[going no where]

I started a week ago with
6 ea reishi.(367mg pills) bottle says take 4 a day so I figured a little more would probably be better.
4 ea green tea extract with ecgc 90%(670mg pills)

then on friday I started 1500mg of PM a day.

So far I havent noticed anything except some minor things. My libido is probably slightly lower I guess. Hard to say. I guess I'm more ambivolent towards sex or masturbation. The urges are not as strong, which is something I desired. The only other thing I've noticed is it seems one testicle seems smaller then the other, but this changes throughout the day so not sure whats going on with that. Before starting they were exactly the same size or as far as I could tell. From what I understand the changes can be slow so I guess we will see what happens. I did order some better reishi. The stuff I got seems less potent then other brands I've read about.

[Markita (markb)]

It sounds like its hitting the wrong area. I've been using flaxseed oil pills, fenugreek, garcinia cambogia, pm, and 1 bo per day, it's filling my breasts and my erections are still good.

[Lotus]

I started a week ago with
6 ea reishi.(367mg pills) bottle says take 4 a day so I figured a little more would probably be better.
4 ea green tea extract with ecgc 90%(670mg pills)

then on friday I started 1500mg of PM a day.

So far I havent noticed anything except some minor things. My libido is probably slightly lower I guess. Hard to say. I guess I'm more ambivolent towards sex or masturbation. The urges are not as strong, which is something I desired. The only other thing I've noticed is it seems one testicle seems smaller then the other, but this changes throughout the day so not sure whats going on with that. Before starting they were exactly the same size or as far as I could tell. From what I understand the changes can be slow so I guess we will see what happens. I did order some better reishi. The stuff I got seems less potent then other brands I've read about.

For only being a few days, what you're feeling sounds about on schedule. The thing to consider is what range your Testosterone is at?, if it's normal production (say over 750-800 ng/dL??) you'll have a ways to go to diminish. Consider adding MSM in a coupe of weeks. Sorry mark, I wouldn't recommend FSO, it inhibits aromatase.

Lignans (Flaxseed) are phytoestrogens with estrogenic or anti-estrogenic activity. Flaxseed has the highest content of phytoestrogens, however it also antagonizes it's estrogenic effect, and btw, so does phytoestrogens themselves.


So why doesn't flaxseed work for everyone?,

When plant lignans are ingested, they can be metabolized by intestinal bacteria to the enterolignans, enterodiol and enterolactone, in the intestinal lumen (4). Enterodiol can also be converted to enterolactone by intestinal bacteria. Not surprisingly, antibiotic use has been associated with lower serum enterolactone levels (5). Thus, enterolactone levels measured in serum and urine reflect the activity of intestinal bacteria in addition to dietary intake of plant lignans. Because data on the lignan content of foods are limited, serum and urinary enterolactone levels are sometimes used as markers of dietary lignan intake. A pharmacokinetic study that measured plasma and urinary levels of enterodiol and enterolactone after a single dose (0.9 mg/kg of body weight) of secoisolariciresinol, the principal lignan in flaxseed, found that at least 40% was available to the body as enterodiol and enterolactone (6). Plasma enterodiol concentrations peaked at 73 nanomoles/liter (nmol/L) an average of 15 hours after ingestion of secoisolariciresinol, and plasma enterolactone concentrations peaked at 56 nmol/L an average of 20 hours after ingestion. Thus, substantial amounts of ingested plant lignans are available to humans in the form of enterodiol and enterolactone. Considerable variation among individuals in urinary and serum enterodiol:enterolactone ratios has been observed in flaxseed feeding studies, suggesting that some individuals convert most enterodiol to enterolactone, while others convert relatively little (1). It is likely that individual differences in the metabolism of lignans, possibly due to gut microbes, influence the biological activities and health effects of these compounds.

Biological Activities

Estrogenic and Anti-Estrogenic Activities

Estrogens are signaling molecules (hormones) that exert their effects by binding to estrogen receptors within cells (see chemical structures). The estrogen-receptor complex interacts with DNA to change the expression of estrogen-responsive genes. Estrogen receptors are present in numerous tissues other than those associated with reproduction, including bone, liver, heart, and brain (7). Although phytoestrogens can also bind to estrogen receptors, their estrogenic activity is much weaker than endogenous estrogens, and they may actually block or antagonize the effects of estrogen in some tissues (8). Scientists are interested in the tissue-selective activities of phytoestrogens because anti-estrogenic effects in reproductive tissue could help reduce the risk of hormone-associated cancers (breast, uterine, ovarian, and prostate), while estrogenic effects in bone could help maintain bone density. The enterolignans, enterodiol and enterolactone, are known to have weak estrogenic activity. At present, the extent to which enterolignans exert weak estrogenic and/or anti-estrogenic effects in humans is not well understood.

Estrogen Receptor-Independent Activities

Enterolignans also have biological activities that are unrelated to their interactions with estrogen receptors. By altering the activity of enzymes involved in estrogen metabolism, lignans may change the biological activity of endogenous estrogens (9). Lignans can act as antioxidants in the test tube, but the significance of such antioxidant activity in humans is not clear because lignans are rapidly and extensively metabolized (4). Although one cross-sectional study found that a biomarker of oxidative damage was inversely associated with serum enterolactone levels in men (10), it is not clear whether this effect was related to enterolactone or other antioxidants present in lignan-rich foods.


http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/ph...s/#sources

[going no where]

I've never had my T tested. I'm sure its probably in the normal to high range. Well at least my DHT is pretty high I would suspect just from what I've read about what happens when its high.

[Lotus]

I've never had my T tested. I'm sure its probably in the normal to high range. Well at least my DHT is pretty high I would suspect just from what I've read about what happens when its high.

Dht prevents breast growth, thus the need for anti-androgens. To give an example of DHT, it's what causes MPB (male pattern baldness), it has an effect on prostrate cancer (however, estradiol has been linked to prostrate cancer too). Though some new research uses DHT to battle certain types of breast cancers.

In short, DHT masculinizes cells when it's synthesized, it can't be converted to estrogen. If you prevent DHT from synthesis (e.g using 5 alpha reductase inhibitors) DHT is reduced, which allowes estrogens to be synthesized.......breast growth.

[going no where]

@lotus, right I understand that. I wasnt saying I have high DHT as a good thing, just that it is probably higher then I would like it to be. The reishi and egcg should lower the DHT correct?

Also I had to take a day off from the pills, had an upset stomach. Will this set me back very much? I dont think the upset stomach was from the pills, I think it is unrelated. Its been a few weeks now I think and havent had any other issues.

[going no where]

I gotta say I'm loving where I'm at right now. My libido is very manageable and I seem to have a very positive attitude everyday. I've never been one to be depressed but never really happy either. I seem to be waking up with a good attitude everyday lately. Everything still works but I dont seem to have that drive I used to have when it comes to sex/masturbation. I have noticed less and less morning wood, almost like I either dont have one or if I do its only a half attempt. I had to cut out the green tea extract because I think it was giving me some killer heartburn. So I'll go a few days without it and see if that improves.