Warrior's Journal (My POIS Protocol)

[Warrior]

Warrior's (r/tteezzkk) 2024 POIS Protocol

Medical Disclaimer:
This information is for personal documentation purposes only, not medical advice. The author is not a healthcare professional. Readers should conduct independent research, consult a qualified specialist knowledgeable about POIS, and exercise personal judgment before taking any action. Use this information at your own risk.

Pulse or take everything as needed. Never take anything chronically. Listen to your body.

Diet & Lifestyle:
——Paul Saladino's Strictest Tier Animal-Based / Carnivore / Starch-free. Seperate carb & fat meals. Ketosis is optimal for libido and energy. Sensitive to some veggies still, but monolaurin helps greatly.
——Electrolytes (magnesium malate, potassium, & sodium) -- having issues tolerating electrolytes after 4-5 weeks on keto without issues. Thiamine appears to be improving sensitivity, but will see how it goes in the long-run. Researching other important electrolyte co-factors.
——Eggs, fatty ground red meat, Greek yoghurt, & beef liver
——Caffeine (coffee or tea)
——Sleep & exercise
——Live according to nature as much as possible

Methyl Donors & B Vitamins:
——B complex (Ultra B 150 Forte) 1-3x per week. Don't take at same time as eggs/meat to avoid over-methylation issues. Wanting to switch to a more moderately dosed one to support thiamine TTFD with adequate co-factors while not overdoing the methyl donors. Maybe Nature's Own Super B Complex, or another one with methylfolate if TTFD & RLA improves methyl buffering/tolerance.
——B1 Thiamine (TTFD) 100mg daily

Herbs:
——Cordyceps from Oriveda (improves POIS, 1-2g taken around release. I usually take 2 pills post-release and in the following morning.)
——Monolaurin 1-3g per release, or once every 4-7 days as needed (improves food sensitivities, recommended to take w/ regular high-quality probiotics as monolaurin is antimicrobial).

Immune Nutrients:
——Vitamin D3 serum levels to at least 50-70ng/mL [LifeExtension] & Vitamin K2 (1mg per 10,000iu D3)
——Magnesium Malate 300mg (elemental) daily minimum
——NAC 1-2g
——Zinc 40mg (LifeExtension's OptiZinc) & Copper 2mg (take at different times)
——Glutathione Reduced. Better results than SALG.
——Vitamin C 1-2g (alternatively emphasis vitamin C through OJ, kiwi, mango, etc)
——Boron & Manganese (harder to get on AB, boron depleted by high D3)

**Want to avoid high dosages of anything long-term as this is almost certain to create imbalances and other issues.**

Experiments To Do:
——RLA (recommended by r/7e7en87)
——Apigenin (recommended by r/7e7en87)

Retired/No Go Supplements:
——SAMe 200mg *Gamechanger initially. No longer works as powerful as it initially did
——Folate (folic acid, methylfolate, folinic acid) *Never tolerated folate very well, especially active folate. Only take folic acid in B complex occaisionally
——Fenugreek *Appears to act like a methyl donor. No longer makes me feel good. Initially was a gamechanger
——Raw garlic. *No longer seems necessary to take. Unsure if it makes me feel worst.
——Glycine *Never felt good taking glycine
——Citrate *Worstens eye pressure. Happens with magnesium citrate & potassium citrate. Other mineral forms do not cause issues.

Food Sensitivities & Diet:
——I appear to be sensitive to virtually ALL plant foods, but especially starches. They inflame my symptoms by 900%.
——Monolaurin improves food sensitivities to veggies, but probably still feel my best on a strict Animal-Based.

My POIS Symptoms & Links

Old Symptoms (2018ish Onwards): I used to experience chronically intense brainfog, social anxiety, mood disturbances, and fatigue for at least 3+ days following releasing. I was so unstable at one point I had a fear of developing schizophrenia... I talk about this in my 6 year journey battling POIS video here. I still have food sensitivities that manifest in the form of body aches and other POIS-like symptoms when eating non animal-based foods.

I first tested fenugreek & garlic with a gluten-free diet on the 07/07/21, having begun a gluten-free diet a few weeks/month prior.

[Clues]

Thanks for posting. Lots of interesting stuff in your reddit post especially, thanks for that.

[Warrior]

Best diet: ketogenic wholefoods
Second best: animal-based by Paul Saladino (strictest tier) strictly no starches

What causes all these food sensitivities to begin with?

