Men’s Health Email Inquiry for a Friend: How to Cure Chronic Pain in the Testicles or Groin When Your Doctor Can’t Figure Out What’s Wrong

Introduction to Neuropathy and Chronic Testicular Pain

Below was an email that was sent by one friend (Bryan) on behalf of another (Todd) regarding severe and chronic groin pain and testicular pain of unknown origin. Todd has been experiencing testicular pain for 3 years and his doctor even misdiagnosed him with a varicocele and did surgery on him. In these messages, I talk about different alternative treatments that exist for men who have chronic groin pain, restless legs syndrome, or testicular pain that seems to have no real underlying cause. If you’re suffering from testicular pain or groin pain or even penis pain that your doctor can’t seem to diagnose correctly or figure out, this email thread is to give you some ideas to work with toward eliminating the pain and curing the problem.

UPDATE 2021: I have since learned the Methylene Blue 2% administered orally at 1-2 drops per day (2-4 drops per day in 1% Methylene Blue or 20-40 drops per day 0.1% Methylene Blue) is able to significantly decrease pain levels in people with chronic neuropathy. Effects are noticeable within about 2 days of treatment and are apparently due to the fact that Methylene Blue is able to enhance mitochondrial function in nerves, thereby enhancing the overall energy levels in nerve tissues overall. This allows nerves to "reset" and begin the healing process.

NOTE: Chronic pain is a complex issue and if you have chronic testicle pain or chronic groin pain, then be aware that you may need to try out more than one alternative treatment before you find something that works. If you are taking a prescription medication, be aware that this can cause testicular pain (See below where I  send a message to Todd about Finasteride/Propecia). Keep a journal and note your pain levels daily so that you can notice yourself making progress because the progress may be slow---but if there’s progress, it’s important that you notice and keep up the treatments that are working. There’s really no measuring stick for pain but keeping a journal will help you remember where you started with your pain so that you can notice if you’re making progress, even if it’s slow. Chances are, you’ll need to make some lifestyle changes (Sitting instead of standing at a desk perhaps? Eating healthier foods? Exercising? Etc.) to overcome something like neuropathy affecting the testicles, penis, or the groin.



Before Bryan admits that his friend Todd is suffering from pain in the testicles, Bryan tests the water to ask me about Todd’s restless legs syndrome symptoms. So the first email talks primary about how to cure for restless legs syndrome. But I felt like this email thread was important for the site because it shows how restless legs syndrome and testicle pain can be related problems. Doctors will rarely, if ever, see the connection between something like restless legs syndrome and groin pain. So I’m hoping that other people can benefit from this information because my research seemed to indicate that men experience quite a lot of problems with pain in the groin, pain in the penis, and pain in the testicles that has nothing to with cancer (pain-in-the-anything-Google-searches almost always result in nothing but a bunch of terrifying articles about cancer. With that in mind, I’ll post links to no-chemo, no-radiation testicular cancer cures and cancer prevention information at the bottom of the page).

Below are the emails starting with a discussion about restless legs syndrome.

BRYAN TO JENNIFER: Hello Jennifer!

I have a special request from my friend Todd.  As you know, I gave him some Lugol’s Iodine, which he started using, and I've told him about some of the other supplements you told me about.  So, he knows that you know a lot about natural cures.  He has been having trouble sleeping for the last few months, and he wondered if there were any supplements that you would recommend.  He's pretty sure that it is related to stress and to getting older (he just turned 49).  He has also recently developed something that sounds like restless leg syndrome.  He thinks this may also be causing his sleep to be disrupted, since the urge to move his legs often wakes him up.  Although he used to fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, he said it now takes forever for him to fall asleep.  He also wakes up several times during the night, and then can't get back to sleep.  I've already mentioned Melatonin to him, and he said he had tried it, but it didn't really help.  So, if you have any suggestions, he would really appreciate it.

Our Amazon links to powerful cures like Lugol's Iodine often disappear mysteriously after we publish. Support our outside vendors by purchasing Lugol's Iodine here. 

The AlivenHealthy Iodine Bible - Everything you need to know to get started taking iodine and more!

JENNIFER To BRYAN: Hi Bryan!

Does Todd take any prescription medications?

Without doing any research, I'm going to write down what comes to mind as I'm sitting here, but I'll probably have some other things pop into my head if I meditate on his problems a bit. So I'll send you some thoughts now and I'll probably send you more thoughts later too.

So Mucuna pruriens would probably help Todd with his restless legs syndrome symptoms and it will probably help him sleep better too. Mucuna would definitely make his mood better and lower his stress levels (when you take Mucuna, it lowers cortisol levels automatically---cortisol is the “stress hormone”). He could start by taking about 1000 mg and then work up to 6000 mg per day for as long as he needs it. At some point, he can lower it by one pill per day until he feels irritable. At some point, he probably won’t need it anymore except when he has high stress levels. I found some studies showing the Mucuna pruriens specifically can cure Restless Legs Syndrome so I'd be very surprised if this didn't help him within just a few days (or even hours) of taking it. As an alternative cure for Restless Legs Syndrome, it’s apparently pretty powerful.

It also sounds like Todd needs to take high doses of Magnesium for his restless legs. My Dad used to have Restless Legs Syndrome too, but he took Magnesium for a while and as I recall it did help him. So Mucuna pruriens with high-dose Magnesium Chloride (increasing the dose daily until he gets diarrhea and then backing off to a dose just below where he gets diarrhea) would be a good start for Todd to cure Restless Legs Syndrome.

