• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

back to severe struggling with everything - hormones?

Gavman

Senior Member
Messages
316
Location
Sydney
I was taking sam-e which helped me come off the effexor I was on. Then I had a split with the girl I was seeing.
The split caused a massive stress response and since then I have had despair, which I have mostly managed and am seeing a yoga counsellor to process some stress. I have had a severe response to sex where I have felt like my body was ready to die - that fatigued.I couldn't even use a pair of scissors to open something due to having zero strength. If I felt so messed up after sex, might hormones be a massive contributing factor?

Realistically I think the effexor suppressed my system so I used less stress hormones. Feeling so low I'm struggling to see any future improvement.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,086
Location
australia (brisbane)
scissors during sex would cause a stress response in me :eek:
It might be worth getting all your hormones tested and maybe do a stress index saliva test which measures cortisol 4 times throughout the day and dhea in the morning.

My dhea levels were below normal range not just low normal and morning cortisol was low normal. I think the dhea has helped me handle stress better and improved my mood, pregnenolone has also helped but a word of caution is start with dhea and low doses much lower then is normally recommended and slowly increase until your dhea is in the normal range. If needed then could work on cortisol, maybe again very low doses of pregenolone cream and slowly increase . I think 5htp can help especially if u think u still have some withdrawal effects from effexor, its a nasty drug to get off.

cheers!!!
 

nanonug

Senior Member
Messages
1,709
Location
Virginia, USA
I was taking sam-e which helped me come off the effexor I was on. Then I had a split with the girl I was seeing. The split caused a massive stress response

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is released during stress. This same hormone is also known to activate mast cells, which, in my opinion, are at the source of ME/CFS.

Realistically I think the effexor suppressed my system so I used less stress hormones.

That is an astute observation. In my opinion, the CRH/mast cell connection is the reason antidepressants offer some people with ME/CFS relief. It might not be a bad idea to go back on the Effexor if it was helping.
 

Marlène

Senior Member
Messages
443
Location
Edegem, Belgium
scissors during sex would cause a stress response in me :eek:
:rofl:

@ gavman

I have had a severe response to sex
It personally makes me think of a massive release of endorphins first and then falling in a huge gap.

Maybe you should consider the SAMe which can influence your methylation.
When I take vit B12 supplements before sex, I tend to be very depressed after. When I don't take the B12, I feel fine.
SAMe is involved in the transformation of vit B12.