Pathogenic infection > POIS > systemic inflammation > leaky gut > food sensitivities

My food sensitivities improve sharply after 1-2 weeks of abstinence which would further support this theory.

Master list of things I still need to try
My main objective these days is to improve my food sensitivities so that I can eat a normal diet. My food sensitivities and POIS appear to share the same cause. Despite significantly improving my POIS, I am ultimately still very motivated to cure POIS as I believe it would also cure my food sensitivities.

Old Posts
Effectiveness of animal-based diet versus autoimmune protocol diet on POIS
Latest update on my POIS, a new hypothesis to how/why my solution works
Initial overwhelming success with fenugreek & garlic
My POIS story & journey
Appointment with Dr. Michael Lowy (POIS specialist)
Great post on functional medicine & factors to check in regards to healing POIS from the root cause
Raw freshly minced garlic is a lot more effective than garlic pills

First tested fenugreek & garlic with a gluten-free diet on the 07/07/21. Started a gluten-free diet a few weeks/month prior.

My old POIS symptoms (thankfully a thing of the past!):
POIS began when I was around 17-18ish (never had it before then). Symptoms included generalised anxiety (which created & intensified social anxiety), intense physical fatigue, brain fog, agitation, light body aches, for at least 3-5 days depending on how many releases. Severe body aches/pressures in first hour. These became exponentially worst the more I ejaculated in a short period of time. I would need to do 20 days of abstinence in order to ejaculate and not experience POIS. More recently, I have noticed frequent urination, diarrhea (inability to absorb fats it seems), and appetite suppression as additional symptoms to my POIS.

MASTER LIST OF POIS EXPERIMENTS:

POIS & Food Sensitivity Experimentation List

NAC + quercetin immune therapy, explore high dosages, safe protocols, co-factor nutrients i.e., glycine, molybdenum, etc. I think NAC could be really powerful long-term for clearing POIS, biofilm disrupter etc.
High dose thiamine
Maca root (must be high quality)
Nervous system relaxation techniques i.e., kriya pranayama, cranial instability exercises, vagus nerve stretches, etc
Cranial instability, nervous system dysfunction
Minerals
CoQ10
Pre-packs inc. niacin & nicotinamide (two different types of b3), fenugreek, raw garlic, and ceremonial grade matcha green tea, maybe include SAMe and eggs
NAC inc. co-factors
Cordyceps (must be high quality)
Andrographis
Monolaurin
Apitherapy – bee venom therapy, propolis, royal jelly, etc
Bee venom therapy, specifically targetted on gut or trigeminal nerve
Reishi (must be high quality) *Do not try Lions Mane, r/lionsmanerecovery
Targeted immune therapy
Targeted “killing” therapy for infection, bacteria, etc.
L-glucosamine
Glutathione
D3 co-factors i.e., magnesium
Agmatine sulfate
Accupuncture
Green tea/matcha
Shilajit appeared to make me depressed, very similar to how people describe cholinerginic induced depression
Omega-3 I feel worst after taking Omega-3, having tried various times and different brands
Nanna1 inspired immune stack inc. AHCC, propolis, monolaurin, Andrographis, beta-glucan, vitamin C, megaspore probiotic, IgG I stopped the immune stack as something was giving me strange eye symptoms that persisted for quite a while. Fortunately these symptoms mostly relieved after stopping, but this experience taught me that for future immune stacks, better to slowly ease in, taking only what is necessary & targeted, etc.
Vitamin C IV
Liposomal Vitamin C Feels very similar to how AlphaGPC makes me feel. Stimulating, almost like a small caffeine hit, but mildly depressing. Regular ascorbic acid is preferred.
High-quality Shilajit (like lotus blooming herbs)
Comprehensive nutritional testing (NutriStat) -> Testing Nutritional Status by Chris Masterjohn, supplement deficiencies accordingly
Plug typical diet into chronometer & identify and nutrient deficiencies. Focus on & satisfy these in the evenings through food sources.
Sea moss & mineral complex
Oriveda cordyceps & reishi
Apitherapy (bee sting therapy, raw propolis, Brazilian beef propolis, royal jelly, bee pollen, etc.)
Agmatine sulfate
Medicinal supplements/herbs/foods like saw palmetto, maca, pine pollen, deer antler, oysters, tongkat ali, glutathione, NAC (w/ molybdenum, selenium, & glycine)
Thousands of Ayurveda herbs/foods/formulations
Research Ayurveda top revitalising foods/herbs/medicines/formulations
Use Claude AI to explore further leads
Low saturated fat animal-based diet: I don’t think this would work long term. 1) It restricts variety i.e., no variety cuts of steak, on top of what already is a very restricted diet in and of itself 2) Eating lean red meat 5% ground beef burgers daily would get old very quickly 3) Cutting out Greek yoghurt, which is one of my favourite AB meals is again beating on this point of restricting foods in and already restricted diet 4) I think a better strategy is obviously not unnecessarily eating saturated fat while doing everything I can to master the topic of cholesterol and reduce all of my risk factors for CVD, religiously checking all appropriate blood markers including fasting insulin, C-reactive protein, inflammatory markers, LDL ratios, etc and doing dexa scans (coronary calcium scans etc)
Neuro-Mag (magnesium L- Threonate) for cognitive function & boosting magnesium
Glutathione
Mineral complex’s, sprays, etc.
Pink himilayan salt
Caution: Some supplements like certain mushrooms i.e., Lions Mane, or adaptogens i.e., ashwaganda can have some very nasty side-effects. Visit r/LionsManeRecovery to hear stories of how Lion’s Mane has completely ruined their life. The point being is that exploring supplements carry risk. Always be extra careful especially with plant based supplements. Minerals and vitamins are generally safer at appropriate dosages.
Mineral supplements e.g., “Super Max Mineral Complex”
https://www.inflammationmastery.com/dr-alex-kennerly-vasquez
https://www.inflammationmastery.com/diet
https://caringmedical.com/prolotherapy-news/cervical-scoliosis/
https://kundalini.yoga/topics/nervous-system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiEQ9AcUUEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O6OdgCxQQc
https://bees.org.au/library/12614730