Magnesium calms the muscles so it may actually help Todd fall asleep too. It would be good if he took a healthy dose of it about an hour or so before bed. It isn't normal to be awakened by restless legs, but he's probably right that solving that problem will make his insomnia go away. If he's deficient in Magnesium, the first big dose he takes could make his skin burn and itch as his capillaries open up right under the skin. It might feel like an allergic reaction, but it's actually a sign that he's starved for Magnesium. My husband had that happen to him once.

Also, a bath soak in Epsom Salts (fragrance and chemical free Epsom Salts would be best) will help him absorb Magnesium through the skin and make his leg muscles calmer.

It's pretty normal for people in their forties to be lucidly wakeful for up to 2 hours in the middle of the night, especially if he has thoughts that he's not processing during the day. He could try listening to binaural beats for 15 to 30 minutes before he goes to bed. There are some binaural beats apps that can be adjusted for wakefulness or sleepytime. Binaural beats are sounds that go right to left and back and forth to get the right brain and left brain to communicate better. They help people who are under a lot of stress to process stuff more efficiently.

It makes some sense that melatonin wouldn't help Todd because taking melatonin supplements causes the brain to have more serotonin and higher levels of serotonin lead to an increased risk of restless legs syndrome.

One thing that my recently recovered cousin, who was addicted to meth for many years has used over the past few months to put himself to sleep (meth disrupts sleep patterns almost the same way jet lag disrupts sleep patterns---in meth addicts with really bad sleep disruptions, the lack of sleep is a predictor of relapse so helping my cousin sleep was really important) is something called Magnolia bark (aka Honokiol). It works on the opiate receptors in the brain but it is not itself an opiate. And my cousin had some success using it whenever he couldn't sleep, which tells me that it's pretty powerful stuff since he had quite a few things going against him in terms of sleep (he was living outside, for one thing). I've never tried it but the fact that it works on the opiate receptors demonstrates that it would probably help him sleep if he needs more than just Mucuna and Magnesium.

Valerian root is something I take regularly to get rid of insomnia. It increases the amount of GABA in your brain, which reduces anxiety levels. I often combine Valerian with Passionflower, which is an herb that makes your brain stop chattering. It does seem to work (which always surprises me because my brain always has so much to say). You have to take Valerian for about a week before you really start to notice it working.

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have other questions!

BRYAN: Dear Jennifer:

I've attached more information about Todd, below.  Also, I didn't tell you this before, because it's personal and I didn't know if he was okay with me telling you, but Todd has been experiencing pain in his groin for about three years.  He's been to a bunch of doctors and they have run a bunch of tests and determined that it is not being caused by any disease or anything serious.  He even had surgery to remove a varicose vein from one of his testicles (varicocele), since the doctor thought that might be causing the groin pain.  But, nothing has helped.  I had almost exactly the same issue a few years ago, and mine turned out to be a pulled muscle resulting from throwing my lower back out. It was cured by taking a 30 minute hot bath every night for two weeks, but if my lower back goes out, the pain still reoccurs, though not as badly. It has taken three years to convince Todd to try that treatment, even though it's free and easy to do.  He finally tried it over the last two weeks and it didn't help.  However, he is now convinced that it is a pulled muscle.  He has noticed that there is a sensitive spot on his pelvic bone that he can pinpoint, whereas before, he always described it as more of a burning pain in the testicles or groin area.  His symptoms sound almost exactly like what I was experiencing, so I still lean toward the pulled muscle theory too.  I thought you should know about his testicle pain, since this could also play into his restless legs syndrome symptoms and insomnia. He has found that the only way he can sleep without pain in the groin is to sleep naked, because the pressure from his underwear causes discomfort.

Todd said that he’d like to hear your thoughts on his groin and testicle pain so he sent me the following information, that I’ve pasted below:

TODD TO BRYAN:

Thanks for asking about this for me Bryan, and thank Jennifer for me too.   This is very strange because the groin pain comes and goes.  I slept well for three nights in a row and then last night woke up in the middle of the night with the restless legs again.  First of all I haven't had three successful nights of sleep in a long time so that was big for me!  I did wake up in the middle of the night with some mild leg restlessness and then got right back to sleep the 3 nights prior to that.  But one thing to point out is that it's more than just my legs.  It's hard to explain but I feel this tension, or maybe anxiety through my whole body.  The legs feel like they are pulsating, especially the left one.   Maybe the hot baths have helped me sleep the past few days or maybe its just that my stress is lower right now. I don’t know. But one thing that helps is Tylenol.  I'm not sure why but if I get up and take it the leg issue settles down.

I was thinking about my meds impacting things but I've been on these for a long time with no issues.  I take 1mg propecia (finasteride) for hair loss,  500mg valacyclovir for cold sores and 20 mg pantopazole for acid reflex.   I also take a multi-vitamin and calcium with vitamin D.   I have taken Calm gummies which is 350mg of Magnesium since my chiropractor also suggested that might be the issue.  I haven't noticed any improvement.

At this point I'm willing to try anything new.  I can't live like this.

BTW, I have completed 2 full weeks of hot baths but don't notice a difference with the groin.  I have been able to manage it with loose clothes so it really isn't an issue unless I'm sitting for a long time and the underwear rides up.  So it's something to do with pressure applied in that region. However one thing I did notice is that I have tenderness around my pelvic bone.  I'm convinced I have a pulled muscle since there is no other reason I can think of to have extreme tenderness in the pelvic bone.  This may or may not be the cause of my discomfort but I have a feeling it's related.



BRYAN TO JENNIFER:

I've been passing this information on to Todd and I'm planning to give him a few of my Mucuna pills next time I see him so he can try them out.  Let me know if any of this new information leads you in a different direction.



