Author Topic: Lex's Journal  (Read 824575 times)

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Offline aLptHW4k4y

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1875 on: August 27, 2013, 03:08:00 pm »
Just came across this, maybe it's relevant for you: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130826143608.htm

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1876 on: August 27, 2013, 11:25:27 pm »
You might need to clean your colon, not sure if you've had it done before. I'd recommend it to everyone.
I felt as if I was born again after I had it done.

Having a regular colon cleanse was a major part of my health protocol during my 30 years as a vegetarian/vegan.  It's a foundation of the Natural Hygiene movement which I followed religiously.    Since it was during this time that my prostate started growing and giving me problems, I can only assume that colonics and colon cleansing had little positive effect.  Nor did any of the other protocols held near and dear to the hearts of Natural Hygienists and followers of Holistic alternative medicine.

I've pretty much done all this stuff (with the exception of drinking urine) and none of it works - at least it didn't work for me during the 30 years that I followed it.  In fact, it was following this lifestyle that destroyed my health over the long term and lead me to search out Paleo.

You might find it interesting that even with all the colon cleansing and the holistic lifestyle, I still had pre-cancerous colon polyps at age 54.  After changing my diet to all meat/paleo and ditching the colon cleansing, the polyps disappeared by age 57.

So much for the colon cleansing theory.

Lex

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1877 on: August 27, 2013, 11:54:01 pm »
@van
I've spent most of my life since a teenager trying alternative therapies for my medical problems, many of which were caused by traditional medical treatments when I was young.  Few of them have had any lasting value, and most caused more health problems over the long term.

I've tried all the alternative solutions to BPH and none of them have worked.  It is now down to looking at traditional medical treatments to gain some relief, or dying from the complications of not being able to void urine.  Yes, you can die from this and it isn't a pleasant way to go.

I have no doubt that a trampoline causes you to use muscles that you seldom use in normal daily activities.  I just don't believe that jumping on a trampoline is going to shrink my prostate or stop its continued growth.  Do you have any evidence or know of any peer reviewed studies that suggest that jumping on a trampoline will stop or reverse prostate growth?

The same goes for drinking urine.  Do you have any evidence or know of any studies that suggest that regularly drinking urine will stop or reverse prostate growth?

I already drink demineralized water and have for many years so I know that doesn't work.

Lots of theories and wishful thinking out there, most of it from people who have never experienced the problems they profess to be able to cure.

Lex

Offline van

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1878 on: August 28, 2013, 01:27:35 am »
Again,  I can't empathize, but can sympathize with you.  For I've never faced a life threatening complication.  I wouldn't want to die either.  So, no judgment here.  Part of my point should have been (and I'm sure you've looked) finding the nature of the enlargement through lifestyle, diet etc.  That is where traditional medicine I thinks fails us.  And our alternatives unfortunately  are limited, or, questionable.  As far as peer review, I get the concept.  And no, I don't think you'll find them with urine or trampolines.  At least not right now.  But that wouldn't discourage me, especially if I was going the medical route.  But that's each's choice.   I think increased blood flow is almost always beneficial for healing.  Trampolining does that.  And if you never put urine to your mouth, simply collecting it in a glass container, and looking at it over several hours to a day is highly informative, in that one can notice how much sediment and cloudiness occurs with different eating patterns etc.  In your case I would think sediment is something you would want to avoid, or at least limiting the amount. 
« Last Edit: August 29, 2013, 03:57:04 pm by TylerDurden »

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1879 on: August 28, 2013, 08:50:02 am »
Part of my point should have been (and I'm sure you've looked) finding the nature of the enlargement through lifestyle, diet etc.  That is where traditional medicine I thinks fails us. 
Hmmmm.  I guess folks think I'm not looking hard enough to find what causes prostate enlargement.  I assure you, that has been my primary focus for almost 10 years.  I've followed up on everything that looked promising and many things that didn't.  I'm just as clueless now as when I started.  What I have learned is that we're not the only male animal where prostate growth occurs with age.  This might mean that for humans this is a natural process, as it is with other animals, and there isn't much we can do about it.  What is different about humans is that we're living so much longer now that prostate growth becomes a problem.  If I'd been eaten by a Saber Tooth Tiger before the age of 50 I wouldn't be experiencing these issues now!  To be honest, without modern antibiotics, I would have died from a massive infection I had when I was 14, and/or from several other major infections I had after that. 

As far as peer review, I get the concept.
I don't even care about peer review.  Do you (or anyone else for that matter) have any evidence at all that drinking urine will stop or reverse prostate growth?
I think increased blood flow is almost always beneficial for healing.
Increasing blood flow is not always good either.  There are times when we want reduced blood flow - especially to rogue tissues.  The ability to divert and increase blood flow to itself is one of the things that sets cancer apart from normal tissues. There's a whole branch of cancer research dedicated to finding ways to cut off the blood supply to cancerous tissues.

