a.k.a., My coming face to face with "The Beast"
What is "The Beast"?
I call sickness and illness "The Beast"……………
Like those monsters in our dreams, "The Beast" can be terrifying, something we fear all our lives, an enemy that can take our lives it seems anytime he wants.
But, I stood face to face with "The Beast", my only weapon being my website…….and after a short but intense struggle, I totally defeated him. And even propelled my health to the next level…..
I may have brought "The Beast" Upon Myself………….
I am always feeling great, never really been sick, and thus, The Beast coming after me was both a shock and a surprise.
I think I might have brought it upon myself, in my attempt to keep youthful vitality via
Vitamin D Pills and Tongkat, a natural "male enhancement" herb, both are known to boost testosterone levels in men. Some men love them, but they don't seem to work well with my biochemistry (they get me too "wired", and disrupt my sleep). It "might" have something to do with a person's "Dosha" body type.
Traces of blood in the Urine? ……..this is not good.
I started not to feel well over right before Thanksgiving 2013, within a couple of days, my urine flow seemed to be cutting off and nearly shutting down. Prostate? Bladder? Kidneys? or all of the above?
At the critical point of this pretty bad Thanksgiving week, there was burning in the urinary track, and what looked like light colored blood to me, upon the finish of my urinations..I said to myself "uh-oh…this is not good, mayday, mayday, we're going down."
And of course to a man over 50, "The Beast" comes in that one feared, dreaded word…..Prostate, Prostate, Prostate.
I don't wanna die no time soon…………..
I'm not ready to leave your side
In no rush to give up on life
I'm not ready to pay no dues
I don't wanna die, no time soon
When you find that you're lonely
Seems like nobody is on your side
You take your time to pray to heaven
You'll find your only reason
Is so that you live your life
The [yellow] photo above is from a CD I had called "The Tony Rich Project – Birdseye" and the lyrics above are from his song "I Don't Wanna Die No Time Soon", always liked the song, albeit somewhat deperssing in contrast to my always jovial nature, and never knew what to do with that song (and CD Cover)…until now…….
I think now, God is telling me my life is in sync……and to write a good article to help others…..
Like Jack Lalanne once said…"I don't wanna die, it would wreck my image".
To Hospital…..or not to Hospital?
It's not that I'm scared of hospitals, I think we have the best crisis care in the world, like if I broke my wrist playing basketball or something, I'm in the right country for treatment.
What I'm scared of if anything, is that my life will have to depend on man made medications, created by a money and profit driven medical industry, medicines that don't really heal, and all I am to them is a guy with insurance that they can bill for $70,000 long as they got me up in there.
….but when you see blood in the urine, and your urine flow is down to a near dribble, hitting the bathroom 10 times in one night, you got some decisions to make……Quick!!!!
Message from God?………….or just another infomercial?
At some point over Thanksgiving, laying in bed not feeling well, considering checking into the hospital the next day, I woke up, and there was an infomercial on a lady selling DVD's called "Heal Thyself" or something like that. I didn't need the DVD's, but I remember this great line she said:
She said…… "You have to treat your health care like you are King Arthur at the round table. YOU should dictate how and when the doctors, chiropractors, acupuncture specialists, therapists, herbalist and so forth influence your healing and life, and not the other way around, you have to take control and make the decisions needed to Heal Thyself"
Time to practice what I preach……
..so that's what my mind said. HEAL THYSELF!!! I figure if I could just take the risk and hold out for two days without checking into the hospital, unless there was unbearable pain in the urinary tract, or real blood (as opposed to the pink colored traces of blood), then that's what I will do, be it the right call or not.
Thus, I figured I gotta try to do something with all this natural nutrition that I am running my mouth about, and preaching about over the web
…I guess it's was just time. Besides, I've always had an issue with people who preach on spirituality, health, religon, relationships, or anything else, when I can see that they are not really living it…..they are just selling it
(Not looking for accolades here, but notice I have an "Ad Free Blog", and will never let my passion for wellness science be about me making money, I got other things I'm working on to make money, we all have to have something pure to us….just saying)
Throwing "everything in the book" at "The Beast" (I mean, "everything in the blog").
Over Thanksgiving, I really didn't want anything to eat, veggies was about all I had an appetite for, a few fruits, ….and of course my smoothies, I took every Prostate, Bladder, Urinary Tract, and Kidney health product off my website and threw them into my smoothies….
