Is a deficiency in nitric oxide levels a possible cause of (PI)ED?

We aren't doctors, but I can say that after such a long period of reboot you should see one. Good luck man.

 

Nitric Oxide is key for erections, yes. In my case, I tested my testosterone and it was good. However I wanted to know my NO levels so I bought these testing strips that you spit on and a color change indicates the approximate levels of NO. I did the test and it gave me a "deficient" reading. After this I bought some NO supplements, like L-arginine. and went through a whole bottle, however the testing strips continued giving me "deficient" readings. I have a doctor's appointment soon and I will discuss this with him. If you think your levels are low, buy those testing strips and do the test yourself. They can be bought through Amazon. Though I don't know how accurate they are.

 

What did the Dr say? About the levels ? Were the strips right?

 

He said that I should not pay much attention to that since the test strips read the NO in the salyva, and that could be very different from the NO levels in the penis... He said thatthe had never heard of those salyva test stripssfor nitricnoxide. His answer wasn't the most convincing, but I guess he does have a point. Though.

 

Have you tried to be sexual with a partner?

I read that while quitting PMO helps to dismantle the skewed reward pathways in the brain caused and reinforced by constant PMO, it is equally important to also stimulate the creation of normal reward circuitry through normal sexual intimacy with real partners. This then assists in countering the PIED caused by the over-active reward pathways created by PMO addiction.

I started dating just before my reboot journey began, and while I am terrified by the prospect of having to explain to my PIED and DE to my partner, I am also committed to trying to build and reinforce the normal reward pathways. I am glad that we decided to take it slow, thus building intimacy before just rushing in for the sex (objectification).

Share more details maybe?

 

Sorry I forgot to address the NO question!

If you are a healthy male, living a reasonable healthy lifestyle with a healthy diet, there are few reasons to suspect you have low NO levels.

How long were you engaging in PMO before you decided to reboot?

 

Well I mean I would say a total of maybe 13 or 14 years. I've had sexual relationships with girls too... and it was during the past 3 years or so that I started to notice that I was having issues with erection during sex. I would be with a girl and be very attracted and horny, buy Mr. Johnny would go to sleep mid action or not wake up at all. It started to happen more frequently and that's when I started to look for answers, then I found this forum and started learning about PIED and all that. Then I attempted several times to stay away from porn but would always come back. I've improved and can now say that I can stay away from it for long periods of time, two months at a time or more. However, I can't say that I have entirely eliminated it from my life because the last time I did watch (a single video) was maybe a couple of weeks ago. But I have dramatically reduced the frequency and I keep trying to eliminate it completely, and mysteriously the urge to watch it has also gone down a lot. I have been edging though, using my imagination, because I want to keep my penis active. I try not to ejaculate for as many days as I can. And I try to have sex whenever possible to see if I can go back to having a perfectly good working penis.

 

Yeah thats how addiction works hey, it never fully goes away, you have to keep vigilant.

When you edge and are using your imagination, are you thinking about remembered porn or physical interactions? Or do you just focus on the sensations you are feeling?

The main issue with PMO is its an associative disorder, where the brain associates sexual arousal with non-real stimulus.

The main goal should be to dismantle this association through a combination of abstinence from non-real stimulus and the promotion of the association with real world stimuli (i.e. partnered sexual activity in a calm and open setting - one night stands won't do as they are inherently tense, anxiety ridden events, often basted in alcohol and other artificial stimulants to boot, and so should not be used to gauge progress in treating PIED through performance in these situations).

 

I have pied but abstaining from P is definitely helping. Erections are coming back strong. I probably have desensitisation due to M but that should improve also?

Cardio vascular exercise increases blood flow to the brain and helps new brain cells develop. Surely during a reboot for pied this will help?

I often think focusing on the brain is key to recovery

 

Fucking pied kills me

 

When I am masturbating, I try to think about girls that I've had sex with or girls that I interact with in real life that I am attracted to, I also focus a lot on the sensation so that I don't have to rely 100% on the imagination, so it is a combination of the two. I must say that it has become a lot easier for me to enjoy masturbating without porn. Before I would find masturbating without porn very boring, and it was hard to achieve a level of arousal that would make me stay hard for long periods of time. But now I can M slowly and just enjoy the sensations without any porn at all. I think that is good progress. I usually do this early in the morning right after I wake up. However, I am still not experiencing morning woods. I can only hope that if I continue to make progress. I won't deny it, it is very hard to accept the fact that I need to completely eliminate porn from my life, but if I start to see real improvements and see that my penis starts to work how it is supposed to again, it'll be worth it.

 

If you read the articles on this site, you'll realise that:

• Fantasizing is similar to porn in its effects. Don't do it.
• Edging is just about the worst thing that you can do. It supercharges the dopamine. It's better to masturbate until you orgasm than to edge.

In addition, you still sometimes watch porn.

It is because of these three things that you can't get rid of your PIED.

Seriously, you need to go full no-PM, preferably a hard reboot (no-PMO) for a while first.

But whatever you choose to do, never edge; stop watching porn; do not fantasize. For faster results, also do not masturbate. You should make these a lifelong lifestyle change.

Otherwise you might never see the end of your PIED.

 

You could be right, you could be wrong. I've also heard a lot of people talk about the many benefits of doing edging, especially to train the penis to last longer for people with PE like myself. So I will experiment for some time doing edging. If I see that the issues continue without any improvement at all, then I will consider reducing or even eliminating the edging. I just don't think that hard mode is the the ultimate solution because when I've done this and then I have sex for the first time in a while, I have not been able to last 10 seconds before ejaculating. That in itself is a big issue too.

 

Well, as you wish. Also see What if I masturbate without orgasm?

Personally, I go with the science.

 

When I do the edging though, I try to keep all my pelvic muscles relaxed and I don't rush the strokes, I use a much softer movement, very different from when I used to watch porn which would involve very hast strokes and contraction of BC muscles to reach orgasm quickly. So I am giving this a try and see. At the end of the day I think we all need to find what works for us. If it doesn't work then I will try some time without it. Thanks for that link, I will definitely check it out.

 

Edging is really bad as you say. In nature we would have sex and orgasm. Not constantly get to the brink then stop and repeat.

This is exactly the behaviour that hinders reboot

 

How fast you do it is immaterial. The act of edging supercharges the dopamine and messes up your brain. It explains why your PIED is staying put.

BTW, you do realise that edging involves masturbation, don't you? Which means that your counter needs resetting. Unless you haven't done it for 28 days.

 

I agree 100%, rather O than edge, if you have to M at all.

Best to go no PMO hard mode for some time and if you have to MO then do it and get it over with preferably without P fantasies or visuals...

Stay strong man! You can do it!

 

I'm pretty sure porn addiction can cause NO deficiency.

Normally, dopamine-producing nerve cells in the reward circuitry activate the sexual (libido) centers of the hypothalamus, which in turn activate the erection centers in the spinal cord, which send nerve impulses to the genitalia. A steady stream of nerve impulses, which release nitric oxide into the penis and its blood vessels, maintain an erection.

Try eating beetroot, it'll certainly help!

NO is released after dopamine release.