Wanted to share a recent experience at YVR that might save someone a headache.

I’m on TN status, currently living in the US. Was in Vancouver for a few days and used the NEXUS lane on the way back through YVR. The Global Entry kiosk’s facial biometric scan failed to recognize me, so it flagged me to talk to an officer.

The officer rescanned me, and when I explained I live in the US, they asked why lol (he thought I'm entering on B1), even though I have TN set as my default entry type in the Global Entry app, the system apparently didn’t have that on file. The officer ended up rescanning my face and asked for a printed I-94 to admit me on TN.

A few takeaways:

Your I-94 admission date updates every time you cross, so an old printout won’t reflect your latest entry; reprint it after each crossing.

There’s also an expiration date on the I-94 (bottom right) that needs to be regenerated/reprinted periodically; mine needed refreshing roughly monthly.

Setting TN as your “default” entry type in the Global Entry app didn’t prevent this from happening, so don’t rely on it.

Interestingly, crossing by land with NEXUS was a non-issue; no questions asked, no I-94 requested and I was correctly admitted on TN, not B1. This seems to be specific to the airport preclearance process currently.

Hey everyone, quick question: is it okay to take Shilajit and LDN together? Is there any interaction I should be aware of?

Hey everyone,

Sharing a quick breakdown of an exploratory pattern-search compiled from a small PSSD/PFS patient community cohort.

Full Working Document (PDF): https://limewire.com/d/YEvUZ#I4K7D0izlM

(Disclaimer: Small self-selected sample, no controls; hypothesis-generating only!)

TL;DR & Key Findings

• "Low Testosterone" is Often a Testing Artifact: Low urine T on DUTCH was linked to high epitestosterone-to-testosterone (epi-T:T) ratios (~4.2x to 15x)—a classic UGT2B17 gene deletion pattern that prevents urinary excretion. Always confirm low T with serum labs rather than relying on urine.
• 5α-Reductase Varies Wildly: Activity spanned from the 35th to 100th percentile across subjects. While internally consistent per individual, it isn't a uniform single-direction PSSD/PFS signature.
• Dopamine (HVA) Caution: Urinary HVA leaned low-normal (3.2–6.3 µg/mg), but urine is a poor proxy for brain dopamine. Notably, methylphenidate triggered a severe crash in one post-SSRI case, warning against naive attempts to force-boost dopamine in a destabilized system.
• Cortisol & DHEA-S Leans: Low or low-normal morning cortisol and DHEA-S were common (4 out of 5 cases), but these are non-specific and typical of chronic stress, sleep disturbance, or depression.
• Pharmacogenetics > Gene Fishing: Whole-exome filtering on broad gene lists mostly yielded common, benign variants. The real actionable lead is CYP2D6 metabolizer status given its direct role in clearing specific antidepressants.

Would love to hear thoughts from Dr. Powers and the community on these DUTCH panel interpretations and pharmacogenetic considerations!

I have a history of PSSD and Long COVID. I started taking Black Seed Oil (BSO) for inflammation and gut motility, and honestly, the results were incredible:

• My PSSD symptoms improved (libido and erectile health returned).
• My Long COVID symptoms subsided, and I was even able to tolerate gluten again without inflammation.

The Issue:
While on BSO, I experienced massive, rapid weight gain. To be clear: I gained this while on the supplement, not just after. It wasn't a gradual process, it felt like my body was suddenly "hoarding" mass. The frustration is that this weight has been incredibly stubborn and has not budged since I stopped using BSO. It feels less like fat and more like persistent fluid retention and a metabolic "stall."

I’m looking for community experience on:

1. The Mechanism: Has anyone experienced "stubborn" weight or fluid gain while taking BSO that didn't resolve immediately upon stopping?
2. The "Reverse": Did you find a way to safely reverse this without using metabolic stimulants?
3. Hormonal/Metabolic Links: Did you discover any blood markers (like thyroid or insulin) that were thrown off by BSO, which might explain why the weight gain is so resistant to diet/exercise?

I am feeling really discouraged because BSO fixed my PSSD/Long COVID symptoms, but the metabolic cost feels too high. Has anyone successfully "rebooted" their metabolism after a reaction like this?

