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DXM hypogonadism?

atrollappears

Bluelighter
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This is copied from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreational_use_of_dxm#Risks_associated_with_use

"Erectile dysfunction and diminished libido can be a longer-term effect (years to decades) of many narcotic analgesics due to development of central hypogonadism; this appears to be especially common in individuals with significant melanin deficiencies, as the hormones tied to melanin production affect the absorption and conversion of these analgesics into progesterone.[17] Additionally, the haplotypes of about 48% of the indigenous population of Great Britain aggravate the condition, as the E647 sequence underwent epigenetic degradation and became a pseudogene. The chance of vulnerability is doubled for males, as the critical sequence is located on the X chromosome.[18]"

It was my impression that hormonal effects of opiates were directly due to their activation of the opiate receptors, not due to metabolic byproducts. This paragraph sounds legitimate (at least with respect to the risks of whatever is included by "many narcotic analgesics"), but the citations "Busch and Grenfield et al." and "Advanced Hormone Physiology"(?) are questionable since there aren't links, though Busch and Grenfield are real people.

So, my question for you, ADD, is: Is this paragraph bullshit? If not, is it bullshit with respect to DXM? I don't know much about metabolism or opiate chemistry, but DXM does not look like any sort of reasonable metabolic process would transform it into progesterone.
 
Interesting about the atherosclerosis, and I definitely agree about the afterglow. This would be talking about loss of sex drive in the long term though. Do you know anything about this theory that DXM or other agents chemically similar to opiates are metabolized into progesterone?
 
i don't know anything about that, sorry. if you take a DXM molecule and lay it over a Progesterone do they line up to any degree, etc?

i do have more anecdotal stuff though... the only friend i have who uses more DXM than me claims to have pretty much 0 sex drive. could be related. DXM has never personally caused me to lose my sex drive to a great degree though... and i've gone on some epic binges.
 
You say "to a great degree," so it seems to have decreased your sex drive to some extent? If so, does this effect dissipate if you abstain for some period of time?
 
i thought about elaborating on that bit when i first posted it, but decided not to because it is mainly moot...

mainly what i was thinking when i made that comment is that the acute effects of DXM make it both difficult to perform and difficult to reach completion.

even during extended binges i'd say i have sexual activity every few days at least.

wish i had something more scientific to contribute.
 
Oh okay. Yeah now that I think about it I notice that in some people DXM inhibits sex drive, but that it seems to be an acute effect of the drug, rather than the result of some degradation, because it occurs in first/second time users.

Thanks for your help, by the way, however unscientific.

As for laying the structure of DXM over that of progesterone, they match at some points, but there are a few rings stuck to other rings here and there which I really doubt that the body would create itself, at least not reliably enough to have a real effect on hormones.
 
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I'd delete the entire paragraph, as it's not specific to DXM and way too technical (e.g. "the E647 sequence underwent epigenetic degradation and became a pseudogene") for an encyclopedia article entitled "Recreational use of dextromethorphan". Additionally, I can find no published documentation of in-vivo conversion of morphinans to progesterone.
 
There is absolutely no way that DXM or opioids would be converted into progesterone in-vivo. Into metabolites having progestogenic activity, perhaps, but not into progesterone per se.
 
I'd delete the entire paragraph, as it's not specific to DXM and way too technical (e.g. "the E647 sequence underwent epigenetic degradation and became a pseudogene") for an encyclopedia article entitled "Recreational use of dextromethorphan". Additionally, I can find no published documentation of in-vivo conversion of morphinans to progesterone.

There is absolutely no way that DXM or opioids would be converted into progesterone in-vivo. Into metabolites having progestogenic activity, perhaps, but not into progesterone per se.

Thanks for the info guys. I wonder where this bullshit came from :P
 
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