Strategic prioritisation:
•   POIS is most likely an infection of the CNS
•   POIS is an immune inflammatory disorder
•   Treatments I am most bullish on inc. bee venom therapy, acupuncture, and immune/viral/bacterial holistic treatment
•   Supplements most bullish on inc.

[Warrior]

Bought a garlic mincer, and oh man.

This bad boy. https://www.ikea.com/au/en/p/koncis-garlic-press-stainless-steel-60173564/

Recommend to those who take garlic for POIS 

[BoneBroth]

warrioronthetrot: I've used that bad boy for years. Wonder if the allicin is forming as much when you squeeze the garlic as when you are cutting it.
Do you take the raw garlic every day as maintenance or just before and after O?

[Warrior]

warrioronthetrot: I've used that bad boy for years. Wonder if the allicin is forming as much when you squeeze the garlic as when you are cutting it.
Do you take the raw garlic every day as maintenance or just before and after O?

I think it would form just as much allicin. It minces it very thoroughly. I also still let it sit there (as a ball of minced garlic) for 5-10 minutes.

I take garlic and fenugreek on days I O, whether that be after or beforehand. Beforehand is always ideal but it still works if I just take it afterwards.

I will also take it on days I experience what I call POIS residue, which only happens when I ingest lectins.

[Warrior]

No longer on lectin-free diet. Garlic & fenugreek solution still holding up. Proof of the significance of fenugreek and garlic for my POIS 'solution'.

Found a fix to my afternoon brain fog and mood disturbances: B-complex. Works like an absolute charm -- improved symptoms by 90%. Must of been deficient in some kind of B-vitamin. I eat a pretty diverse whole food diet so I am pretty surprised I am deficient in B-vitamins.

What's interesting is that this same afternoon brain fog and mood issues which were improved from fenugreek, garlic, and not eating lectins has now been solved through B-vitamins. The body is very complex. Updating main post to reflect changes.

[Quantum]

No longer on lectin-free diet. Garlic & fenugreek solution still holding up. Proof that fenugreek and garlic is the root solution to my POIS 'fix', not a gluten free diet.

Found a fix to my afternoon brain fog and mood disturbances: B-complex. Works like an absolute charm -- improved symptoms by 90%. Must of been deficient in some kind of B-vitamin. I eat a pretty diverse whole food diet so I am pretty surprised I am deficient in B-vitamins.

What's interesting is that this same afternoon brain fog and mood issues which were improved from fenugreek, garlic, and not eating lectins has now been solved through B-vitamins. The body is very complex. Updating main post to reflect changes.

Thanks for the update, WOTT, I have updated accordingly in section 3 of the POIS Types Chart

[Lihua]

No longer on lectin-free diet. Garlic & fenugreek solution still holding up. Proof that fenugreek and garlic is the root solution to my POIS 'fix', not a gluten free diet.

