Butea superba, Tongkat Ali and testosterone
Unlike authors who write patchwork articles sewn together from the work of others solely to promote a brand, I know exactly how Butea superba, Tongkat Ali, and testosterone feel (or don’t feel), and what they do for me.
This assumes I am using proper extracts of Butea superba and Tongkat Ali, and not just raw root powders or substandard products put on the market solely for marketing purposes by people who know nothing about medicinal herbs. If you buy these root powders from websites that do not allow you to trace exactly where their merchandise originated, you have reason to feel cheated.
In the case of Tongkat Ali extract, I need about 3 grams per day if I want to achieve an effect (which is an exceptionally high, non-standard dose, equivalent to 150 grams of raw root), and after using it continuously for about 2 weeks, I find I need to adjust the dosage.
However, alternating Butea superba and Tongkat Ali extracts is much better than simply increasing the dosage of Tongkat Ali.
While Tongkat Ali is used to support testosterone levels, Butea superba is primarily a natural phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor. However, their ultimate effect on supporting libido and sexual function can be similar.
If I were to point out a difference, it is probably that Tongkat Ali extract seems to increase my drive and aggression slightly. Butea superba extract seems to be slightly better for erection quality. High dosages of Butea superba are supposed to act similarly to sildenafil (Viagra), but without the annoying headache that often accompanies synthetic PDE5 inhibitors.
I know exactly what the Butea superba and Tongkat Ali extracts do for me, and what they don’t, because, over the span of several years, I have done multiple "challenges."
A “challenge” means: I judge the effect of these extracts not only during periods when I consume my daily dosages, but also, more importantly, during periods when I am completely off them.
These "off" periods turn out to be very revealing.
Butea superba and Tongkat Ali are hormonal and vascular modulators; as a rule of thumb, unless one ingests massive overdoses of hormonal products, one doesn’t acutely "feel" hormones (with the exception of thyroid hormones). I have used human growth hormone (HGH) over months, and I did get the edema that is a typical side effect, proving it was physiologically active. However, I never felt any subjective sexual enhancement from it. In the specific context of sexual enhancement, HGH was functionally useless for me.
I also tried the full range of testosterone products: oral testosterone, Andriol and Proviron, testosterone patches and cream, aromatase inhibitors like anastrozole, and hypothalamic stimulators like clomiphene.
Proviron (mesterolone) subjectively gave me an amphetamine-like stimulation, while Andriol, testosterone patches, and creams felt like nothing. Anastrozole, in combination with clomiphene or alone, may have made me slightly more aggressive, but provided no distinct sexual benefit.
I stop taking certain products when I experience a sexual failure in spite of using them.
I initially became interested in Butea superba and Tongkat Ali because during the periods when I took my daily dosages, I never experienced erectile or libido failures. When I stopped using them, the failures returned.
I know for sure that genetically (and when I am off supplements) I do not have naturally aggressive testosterone levels. I just have to look in the mirror to be sure of that. My hairline now (age 50 plus) is exactly where it was 25 years ago. I have no pattern baldness, which is often associated with high DHT levels.
I also know it from my mother, who told me that my father stopped having sex in his early 40s. I remember when I was in my early teens, I once stumbled across a package of testosterone capsules, which were my father's medication.
I am a strong advocate for sexual health, not because I was blessed with unlimited natural desires, but for philosophical reasons. I find no solace in traditional religion, but I know how extremely good it feels to be engulfed by libido and to have a satisfying climax.
I have become an expert on sexual enhancement because I actively need to manage it.
I can engineer erections mechanically with yohimbine or sildenafil.
Yohimbine will even give me some libido; but it is a heavy-duty stimulant. It makes me totally agitated, gives me tachycardia and palpitations, and robs me of sleep for at least 20 hours after ingesting it (which can easily add up to 30 hours without sleep if I take my dosage late in the day).
Yohimbine, for me, is an experience almost like a psychedelic trip. I am totally worthless on the following day.
Yohimbine is heavily restricted or banned in several countries, including Australia. In the US, it is available as a dietary supplement and a prescription drug, though the FDA heavily scrutinizes its marketing for erectile dysfunction.
But it wasn’t really the dreadful side effects that got me entirely off yohimbine. It was the fact that after prolonged use, my orgasmic pleasure vanished. I could have rock-hard erections, and be very focused mentally, but then I would have an climax that I hardly felt.
My next phase was dopaminergics, and I did have great sex, and specifically great orgasms, with several of them. But dopaminergics only work a few times before tolerance builds, unless one takes dosages appropriate for Parkinson’s patients.
Take bromocriptine: initially, one-fourth of a 2.5 milligram tablet would allow me to totally forget myself during intercourse, and to enjoy pre-orgasmic plateaus that would last for minutes. Later, I could take two 2.5 milligram tablets and feel no enhancement at all, just nausea.
I started taking proper Butea superba and Tongkat Ali extracts several years ago, and the two have been my mainstay since.
So, what do I feel after ingesting about 1 gram of a 1:50 Tongkat Ali extract?
Initially, I felt a slight hot-headedness, but this side effect has since subsided.
Now, when I ingest 1 to 2 grams of Tongkat Ali extract, I feel … nothing acutely.
Please note: Tongkat Ali alone doesn’t even give me spontaneous erections. I still rely on sildenafil for the mechanical aspect. However, when I switch to Butea superba extract, I tend to need a smaller dosage of sildenafil than I do when using Tongkat Ali extract alone.
So, why bother with the Tongkat Ali?
Yes, I have asked myself exactly this question quite a number of times.
When I first took the Tongkat Ali extract and combined it with sildenafil, I had good, proper sex every day. But I really didn’t "feel" anything acute from the Tongkat Ali extract itself.
At that time, I thought to myself that I was in proper shape, and all I needed was the sildenafil.
So I stopped taking the Tongkat Ali extract.
For two or three days after stopping, things were still just fine. And then I started experiencing libido failures, in spite of having ingested sildenafil.
The failure was not that I lacked an erection. Provided I had taken the sildenafil, I got sufficient erections. But I lacked libido. I could stop intercourse in the midst of it and not even become frustrated or disappointed. I just wasn’t sufficiently interested, even with a new partner.
This happened two or three times, and then I knew that things were not in order.
Back on my daily dosage of Tongkat Ali extract, such libido failures no longer occurred.
This is a reliable test result for me. I can repeat it any time. I get off my daily Tongkat Ali dosage, and some two to four days later, I will have my first clear libido failure.
I go back on the Tongkat Ali, and I seem to reach a peak after four to eight days characterized by an intense, driving libido. During these peak days, the sexual desire is overwhelming, highly focused, and physically demanding. This powerful, unyielding drive feels to me like the essence of vitality and raw energy.