Black Sesame Seeds , Culinary Argan Oil, Cranberry powder, Red Maca, Gac Powder, Reishi Mushroom Spores, any foods I could find high in "Prostate Friendly" Gamma Tocopherol (Vitamin E), The amazing Genesis Today superfoods Goji, Acai, Mangosteen, and Sea Buckthorn, plus my other heavy hitters already in my smoothies…….awesome salads with garlic, pumpkin seeds, with olive oil and apple cider vinegar dressing everyday. Gallons of "Numi Gunpowder" Green Tea. I stopped eating any grains (after some guy I ran across on the web said excessive oatmeal, or a chemical they put in it, gave him an inflamed prostate), EVERYTHING WAS RAW except for Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon, which is rich in healing Vitamin D, (as opposed to the Vitamin D pills which "might" have contributed to this issue in the first place)
..as a quick note, it seems from my research that Prostate issues are proven to be most effectively addressed by nutrition (as opposed to man made medications), when compared to most other serious ailments
By Christmas, "The Beast" was totally defeated!!!
That decision day of checking to the hospital, I felt better, so I held off, the next day better, and the next better….and so on….I could feel my nutrition army sending "The Beast" into full scale retreat
Fast forward to Christmas, my urinary flow is stronger than I ever remember (like a fire hose, sorry if TMI), I bulked up with 20 pounds of muscle, I have this eerie sense of superb health.
If it ain't Broke……
For 2 years, I stayed away from any grains, [though fast forward to 2017, I’m back to “occasional” grains, for me, that being a weekly slice of Whole Foods Pizza, and an occasional Hot Dog Bun for a grilled Whole Foods Turkey Sausage, I do eat wild and brown rice, not sure if rice is considered a grain], but in general, basically eating the same things since "the incident" with "The Beast".
I do have deviations, like a char grilled Polish Sausage at a picnic, but for me, I just do that "cheating" when the mood hits me, and then back to my same routine, not forcing it, it happens naturally because I love the way I feel, it works really well for me that way. Nonetheless after "the incident" my body spoke to me and said "this is a good nutrition formula"….like a "freaking Christmas Miracle!!!"
An added bonus……morning erections!!!!
Sorry, hope not TMI, but this stuff is serious and deserves all the details.
Just bringing this up because it was the Vitamin D tablets and Tongkat testosterone booster may [or may not] have started this condition in the first place, you know, me trying to keep my "male vitality"
….the funny thing, is the diet to fight "The Beast"", No grains (though I was never sure if gains vs. no grains mattered in the healing), plus all raw [except Wild Caught Salmon] diet, got my morning erections back in a big way over Christmas break. Was off work for 9 days, and 9 straight mornings of erections…the kid is back!!!….whatever works!!!
So what the hell happened?……Single Male Seeking one good doctor?
…..I will probably never know, though I'm quite sure it was a bad reaction to the Tongkat herb [and as a side note, I never touch what I call “exotic herbs” any more. Tongkat made meel feel horrible, and I should have left it alone. I do consume so called “exotic” superfoods from overseas, but they are “Whole Foods”, normally fruits and such, they always have me feeling good]. I'm still looking for a Naturopath or good interactive doctor that I can really dig into all this with. But my doctors never seem to care or give me any real information.
I know I'm blessed, because my encounter with "The Beast" actually propelled me to a new level of health, awareness, and most importantly, HUMILITY (cause I've always had a, not arrogant, but subtle perception that I'm indestructible), and I know the whole thing could have gotten "ugly".
For sure did I "dodge a bullet"
I use the the word "ugly" in that, as I understand it, EVERYONE, has cancer cells in their body, so if I would have went into the hospital, for sure they would have found something, that's their business model, to keep you in there and get that insurance money.
…..but I'm cynical at heart about the medical industry, I believe my last comment but can't prove it, so I'll leave that at that, and stick to the subject at hand. But in life, you know when you have just "dodged a bullet".
I took the photo below two or three years ago in the Caribbean, when was feeling so great about life, health, and all the rest, I am so amazed at how I seem to feel twice as good two years later. Perhaps if it wasn't for "The Beast" attacking me, I may not have got here.