Found a fix to my afternoon brain fog and mood disturbances: B-complex. Works like an absolute charm -- improved symptoms by 90%. Must of been deficient in some kind of B-vitamin. I eat a pretty diverse whole food diet so I am pretty surprised I am deficient in B-vitamins.

What's interesting is that this same afternoon brain fog and mood issues which were improved from fenugreek, garlic, and not eating lectins has now been solved through B-vitamins. The body is very complex. Updating main post to reflect changes.

Thanks for the update, WOTT, I have updated accordingly in section 3 of the POIS Types Chart

thank you, the POISers all over the world should thank you

[Warrior]

Ran an experiment today.

Hadn't ejaculated for approximately 12 days. Wanted to test the power of fenugreek standing on it's own without the raw garlic.
Also consumed about 2oz of beef liver, 1.5ish oz beef kidney, and 1oz of beef heart beforehand.

Ejaculated 3 times in the span of about 2 hours. Took 2 1000mg fenugreek pills after each orgasm.
Fenugreek did well. The 3 o's did take it out of me energetically, but as far as mental clarity, the mind is feeling sharp (aided by the beef organs as well imo) and good. Energy came back around too.

Noticed too that the body was 'primed' for the 2nd and 3rd orgasm. The 1st orgam definitely triggered immediate light POIS reaction, but once the fenugreek was absorbed (I took it afterwards) it all settled down very quickly. Which means that it is certainly ideal to take the fenugreek before orgasm, but it is still effective if taken only afterwards. If you take it afterwards you will experience a light POIS come up until the body absorbs the fenugreek and gets to work fixing it.

[hurray]

Ran an experiment today.

Hadn't ejaculated for approximately 12 days. Wanted to test the power of fenugreek standing on it's own without the raw garlic.
Also consumed about 2oz of beef liver, 1.5ish oz beef kidney, and 1oz of beef heart beforehand.

Ejaculated 3 times in the span of about 2 hours. Took 2 1000mg fenugreek pills after each orgasm.
Fenugreek did well. The 3 o's did take it out of me energetically, but as far as mental clarity, the mind is feeling sharp (aided by the beef organs as well imo) and good. Energy came back around too.

Noticed too that the body was 'primed' for the 2nd and 3rd orgasm. The 1st orgam definitely triggered immediate light POIS reaction, but once the fenugreek was absorbed (I took it afterwards) it all settled down very quickly. Which means that it is certainly ideal to take the fenugreek before orgasm, but it is still effective if taken only afterwards. If you take it afterwards you will experience a light POIS come up until the body absorbs the fenugreek and gets to work fixing it.

Fenugreek gave me a lot of help when I used it, glad to hear you find it useful too. I also had a meaty meal before O as part of my routine.

[Warrior]

Fenugreek gave me a lot of help when I used it, glad to hear you find it useful too. I also had a meaty meal before O as part of my routine.

Yes, I?ve been using fenugreek with garlic for quite some time. Extremely effective for me. But was hesitant to try it on its own because to be honest I wasn?t sure whether it was the raw garlic or fenugreek doing the hard yards of fixing the POIS.

[Warrior]

Seeing as POIS is an issue pertaining to the balls, at least in some fashion, maybe it is logical ancestrally to eat some beef testicle.

[Warrior]

Ran another experiment to double check fenugreek on its own without the help of garlic or any notorious foods i.e. beef organs. My hypothesis was that the fenugreek fixes my POIS mental symptoms, while the raw garlic improves my POIS physical symptoms which is fatigue.

Ejaculated once last night, primed the body with 2g fenugreek before and after ejaculating. Woke up the next morning, zero POIS mental symptoms, though my body was notably tired (kinda like still waking up tired even though I nice deep sleep). My POIS mental symptoms were debilitating anxiety, brainfog, depression, etc.

That morning I took some raw garlic with milk to see if any notable change occurs in my energy levels. Definitely felt improvement to physical energy after taking the raw garlic.

So from now I on I characterise each ingredient as this:
1) 2g Fenugreek - fixes POIS mental symptoms
2) Raw garlic crushed - improves POIS physical symptoms of fatigue

The mental symptoms of my POIS were by far the most debilitating part of my POIS so in a sense, I can get away with not having the raw garlic but the fenugreek is an absolute must for me.

