Weed withdrawal - erectile dysfunction

[jnani5]

Finally... Some guys actually speaking sense about ED and cannabis!

Erectile Dysfunction has been the bane of my life for around the last six years (I'm in my mid thirties).

I had a fair few addictions going on - the usual; porn, booze, weed.

I quit the booze years ago, and have had numerous long breaks from porn, all to no effect.

I've been a chronic cannabis smoker for around fifteen years. I've now taken several six month breaks from cannabis, and have recently noticed that my sex drive and erections are actually worse off of it.

Hence me finding this forum.

Does anyone else have experience of recovery times of longer than six months?

Would love to hear of some success stories to give me faith that weed is actually the problem, as any kind of anecdotal information on this seems slim to non-existent.

[Motheo]

It's been 14 long drawn out days and my stick and berries are basically all shriveled up. When I look at my diminished manhood in the mirror, it messes with my mind even more. When I try to get erect, I'm not as big or hard. Even my balls are smaller than before. Glad I found that others have the same issues. That really helped alleviate some of my anxiety around this issue. After reading these posts, I now know that this might be a long drawn out process. Since cannabis is an aphrodisiac, it may never be quite the same when totally sober.

My advice besides picking up the chalice again is to focus on pleasing your partner. Kissing, sucking, touching, hearing them moaning with pleasure may help expedite the return or your sex drive. Even if I'm not really in the mood, it's my job as her husband to make sure she is well taken care of. I feel good when she can orgasm, even it it's my fingers doing all the work.

Btw, too much porn just like anything else will pervert your sense of normal sex. If normal sex is banal compared to the porn you watch, then tone it back and maybe just look at pictures or soft core stuff instead.

[M4ta]

I have been going through something fairly similar, smoked weed almost everyday for 8 months, started to find it harder and harder to get an erection, before i smoked and for the first few months just being naked around my girlfriend got me hard and towards the end I needed some form of physical stimulation to get an erection. I quit 5 weeks ago and my erections started getting harder to get, I relapsed and suddenly I really struggled to get an erection. I still get night erections and morning wood but during the day its very difficult to get an erection.

My hypothesis on cannabis and ED is broken into two aspects. Firstly I think the effect on brain chemicals and dopamine specifically leads to a 'crash' during the withdrawal stage making it harder to get sufficiently aroused and libido also takes a hit because of this. If you have sex or masturbate a lot then I think the effect is similar to porn, your brain becomes conditioned to require a certain level of dopamine in order to feel aroused and hence get an erection. The second part comes from the increased depression and anxiety caused by withdrawal. Both of these add to the self fulfilling prophecy of 'I cant get an erection' and then you certainly won't.

Time is the only cure, I think another helpful component might be abstaining from masturbation and orgasms entirely in order to fully let the brain restore dopamine receptors that have been fried by the dopamine overload.

Thanks for posting your story MikeAbbot, how have you been getting on since?

[Motheo]

I never thought weed affected dopamine levels this much...but after researching this subject, I'm pretty amazed. I never did the wax stuff, but I had access to very potent strains and vaping oils. My tolerance is really high and I can smoke way more than the average person. After about 10 months of daily use, it just built up in my system and when I quit all at once, I crashed pretty hard having the same issues many people have already discussed.

I think it's good to have sex if aroused. It's now day 16 and I'm happy to report that I've been able to have sex this morning for the first time, but... my size and stamina are not the same. The orgasm didn't feel as strong either. BUT...I think this is a step in the right direction.

In addition to quitting, I've also been made redundant for the second time within a year. Losing my job (again) has played more havoc on my state of mind I think than quitting weed has. The two together is like a double whammy though.

The best thing that has happened from all this is that I have more time to have fun outdoors (surfing, mountain biking, hiking, etc...) go to the gym and eat right. I've lost a bunch of weight and have been toning up my body and I'm loving the results. This helps me feel great and encourages me to keep off the herb. Also not having munchies helps keep me focused on my diet program.

Having said that, I'm still looking for a job and still not smoking so there is still a void in my life. No depression though and in fact, I'm pretty happy to have the time to slow down and enjoy life. I do have anxiety though. Mostly because without a job, I worry about my financial situation down the road...

Incidentally, I noticed that when I smoke/vape/eat cannabis, I want to drink more beer. Not smoking has helped me reduce my alcohol intake which has also accelerated the weight loss. My wife is digging my new sexier body, despite my shriveled bits and pieces.