…I [literally] pray to the heavenly father that anyone stepping through any stages of any ailment get granted the divine wisdom that is available to all of us to fight and win these terrifying battles against illness.
I pray my story can help someone that may be afraid of an ailment coming on…as I was afraid.
The heavenly Father (and/or Mother) has always poured its blessing on me as far as health is concerned, I pray to him always to show the same divine insight to any else seeking help
~stay healthy~
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20 Responses
Very inspiring. Your belief in 'healing thyself' before seeking medical intervention is one that I live by too. I find it interesting that cutting out the grains and going raw made such a dramatic difference to your overall health. Power to you!
Thanks for the comment. Yeah it was scary and as you can imagine, there can be a risk in choosing not to go to the doctor. I did try to go see a naturopath that specialized in urology, but she never returned my calls. I stopped the grains because one guy I researched said oatmeal gave him an inflamed prostate. What was really surprising is that how I am tall and slim and could never “bulk up” as guys want to from weightlifting. My weight hovers around 194 for the past 20 years no matter how much I lift. I noticed myself getting more “buffed”, and when I stepped on the scale I was 213!!! The grain free thing was temporary, but now I’m gonna have to never go back. I may slip up hand have one or two slices of pizza or a sandwich at the airport here and there, but it is easy for me to be disciplined, The Culinary Argan Oil, Black Sesame Seeds, and Gac (Fak Khaao) are gifts from the Gods, and I am lucky to have run across them. I will be consuming them forever. ~stay healthy~
what type of vit d supplement is best then?
what others foods provide agood balanc of vit d?
testosterone hormone is that also taken by supplement
did u stop taking both?
As mentioned int eh article, Salmon is the best natural source of Vitamin D out there, eggs are also decent, unfortunately the choices in natural foods are limited to really bump up your vitamin D scores. The other best way is to get it from the sunlight https://www.gaiahealthblog.com/2013/02/22/vitamin-d/ , but darker skinned people have to be in the sun five to ten times longer that lighter skin people. I cannot take any of the Vitamin D supplements or testosterone boosters anymore, they feel horrible to my body, although my best friend take vitamin D tablets and has not problems. Its not a specific brand of vitamin D, all of them have the same effect on my body. As I said in the article, the new diet itself gave me the desired effects I was trying to get with Vitamin D and Testosterone, so I lucked out. Even when I took magnesium supplements, I had the same effect (lack of sleep, mild headaches, etc) so I just think supplements don’t work for me in general, it depends on the persons biochemistry…………….hope this helps.
Ok thanks for your response.. 😉
…your’e welcome, thanks for your comments 🙂
im having the same issue. im 48 and experiencing ED ive been taking the pills for about a year, the ones they sale in the store Black Mamba, Rhino and the other ones… but, it seems as if they no longer work efeectively. i just dont have the drive to have sex. i dont know what to do i wanted to try tonkat ali that ive heard about.
Hey,
I can’t tell another man what to do, but I can’t touch that Tongkat ever again, that situation was so scary that I could never put it in my body again. Because of my experience, I can no longer recommend it however. I’m quite sure it was because I was on Vitamin D for several months, and then jumped into Tongkat, and some bad reaction happened. Plus Tongkat and Vitamin D made me feel too “wired” and out of sorts, I felt so horrible, and restless, and sleepless those months. As I understand cancer, we all have some cancer cells in our body, so if I would have went to the hospital, I’m sure they would have told me I had cancer, that’s how they make their money (not to sound harsh or like a conspiracy theorist, but that’s how I think) Like I said in the article, my “vitality” came back through whole food sources. I’m single and not really sexually active, but I’m waking up everyday with either an erection or the feeling that the tire is “inflating” at least partially, so that’s proof enough for me. I do think the grain free was a big part of it, but I can’t confirm that. I do think part of this whole sex thing is the right kind of energy exchanges between men and women to get the male body ignited correctly are not really happening with most men, and that is a whole other deeper issue. Like I said though, since I’m single and not really active, I can take my time and figure this thing out, and in the mean time, know that I’m doing things for overall health and prostate health, not just for sex. Saying that I think physically I got my body back working right, now I need the right dynamics with a women as the next part of the equation, but you know crazy relationships in this world are……..{good luck in whichever path you take sir}
Hello. Just started trying out Tongkat Ali. I wanted to ask you, did you hear of other people who suffered inflamed prostate (or similar issues) when taking Tongkat ? I don't find anything like that on the web. On the contrary, seems Tongkat is being studied for its anti-cancer properties (including prostate) … ? Keen to hear your opinion.