[Quantum]

Ran another experiment to double check fenugreek on its own without the help of garlic or any notorious foods i.e. beef organs. My hypothesis was that the fenugreek fixes my POIS mental symptoms, while the raw garlic improves my POIS physical symptoms which is fatigue.

Ejaculated once last night, primed the body with 2g fenugreek before and after ejaculating. Woke up the next morning, zero POIS mental symptoms, though my body was notably tired (kinda like still waking up tired even though I nice deep sleep). My POIS mental symptoms were debilitating anxiety, brainfog, depression, etc.

That morning I took some raw garlic with milk to see if any notable change occurs in my energy levels. Definitely felt improvement to physical energy after taking the raw garlic.

So from now I on I characterise each ingredient as this:
1) 2g Fenugreek - fixes POIS mental symptoms
2) Raw garlic crushed - improves POIS physical symptoms of fatigue

The mental symptoms of my POIS were by far the most debilitating part of my POIS so in a sense, I can get away with not having the raw garlic but the fenugreek is an absolute must for me.

Thanks for this detailed information, WOTT !   I have added a link to this experiment results post in the Fenugreek/Garlic section of the POIS Types Chart

[Warrior]

Vitamin B complex + methyl b12... can't be said enough. Improves my mental health significantly.

Fenugreek - prevents chronic mental POIS symptoms ie. anxiety, brainfog, etc
Garlic - improves physical energy
Vitamin B complex + Vitamin methyl B12 - significantly improves dopamine/motivation, gives me superior mental health

[Warrior]

Almost been an entire year since discovering fenugreek & garlic. They both still hold up very well to this day & completely changed my life really, eliminating all the chronic symptoms I used to experience (chronic brainfog, anxiety, fatigue, etc).

Though I do want to explicitly mention I still do feel subtle (yet very significant) symptoms. Whether they are 'natural' from orgasm, I honestly don't know. Lot's of eastern traditions emphasis how too frequent ejaculations weaken men. Some of them even give ideal ejaculation frequencies. I can ejaculate as much as I please with the fenugreek, garlic, and B-vitamins, however I do lose the extra "edge" that I can only experience when abstaining over a week or two (this extra edge is what I believe these eastern traditions are referring to). This extra edge makes me more loving, more energetic, more "masculine", more confident, overall. While my existence when experiencing frequent ejaculation is a lot more mundane generally speaking. I am more prone to instant gratification activities, less likely to engage in delayed gratification purposeful things, less passionate overall.

[mike_sweden]

Almost been an entire year since discovering fenugreek & garlic. They both still hold up very well to this day & completely changed my life really, eliminating all the chronic symptoms I used to experience (chronic brainfog, anxiety, fatigue, etc).

Though I do want to explicitly mention I still do feel subtle (yet very significant) symptoms. Whether they are 'natural' from orgasm, I honestly don't know. Lot's of eastern traditions emphasis how too frequent ejaculations weaken men. Some of them even give ideal ejaculation frequencies. I can ejaculate as much as I please with the fenugreek, garlic, and B-vitamins, however I do lose the extra "edge" that I can only experience when abstaining over a week or two (this extra edge is what I believe these eastern traditions are referring to). This extra edge makes me more loving, more energetic, more "masculine", more confident, overall. While my existence when experiencing frequent ejaculation is a lot more mundane generally speaking. I am more prone to instant gratification activities, less likely to engage in delayed gratification purposeful things, less passionate overall.

any fodmap would not work for me
union and garlic are massive fodmaps, cant eat any at all

[Warrior]

Might test going gluten-free again to see if it has any effect on my POIS. When I first tried this stack, I was gluten-free. Pretty sure my energy levels were more sustained back then.

This is my current POIS stack:
- Fenugreek
- Raw garlic
- Active B complex

It completely removes all of my chronic symptoms, but I still feel relatively drained overall. I want to see if there are any improvements to my drive and energy on a gluten-free diet. Might also test matcha green tea & nictoinamide again, to see if I notice any difference.

[Warrior]

Testing

Raw crushed garlic
Fenugreek
B complex

Higher dose B vitamins (both ACTIVE/METHYL & non-active types, double dosing 1 of each) & sublingual methyl B12 twice.

Want to see if I can improve my motivation and "thrust" for life after O.

TESTED EDIT:
Tested the Active B Complex + Methyl B12. Didn't really notice much of a difference apart from the general improvement I always experience from them. Haven't tested non-active forms yet.