Hello Marrena.

I messed up my health some 10 years ago when I was only 14. I turned vegetarian, my parents didn't support my desicion so for a couple years i lived on pasta, pizzas and chocolate. As a result I got endometriosis, mild hypothyroidism, and FSD.

Now I eat more healthily but not perfectly being busy at work and the rest of the time I'm just tired thanks to the thyroid-thing. I'm not actually hypothyroid, I dont need thyroxin mut I'm ill enough to be tired and mildly depressed all the time. And of course I have no libido whatsoever.

I could cope with the tiredness, painful periods, everything, if only I had any libido. Without it it's hard to find a companion. It breaks my heart turn men I care deeply down.

So about a year ago I started to find about the things connected to the physical side of sexuality and since then I've learned a lot. I just ordered your book but with the help of google I already know quite much of it.

You put a lot of emphasis on the effect fish oil has to dopamine. I disagree a bit. I think that at least half of the benefit goes to the anti-inflammatory properties of fish oil.

Once my current doctor put me on to this antioxidant diet. I took large amounts zinc, selenium (both very anti-inflammatory) and kelp. After a month for the first time aften my early teenage I suddenly had a libido! Not very strong but still got one. It was amazing. Then bad things happened in my personal life, I got very depressed for a long time and stopped taking the supplements. Libido vanished.

I've read quite a lot about nitric oxide amongs other things and found a study which sade that inflammation severly diminishes the production of nitric oxide. To me it makes sense, because of my endometriosis, my body is in a constant state of inflammation. And the only time in 10 years when I had any libido, it was then when I was taking loads of antioxidants with inflammatory properties.

Then back to the dopamine. Like you know a lot of people taking dopaminergic drugs experience an enhanced libido. I think it has to do with the fact that most of them have a medical condition which rises prolactin whic stops the production of sex hormones which in turn decreases libido. I have tried dopaminergic drugs to see if they help with my libido. I have a wonderful doctor who was willing to let me try, but nothing happened.

Then again I do think that dopamine matters, when I was younger I used to be very spiritual. After I destroyed my health that side of me vanished and I often wondered what happened, I also have problems consentrating, problems with memory. I used to read a lot but now I can't anymore becuse my mind wonders.

From this base I desided to start your diet with little modifications. I'm not going to quit smoking. I dont need a perfect libido, I just need one and smoking keeps me sane I also have a lot of friends with ravenous sexul appetite who have smoked for years so... Perhaps if I get results it encourages me to quit. I'm not going to take calcium because it interferes with the rest of the thing I'm thinking of taking. I'm going to replicate my antioxidant diet i did a yer ago, a lot of zinc, selenium and kelp. And the amounts of fish oil you recommend. I thought I post here my progress on a weekly basis even though I don't think anything will happen for the first month. It's always encouraging to read the progression other peoples make, it gives hope.

Yes, please post. I'm particularly interested in a smoker's response.

Fish oil also increases nitric oxide.

Just a quick update. I know I wasn't suppose to write until after four weeks but I feel different so I start already.

I've been taking tablets of kelp with a lot of iodine, selenium, zinc and high grade fish oil. About 3100mg of DHA and 1600 of epa.

I started last wednesday and yesterday I noticed something different.

I'm currently staying in a very cold house in the countryside and I hate to visit here because I'm always so cold here. Yesterday I suddenly realised that I couldn't remember being cold all day and even my hands which are always cold felt warm. ...And normally I have warm hands only when I'm in the shower.

And another thing. I can't say I have any libido but my blood circulation has definately enhanced down there. I'm not sure if I like it, it feels strange to be aware of your own genitalia like this. Never happened to me before like this. Very interesting! I hope it's a good thing.

Also I feel more happy.
For a while I wondered wheter to even write here because it seems difficult to believe that something could be happening already but this definately is not a plasebo effect.

Hopefully soon I have more to tell!

(Oh yes, and I have been eating chocolate with 86% cocoa content also.)

I think you have the EPA and DHA content switched around.

Men usually notice the effects in three or four days so I'm not surprised you are feeling something physiological. I allow women extra time for libido because of the vagaries of the menstrual cycle.

I say for women to take calcium not for any improvement in libido, but because zinc interferes with calcium absorption and women need calcium for strong bones. I'm worried if you do this long-term that you will have calcium deficiency

Fish oil is already proven to improve circulation at much lower levels than what you are taking, likewise to improve mood. So these things aren't too surprising. But of course I want to particularly hear about any libido improvements, which should take a little more time--please keep posting!

I's me again. Still no libido when awake but every night for the last three nights I have almost orgasmed in my sleep. I just wake up at the wrong moment and the feeling passes. This never happened before so something must be happening.

I have skipped a couple of days, today for example I've been so busy and not at home for the whole day, I haven't taken any fish oil/vitamins etc. I don't know how you manage to take all those pills and capsules every day, the hardest part for me is that I can't see myself doing this forever... I'm just lazy

We'll see where this goes.

You can get fish oil in liquid form, then it's just two spoons a day.

Very interesting--you are reacting like some coffee drinkers. Do you drink coffee? I'm assuming the nicotine is acting in a similar way; by the end of the night the serotonin-lifting effects of the smoking lift and the diet is able to work.

I say carpe diem before you reach for that cigarette or cuppa coffee. Up to you.