JENNIFER TO BRYAN: Dear Bryan:

I didn't have a ton of time to do research yesterday on Todd's problems just yet, but I sat down last night and did a brainstorm on everything you guys have sent me so far and I did just a brief search on my Kindle to refresh my memory on a few things before I fell asleep last night (there was a party upstairs, so it was less brief than I originally intended, but that's okay) in terms of groin and testicle pain and this morning I had some thoughts.

First of all:

To me it SOUNDS like neuropathy. Neuropathy is technically "pathology of the nerves" which sounds scary, but it's a general term that basically means "conventional medicine has no clue what to do with this nerve problem."

One of the big reasons why it sounds like neuropathy is because Todd says that it's worse at night. Here's a quote from some research I read last night:

"Neuropathic pain is sometimes worse at night, disrupting sleep. It can be caused by pain receptors firing spontaneously without any known trigger, or by difficulties with signal processing in the spinal cord that may cause you to feel severe pain (allodynia) from a light touch that is normally painless." 

I'd be curious to hear whether this description resonates with Todd or not.

Nerve pain feels like muscular pain most of the time, in my experience. But it doesn't get better when you massage it or try to find it. But I've made the mistake before or rubbing muscles to the point of bruising in an effort to "work out" kinks that were in nerve fibers instead of the muscle tissue and it only made things worse.

And when it’s a nerve pain, it seems to move in a way that doesn’t always make sense. Like, when you massage a sore muscle, the muscle starts to relax and the pain starts to feel different, maybe less sore, or like bruising or stiffness. But nerve pain behaves differently. It might move response to a light touch. It can be elusive and feel deep prompting you to massage deeply in an effort to find it.

So...I know that talking about a nerve problem is terrifying because conventional medicine says there's no hope for those who have such problems, but that's simply not true. So, I wanted to send you a batch of information and let Todd pick around at it and let me know if I'm on the right track or not and whether or not to proceed down the neuropathy path before I invest a lot of time into researching it. It's easier to admit to oneself that "yes, it might be a nerve problem" if you feel like you might actually be able to treat it and to cure it than to say that same thing to yourself while simultaneously thinking there's no cure and you'll just have to live with the pain forever. So below I have some information about how to work with and cure neuropathy using other, alternative remedies for chronic pain with no known cause.

Nerves all pass through this translucent connective tissue on its way to various part of the body. You've seen this same kind of connective tissue in meat between muscles, I'm sure. Anyway, the nerves pass through it and the nerves are like...this cord-like material and sometimes the cord gets bunched up inside the outer connective tissue wrapping (it's called "fascial entrapment of the nerve"). Like, if you sit all the time or if you overstretch your legs and then the nerve gets just a tiny wrinkle inside that wrapping it can cause misfiring and neuropathy. The nerve starts screaming at you. But it may not scream all the time. At times it might be very quiet, but be sending secret messages to the other nerves to organize a coup on the body. And then, you just have this PAIN. It sounds like this is kind of what's happening to Todd.

I went to a Rolfer for a back problem that I had about 8 years ago that developed very suddenly while I was in Egypt. Rolfers work with nerves and fascia more than muscles though their treatments feel a little bit like massage (but less relaxing because they’re trying to unbunch the nerve fibers rather than working on muscles). At the time when I had this back problem, I walked a little like a duck with my feet rotated outward and my Rolfer told me that my gait was because my back muscles were so tight (she mimicked my walk and I was like, oh my God…that’s how I look when I walk?!?). She told me to practice walking with my feet pointing forward to change my gait and to also get different shoes. At the time, I honestly didn't think it would be possible to change the way I walk, but I was desperate, so I tried it. And I LOVED my Saucony running shoes, but figured I'd try her suggestion. And after a month or two of "practice" 8 years ago, my feet still point forward like they're supposed to. I check in on them from time to time, but practicing walking with my feet forward (and walking heel-to-toe) made a big difference for me and my back. HUGE! My Saucony’s were built in a way that made that heel-to-toe movement impossible. And that movement is the movement that heals the back when there are nerve fibers that are pinched!

I switched to zero drop shoes (I buy ONLY zero drop Lems and Vibram's toe shoes---that's all I ever wear now--I only buy the shoes that are similar to walking barefoot or else I develop foot and back problems). Eight years ago I learned that the neuroma that I have in my foot (which made it hard for me to do spins in martial arts—also it would hurt when I jogged a long distance or when my feet would get really cold in the winter) was related to my back pain/problems. The neuroma (a swelling of the nerve fibers in the ball of my foot) may even have been causing my back pain. Switching to a bigger toe box on my shoes got rid of my foot pain, though the neuroma (swollen nerve fibers on the bottom of the foot) is still there. But if I don't constantly irritate the neuroma by putting pressure on it, the pain mostly goes away and stays away. I still do spins in martial arts though. So, I can still put some stress on the nerve fiber, but not in a constant, nagging kind of way where the bones of my foot are squeezed into high heeled shoes or shoes that are too tight for my feet.

The same concept applies to Todd's nerve problems (given that this is what's going on with him). That’s why I’m telling this story. There may be some nerve, let's say, the Obturator Nerve that's irritated because something in his spine is tight or pinched. Or maybe the tightness and pinching is happening due to swelling in his intestines. Figuring out what’s causing the nerve to misfire is really the goal for him if neuropathy sounds like the real problem.