[jnani5]

This thread has the potential to be a really useful resource...

However; what we really need are anecdotal stories of guys who have recovered from ED by abstaining from Cannabis. There is a real scarcity of information on this subject.

Until then it's all conjecture, and cannabis may not be the culprit. I have been convinced numerous times, by health professionals, that various lifestyle factors were the culprit - only to eliminate them, with no improvement whatsoever.

My longest period of abstinence off the smoke has been six months, with no improvement in my erections.

So I am currently aiming for a twelve month break before I review it again.

My advice? Try to keep an open mind at all times, and don't let yourself become convinced that any one thing is the culprit, until you have eliminated it, and recovered.

[SoulFull]

This thread has the potential to be a really useful resource...

However; what we really need are anecdotal stories of guys who have recovered from ED by abstaining from Cannabis. There is a real scarcity of information on this subject.

Until then it's all conjecture, and cannabis may not be the culprit. I have been convinced numerous times, by health professionals, that various lifestyle factors were the culprit - only to eliminate them, with no improvement whatsoever.

My longest period of abstinence off the smoke has been six months, with no improvement in my erections.

So I am currently aiming for a twelve month break before I review it again.

My advice? Try to keep an open mind at all times, and don't let yourself become convinced that any one thing is the culprit, until you have eliminated it, and recovered.

Hi, I would like to suggest coffee and also light excercize outdoors to combat ED. Swimming's good too. It worked for me. Good luck

[jnani5]

Thank you for the advice and kind words...

Actually, I've pretty much tried everything; plenty of sun, plenty of exercise, weight lifting, cardio, yoga.

Healthy plant based eating, plenty of organic green, white, black tea and kombucha.

Supplements; Vitamin D, Vitamin B, Zinc, Magnesium, cannabis oil, L'arginine, L-Citrulline and pine bark extract.

Pills; Viagra and other similar presecription brands.

Quitting smoking, quitting alcohol (tee-total for last 3-4 years), quitting porn, quitting masturbation.

Psycho-sexual counselling. Voodoo, tantra and black-magick.

After all this my firm belief is that my ED has nothing to do with lifestyle factors.

I've recently seen a top urologist who believes that many cases of ED can be neurological.
For whatever reason the erections stop, and this becomes the new neural pathway for the brain.

Hang tough guys... This journey ain't easy!

[Motheo]

I don't think quitting masturbation will help you. In fact, from what I've read, masturbation is totally normal and helps get rid of ED. Visit WebMD or google it, you will find that most medical professionals say it will help you not make ED worse.

[jnani5]

Never fear... Quitting masturbation was just for a temporary period of time to experiment with a "re-set".

Normal masturbation has since been resumed. For what it's worth, as erections and orgasms are lacklustre at best.

[BullFrog]

jnani5, I can't relate to the relationship with cannabis and ED. However, if you google online "plant based diet and erectile dysfunction", you will get a host of information on people who have virtually eradicated ED in a very short period of time by adopting a plant based diet. That might be something to seriously look into during this recovery time.

[jnani5]

Bullfrog...

Many thanks, I have actually already made a transfer to a plant based diet. To no avail.

Other than staying off of cannabis for a longer period of time, I cannot think of anything else left to try.

I was recently prescribed a cream (for internal use) by a urologist, this failed to have any affect either. Next stop is to try injecting directly into my penis.

Oh - deep joy!

[jnani5]

@mikeabbot

Any update on your journey?

I think that many of us here are keen to hear updates from you.

[dbezerkeley]

Day 23 here after decades of daily smoking, yeah the desire really left the first 2 weeks, but I noticed this past weekend its coming back. In fact I think maybe I enjoyed this last time more because I was more mindful and in the present not being stoned. But although I was never a heavy porn watcher, I did used to click on the free sites frequently, but now porn has totally lost its appeal. Maybe a good thing lol.

[scubasteve]

Have you had your testosterone levels tested? I'm not sure if it was caused by the chronic weed use or it was an underlying issue before but before I stopped daily smoking my test levels were in the bottom 5% for my age. I've started on testoterone injections and its been one of the best things i've ever done. It has been night and day as far as ED. Good luck!

[jnani5]

@scubasteve

Not sure if your post was directed at me? But... Yes, apparently my testosterone levels are quite high/normal.

I wish all the tests that I have had would have come back with something, and least then there could be some potential for finding a remedy.