There's also some fairly solid evidence that increased blood flow to the prostate may play a role in tissue overgrowth.  Some of the research related to the treatment that I'm considering has shown that one of the problems with treating an enlarged prostate is the increased blood flow beyond what normal prostate tissue would have.  If this is the case, then increasing blood flow further may just exacerbate the problem.

People make assumptions based on conventional wisdom, and conventional wisdom is often wrong.  There is little related to the operation of the human body that can be depended upon to be true in every case.  Exceptions and alternate pathways keep cropping up to ruin our simplified operational models.  Increased blood flow being beneficial for healing is a good example.  It's always desirable -- except of course, when it's not.

I've spent years studying this stuff and the more I research the more complicated and confusing things become.  I started out thinking I knew a good bit about what was right/wrong, good/bad.  Today I must confess that I don't know much of anything for sure.  Most all of my cherished beliefs have been proven wrong over the years, and if not completely wrong, then riddled with exceptions.

I know that everyone is trying to help, but I'm way past the bromides and platitudes of conventional wisdom.  This is why I ask for actual evidence that what is being recommended has had some verifiable success.  Just faith or belief that "it should be good" or "its made me feel better"  is no longer enough.  I've been down those rabbit holes and not one of them has lead anywhere useful.

Lex

Offline PaleoPhil

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1880 on: August 28, 2013, 10:23:12 am »
Hi Lex, Many chronic illnesses which are rare to nonexistent in wild animals and traditional human societies are written off as due entirely to "aging", yet many later turn out to have environmental factors. Staffan Lindeberg reported in Food and Western Disease: Health and Nutrition from an Evolutionary Perspective that BPH is very rare among the people eating the most traditional foods, and it's more common in humans and domestic dogs that are overweight or have diabetes or eat more modern diets. (pp. 150-151)

I have a history of BPH. The symptoms receded to almost nothing on LC Paleo (I no longer have to get up to pee during the night unless I consume too much problematic foods/drink). I hadn't looked into BPH in quite a while, so I looked it up again and FWIW found reports indicating benefit for BPH from zinc, B6 and GLA (among other things), supported by some studies, which I noticed because these coincidentally are also supposed to improve pyroluria, which I have many signs of. These nutrients are also supposed to be common factors in balding, which you and I coincidentally also share in common. I just stumbled on this, so I don't know how significant it is. Just putting it out there in case you or anyone else might be interested. Not trying to prescribe to anyone and I'm not making any miracle formula claims.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-alpha-reductase_inhibitor#Herbs_and_other_inhibitors

Inhibition of 5 alpha-reductase activity in human skin by zinc and azelaic acid.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3207614

A Molecular Link between systemic metabolic disease and benign prostate hyperplasia
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3174339/

It ties in interestingly with other recent research and experimenting I've done. Oxidative stress (Oxidative stress in benign prostate hyperplasia., http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18298008), inflammation (Correlation between benign prostatic hyperplasia and inflammation http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23159991), and nutrient deficiencies (Zinc status of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate carcinoma, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3114577) are things that keep popping up again and again in many different chronic disorders.
« Last Edit: August 28, 2013, 10:54:50 am by PaleoPhil »
>"When some one eats an Epi paleo Rx template and follows the rules of circadian biology they get plenty of starches when they are available three out of the four seasons." -Jack Kruse, MD
>"I recommend 20 percent of calories from carbs, depending on the size of the person" -Ron Rosedale, MD (in other words, NOT zero carbs) http://preview.tinyurl.com/6ogtan
>Finding a diet you can tolerate is not the same as fixing what's wrong. -Tim Steele
Beware of problems from chronic Very Low Carb

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1881 on: August 29, 2013, 02:21:46 am »
Hi Lex, Many chronic illnesses which are rare to nonexistent in wild animals and traditional human societies are written off as due entirely to "aging", yet many later turn out to have environmental factors. Staffan Lindeberg reported in Food and Western Disease: Health and Nutrition from an Evolutionary Perspective that BPH is very rare among the people eating the most traditional foods,...

From what I understand, this is not a completely accurate statement.  Symptomatic BPH is rare among people eating traditional foods, but the growth of the prostate with age is not. The key word here being "symptomatic".  And, I believe I read somewhere that the same is true with animals in the wild.  The issue is how much growth and/or the growth rate.  Growth rate, and therefore overall growth, is significantly less in people eating traditional foods, but there is growth with age.

I have a history of BPH. The symptoms receded to almost nothing on LC Paleo (I no longer have to get up to pee during the night unless I consume too much problematic foods/drink).

About 8 years ago when I started on this paleo adventure, my BPH symptoms lessened as well.  Enough that I had hopes of a reversal.  However, that was not to be the case.  Also, I'm told that the average length of time that oral medications are effective in relieving symptoms is around 18 months to 2 years.  In my case they have worked for almost 10 years.