Maybe a nerve in his pelvis has gotten wrinkled inside its fascia. If he can work out the wrinkle (Rolfing or Prolotherapy), or at least figure out how not to irritate that part of the nerve (Standing up at a desk, moving around more, etc.) through some movement or lack of movement that happens during his day, the pain may start to go away or at least diminish. Keep in mind that maybe this pain started because Todd had--I don't know--a knee injury ten years ago so he sat differently at a chair for several months. Then the nerve fiber got bunched and irritated and very slowly, over time, this nerve started making Todd's leg's restless. Meanwhile, Todd is desperately trying to ignore what's going on. He has enough stress in his life and who wants to tune into groin pain? If he looks up testicular pain on the Internet, he'll find article after article about cancer, so...he just ignores it because it's TERRIFYING and no one wants to hear about his groin! (The Doctor winces when he says the words “testicle” or “penis”.) So, now his groin/testicles are like, "Pay ATTENTION TODD!" And they've got his full attention now, right? And he has this golden opportunity to give his pain attention...

He should definitely think about his daily habits...the things he does unconsciously without thinking that might make the pain worse. It could be anything. When I had back pain, I had to retrain myself to bend at my knees instead of my hips to spit into the sink while brushing my teeth! Otherwise, I'd set off my pain at the beginning and end of every day and it would all go downhill from there. So...pain is instructive. He should use it as a guide and try not to be afraid of it. Not every testicular problem is cancer!!!

Again, with nerves, pain begets more pain. So that "feel good" sensation of rubbing a sore muscle can actually exacerbate the feeling of soreness if the pain you're "rubbing away" is caused by a nerve problem. This can help Todd diagnose his problem. Muscles are like dogs...they respond pretty predictably to massage and pain killers. Nerves, on the other hand, are more like cats. They can go crazy on you for what seems like no reason.

I currently have elbow pain, for example and I was unconsciously rubbing at it for WEEKS as we led up to this whole rendezvous with my cousin (NOTE TO THE READER: I’m writing these emails from Tanzania during the COVID-19 pandemic after trying to get to my meth addicted cousin after he was trapped in Myanmar for 8 months). My back was sore and tight and I ended up with nerve pain in the elbow. And until I tuned into the pain and started paying attention to myself (I was very focused on my family), I kept thinking it was my muscles. I wasn't paying attention to myself. I was too stressed to just pay attention to myself and notice that my back was tense, and so a nerve was probably pinched and irritated. This elbow thing would really worry me if I didn't know what was going on. My husband and I did some martial arts yesterday and I can do blocks and punches and stretches and what not, and that doesn't hurt! But if the elbow "sits" quietly and rests, it'll start to hurt as soon as I move it. So, I have to pay attention to it and I've noticed that I especially have problems if I let my elbow hyper-extend just a bit off the side of the bed while I'm sleeping. I wake up, move it, and then it hurts.

So it sounds like Todd’s testicle pain is something that maybe happens during the day that irritates the nerves in Todd's pelvis or spine and then at night, the nerves start misfiring and screaming at him. Todd mentioned his left leg throbbing. I'm going to think about that some more and do some research on that, but at the very least, it seems probable that the nerve problem originates on the left side of his body, which could be good to know.

Again, without doing a lot of research, I have some thoughts:

ROLFING: Is there are Rolfer in Chicago who has worked with this kind of problem successfully in other people? I know that the location of Todd's pain (in his groin/testicles) makes it more difficult for him to seek out help for it. Pain sucks to begin with but then to have to discuss your private parts with people and have them work on it adds yet another layer to the ordeal. But he could send emails to Rolfers and find out whether any of them have worked with neuropathy in the groin area of a man and just ask if they have experience with that sort of thing. That way, he wouldn't have to discuss it in person.

NEURAL THERAPY aka PROLOTHERAPY: I know there are doctors in Mexico who do Prolotherapy to cure nerve pain and there are probably some in the U.S. too. This is a real game changer in terms of nerve pain. A doctor basically just injects lidocaine and DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide) into an area of the body where there’s nerve pain. It stops that "pain begets more pain" cycle and resets the body and the nerves. The DMSO heals nerves so that helps to cure testicular pain too, of course. I discovered Prolotherapy back when I did research on cancer, but I'd forgotten about it. The results are often miraculous. There's no surgery, just injections.

DMSO and MAGNESIUM: DMSO is amazing stuff! In Oregon, a Dr. Jacob's used DMSO on car accident patients with spinal cord injuries. One of the guys had his spinal cord broken at C5 (normally people don't survive anything lower than a C7 break). Dr. Jacob's gave this guy huge quantities of DMSO through an IV. The guy not only survived, but he WALKED out of the hospital. Of course, the family had to really fight to keep getting those IV's for him because, ya know, they were working and he wasn’t going to have to be completely dependent on Big Pharma, but—staying focused on the positives-- that's just one example of what DMSO can do for nerve problems. DMSO is miraculous in terms of what it can do for nerves. I've used it on my elbow but unfortunately, I accidentally bought the Odor-ful kind and didn't realize it. You have to buy the NO ODOR DMSO, otherwise you smell like rotting oysters and you don't even know it! It's a very strong smell that lasts for up to 48 hours after you take your final dose. So I haven’t religiously applied it to my elbow yet (because I don’t want to smell like death). But I have used it successfully to treat and cure sinus infections, injuries, animal bites, infections, pain, ear infections, systemic infections (including coronavirus), cancer, malaria, and more.

