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Question for the men, this is definitly an awkward topic but I've recently been have issues with impotence. Just wondering if anyone else has or is experiencing this as a symptom of MS and if anything has helped?

heya, i can only relay (second hand, as it were) that my ex's chronic ED was dramatically improved, after my dx and steep nutritional learning curve, with dietary improvements and supplementation including zinc in particular. (you're welcome, ladies..)

shit science says:
-ED is related to low testosterone. 1
-increasing zinc levels boosts testosterone levels. 2 (that oyster aphrodisiac thing is no lie!)
-low zinc is characteristic of ms. 3
-researchers are beginning to look at using zinc to treat ms. 4 and ED 5.

1 Testosterone and erectile dysfunction.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18641415

2. Zinc status and serum testosterone levels of healthy adults
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 079680058X
Table 1 - Zinc Concentrations In Plasma... And Serum Testosterone Concentrations Before And After Zinc Supplementation For … Six Months In Elderly Men
.............................................Average Plasma Zinc......Average Serum Testosterone
Before supplementation.........................17.5 umol/L..............................8.3 nmol/L
After 6 mo supplementation....................18.1 umol/L............................16.0 nmol/L

3. Zinc and copper in multiple sclerosis. (1982)
http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/45/8/691.short
The serum concentrations of zinc and copper were measured in 50 patients with multiple sclerosis. Lower serum zinc levels were found compared to age- and sex-matched controls

Serum level of iron, zinc and copper in patients with multiple sclerosis (2013)
http://jmj.jums.ac.ir/~jumsjmj/files/si ... 0187b3.pdf
Mean serum zinc levels were significantly decreased in MS patients (10.92 ± 2.114) as compared to these levels in the control group (14.05 ± 3.2).

4. Oral zinc aspartate treats experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (2014)
http://link.springer.com/article/10.100 ... 014-9786-8

5. Impact of oral zinc therapy on the level of sex hormones in male patients on hemodialysis (2010)
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10 ... 1003706958
"serum level of testosterone, LH, and zinc increased significantly. Discussion: These results suggest that although zinc administration did not have a definite effect* on hemodialysis patients with sexual dysfunction, it can cause increase in the serum level of sex hormones which may improve the sexual function of the patients in some aspects."
Table 1 - Zinc and the plasma levels of the sex hormones and prolactin before and after administration of zinc supplement.
.............................................Average Plasma Zinc......Average Serum Testosterone
Before supplementation.........................8.5 umol/L..............................1.55 nm/dL
After 6 mo supplementation..................12.2 umol/L..............................2.94 nm/dL

*i'd suggest that zinc may have had a more definite effect, if the supplementation regimen had achieved levels a bit further out of the basement..

hope that helps

Thank you for the reply Jimmy! My supplement and diet regimine has been way off over the last couple of months. I hope this helps, I'm only 35 and to think I might not be able to have sex is pretty discouraging/frusturating. This disease can literally take everything from you

The 'good' news is that there is an effective and painless injection you can use. Here is some additional info:

http://www.urologicalcare.com/other-ed- ... n-therapy/


Speak to your doctor. Sex does not have to end with MS.

hey no probs s i know ED is no fun for either party., ime both ppl end up feeling inadequate :S

i'm personally working my way up to becoming a shellfish-ionado but i am not there yet... i have a tin each of smoked oysters and clams in my cupboard and am planning to try one of these zinc-rich recipes next time i feel brave and ambitious
https://www.google.ca/?gws_rd=ssl#q=smo ... oup+recipe
https://www.google.ca/?gws_rd=ssl#q=cla ... oup+recipe

until i get the nerve to make that soup, it's the good old 50mg zinc citrate blended with 2mg copper citrate for me. plus keeping the wheat intake pretty low etc. and sugar, and alcohol, and dairy, and phytates, all your standard nutrient maintenance strategies.

i also have a trail mix that is heavy on the pumpkin seeds - those are nice and rich in zinc as well. and if you ever eat winter squash, roasting the seeds is another great source of zinc.

seriously, i have gotten to the point that i know when my zinc levels are higher, because my libido goes up. it's pretty funny actually lol

Fellow 35 yr old male here. Unfortunately I've struggled w same issue (particularly following my 2nd acute attack at 30). Since then I've gotten my body in fairly good shape by lifting weights and jogging. I also eat a strict diet and supplement w Vit d, fish oil, magnesium, zinc and curcurmin. On the whole I seem to function best when eating little. That said despite my improvements I have trouble reaching orgasm without some help, so I use Cialis.

curious, sb, if you have a recent serum zinc level? or serum testosterone level? or failing that, how much zinc you take as part of your daily regimen?

Scat89 wrote:Question for the men, this is definitly an awkward topic but I've recently been have issues with impotence. Just wondering if anyone else has or is experiencing this as a symptom of MS and if anything has helped?

Have you tried arginine? It activates endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) to make NO and induce vasodilation. Note that during the summer you can eat watermelon which contains citrulline which is then converted to arginine leading to increased eNOS activity.

You might also want to think about getting your vitamin B12 and homocysteine levels checked. High levels of homocysteine due to low B12 can damage the endothelium leading to lower levels of eNOS activity.

Jimmy legs, I take 50mg zinc 4-5 days a week, and eat red meat once a week. Haven't had my levels checked in months, but they are usually in the normal to high range (though I know their high isn't necesarily that high). Both of my acute relapses were centered in my cervical spine.

thanks for the details sb if you asked, do you think you could get an actual result on your last test? might be worth it ... best bet recommendations for daily zinc intake range from 25-50mg per day, but i don't think that advice takes regular physical exertion into account...

"When exercise-enhanced trace mineral losses are coupled with dietary intakes below the recommended levels, which are commonplace for both sedentary and exercising individuals, the nutritional status and overall health of exercising individuals may be suboptimal... Trained athletes have ... lower resting serum zinc levels ... compared with sedentary controls" http://link.springer.com/article/10.216 ... 4010-00002

syckbastid wrote:Fellow 35 yr old male here. Unfortunately I've struggled w same issue (particularly following my 2nd acute attack at 30). Since then I've gotten my body in fairly good shape by lifting weights and jogging. I also eat a strict diet and supplement w Vit d, fish oil, magnesium, zinc and curcurmin. On the whole I seem to function best when eating little. That said despite my improvements I have trouble reaching orgasm without some help, so I use Cialis.

Thank you for the reply! I do exercise on a regular basis, but my supplements/diet has been off the last few months. When you started having your issues, did you have any pain or discomfort? I seem to be sore down there quite often, it's like a raw type of feeling. I usually have good first erection at this point, but I just don't recover for several hours later and I'm getting worried that as I progress I won't be able to be to get an erection at all. has the Cialis seemed to help you?

ElliotB wrote:The 'good' news is that there is an effective and painless injection you can use. Here is some additional info:

http://www.urologicalcare.com/other-ed- ... n-therapy/


Speak to your doctor. Sex does not have to end with MS.

Thank you! this is definitely interesting and seems to be effective. have you tried this or know anyone who has?

NHE wrote:

Scat89 wrote:Question for the men, this is definitly an awkward topic but I've recently been have issues with impotence. Just wondering if anyone else has or is experiencing this as a symptom of MS and if anything has helped?

Have you tried arginine? It activates endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) to make NO and induce vasodilation. Note that during the summer you can eat watermelon which contains citrulline which is then converted to arginine leading to increased eNOS activity.

You might also want to think about getting your vitamin B12 and homocysteine levels checked. High levels of homocysteine due to low B12 can damage the endothelium leading to lower levels of eNOS activity.

Hi! I haven't tried arginine but being involved in athletics I have heard of it. I've had my B12 checked several times and it always comes back normal. I'll give arginine a try

the only time I had this problem was after taking 50mg zinc for about a month along with manganese (both copper antagonists). At first, it jazzed things up. Soon thereafter, it took the pizzaz and life out of everything. The only way things went back to normal was laying off zinc and manganese for about a month. I think I threw the balances off. I did notice that after taking copper and vitamin A, I had the first night erections in months. People say copper is elevated in MS. Yes that's true. That's because copper is one of the most powerful anti oxidants and anti inflammatories in the body. That's like saying police presence is elevated after crime, so therefore we should get rid of the police to lower crime. The body utilizes copper to fight inflammation. Basically, high copper simply means you have active inflammation. Copper is a necessary ingredient in myelin. Many of us do not get enough copper. You need it for blood vessel and circulatory health. I'm all for zinc and everything. But you can easily throw your ratios out of whack by ignoring copper.

PS the only other thing I was doing at this time was taking protein powder and lifting weights. My testosterone was actually much higher. It was weird. The desire was up 3 fold, while the ability to follow through disappeared.

DEFINITELY balance any zinc supplements with copper. my 50mg zn contains 2mg copper citrate.

the dietary approaches given at the start of this topic would not cause the imbalance issues associated with plain zinc pill supplementation.

JG were you taking mn specifically as a copper agonist? as for cu being elevated in .. some studies actually find lower copper in ms patients. i would bet that the copper to zinc RATIO could be higher in ms patients though, compared to healthy controls.