All this leads me to believe that my dietary change was effective.  If I'd started this way of eating 30 years ago I might have avoided the symptoms of BPH all together, or at least delayed it well into old age.  I'm convinced that it was the 25+ years of vegan/vegetarian lifestyle (from age 23 until about age 50) that did me in.  It's pretty clear that my prostate did most of its growth during those years.  Now that I know the symptoms of BPH I can say that mild symptoms started in my early 40's, which means fairly rapid growth was well underway in my early 30s. It was my early 50's before symptoms became bad enough to seek medical attention and I stared on Doxasozin at age 53.

From age 53 to age 60 symptoms leveled out and seemed to reverse at first and then very slowly increase.  It has taken until present (age 62) for symptoms to again get to the point where I need to do something - either increase medication (I'm still on a fairly low dose of doxasozin at 4mg/day)  or look at other options.

As the dose of medication increases the side effects increase as well.  Feeling light headed when standing, constant runny nose, and other annoyances.  I'm not excited about having these issues get worse.   Also the meds don't do anything to reduce the size of the prostate.  My prostate is pretty large.  About 3 1/2 times the size it was when I was 25, and it is now pushing into the bladder setting me up for other potential problems such as bladder stones and stretching the bladder to the point that it will no longer contract.

If all goes well, the TUMT procedure will reduce prostate volume by about 30% releaving pressure on the bladder and urethra.  None of the procedures short of full prostate removal will halt prostate growth, and if nothing changes procedures like this must be repeated about every 5 years.   I'm hopeful that my current dietary habits will keep the regrowth of the prostate in check and extend the viable time of the procedure well beyond the 5 year average.   If it was my dietary change that extended effectiveness of medication from 2 years to 9 years,  then it's reasonable to expect that it will extend the effectiveness of the TUMT procedure as well. 

Am I doing the right thing?  Who knows.  Only time will tell.  But one thing is for sure, we'll learn a lot in the process.

Lex
« Last Edit: August 29, 2013, 02:27:26 am by lex_rooker »

Offline PaleoPhil

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1882 on: August 29, 2013, 09:35:12 am »
From what I understand, this is not a completely accurate statement.  Symptomatic BPH is rare among people eating traditional foods, but the growth of the prostate with age is not. The key word here being "symptomatic".
I'll try to explain what I mean and what I think Lindeberg meant by BPH, because I think it's more than just a matter of semantics--it's illustrative of the growing normalization and acceptance of pathology and physiological degeneration in the modern world.

I think what you're talking about is called "normoplasia" (normal growth), rather than "hyperplasia" (over-growth). BP hyperplasia has become so common among domesticated animals/humans that it is increasingly being regarded as a "normal" result of aging (as are many other chronic disorders). It's common, but not necessarily normal in the sense of natural or healthy or inevitable for all and lack of symptoms does not necessarily mean absence of pathological processes. BPH is a medical diagnosis that 25% of even American males don't get even by the age of 80, and other nations have better rates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benign_prostatic_hyperplasia. Even within nations there are differences:

"On a microscopic level, BPH can be seen in the vast majority of men as they age, in particular over the age of 70 years, around the world. However, rates of clinically significant, symptomatic BPH vary dramatically depending on lifestyle. Men who lead a western lifestyle have a much higher incidence of symptomatic BPH than men who lead a traditional or rural lifestyle. This is confirmed by research in China showing that men in rural areas have very low rates of clinical BPH, while men living in cities adopting a western lifestyle have a skyrocketing incidence of this condition, though it is still below rates seen in the West."

Rather than being genetic freaks, I think the 25+% are just healthier than average.

Lindeberg found only one case of BPH at any age on an entire island of traditional Kitavans (granted, it was probably hundreds, rather than thousands or millions, but that's still rather extraordinary). And it's not just because they didn't live long enough to develop BPH. Prof. Guyenet reported that life expectancy of traditional Kitavans "at age 50 is an additional 25 years. This is remarkable for a culture with limited access to modern medicine." http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/08/kitavans-wisdom-from-pacific-islands.html Plus, Lindeberg reported that BPH was more common on another nearby island of Trobriander people who had been eating more of the modern foods.

So how is this relevant to you? While you're already doing a lot and I don't doubt that you'll need some form of medical procedure, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that there might be more you could do to reduce the chances that you'll need more drastic procedures (and I don't mean urine therapy or any of the therapies you mentioned trying already) and extend the viable time of the procedure even further than your current approach (which I agree already appears far better than what most men with BPH do).

I don't think I have sufficiently solid evidence that would convince you and I don't have all the answers myself, of course. I'm merely suggesting that the CW on BPH is misleading in an excessively negative and profit-oriented way (BPH as a mostly or totally natural product of aging that can only be treated effectively in the longer run with drugs and surgery, with complementary approaches being pointless). It might pay to keep an open mind and an eye out for potential complementary tools, if you aren't already doing so. I wouldn't bother you with this if I didn't think there was some possibility of it helping either you or someone else who reads this.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. For centuries it was thought that all swans were white. It only took one observation of a black swan to refute decades of observations of white swans.