DMSO has the ability to penetrate through the skin and it takes things with it. This can be a really good thing (where DMSO is combined with low-dose chemo to deliver the chemo directly to cancer cells without harming the healthy cells in DMSO Potentiated Therapy, known as DPT.) But this can also be a bad thing in that the DMSO can take toxic things into the cells. Like the acetone in nail polish, for example, or the chemicals in your shampoo. You don’t want those chemicals in your cells! But DMSO by itself almost as non-toxic as water. It combines easily with practically everything though! So you have to be careful when using it to make sure that you keep it pure. Use only soaps that don't contain fragrances and other toxic chemicals for example. And put it in glass, not plastic if you’re mixing it with water! Keep the area where you're using it unclothed so that the dyes in clothing fabrics don't end up in your cells. Wait at least 15 minutes for it to soak in..that sort of thing...but DMSO can work miracles. Everyone should have some in their medicine cabinet since it’s cheap and you can order it on Amazon.

DMSO can be drying so Todd may need to combine it with filtered water. If it causes a rash, just put water on the rash. It's about as non-toxic as a medicine can be, so he won't be allergic to it (transplant organs are soaked in DMSO to keep them healthy before transplantation, and this stuff is FDA approved for use in pregnant women as an indicator its low toxicity). It kills pain, but it's painkilling abilities wear off faster than Tylenol or Ibuprophen. But while it's killing pain, it's also bringing down inflammation and actually healing the nerve tissues. So reapplying it when the pain comes back is a good idea even though it's more work than taking a pill.

The Magnesium will help calm his nerve pain too.

Todd could also drink water with DMSO in it. DMSO goes where it needs to go in the body. It "has it's own intelligence" perhaps because it comes from trees. So, while Todd is thinking about Rolfing or Prolotherapy (if this information resonates with him), he could order some DMSO and get started working on the groin pain on his own right away.

TENs MACHINE: TENs therapy can help nerves stop misfiriing sometimes. I really love my TENs machine. I bought one for my cousin’s father-in-law when we were in Myanmar because he has back pain (the whole village gathered around it and oggled it). The TENs Machine basically shocks the body over and over and again, but it can divert attention away from nerve pain and energize nerves that are ailing. He'd put the pads on his hips or at his sacrum and maybe on the pubis symphysis (the bony part of the pelvis that you can feel just above the penis).

ZERO DROP SHOES: If Todd has a pinched nerve, zero drop shoes could take pressure off the nerve and start healing his back by changing his posture. The very best exercise for a pinched nerve in the back is walking heel-to-toe. It relieves pain. But you can’t walk heel-to-toe in regular tennis shoes because they’re built to change your posture in a way that makes the heel-to-toe movement nearly impossible. As a result, most people walk around using an unnatural gait and poor posture. Changing to zero drop shoes will instantly start transforming your posture and though this may seem unrelated to Todd’s testicle pain, if it IS indeed a pinched or irritated nerve in his spine or pelvic area, it isn’t hard to imagine how changing his posture overall (and the position of the vertebrae of the spine) might relieve that pain.

STANDING DESK: It's possible that long hours sitting at a desk are part of the pain cycle for Todd. Standing can change his posture and help relieve that pain (I’m standing with my computer on the kitchen counter right now because sitting all day is unhealthy). At the very least, standing would raise his metabolism and strengthen his core. The standing doesn't usually HURT (literally or figuratively) and since it sounds like a back issue, a standing desk would be a really good idea. MUCUNA PRURIENS + Vitamin B6 24 mg + Vitamin B Complex: Mucuna will increase Todd's dopamine levels. It won't hurt him, and it’ll relieve his stress and put him in a better mood. If he does have restless legs syndrome, it'll help with that. Because it could be a separate problem (the nerve issue could be caused by something different than his restless legs). The Mucuna might help him tease these problems apart. KRATOM or AKUAMMA SEEDS: Kratom can be addictive. It's a plant medicine that people use to relieve neuropathy pain though. Todd could use 3 different types of Kratom (red vein, green vein, white vein) on alternating days to avoid becoming addicted to it, but he should be aware that it's not legal everywhere in the world so he can't travel with it (he’d need to check to make sure it’s legal in countries he might travel to). Akuamma also can work for neuropathy as I understand it and it's legal everywhere, but it takes practice to dose it properly. Both would also help him relieve stress.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I started looking at the medications that Todd is taking and...

Calcium: I don't personally take calcium or want my family members to take calcium because it can create imbalances with the other ions that work in tandem with it. Taking Calciuim can lead to unintended side effects that are bad enough that I've personally blacklisted it for myself and my loved ones...

Calm Magnesium Gummies: Magnesium is GOOD! He should take plenty of it! As much as he can tolerate!

Valacyclovir: I found some research on a cursory search that indicated that this medicine could cause neuropathy, but I need to look more closely at this. Herpes lives in the spinal cord in the lower back, as I recall. Some MMS / CDS could cure herpes for him and get rid of it entirely, but not everyone is open to using this medicine even though most people drink it as water purification agent in municipal water supplies. Also, there's Shilajit (Humic/Fulvic Acid) and a host of other things that Todd could do if he ever wants to work on ridding himself entirely of the herpes virus. I know that sounds far out, but it IS possible to cure Herpes.

Pantopazole: This is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and I don't know very much about it except that I would try to avoid taking a drug like this (as you know) because it would pretty much screw up your digestion and then, your health would deteriote over time as a result of malnutrition and poor absorption.