Hi John,
I am just saying that is what I think happened to me. Someone sent me a link to prostate inflammation study in lab rats study that I linked to at the top of the article. I had never heard of thar reaction either, it was a self diagnosis.
Doug at GaiaHealth Blog
Hello Doug – that scientific study you linked to (enlarged prostates in rats) was really enlightening. Sounds like YES, you could have gotten inflamed prostate from the Tongkat Ali. Not because it's an evil herb, but because it actually does its job : it really does boost testosterone levels – to the point where the testosterone may start messing up the prostate (its a well known risk of Hormone Replacement Therapies – increased prostate cancer risk due to elevated testosterone). So Tongkat works great (perhaps a bit too great ?!). I've just been trying it a couple days and the immediate effects are indeed awesome (undeniable strength increase, important increase in athletic endurance, + virtually no muscle soreness after hard exercise). I can see how this is a tough one to have to give up on. I might continue taking it, but with constant blood tests (there are markers in the blood that show if the prostate doesn't like what you're doing and wants you to stop) and maybe taking less than the "recommended doses". Thanks for your highly informative website !
Hey John,
If it works for you, more power to you. I think my issue was more tied to coming off Vitamin D Supplements, and jumping into Tongkat the next day. As I mentioned in the article. Vitamin D and Tongkat make me feel too “wired” and totally screws up my sleep. It’s for that reason I’ll never use again, just not for my body chemistry. Too scared to use Tongkat again anyway, and no longer necessary. I suppose my circumstances were an anomaly, cause you’re right in that I had never heard of any man having that experience from all my web search.
Keep in mind the next person can eat shellfish or peanuts and his or her throat can swell up and they can “almost” die, so I suppose anything can happen to anybody……………..
…and like I said, the disease became the cure, in that the nutrients I used to heal myself totally restored my erections and male vitality, henceforth came the “Heal Thyself” article, the “Devil in a Blue Dress” – Viagra article https://www.gaiahealthblog.com/2015/01/04/mens-health-the-devil-in-a-blue-dress/ , The “Nutrients for Male Vitality” series of articles, the “Grain Free Me” article https://www.gaiahealthblog.com/2014/12/04/grain-free-me/ and every thing about the subject that came afterwards. So I think I was destined to get the short ailment, but have the smarts to heal myself, and it was definitely meany for me to express the whole experience to others.
I wanted to delete the Tongkat article, but decided to leave it up in case any one else has the problem and does a Google. And I wanna log my whole wellness journey, the good, the bad, the bonehead, and the brilliant……..
Good Luck!!
Hey, man, thanks for your wonderful blog! It’s extremely helpful. I have a question regarding how much you take of these superfoods on a daily basis. You specify a teaspoon a day of argan oil, and 7-10 apricot seeds per day, but how about the others listed above, such as gac powder?
Again, thanks for all that you do!
Hey lecompte,
That’s a good question, but my answer is more simplistic these days. Currently I’m only taking and average of 2 apricot seeds a day and I must admit I miss some day because I forget. But I been taking them for 8 years, so I think the nutrient has built up in my body, I consider myself if maintenance mode now.. For the other superfoods, since they go in my smoothies, I don’t really measure anymore. The point is with those smoothie superfoods like Gac Powder, Cacao, Maqui, Baobab (which I started after that article I think), I think it is more about just bringing them in everyday, and I think after a year, you body will be getting the nutrients it needs, as you body progressively stores nutrients.
I have Gac and Mangosteen powders from Royal Tropics I mix in a big container, I put spoonful of a standard eating spoon in my smoothies, but am not measuring. Black Sesame seeds I use 1-2 tablespoons in my smoothies, cacao, tablespoons, Maqui powder 1 tablespoons, Red Maca, smaller amount of maybe 1/4 tablespoons same for Reishi spores, 1/4 tablespoon though the Medhi Reshi spores on Amazon I use now are in individual packets of 30 in a box.