Quote
But one thing is for sure, we'll learn a lot in the process.
Yes, your journal is invaluable and I thank you for continuing to update it. Even if none of my input on this interests you, I also benefit myself from using you as a sounding board and bogusness detector to refine my thinking and inspire new ideas, and maybe improve my own prospects re: BPH (which luckily is currently close to asymptomatic) or avoid wasting time/money on bogus therapies, for which I also thank you.
>"When some one eats an Epi paleo Rx template and follows the rules of circadian biology they get plenty of starches when they are available three out of the four seasons." -Jack Kruse, MD
>"I recommend 20 percent of calories from carbs, depending on the size of the person" -Ron Rosedale, MD (in other words, NOT zero carbs) http://preview.tinyurl.com/6ogtan
>Finding a diet you can tolerate is not the same as fixing what's wrong. -Tim Steele
Beware of problems from chronic Very Low Carb

Offline van

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1883 on: August 29, 2013, 10:33:41 am »
Leave it to Phil to do the grunt research...  thanks Phil.  I was doing the dishes this morning after reading Lex's post about how his prostrate was more than three times larger than it was at 25..    That sent a clear picture that said I know nothing about his condition...  And that if it's that large jumping on a tramp might actually injure it or his bladder etc..   But, and there's always a but,  short of cancer, most organs that enlarge, like the heart, or the pancreas or liver, spleen, thyroid,, usually have a reason.  For instance enlarged pancreas's are common amongst high carbohydrate eaters, such as rice eating peoples,  thyroid can be due to the body's attempt to collect more iodine out of the blood, and so on.  Short of cancer, why would the body enlarge it's prostrate?  and at the rate of more than three times it's normal size.    Of course I don't have a clue.  But I am curious and probably wouldn't accept some medical authority to say it's normal as one ages. 

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1884 on: August 29, 2013, 11:27:26 am »
Phil,
I just managed to get through all the links you provided in you original post.  All kinds of interesting information but I couldn't find any way to use the information. 

Much was made of the link between modern metabolic disease and the development of BPH as just another manifestation of this disease.  My annual labs indicate that I pretty much have modern "metabolic disease" well controlled (with the notable exception of BPH)  :(

Specifically there was correlation of diabetes and hypertension (neither of which do I have) as common co-factors to BPH.  Also mention that oxidative stress MIGHT be a contributor but nothing on how to control this in practical daily living. And how do I measure my oxidative stress levels?  What should they be if I do measure them?

Low HDL seems to be a contributing factor to BPH, but I have high HDL levels, and my HDL/TotChol ratio of 2.7 is amazingly low.  Trigs at 42 are also amazingly low.

5 alpha- reductase inhibitors have shown to reduce prostate size but often at a significant cost in very undesirable side effects.  I know two people that went that route and they are both very sorry that they did.  The bad side effects have continued for years after discontinuing the drugs. Not everyone is affected, but I'm not willing to take the risk since stopping the drugs doesn't always stop the side effects.

Prostate tissue levels of zinc was the subject of another abstract.  Nice info but if I take zinc how can I assure that the zinc will go into the tissues rather than be excreted?  The study mentioned low levels of zinc in prostate tissue and high levels of zinc in urine when pathology was present.  So there seemed to be enough zinc, the body was just not putting it in the prostate tissue.  Nothing in the abstract on how to control how the body uses zinc.  You see, low zinc levels in prostate tissue doesn't directly translate to low zinc intake, just as taking calcium supplements doesn't mean the body will use the calcium to re-calcify the bones in osteoporosis.

In short, there were lots of observations of likely metabolic co-factors to BPH, but I see no way to use this information to make positive lifestyle changes beyond what I've already done.  Especially since I currently exhibit none of these metabolic problems (at least the ones I can measure) and haven't for over 8 years.  True, I had them in spades 10 years ago, but I fixed them and that helped a lot of the issues I was facing, but unfortunately BPH was not among the cures.

What am I missing?   

Lex

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1885 on: August 29, 2013, 11:49:08 am »
That sent a clear picture that said I know nothing about his condition...  And that if it's that large jumping on a tramp might actually injure it or his bladder etc.. 
Van, this is exactly why I never never ever give advice.  I've learned the hard way that I have no way of knowing someone else's true condition, and I have no way of controlling how someone interprets my advice.  The only thing I'm willing to do is explain as clearly as possible what I'm going through, what steps I'm taking, and as objectively as possible, what results I've gotten.  It's then up to the individual to decide for themselves what, if anything, they will do.

Short of cancer, why would the body enlarge it's prostrate?  and at the rate of more than three times it's normal size.
Yup, you've hit the problem dead center.   
Of course I don't have a clue. 
Me either.  Another bull's eye!
But I am curious and probably wouldn't accept some medical authority to say it's normal as one ages.
 
No more curious than I am, and I don't accept the common medical wisdom that BPH is normal as one ages. You're batting 1000!

