Dr. Richard Alexander in Baltimore?

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mleach350
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Dr. Richard Alexander in Baltimore?

Post by mleach350 »

Anyone have any experience with Dr. Richard Alexander at the University of MD Medical Center? I have been a little disappointed with my Urologist and he recommended Dr. Alexander as the expert on Prostatitis in the Baltimore area. I was just wondering if could lend any insight into his treatment strategy. So far my Dr. has been content to just do the usual course of extended anti-biotics and now alpha blockers. I have been suffereing from epidydymitis/prostatitis for 3 months at this point and have only continued to get worse and am looking for someone willing to think outside the box if needed.
Age: 27 | Onset Age: 27 | Symptoms: Started with Epidydymitis like pain and swelling in testicle, and nerve pain radiating into abdomen and leg from there, turned into "golf ball" feeling and urinary irratation/burning, tightness/twitching in perineum | Helped By: Sailing, golf, family gatherings (i.e. distraction) Have been avoiding caffeine and overly hot chiles | Worsened By: Getting depressed and dwelling, plus more than one alcoholic drink causes urethra burning for about 24 hours
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Re: Dr. Richard Alexander in Baltimore?

Post by webslave »

You are better off spending the money at Stanford than with Alexander. I have no doubt of that.
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mleach350
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Re: Dr. Richard Alexander in Baltimore?

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Would you mind elaborating on why that is? From what I've read Dr. Alexander has some controversial thoughts about it being an autoimmune disease but I was mostly interested in going to him because I can't even find another urologist in the area that expresses any interest in Prostatitis. Johns Hopkins Hospital has the #1 rated Urology department in the country and I can't find a Dr. who is doing anything related to Prostatitis. I've only really had Prostatitis for a month and have just started alpha blockers after going off Levaquin so I thought I may be a little premature to look into Stanford. My Urologist has been content to just talk to me over the phone, hear that I'm not better, and then move onto the next standard treatment which is a little discouraging.
Age: 27 | Onset Age: 27 | Symptoms: Started with Epidydymitis like pain and swelling in testicle, and nerve pain radiating into abdomen and leg from there, turned into "golf ball" feeling and urinary irratation/burning, tightness/twitching in perineum | Helped By: Sailing, golf, family gatherings (i.e. distraction) Have been avoiding caffeine and overly hot chiles | Worsened By: Getting depressed and dwelling, plus more than one alcoholic drink causes urethra burning for about 24 hours
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Re: Dr. Richard Alexander in Baltimore?

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Alexander is unlikely to offer you much more than your current uro. He is not known as a man who treats people in anything but the conventional way, and that's not helped you so far.
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Re: Dr. Richard Alexander in Baltimore?

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That's kind of what I figured. Maybe I'll meet with him anyway just to get a second opinion and see if he still has that philosophy.
Age: 27 | Onset Age: 27 | Symptoms: Started with Epidydymitis like pain and swelling in testicle, and nerve pain radiating into abdomen and leg from there, turned into "golf ball" feeling and urinary irratation/burning, tightness/twitching in perineum | Helped By: Sailing, golf, family gatherings (i.e. distraction) Have been avoiding caffeine and overly hot chiles | Worsened By: Getting depressed and dwelling, plus more than one alcoholic drink causes urethra burning for about 24 hours
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Re: Dr. Richard Alexander in Baltimore?

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So I just wanted to give anyone who is interested a follow-up after my appointment with Dr. Alexander at the University of MD Medical Center. I have to say I was very impressed with him and was extremely appreciative of the time he spent with me.

I did the usual urinalysis and vitals with his nurse, and then spent almost 45 minutes talking to him about my condition. After he examined me he allowed my wife to come in and participate in the discussion. Due to the amount of research I have done here and elsewhere I was able to talk somewhat knowledgeably about some of the research he and others have done and where research is going in the future as well as what he has done in the past.

He said definitely no more antibiotics for me and since I didn't really have any major urinary problems he thinks the alpha blocker I am on currently is also unnecessary. He is very against long-term antibiotic use and doesn't really think alpha blockers do anything either. He doesn't think I should really stay on Celebrex either but he didn't want to make too many changes at once. He really trys to narrow down which one symptom bothers you the most, and if he can improve that symptom, he has found that the others tend to improve as well. His first recommendation was to start on Quercetin, which I already had at home and was planning on trying. I am going to take that for 6 weeks and come back for a follow-up. He is not against pelvic floor therapy or anything that makes you feel better. He's just skeptical of the real vs. placebo effects of pelvic floor therapy for scientific reasons and has tried to do a study on it but has thus far been unsuccessful due to the need for a placebo and no way to create one. He says that anything that is legal and improves your symptoms he approves of. Lyrica is the other drug he has had positive results with in his past studies.

The biggest change to my mindset was that he didn't think I had epididymitis currently or ever have. My symptoms started with a very inflamed epididymis that causes my scrotum to swell and sends pain down my leg and into my abdomen. it comes and goes and is really bad for the last few days. I have been told by two urologists in the past that it was epididymitis despite never testing positive for bacteria in my urine. He thinks this is just a different manifestation of my prostatitis and that's why antibiotics and everything else has been ineffective in treating it. It definitely responds to all the other treatments epididymitis responds to such as scrotal support, ice, and warm baths, but it does not respond to antibiotics. I still need to wrap my head around this idea as I have been diagnosed with epididymitis three times in the past but that would certainly explain why it doesn't respond to conventional treatment and doesn't improve.

The main thing I took away from it was that I finally had someone that really understood and cared about Prostatitis and was willing to spend the time with me that I needed in order to ease my mind. He said, your symptoms define your illness there is no one test that shows I have something and there is no one cure for everyone. He did say stress makes it worse, to stay occupied with other things, and don't overdue the research and the dwelling which I think everyone can agree with.
Age: 27 | Onset Age: 27 | Symptoms: Started with Epidydymitis like pain and swelling in testicle, and nerve pain radiating into abdomen and leg from there, turned into "golf ball" feeling and urinary irratation/burning, tightness/twitching in perineum | Helped By: Sailing, golf, family gatherings (i.e. distraction) Have been avoiding caffeine and overly hot chiles | Worsened By: Getting depressed and dwelling, plus more than one alcoholic drink causes urethra burning for about 24 hours
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