I want to add that one of the things that contributed to my back problem that I talked about at the beginning of this message was intestinal parasites. Gross, I know, but we all have SOME intestinal parasites. The people who don't have any parasites tend to have crippling allergies (they go buy hookworms in Cameroon to stock up). The year before, we'd gone to India and I think I'd gotten an "infestation" of worms. I took something called Pyrantel Pamoate for 3 days (1 dose per day) per month over the course of about 6 months and I felt like a new person afterwards. I've written about our parasite experience  and these articles rank among the highest that people hit all the time. Doctors in the U.S. say that American can't have worms. They'll laugh at you if you say you think you have parasites. It's literally almost impossible to find an American doctor who'll help you treat parasites, which is crazy (the problem of ADHD and pinworms in children, for example, would change the face of public education). In Mexico, you can buy Vermox at every pharmacy over-the-counter. And you can tell that parents are de-worming their kids a couple of times a year because the kids still eat candy, but they aren't all ADHD.

It may seem like a tenuous connection to say that an intestinal infection with worms could be related to back pain...or that an American could end up with worms at all without traveling to India (if Todd's children have ever been in daycare, they have pinworms and pinworms can wake you up at night and make your insides feel like they're shaking). But the intestines sit in the pelvis up against the spine. And if you have a lot of parasites (an "infestation" as they say), then some of those parasites die and rot before being sent out of the body. As they rot, they release toxins that cause all kinds of weirdness. I mean...be creative with this thought!!! (eye twitching, depression, paranoia, achiness, anorexia, ADHD, apnea, night terrors, bed wetting, digestive upsets, back pain, leg pain, fatigue, arthritis, neuralgia---I had decided that I didn't care if I was alive anymore...not that I was going to kill myself, but just that if I died, I didn't care---that's how bad I felt with parasites). Parasites can cause very very strange symptoms and they can different in every person in the family. If one person in the family does a parasite cleanse, everyone should do the cleanse (wash the sheets at the same time).

There's no test for parasites. In my opinion, everyone should just do a parasite cleanse twice a year with this stuff (it tastes like sugar cookies):

Pyrantel Pamoate:

Since Todd has been taking Pantoprazole, I would guess that his digestive system is weak and he may very well have a parasite infestation since he has young kids in the home (any pets???). And if his kids have ever been in daycare or any institutional setting with a lot of other kids, then...well...pinworm eggs are spread through the air, so you do the math on that!

NOTE: A parasite cleanse causes a detox for about 5 days (feelings of malaise), but that's a sign that he'll feel better after those first five days. He should eat some apricot kernels (about 12 per day) and keep taking Lugol's Iodine.

GERD THOUGHTS: Often people can take enzymes for GERD rather than PPIs. But that's up to him. If he wants to get off his prescription meds, then he could do that and I could recommend some things he could experiment with to find a good combo to keep his GERD under control.

Okay...so that's a lot of information. With a problem like Todd's I would recommend getting off the conventional medicine path and venturing a little more down the alternative medicine path to see what works and what doesn't. The treatments are also often the diagnosis in alternative medicine. In other words, not everything will work to make him feel better, but if he tries something that doesn't work, then he'll at least know something new about what works and what doesn't. And that will eventually lead him to his cure for testicle pain.

I'll stop there for now because I'd like to hear whether Todd feels like neuropathy sounds like what he's got or not. Also, I'm interested in which treatments he gravitates toward if any. If he finds a solution for his problem though in the meantime, Kudos!!! :)

JENNIFER: Hi Bryan! I did some research on the other drugs Todd is taking and in the spirit of not overwhelming him (and you too, since you also take a Proton Pump Inhibitor/PPI for your GERD), I'll just hit the basic points. I HATE researching pharmaceuticals because it's rare for me NOT to find awful stuff about side effects that people don't want to hear.

So...I'll talk first about Todd's prescription meds: ___________________________________________

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS--

FINASTERIDE (Propecia)

Finasteride is a bad, bad drug. It should be removed from the market, in my opinion, but because men don't talk readily about the sexual problems it causes, Big Pharma has been able to keep selling it. It causes the kinds of problems that make it so patients need additional drugs to treat the side effects.

VALACYCLOVIR (VALTREX)

Herpes is a disease that lives and infects the body through the nerves and nervous system. So, you can imagine how this drug would probably have an impact on nerves and pain.

One of the side effects that Valacyclovir causes is hair loss and/or thinning of the hair. They have this side effect listed as "incidence unknown" so they don't have to report it as "common". But that's not all. I'll list the side effects that are relevant to Todd's situation below:

-Restlessness -Shakiness in the legs, arms, hands, or feet (Read: restlessness in the legs/extremities) -Nervousness -Anxiety -Agitation -Back or leg pains -Trouble sleeping -Body aches -Pain -Muscle aches -Muscle pain and stiffness -Pain -Pain in the joints -Hair loss -Thinning of the hair -Difficulty moving the hip, wrist, or back (carpal tunnel syndrome) -Insomnia -Gynecomastia in men (male breasts)

PANTOPRAZOLE

This is the Proton Pump Inhibitor/PPI. You wouldn't think that a drug that lowers the acidity levels in your stomach would be as evil as they are. They're a mainstay for Big Pharma though (well-known for their profit potential) and as I recall, some of the most commonly prescribed drugs on the market, in part because they cause nutritional deficiencies that get people into a downward spiral that's hard for them to pull out of. Anyone who is taking a drug like this can look forward to developing:

-Kidney Disease -Vitamin and mineral deficiencies (this is a serious thing---not as mundane as it sounds) -Osteoporosis (where your bones break when you roll over in bed) -Infections (Pneumonia or Clostridium difficile. C. diff, as it’s affectionately called by those afflicted by it, is the other big infection that often comes down the pipe, no pun intended, with PPIs---C. Diff ruins people's lives. Many people who get it have explosive diarrhea every day of their lives if they don't discover something like MMS to cure it.) -Dementia (probably due to the vitamin B12 deficiency that inevitably develops as a result of taking these drugs)

Also, pantoprazole specifically can cause people to feel "jittery" which made me think of how Todd describes the feeling he often wakes up with in the night when he gets up to take ibuprofen.