Unfortunately, curiosity, and lack of acceptance of an accepted medical norm doesn't cure the pathology.  Nor has anything else I've tried to date.

Lex

Offline goodsamaritan

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1886 on: August 29, 2013, 12:18:58 pm »
Regarding your enlarged prostate.

Maybe it is time to deviate from your current diet plan of raw meats, cooked meats on travel and water (i don't know what kind of water you drink).

You may want to explore magnesium oil on your skin, many other raw paleo diet foods out there... various animals and sea foods, various fruits, various veggies or root crops, many other raw paleo drinks out there, even instinctive nutrition, you can even explore bob beck protocol with a magnetic pulser.

- sleeping position
- sleeping matress
- dirty electricity in your home
- internal martial arts
- prostate massage
- vector analysis
- muscle testing
- Magnesium should be number 1... check it out... do your tests... you like tests... so do the magnesium tests.

http://requestatest.com/ has a magnesium specific test

Listen to Carolyn Dean about this epidemic of magnesium deficiency.
http://oneradionetwork.com/health/dr-carolyn-dean-md-nd-the-magnesium-miracle-changing-your-life-by-getting-enough-july-15-2013/



etc etc etc

many many many other possibilities...
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Offline peacefulbunny

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1887 on: August 29, 2013, 09:56:58 pm »
Hello Lex.  I have been following your journal for 3 or 4 years now.  You are my hero in so many ways.  I was vegetarian for over a decade and became very ill and found that I couldn't eat anything that I normally ate so I had to eat meat much to the aghast of my vegetarian friends.  I was very knowledgeable in natural medicine and had done most all of it.  Some of it works on minor things like cuts and boils but for the most part I find it all junk - at least in my experience and I don't want to discount it for those whom it works.  I do however believe in supplementation because parts of the intestines absorbs only certain vitamins and if that part isn't working appropriately you will become deficient - also, our foods are not raised the way nature intended even with organic farming because the soil is so depleted and you cannot control the toxins in the water and air.

I was so scared when I started to eat copious amounts of meat but I knew I was getting better because I really was on death's door at the time with so many issues I could hardly get around the house let alone sleep at night.  It was terrible for months until I figured out that meat made me feel better and nearly everything else felt like poison.  It wasn't the total answer though.  I only really got healthy once I discovered bioidentical hormone supplementing.  I'm a woman in my 40's and had no idea that I could be losing my hormones so early.  I did a lot of research, some blood tests and some experimentation with the hormones.  After almost a year of introducing the idea and finally on hormonal patches, I am healthy enough to return to work.  After years of being so ill and even on good times not having much capacity, this is amazing to me.

Something you had written about women's bladder leaking got me to sign up to relay some things I learned.  Bladder issues in older women come from the lack of hormones.  I know this first hand.  With my hormones back and without exercising the muscles I do not leak anymore.  I do believe this is the same case for men.  I know lack of testosterone in men create muscle issues in the sphincter but I do not know off the top of my mind about urine leakage but I am willing to bet it will improve the muscle structure in the bladder to help you void. 

Testosterone supplementation is scary for men because it is taught that it causes prostate cancer.  From what I understand that was a very small study (like only 2 or 3 men) many decades ago.  It is very old information and probably not too accurate.  I have read many reports of men going on testosterone patches only to have excellent reports.  I know a guy personally who took my recommendation and he is far better with it now and would not even entertain the thought of not using them. 

An interesting fact is the heart has the most testosterone receptors of any organ in the body.  I take several hormones including testosterone.  I had terrible arrhythmias without it.  My thyroid meds alone won't take care of the palpitations - I know because I tried living without the testosterone for a while. 

As for normal levels of testosterone or any other hormones for our age, I used to believe in that but I don't anymore because I believe in feeling my best and if it takes hormones, so be it, though I am very against most medicines.  Sometimes you just have to give it a chance and see how you feel.  I would recommend a slow introduction to the body - lowest amounts possible and raising up a little at a time.  The sudden jolt of what doctors like to give takes a couple weeks to balance out from what I've seen. 

That being said, you might look into DHEA.  It didn't work for me, at least at this point.  I might give it another shot in the future.

There is also a ton if misinformation on hormones out there.  I have done months of research on it for myself.  The one doctor who seems to have very good information is Dr. Elizabeth Vliet.  She focuses more on women, probably because women's hormones are so complex, but her first knowledge was on men's hormones.  She doesn't listen to all the blab by the pharma driven information but deals with many international studies.

Please do not be afraid of testosterone but definitely do the research like you do before making judgement against it.  But remember to stay with bio-identical if you do.  That is very, very important.

Thanks so much, Lex.  I rarely speak up in forums but I felt I owed you this for you had given me much comfort when I was starting down the paleo road myself several years ago.