Any advice or "been there" stories would be greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone, I've been reading through some old threads and came across a post from 2017 on the PSSD Forum by a user called endoKRIN, Schisandra Chinensis tincture, with some estrogen receptor/prolactin studies attached. It gets brought up here every so often as a hopeful lead, so I wanted to actually dig into it before trying it myself.
Also, someone on the PSSD subreddit posted a positive outcome: https://www.reddit.com/r/PSSD/comments/15mqhsq/hope_this_helps_those_of_you_who_might_be_fresh/

A couple of things stood out to me. The original poster mentioned their dysfunction was partly "psychogenic," and a couple of people asked pretty quickly whether they had genital numbness specifically, but that never got answered in the thread. I also found a more recent thread where someone described Schisandra giving them a nice lift for a week or two and then "numbing" them out again, so they ended up cycling it with saffron and ginkgo just to keep any benefit at all.

So, before I go spend money on a Schisandra, I guess I'm wondering what people's actual experience has been. Did anyone try this because of that old post, or separately, and have it hold up past the first couple of weeks? Did it do anything for numbness, or was it more of a mood/anxiety thing for you? And if it did fade on you, how long did that take, and did cycling off help bring it back?

Not trying to rain on anyone's parade, I know this community runs on hope, and honestly, so am I. Just trying to get a clearer picture of the real, lived pattern here since the studies people cite are all rat tissue/organ bath stuff showing short-lived effects, not anything that's been shown to last in a person. If it's genuinely helped some of you long-term, I'd love to hear that too.

I've been on LDN a few weeks (for sexual dysfunction/PSSD — low libido and ED). The part I can't wrap my head around: at 1–2 mg it worked really well, but when I titrated up to 3 mg the effect just disappeared. Nothing now.

I've read LDN has a kind of inverted-U dose response — that the benefit comes from a brief, partial receptor blockade triggering an endorphin rebound, and that going too high gives you more continuous blockade and kills that rebound. Which would explain why "more" made it worse, not better.

A few questions for people who've been at this longer:

1. Did anyone else have LDN work at a low dose and then lose it when you went up?

2. Did going back DOWN restore the effect?

3. How did you find your "sweet spot" — and how long did you give each dose before judging it?

Trying to figure out if I overshot my window. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I wanted to share my recent Nexus interview experience – I got approved!

I'm an Iranian-Canadian on TN status in California. I was conditionally approved (after 2.5 months) and had my interview last week at the Blaine Nexus Center in Washington state.

The interview was less than 5 minutes – the whole thing went very smoothly. I had to provide typical documents along with my TN I-94 form. The Canadian side (CBSA) was extremely friendly and straightforward with no issues at all. The US side (CBP) was a bit stricter, but nothing unreasonable!

They asked about my Iranian passport as well, and when I last visited Iran, which was quite a while ago. I also provided proof that I was exempt from military service due to my educational status and explained that I haven't returned since. Everything checked out fine!

They verified everything and added my Iranian passport information to my profile along with my Canadian Passport and Driver's License. Going forward, I'll need to carry both my Nexus card and my Canadian and Iranian passports whenever I cross the border.

Hope this helps anyone going through a similar process! Feel free to ask if you have questions about the experience.

"SSRIs, augmented with Finasteride, are the suggested 'treatment' for male sex offenders, both used in tandem to reduce their sex drive. These are literally chemical castration drugs, and psychiatry knows it."

When I saw the PDF, I just wanted to throw up!!!

https://preview.redd.it/736inwsyrz3h1.png?width=1319&format=png&auto=webp&s=46a5b167b188b5c4cf10e8220d9cb76c928a185d

X Link:
SSRIs, augmented with Finasteride, are the suggested 'treatment' for male sex offenders

Link to Source:

https://www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/article/63727/how-select-pharmacologic-treatments-manage-recidivism-risk-sex-offenders

PDF link:
https://cdn.mdedge.com/files/s3fs-public/Document/September-2017/0810CP_Article3.pdf

Hey everyone, I just got my conditional approval after a 2-month wait and am looking to schedule the interview soon. I’m a Canadian citizen, but I also hold dual citizenship with one of the 39 countries affected by the U.S. travel restrictions, and I am currently in the U.S. on a TN visa.

Because of the dual citizenship and the current travel ban climate, I'm a bit anxious about the final hurdle and want to know if anyone has gone through the interview recently with a similar background. I'm wondering if the officers heavily grilled you about your second citizenship or past travel, and if being on a TN visa helped smooth things over or just drew more scrutiny regarding status. If you experienced any unexpected delays, got approved on the spot, or have tips on extra documents to bring like pay stubs or TN support letters beyond the standard passports, I would love to hear your experiences before I book my slot. Thanks!

Hey everyone, just curious if anyone has tried Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) or R-Alpha Lipoic Acid (R-ALA) and if it has any sort of help with your PSSD symptoms?