________________

KNEE PAIN (Bryan sent a short email describing knee pain and Bruxism that Todd was also experiencing).

I want to comment really quick on Todd's knee pain that you mentioned in an earlier email to me. He may have thinning cartilage in the knee.  That's possible. But the pain that he's describing sounds exactly like sciatica to me and NOT like a cartilage problem. The sciatic nerve is likely involved in the neuropathy pain that he feels in other parts of his body. Often people will feel sciatica pain when they have inflammation in the colon. The pain can even feel a bit like its behind the knee cap. It "moves" and kind of nags. Having the pain in the side and back of the knee REALLY sounds like sciatica to me and NOT a cartilage issue, but I suppose it could be thin cartilage nonetheless.

That being said, the same treatments that Todd did for his knee are treatments that he could do for hair loss (Plasma Rich Platelet therapy - PRP and stem cell treatments). I guess, I've never heard of trying to regrow cartilage in the knee with stem cell therapies. Regrowing cartilage is difficult, but I'm sure it's not impossible. Yin Yoga is a type of exercise that claims to regrow cartilage and John has had a lot of success using it for his aches and pains (Bernie Clark is a good Yin Yoga instructor for men). Cartilage, for some reason is just hard to grow. If the pain isn't a constant or at least predictable pain that always happens when Todd makes specific movements (like going up stairs), it's likely that it's a nerve. If it hurts sometimes and not at other times when he goes up the stairs, that does NOT sound like a cartilage issue to me.

My concern is that the Pantoprazole is causing calcium deficiencies that aren't correctable with supplements while he's still taking the drug because the PPI makes it impossible for the body to absorb nutrients. This could play a role in causing Todd to lose bone tissue and cartilage.

But before I go down that train of thought, I tend to come back to nerves as the issue because they're clearly playing a role in Todd's other problems.

Without discontinuing the pharmaceuticals (and taking up less damaging, more beneficial treatment strategies for his various problems), it will be impossible to know what's what...which symptoms are "real". Which symptoms are caused by actual physical problems and which of Todd's symptoms are being caused by the medications (as side effects) that he's taking.

__________________

Bruxism - Jaw Clenching

In the past, I had so many issues with jaw clenching that I actually ended up getting braces a second time in my 30's. My front teeth started to move out of place because whenever I had to pee in the middle of the night, I'd clench my jaw tightly without realizing it. It took me a long time to connect those two things (bladder irritation and jaw clenching--doctors looked at me blankly when I told them about it). Several years later, I learned that, for me, this was actually a symptom of a parasite infection (which is intestinal). Parasites are a relatively easy fix though at least. Anti-parasitics are cheap. You take them for a few days and then that's it for 6 months. They're painless and then you can rule out the possibility of parasites.

I do have to say though that teeth and gum problems are often associated with hair loss and hair thinning too. There are some theories out there that hair loss is due to an infection. I'm still researching this. It's a real puzzler and my curiosity is piqued because...the science I’ve been reading doesn't make sense, so I'm waiting to see if I can uncover something more in the "miracle" category.

At any rate though, I recommend taking pyrantel pamoate, 1 dose (based on the body weight chart on the back of the bottle) for 3 days in a row. It's like trouble-shooting for the body. Once that's done, you'll know that parasites aren't your issue anymore. The whole family should do it at the same time. (Wash the sheets, just for fun. Don't think about it all too much. No need to make a big to-do over the parasite cleanse.)

___________________

HOPEFUL THOUGHTS

I have so much hopeful stuff right now, Bryan that I'm mostly just working on how to compile it to where Todd doesn't have to learn an overwhelming amount of information because I'm sure he's got his own work and his family, etc. But you and he could both work on your GERDs together. A lot of the treatments that I'm going to recommend are different than what a doctor would prescribe. The biggest difference is that there's no prescription. In other words, people have to learn how to use the tools and the tools always involve tuning in to how the tools affect you and your disease. It isn't going to be like when a doctor prescribes pills and you just take them on schedule without thinking about it. The pills fall into the background and you don't have to think about them or understand them. But a mantra in the holistic treatment of major diseases is that you have to become an expert on your own disease. Health is something that comes from living inside your own body and caring about yourself enough to notice how you feel and how the stuff you put into and onto your body affects your health.

So there will be a learning curve. Todd can make the changes in stages, step-by-step. My role is strictly to educate and support people emotionally because this educational aspect requires emotional support. Without it, people can't cross over to the other side of medicine where there are actual cures for diseases and pain.

But I also can't claim to cure people of anything. People cure themselves. It has to be this way!

