How I got my Erection back
Dealing with erectile dysfunction and learning to overcome the problem permanently can be difficult and challenging. However, it’s a journey well worth the effort!
My Experiments…
I’d heard Maca and Tribulus, both traditional remedies, could produce ‘interesting’ results. Maca—sometimes called ‘Peruvian ginseng[A1] ’—is a plant that has been cultivated high in the Andes for thousands of years where, according to legend, Inca warriors consumed the root before going into battle to increase stamina.
Tribulus is a vine long popular in Asian medicine for its ability to enhance desire. Both seemed safe and effective, so I decided to test them in supplement powder form. They did have an effect: they made me very horny – but neither sorted out the dysfunction. I found myself incredibly frustrated!
Blue pills..
I decided to test a ‘bigger gun’, trying various blue pills (PDE5 inhibitors). Not only were these more expensive, but they also caused mild headaches and blushing – common side effects – all for a temporary effect! Worse, I had to carefully time popping the pills; I couldn’t be spontaneous.
This was not the permanent solution I was looking for. Gradually, I realised I was trying to treat the effect – the symptoms of erectile dysfunction – rather than the cause. So I went back to the drawing board.
I wanted to understand how to eliminate the fundamental cause of my dysfunction. I knew this meant making sure my overall circulation was healthy. After all, what good is it getting horny if your blood flow is poor and you still can’t get it up?!
The Key Insights
I understood how important it is to have a healthy overall system for a healthy, strong erection. To put it simply, a good, clean diet and regular, quality exercise will go a very long way in creating the right predisposition.
Lift Weights
So started training (I used the 5×5 programme) and changed my diet.
Results did not take long to start showing. After 4-6 weeks my training started to improve my posture. I slept much better, which was clearly boosting my testosterone and I felt stronger and more confident.
I was happier and healthier and getting compliments, all of which helped get my girlfriend in the mood – an unexpected and welcome side effect! My body also naturally craved healthy food to help it recover. I was gaining momentum!
Arginine
In researching circulation, I experienced a revelation: in 1998, a team of scientists led by Dr. Louis J. Ignarro won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for demonstrating the importance of nitric-oxide (NO) for the human body: NO is a vasodilator and plays an essential role in cardiovascular health.
NO regulates blood flow by relaxing the arteries. The more NO you have, the better blood flows around your body, including where it counts; in other words, it’s sort of a natural Viagra. Exactly what I needed!
NO is almost exclusively made out of Arginine in the body. Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid, something our body needs to remain healthy. I wanted a way to get as much of it into me as I could to maximise my NO.
I found that minimum 3,000mg (3g) a day was ideal. Our read in the research that our bodies can take five to ten times that without side effects so I wasn’t worried. In addition I heard that pine bark extract improves the effect of NO even further by keeping the blood vessels really healthy.
Pine Bark Extract
Just Arginine is not enough
Early studies concluded that a dose of 5,000mg per day of Arginine does not have a satisfactory effect on treating erectile dysfunction as only 31% of subjects reported improvement.
However, I found out that when the Arginine was combined with 80mg of Pine Bark Extract per day, even a smaller dose cured erection problems in 92.5% of participants.
Both nutrients reinforce each other’s effect and together make an erection-boosting “Dream Team”.
Personally, I take 1,500mg (half the daily dose) Arginine in the morning and again in the evening for a total of 3,000mg.
So I set out to find a supplements, which either includes both pine bark extract and arginine or to buy them separately. I figured though that I would rather have it all in one pill so I need to take fewer and always know how exactly much I have left.
Another issue was how I would take it: Arginine powder tastes horrible and capsules are often small, which means I’d have to swallow 6 or more caps to get to 3,000mg.
I tried four Arginine products; all had standard Arginine dosages of 3,000mg per day and were marketed to men suffering from erectile dysfunction or impotence.
Two things weren’t right: one brand’s capsules were really small (400mg each) so I had to take 8 per day or more if I wanted a higher dose. Worse, they smelled awful whenever I opened the container!
I found out later that Arginine has a sulu content. This is useful from a health perspective, but it is also smelly.
The second brand also offered 3,000mg per day split over six caps (better). Unfortunately, I had issues with slow delivery and poor customer service.
My Top Products
Finally, the third and fourth products were good: M Forte from amitamin and aminoexpert VIGARIN.
They both ticked all the boxes: 3,000mg Arginine and 80mg of pine bark extract per day; capsules that are the right size and have no unpleasant smell, both use blister packaging to keep the capsules fresh; amitamin offers easy purchase with PayPal and neither had no delivery issues whatsoever (aminoexpert used DHL to deliver tracked and free! and amitamin delivers UPS tracked).
Of all the brands I’ve tried I have looked at, they are the only ones with pine bark extract.
M Forte is a little more expensive than VIGARIN, but includes lots of important vitamin B. I didn’t realise, but B vitamins are needed to metabolise homocysteine, which damages blood vessels.
VIGARIN on the other hand has free shipping, includes Carnitine and coenzyme Co-Q10. So currently I am taking M forte, but I think I will try VIGARIN next and see if I can get the B vitamins separately and save a few quid. I always buy three months worth at a time so I can get the discount.
Other supps I take
I take other supplements like Ginseng, Omega 3s separately. Vitamin D and Zinc are already included in M forte – to complement my training.
After a few weeks of taking M forte, training regularly (just three days a week so I still have a life) and eating well, my erection returned – and boy, has it come back!
All the effort has paid off: I’m just as fit now as I was in my 30s—in fact, maybe fitter. My erection is virtually the same, also because I masturbate less.
I am extremely happy to have discovered the Arginine & Pine Bark Extract combos of amitamin M forte and aminoexpert VIGARIN — not only because it has given me my erection back. With a better diet and regularly lifting weights, I am fitter, healthier, more confident and harder than I have been in a very, very long time!