Take care and the best of luck in your situation.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2013, 10:18:03 pm by peacefulbunny »

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1888 on: August 29, 2013, 11:50:09 pm »
@peacefulbunny
Thanks for your kind words and comments on hormones.  This is an area I'm exploring with my urologist who is also a specialist in testosterone replacement therapy.  I fully understand your point on bioidentical hormones so will keep that forefront.  I never rush into anything.  I always research and then have a specific reason for each choice I make. I then test relentlessly to see if outcomes are as expected.

Lex

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1889 on: August 30, 2013, 12:34:30 am »
Maybe it is time to deviate from your current diet plan of raw meats, cooked meats on travel and water (i don't know what kind of water you drink).
Not sure why I would want to deviate from a protocol that has been working well for over 8 years.  All metabolic issues that I've had have improved with the exception of BPH.  Even the BPH issue has responded such that medications worked 5 times longer than normal.  Do you have any evidence that my current way of eating is the cause of prostate growth?  If you do, I'd be very interested in reviewing the research.
You may want to explore magnesium oil on your skin, many other raw paleo diet foods out there... various animals and sea foods, various fruits, various veggies or root crops, many other raw paleo drinks out there, even instinctive nutrition,...
As van so suscinctly put it, for some reason the body is supporting prostate tissue growth.  The goal here is to stop this growth and reduce the size of the prostate.  Can you tell me which fruits, veggies, root crops, raw drinks etc. have been shown to reduce prostate growth and/or reduce prostate size?  I also can't find any research showing magnesium oil on the skin will reduce prostate growth or size.

you can even explore bob beck protocol with a magnetic pulser.
I can find no real research studies on the bob beck protocol.  Even the testimonials were forced to be pulled by the FDA as false and misleading.  Zero indication that there is any relevance to stopping prostate growth or reducing prostate size.
- sleeping position
- sleeping matress
Do you have any evidence or studies that changing sleeping position or matress will influence prostate growth or size?  I can find none.
- dirty electricity in your home
I don't know what this is.  I certainly have electricity in my home but no clue as to what "dirty" electricity is and how it affects prostate growth.  Do you have any more information on this?
- internal martial arts
I've practiced Tai chi and Chi quong since 1991, studying with a master in Long Beach CA. and these have had no measureable effect on stopping or reversing prostate growth that I can tell.
- prostate massage
This is one of the first things that I tried.  It seemed reasonable and was directly related to the prostate.  Unfortunately, it had no effect on prostate growth or size, but it did make the symptoms much worse to the point that they were almost unbearable.  I gave up after 6 months.
- vector analysis
- muscle testing
I looked these up but can find nothing indicating that they have any effect on prostate growth or size.  Do you have any such information?
- Magnesium should be number 1... check it out... do your tests... you like tests... so do the magnesium tests.
I take large amounts of Magnesium supplements in several differnet forms as part of the iodine protocol.  I can't imagine that it would be low but I'll have it tested next time I see the doctor which will be in a few weeks.
many many many other possibilities...
You are correct.  There are many many possibilities.  In fact, the possibilities are infinite.  The problem is that my life is finite and I don't have time to play with options that show no evidence of being relevant to stopping prostate growth or reducing prostate size.

At this point I only know of one oral treatment that will reduce prostate growth and size and that is 5-alpha reductase inhibitors.  For me, these are not worth the risk so they are not under consideration as a possible treatment option.

If you know of anything that has valid research showing that it will stop prostate growth or reduce prostate size, I'm very interested.   As for "possibilities" with nothing to back them up, not so much.

Lex
« Last Edit: August 30, 2013, 12:42:55 am by lex_rooker »

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1890 on: August 30, 2013, 08:49:50 am »
My intended messages apparently didn't quite come across, Lex. One reason my post was somewhat vague is that like you, I try not to prescribe to other individuals, and I try to encourage folks to think for themselves and do their own investigating.

Posting in someone's personal journal probably does tend to come across as pushy prescribing, and I don't wish to derail your journal, so I'll probably create a thread at some point on oxidative stress, gut dysbiosis (and Old Friends, prebiotics), inflammation, dis-ease, hormesis, etc. (I wish there was a single word to categorize all of it, but nature is infinitely complex) and then I could message you a link to it if you're interested.

I agree with you that absorption of zinc is more important than intake, especially given that excess zinc floating around in the body's GI tract and fluids can have some unpleasant and serious side effects (vs. less potentially toxic supplements like the P5P form of B6, which is the only supplement I've read about so far that doesn't have any reported side effects at any dose, as it is reportedly in a very usable form that is not irritating to the body, and any excess is readily excreted, vs. another more potentially toxic form of the very same vitamin--pyridoxine hcl, the standard form of B6).

Good luck in whatever course you take.
« Last Edit: August 30, 2013, 09:25:10 am by PaleoPhil »
>"When some one eats an Epi paleo Rx template and follows the rules of circadian biology they get plenty of starches when they are available three out of the four seasons." -Jack Kruse, MD
>"I recommend 20 percent of calories from carbs, depending on the size of the person" -Ron Rosedale, MD (in other words, NOT zero carbs) http://preview.tinyurl.com/6ogtan
>Finding a diet you can tolerate is not the same as fixing what's wrong. -Tim Steele
Beware of problems from chronic Very Low Carb

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1891 on: August 30, 2013, 09:18:50 am »
Lex, you are the type who waits for studies and believes in studies.