The PPI should not be abruptly discontinued. It's like, you've been taking this drug that makes it really hard for the body to make hydrochloric acid to digest food in the stomach. So the body has been working hard to make enough acid every time you eat something. So when you stop taking the drug, the body won't know that it's supposed to stop working hard to produce as much hydrochloric acid as it can make. This means that you could have a lot of acid in your stomach if you stop taking the drug suddenly. So it would be best to cut the pills in half. Take a teaspoon of baking soda in water if you have too much acid in your stomach when you first start backing off on your dosage. You could also use Quince seeds for high-acid moments as well. Ginger and mustard can also help quell high-acidity in the stomach from what I've read. It will take some time to reverse the damage caused by the PPI, but the body will eventually heal itself and you'll start to learn to use new tools to control the problem (tools that won't kill you or cause you to wish you were dead due to pain). I've still got some learning to do on GERD. I'd never heard of Quince before. I wrote the word down in the middle of the night as part of a dream where I’d seen it written on a pill bottle. I was surprised to learn that Quince SEEDS (not the fruit) have been used to treat GERD. So I'm very curious to see if it works and how well it works:

You have to boil the Quince Seeds and make a tea or a syrup out of them. Has Todd ever heard of L-Lysine for herpes? Maybe he's tried Lysine already, but I wanted to mention it. Getting rid of herpes will take some trial and error. Ideally, he would work up to 3 drops of activated MMS + 9 drops of DMSO (added into the water, right before drinking---only add the DMSO if you aren't taking the pharmaceuticals) hourly for 8 hours per day for AT LEAST ONE MONTH. But it could take longer. He needs to put a mix of 3 drops of MMS with 3 drops of the activator with 3 drops of DMSO at the base of his spine 1 to 2 times per day too. And it wouldn't hurt to put some of that mix on any area of the skin/body that has pain. The DMSO will help dull the pain and heal the nerves for now. I'm also curious about Todd's hair loss, how it looks and what the pattern is on his scalp (receding hair line, general thinning, thinning in the back, that sort of thing). John also has thinning hair right now, so I've got a lot of motivation to go ahead and see what actually exists for hair loss. One year, in my thirties, I lost a TON of hair all at once. This turned out to be gut and parasite-related, but it scared the shit of out me. After the parasite cleanse, my hair regrew (I was SO relieved). Anyway, it's a common problem and it looks like there's some interesting research out there and treatments too. The iRestore red light therapy device has excellent reviews for hair regrowth, but it's a bit expensive. However, I've also seen some talk of people using DMSO on their scalp, which is fine if you're using a non-toxic shampoo and soap (otherwise the DMSO will take the toxins into your bloodstream because it binds with everything). DMSO can be drying, so that's why I'm curious about his hair loss pattern and whether or not he could apply it to the scalp without making his existing hair dry and brittle.

Safe bar soap for use with DMSO:

Safe Shampoo to use with DMSO (also good for hair regrowth):

And finally (at least for this email), it would be good for Todd to get a Myers Cocktail, which is an IV therapy that includes vitamin B12, calcium, magnesium, and all the vitamins and minerals that you're both likely deficient in. Ideally, you'd do this IV treatment after you quit taking the other medications (as a reset for your body). Todd could ask for a specific formulation that would help with hair loss, but the vitamin B12 and magnesium is ESSENTIAL for him. An IV of vitamin C wouldn't hurt either (vitamin C helps rebuild tissues and while oral doses of vitamin C don't make miracles happen, IV-sized doses of vitamin C is a big threat to Big Pharma because the body starts to repair itself quickly after getting a high dose of this stuff---and it's affordable, relatively speaking).

The ReviveDoc in Chicago offers injections of vitamin B12, glutathione, B complex, Biotin (for hair), and more at very affordable prices. https://therevivedoc.com/inject

Also see their "infusions" page of intravenous therapies: https://therevivedoc.com/infuse (Again, I recommend a Myer's Cocktail at first and a vitamin C bag too, if you feel like giving yourself an extra boost).

_________________________

Summary

For General Health:

-Myer's Cocktail at ReviveDoc - https://therevivedoc.com/infuse - Amino Acids (to spur hair growth, but also to help prevent cold sores), especially L-Cysteine, Methionine, and L-Lysine. Avoid L-Arginine, which can cause herpes simplex breakouts. - Avoid the amino acid L-Arginine in supplements and in food. -Foods that contain L-Arginine (which can cause herpes simplex flare-ups). AVOID THE FOLLOWING WHENEVER POSSIBLE. NOTE IF ANY OF THEM CAUSE HERPES SIMPLEX FLARE UPS:

• Nuts including hazelnuts, walnuts, peanuts, pecans, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, etc.
• Sesame seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Oats
• Corn
• Cereals
• Buckwheat
• Brown Rice
• Dairy products
• Meat
• Chocolate

FINASTERIDE - discontinue, if possible.

Instead:

-iRestore red light therapy for hair regrowth - $545 (expensive, but consider it)

-Biotin injection at ReviveDoc - https://therevivedoc.com/inject -Topical Essential Oils with DMSO for hair regrowth

VALACYCLOVIR -discontinue, if possible

Instead:

-MMS + MMS Activator (in a 1:1 relationship--activate for 1 minute. Activated MMS is an amber color.) - start with 1 activated drop per hour for 8 hours per day. When you have discontinued your pharmaceuticals, you can add DMSO in a 3:1 relationship after you've added the water to the mixture. Drink it immediately.

-L-Lysine supplements: (these will help your body absorb calcium to rebuild your bone tissues)

PANTOPRAZOLE - discontinue slowly. Divide pills in half and then into quarters.

Instead:

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda in water when you have too much acid in your stomach - Take Quince seeds as a tea

- Chew fresh ginger - Drink green tea

NOTE that it is possible that you may need to take Pepsin or HCl supplements and make your stomach more acidic rather than taking baking soda to make it more alkaline. Every body is different and some people may have trouble kickstarting their stomach lining to produce HCl again after years on a PPI. On the other hand, a different person may over-produce acid and need to work on alkalinizing their stomach to keep acid levels in check. If you still feel really full 30 minutes after you finish eating, you may need to take Pepsin/HCl for low acidity in the stomach.

Okay...so that's a lot of information. I'll send more information soon.











Resources: