Title: READ THIS TOPIC: I believe I have found the CAUSE
Post by elliott on Nov 19th, 2012 at 5:26pm
Most guys logically assume that blood testosterone levels must somehow be involved with the benefits they experience. It is not. Blood testosterone levels are not significantly affected by ejaculation or abstinence. In fact, except for a one day spike, abstinence has no effect on blood testosterone levels. We think the most important clues lie in the brain.
Sexual desire, erections and many of the mojo-feelings associated with testosterone are actually dopamine-dependent. Testosterone is relevant, because it binds to strategically located androgen receptors in the brain, which in turn raise dopamine or indirectly activate dopamine receptors. But if androgen or dopamine receptors have declined...mojo can be low. As explained earlier, in male rats, androgen receptors decline temporarily with each ejaculation, and take days to recover. Something similar may well be happening in humans.
In other words, it may be that testosterone's effects will be muted until receptors return to baseline. The links in the chain of mojo begin with androgen receptors and end with dopamine receptors. Of course, it’s also possible that unidentified circulating hormones are also altered by excessive masturbation or porn addiction. Certainly, the brain's dopamine system is intertwined with structures (hypothalamus, amygdala) that control the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems.
In short, the picture is complex, but if dopamine receptors and dopamine are low (addiction), or if brain androgen receptors have declined (ejaculation), all the testosterone in the world may not get you going."
CH are largely a male-specific thing. There are several variables as to why this would not be the solution, mostly misdiagnosis of migraine headaches. I truly believe this could be the end all of the cluster headache mystery. Keep in mind that while not everyone who experiences this suffers from Clusters, perhaps we are genetically wired to this.
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