I'm of the type who listens to testimonials and find the logic in them... i'm not in the business of waiting for studies just as your diet and my diet are not recommended by medical studies.

Check out this prostate healing testimonial via bob beck devices

Bob Beck Units help with an ailing prostate ... surgery avoided.

Bob Beck Units help with an ailing prostate ... surgery avoided
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Offline van

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1892 on: August 30, 2013, 11:12:31 am »
Some may get this, some may not.  you've read where they have stress numbers related to events such as getting a divorce, losing your job, moving, a death in the family...  I think changing one's diet, depending on the reason, can be ranked right up there.   I am an amputee, one that designs legs for a living...  and still for me to switch permanently into a new one is difficult in that it is something completely new for me, an unknown.   Another example for me to witness happened around May this year.  I discovered Miller's farm and started ordering their thick raw grass fed cream, 1st colostrum, raw butter, and thought I was in heaven.  I almost totally substituted my 70% daily fat intake from beef fat and marrow to dairy fat.  About three weeks into it, boom, diarrhea, a total  repulsion of the idea of eating fat, and a loss of appetite.    Looking back, I thought I had a blocked bile duct, maybe a severe blockage of round worms,,,,,  bottom line, though, my body could not make energy or digest fat any longer.  Just like that.  I lost weight, had no energy and wasn't doing very well.  I had to include fruit or carbs into my diet.  It was a hard transition for me to make, mostly mentally.  It reminded me of the many times over forty years where i've either by choice of necessity made complete reversals in my diet.  And each time there were days followed by anxiety and a feeling of being lost, with nothing to bank on or believe in that was going to keep me healthy, keep me from dying prematurely, no magic bullet that I could use should I need it.  ( Years ago, it was wheat grass that was going to heal me, should I need it)
    So,  GS,  when you suggested to Lex to change his diet...  my past came into mind, and all the mental thoughts, practices, habits, believes, convictions....that had naturally formulated over the days, months, and years while adhering to each diet.    Looking back a little deeper, it's almost clear that we create our own reality with the choices we mentally make when it comes to diet and health. 
   For those still interested;  I got tested for parasites, found none, but still chose to take humaworm's wormer.  Who knows whether it was time itself or some of the herbs, but my diet is back to using fat as fuel,, and noticing again how fruits detract my feeling balanced and consistently energetic.    But without turning to fruits or carbs,  I really was wasting. 
   In a way, my experience deepened my respect and sharpened what little instinctive nutrition practices I use.   I was forced to  eat fruit.  But since then,  I follow my tastes much closer.  As my ability to digest fats increased, I used more plant fats, including avocados, which prior experience had left me feeling that they weren't for me.  I do think the body has a wisdom and has the ability to help heal itself.  And I put a little more effort in finding new and varied foods, and discovering whether i like them or not.   A friend recently gave me a King Salmon.  I sliced it and hung as much as I could in the fridge.  The rest I froze.  When I ran out of the drying fresh,  I attempted to eat the frozen.  I wanted to enjoy it, but had to force myself to swallow.  So interesting, how I tried to overpower what my body was trying to tell me. 
 
     
    GS, have you perused Jack Kruse's website much?   He writes and is adamant that food is 10%,   and our living envirorment , or getting away from, as you call it,  'dirty electricity' and a few other environmental factors is 90% of the being healthy equation.  Whether or not he's right or wrong,  I again find it fascinating that our believes as to what keeps us healthy really come from thoughts, and they can be formed and reshaped so easily (hopefully that's not too non-dualistic ).   
   
   On a side note,  I'm more than curious as to why Iguana hasn't chimed in here?   

Offline goodsamaritan

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1893 on: August 30, 2013, 01:51:48 pm »
Well, we are men.
Men are always well meaning to come up with various possible solutions.
We should never stop throwing out ideas out there and sometimes somehow Lex or others may pick up on those ideas and be successful with them.  You never know.  Maybe not now, but possibly in the future.

I like that idea of 10% and 90%.  Although I feel we need to give diet more credit.  Say at least 50%.
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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1894 on: August 30, 2013, 06:52:05 pm »


Lex

Zinc is unlikely to be a problem unless you have some undiagnosed  rare condition. Your diet is rich in zinc.

Your diet is low in calcium and  potassium but your numbers for these two are consistently okay in the  long term, all based on RDA standards. In your case it would seem that your body balances the minerals that people on a high carb diet do not.  If you test for magnesium I predict that your level will be discovered to be okay.

Personally I have to keep my minerals  in balance to stop further deterioration in my atrial fibrillation.

