Weed gave me ED, anhedonia and sexual anxiety

A couple of years ago I was a stoner who smoked weed every day.

It was a good escape from being bored. My smoker buddy often read about all kinds of health benefits of consuming weed, so that was a good excuse to continue. However, I knew I was just doing it to get high.

However, despite enjoying being high, it also had its downfalls, such as:

• Lack of motivation – I was never motivated to improve myself, although I knew I had to. And when I was high, I was incapable of doing so as well.
• Disrupted sleep quality – Although I felt like I slept well, I never dreamt and my sleep felt unrefreshed.
• ED and sexual anxiety – Although I was very horny, I struggled to get an erection. I was very anxious before our honeymoon as I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get an erection and perform like a MAN! Although I did struggle to get and maintain erections many weeks if not months after stopping weed, it’s totally fixed now.

Two main side effects of weed

It can cause:

• Low dopamine
• Vascular inflammation and ED

Weed and low dopamine

If you struggle with motivation, focus, drive, libido, creativity, life enjoyment, etc., you might have low dopamine. And if you smoke weed, the weed is likely causing it.

“Research shows that exposure to cannabis is associated with hypodopaminergic anhedonia (depression), cognitive decline, poor memory, inattention, impaired learning performance, reduced dopamine brain response-associated emotionality, and increased addiction severity in young adults.” (R)

“Acute THC causes increased dopamine release and neuron activity, whilst long-term use is associated with blunting of the dopamine system… Cannabis use in humans is associated with reduced dopamine in the striatum (area of the brain that is involved in multiple aspects of cognition, including both motor and action planning, decision-making, motivation, reinforcement, and reward perception).” (R)

I know a lot of people might kick and scream against this research, but be honest with yourself. Do you suffer from low dopamine symptoms? I did and it massively improved when I stopped. Always listen to your body first.

Related articles:

• How to maximize dopamine
• The high dopamine personality
• Increase dopamine receptors
• The dopamine dream team stack

Weed and ED

Have you ever felt so embarrassed about your limp biscuit that it feels like it’s sitting right on your face?

Weed dramatically increases the right of vascular inflammation and ED.

• “Marijuana has been reported to have inflammatory effects on the peripheral vascular system” (R).
• “healthy cannabis users have greater arterial stiffness” (R).
• “Cannabis use and arteritis have been suggested mainly as a cause of peripheral vascular disease in young patients <50 years of age” (R).
• “Genistein is a CB1 antagonist that attenuates Δ⁹-THC-induced atherosclerosis.” (R)
• “The odds ratio of ED in cannabis users was almost four times than controls” (R).
• “Data on marijuana and male sexual function are mixed but suggest that marijuana may enhance the subjective experience of sexual intercourse while potentially contributing to ED in a dose-dependent manner. Cannabis has been associated with both increased and decreased risk of malignancy depending upon the target organ. Marijuana exposure seems to be an independent risk factor for testis cancer” (R).
• And it can lower testosterone: “Simulation of the marijuana interaction, under the assumption that delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits testosterone production or secretion, suggests a minimum of 24 hours are required for testosterone to return to pre-smoking levels.” (R)

Not everyone who smokes weed will get ED, but there is a relatively larger risk of getting it. Plus, the risk of ED is approximately 40% of men at the age of 40 and nearly 70% of men at the age of 70 (R). Now imagine throwing weed into the mix and how much it increases the risk of getting ED. Worth it? Not IMO.

Is it worth it?

Here are a couple of comparisons.

Weed is in a way similar to coffee. Before becoming a coffee addict, someone’s energy might have been a 7/10 in the morning. With coffee, it became a 10/10. However, as time passed, morning energy without coffee became a 3/10 and with coffee, only a 7/10. You become dependent on coffee just to feel normal like you used to feel without coffee.

Same thing with weed and anxiety and life enjoyment. A lot of people smoke weed for anxiety. Anxiety before weed is for example 7/10. On weed, it’s a 2/10. However, as you get used to being high all the time, anxiety rises to an 11/10 when not on weed. So you become dependent and your baseline gets worse.

If someone smokes weed for anxiety, but in return suffers from ED, low motivation, anhedonia, low libido, morning wood-less mornings, etc; is that a good trade? In my opinion no.

It’s time to ask yourself. Am I don’t this for “health benefits” or am I doing this because I like being high? Do I just enjoy being disconnected from the life I don’t enjoy? That’s how I felt.

I like this quote from Tim Ferriss: “How am I complicit in creating the conditions I say I don’t want?“

If weed is the suspect for creating undesirable side effects, then find a better alternative. There are many effective anti-anxiety compounds/supplements out there without the same side effects as weed, such as androgens. Androgens improve vascular function as well as dopamine function, while also improving life enjoyment, and sexual function and lowering anxiety and depression, etc.

If you need help getting your hormones and body comp back on track, reach out below or book a free call with me.