Argan oil I don’ measure, I dimly drizzle over my salmon which I eat almost every day, I miss some days though. With the others, like Moringa which is new in my diet and Baobab, they average around a tablespoon. Genesis Today liquids, I only use about 3-4 months out of the year, maybe a tablespoon in my smoothies, I spread the bottle out over a month Just keep in mind it is day in and day out, so I don’t really think the amount matters over time, its more about what makes the smoothie taste right.
Make sure you read my Top 30 superfood “Power Rankings” lists. All these superfoods are on the list, except for may cranberry, its now all about getting them in consistently. There is so much stuff in my smoothies I have to rotate my superfood powders and take half of them one day and half the next.
Still getting morning erections at age 55, not every morning, but I’m sure sleep being interrupted for work is the cause of that, but I feel the body feeling great.
Let me know if more questions, glad to answer anything,
Doug at GAIA Health Blog
I am on about my third week of Tongkat – I too am experiencing what appears to be prostate inflammation/burning. That said I have experienced this before and had tested high in psa but I never did go back to focus on this as I just didn’t want to know. I agree that we all have had some form of cancer(s) that our own immune systems beat. I am wondering if we have or had some type of pre-existing condition and when we did take Tongkat it kind of set it off. Well, thanks for your writings, kind of like reading a clinical trial – I do enjoy reading the personal experiments and what works and doesn’t work. We are all different and no one will have identical reactions but then again we are all very similar – if that makes any damn sense! Thanks
Hi Jeff D,
What you wrote makes total sense, in that we all have different reactions to things we put in out bodies, there is no universal reaction to anything. When you get into Ayurveda bodytypes, as in Pita, Dosha, Vatta and so forth, you find that certain superfoods work well with certain body chemistries, but may not work so well with others…..
I just advise everyone to stay the hell away from that Tongkat, but mainly based on my experiences, it was brief, but scary.
I had considered deleting the Tongkat article, but I’ve found that people like you, who may have had some bad reaction to Tongkat, would need at least one example to Google up. And the Tongkat article led to this article, so the two articles are linked and important together. In the end, I never have been sick except for bad colds as a kid, and this was my only ailment, but I think it was meant for me to write about and preach about natural healing. I guess that’s the price you have to pay if you are gonna be a self-profess wellness expert, the divine powers have to take you through something in real life……
So far as the Tongkat article reading like a clinical trial, I’m just a detailed person at the core, the “Hip and Trendy” visual website is just to mask that “geeky” side of me {chuckle}
And, as I mentioned in the article, Tongkat is no longer necessary, because the superfoods I used to treat that “self diagnosed” inflamed prostate, actually gave me my morning erections back. So I solved the ages old problem through Whole Food nutrition only. Sopefully, some men can just jump into those Whole Foods for Male Vitality with out messing around with the Tongkat.
So Good luck, and be careful with that Tongkat.
Doug at GAIA Health Blog
Hello there!
I’m taking pygeum (2 weeks in) and tongkat (1 week in)… No side effects at the moment…
Pygeum is said to be a DHT blocker (reducing the prostate size) and from your experience, tongkat is doing the opposite…
I’m wondering if combination of those are OK to use but also if one is suppressing or affecting one on another… Seems like I’ll need see by my own what will be results…
Cheers from Croatia!
Hi Ivan,
WHATS UP CROATIA!!! So many great basketball players over there!!!
Anyway, if you can imagine how scary this incident was for me, I would never use or recommend Tongkat again. The effects I was tying to get from Tongkat I now get from natural foods. The very same natural foods that healed me from this ailment.
I never see any reason to take what I call and “exotic herb” when “real food” will do the same thing. Tongkat screwed up my sleep so bad, for that reason alone I would never take it again.
Cheers
Doug Wallace at GAIA Health Blog
Hi Doug!
You’re right, the natural is always the best.
So you’re still using Tongkat only from different source?
I’m going to see how does my body respond from the product I have bought but at the moment I stopped using all because I have somekind of health problems which I need to sort out first (not related to any of those supplements)…
P.S. Yeah, lots of great basketball players but the sad thing is the croatian national basketball league is really shameful (players go to international clubs and some of them end up in NBA)… Luckily we also have great football, handball and “every other ball” players too…. 😀
Ivan,
Not using Tongkat at all, will never touch it again
Doug Wallace