Johan





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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1895 on: September 02, 2013, 08:31:01 pm »
On a side note,  I'm more than curious as to why Iguana hasn't chimed in here?   
He, he... Because our friend Lex has his own approach which is quite different than mine. I appreciate Lex's honesty and truthfulness, but I’ve felt that expanding on my ideas and experiences here would be unwelcome since if Lex had been interested in our experiences, including on instinctive nutrition in Europe, he would have participated in other threads too – which AFAIK he’s never done.

If it could be of some relevance here, I just came across this on page 148 of the outstanding book "Sex at Dawn" linked by Aura:
Quote
The correlation between infrequent ejaculation and various health problems offers further evidence that present-day men are not using their reproductive equipment to its fullest potential. A team of Australian researchers, for example, found that men who had ejaculated more than five times per week between the ages of twenty and fifty were one-third less likely to develop prostate cancer later in life (réf. 9). Along with the fructose, potassium, zinc, and other benign components of semen, trace amounts of carcinogens are often present, so researchers hypothesize that the reduction in cancer rates may be due to the frequent flushing of the ducts.
« Last Edit: September 02, 2013, 08:41:16 pm by Iguana »
Cause and effect are distant in time and space in complex systems, while at the same time there’s a tendency to look for causes near the events sought to be explained. Time delays in feedback in systems result in the condition where the long-run response of a system to an action is often different from its short-run response. — Ronald J. Ziegler

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1896 on: September 02, 2013, 11:01:28 pm »
>> ejaculated more than five times per week between the ages of twenty and fifty

Ejaculating 5 times per week is easy when you are in your 20s.

But at 40, 50, 60, 70.... may be a little too excessive don't you think?
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Cause and effect are distant in time and space in complex systems, while at the same time there’s a tendency to look for causes near the events sought to be explained. Time delays in feedback in systems result in the condition where the long-run response of a system to an action is often different from its short-run response. — Ronald J. Ziegler

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1898 on: September 06, 2013, 10:35:01 pm »
Sorry to let posts go unanswered for so long, but I've been out of town teaching an antique clock repair class since last Thursday and I'm leaving today to teach another one.

@Phil
Phil, I didn't find your post vague nor objectionable, I just didn't find the links useful.  They contained lots of observations that might be valid, but there is no clear way to use any of the information.  As an example, the findings on Zinc.  Valid information, but I have no control as to what my body does with the zinc I take in and there was no clue in the research as to how to control this.  The same goes for the research in the other links.  I have no doubt that some sort of stress and or inflammation, and possibly a deficiency, or even an excess of some inappropriate nutrient (such as gluten in grains)  is involved in the process, the issue is what to do about it.  Unfortunately, no one seems to be able to answer that question.

@GS
I've looked into most of the alternative therapies like Rife machines, magnetism, Beck protocol, & etc.  The testimonials are all over the map for these things and I don't find most of them credible.  They all seem to cure everything from hangnails to cancer.  What I've never seen is a double blind study (there have been some attempted), where the outcome is better than the control group or random chance.  If no one can achieve a positive outcome under controlled conditions, then I have little faith in the protocol.

@Johan August
At this point I agree with you.  I've tested well for all the common nutrients and expect that a test for magnesium would be no different.  Of course I could be wrong so will ask for this test next time I see the doctor.

@van
I understand your point on stress.  I have lots of stress in my life and always have. Interesting that at this point the only manifestation of this stress is an enlarged prostate - an issue that affects over 85% of males in developed countries. Stress is also shown to be related to heart disease, lupus, diabetes, crohns, and almost every other modern malady. All the indicators for these other diseases improved when I changed my diet.  Only the BPH remains. Being alive is stressful, so if that is truly the cause of BPH, then I suppose I can look forward to relief only after I'm dead and all the stresses of being alive are gone.

I'm also sorry you are so sensitive to the minor changes and stressors in your life.  Things like eating frozen foods, varying my fat source, or getting out of bed in the morning don't seem to have the negative effects on me as they do on you.

@ Iguana
I never counted my weekly ejaculations.  They say that what you measure is what you control.  Maybe it isn't the actual number of ejaculations at all,  maybe all we need to do is count them every week!  Alas, at my age it's too late, the damage is done.  If only I could go back to my twenties and start counting...

Lex


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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #1899 on: September 07, 2013, 10:42:19 am »
This might be a stupid question but I thought I would ask because of the current healing I am going through with this remedy.

How is your intake of bone broth?

I am on day 3 of nothing but bone broth and veggie juice (mainly greens, some carrot) and I have been experiencing quite a few benefits. Its still too early to tell but I notice I urinate longer and a lot less frequent. The rough patch under my eyes (which I link to gallstones) has started to smooth over. I ate a lamb brain and some liver today so I guess I broke my liquid fast a little but I really think the bone broth has been helping me tremendously. Today was chicken feet and head broth, from Millers (best quality chicken I am aware of) What has been your experience with bone broth, and which animals do you prefer if any?

Gnawing on bones.

 

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