Menu
What's new
By:
Filters

Another piece in the puzzle of kava use and erectile dysfunction

Status
Not open for further replies.
Edward

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
I've talked about this before but not recently. I still find that regular use of kava causes me erectile dysfunction and loss of libido that is immediately reversed by a day or two's abstinence. One twist in the story is that if I don't drink kava I drink alcohol and alcohol contains a lot of histamine. Here is a link to a study that considers the role of histamine in erections...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7850330

I've noticed recently that when I consume a protein powder that I use daily which just happens to contain histidine, a precursor of histamine, my erections get better despite kava use. Still though I feel things aren't always completely right.

My thoughts are that maybe a much larger dose of histidine is worth trying daily to see if it makes a difference. I would prefer to drink kava daily for the rest of my life but this particular side effect is not desirable for any period of time so anything I can try to help it is worth a go. I'm posting more to help others who may encounter the same thing but if anyone else is in the same position and has anything to add then feel free.
 
Zac Imiola (Herbalist)

Zac Imiola (Herbalist)

Kava Connoisseur
I don't have this issue, I am also only 23... however, kava does reduce peripheral circulation.. aka cold hands and feet ... the genitals are also part of the periphery and therefore could be affected.
In that case things that increase peripheral circulation are helpful... things such as aromatic spices, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, hot peppers in general, hot water or hot tea, chocolate, etc. Can all be helpful to combat that issue.

You will know they work when you are sweating a bit from them and feel warmer in the hands and feet
 
Edward

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
Zac Imiola (Herbalist) said:
I don't have this issue, I am also only 23... however, kava does reduce peripheral circulation.. aka cold hands and feet ... the genitals are also part of the periphery and therefore could be affected.
In that case things that increase peripheral circulation are helpful... things such as aromatic spices, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, hot peppers in general, hot water or hot tea, chocolate, etc. Can all be helpful to combat that issue.

You will know they work when you are sweating a bit from them and feel warmer in the hands and feet
Click to expand...
I think it's almost certainly to do with histamine. If I drink kava for a period of time and then drink alcohol for a few days the second day I will nearly always get a degree of "asian flush" with odd red patches here and there and feeling hot. What I think must be happening is that my body is so used to having a high histamine level from alcohol consumption that when I drink kava for extended periods my histamine levels drop so low that it causes the erection problems. They do get progressively worse by the way. Also when I do drink alcohol for a day the very next day the issue is not there, full hard erections are back.

What I'm going to try next is other natural ways to increase my histamine levels and then after that look into the maximum safe dose of histidine.
 
Edward

Edward

Aluballin' in the UK
Kava Vendor
I'm piecing ideas together at the moment but considering the article linked to in the first post regarding the necessity of histamine in erectile function and my own personal experience so far it just sort of makes sense that that's the cause of my issue. When I drink kava I don't get as much histamine and so therefore experience erection problems. I'm just going to try boosting histamine levels while drinking kava long term and see what happens. If I'm wrong I'm wrong. I do notice a small difference when I drink a protein powder that contains histidine. I want to eat more histamine bearing foods and then consider more supplementation with histidine. See how it goes.
 
Go Krunk Yourself

Go Krunk Yourself

Kava Enthusiast
So I am on an SSRI and have had reductions in sexual stimulation and general sexual interest, yet I have found Kava to actually support me in this regard ;)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top