I sometimes would get an intense headache and pressure in my eyes.  Have not had a bad event like that since the prescription, whereas before the prescription I had a 7 or 8 very embarrassing and uncomfortable instances of that happening in a several month span.