My story, almost 2 years and counting.

How men are beating this
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Alawrence

My story, almost 2 years and counting.

Post by Alawrence »

Hi all, I have not been here in well over a year. I thought I might share my experiances in hopes that it may help others.

My situation started out about February or march of 2002. One day at work I started having pain in my left testicle, kind of a sharp stabbing pain. I passed it off as a one time thing and went on about my business. It did not bother me for close to a week, I had almost forgoten about it, then it came back worse. It got worse over the next few days, to the point I could not eve walk down the hall without leaning aginst the wall. I went to my family doctor, and she said it was probably a pulled muscle. I went home and iced it down for the next two weeks as instructed. After two weeks it was still no better. I went back to the doctors and they did an ultrasound on my testicles, but came up with nothing. The doctor was still convinved it was a pulled muscle, and told me to take Advil and continue to ice it down. After another two weeks I began to have other symptoms, burning to urinate, a burning stabbing pain just below the navel. IT was at this ponit that the pain was getting unbearable. The doctor scheduled me with a Urologist for two days later. Well in those two days I ended up in the emergencey room twice. I saw the Urologis, and when he checked my prostate it was one of the worst experiances of my life. The pain and burning was unbelievable. He said my prostate felt fine, not swollen, no lumps, but he felt that I had an infection. I was on antibiotices for 21 days. Over this time I was in for a few more tests, to check my PSA and look for blocages. All came back OK. I was now more than two montsh into this thing and still felt like I wanted to die. My doctor put me on Zoloft for the depresion, which did seem to help my mood a lot. It was about then that I found this site. I tried Q, and saw palmetto, but am really unsure if they helped much. As time went on the symptoms gradually became less and less. It was a good 6 months though before I felt a whole lot better. It now has been over a year and a half and I can honestly say I feel pretty good. I still have an ocassional ache or pain, somtimes it still burns to go to the bathroom, especially if I am not well hydrated. But, all in all, it is no longer somthing I dwell on. I can go about my dialy business without a lot of pain or thinking about it.

Bottom line is this. I think that state of mind has a lot to do with it. The more you dwell on it, the more stressed you get, the more pain it causes. A viscious circle. I have also found that the only real thing that helped me was time. Once the prostate has been damaged I think it takes a long time for the body to repair it.

My advice is try to stay calm about the situation, do not stress over it. Give it time, lots, and lots of time. I know it realy hurts and you wish that you could die, but things will get better. And DO NOT take Ibuprofin, this made mine MUCH, MUCH worse. Stay away for alcohol as well, I still have problems the day after I have had just one or two drinks.

Good luck, and hang in there, it will get better. :-D
birkwirks

Post by birkwirks »

Excellent advice about not obsessing over symptoms. Over the past 2.5 years of on-and-off symptoms, I've come to realize that simply carrying on with my life makes me feel 50% better.
tractor316

Post by tractor316 »

I found time to be a great healer also . But as for supplements I believe they have done some healing also as the last flare up was not as bad now that I have been following protocols on this web site . I hope it will add up to no attacks one day . Good post I'm glad your feeling better .
MS

Post by MS »

Alawrence,

Glad you are feeling better. Your experience sounds similar to the first three weeks of mine. Excrutiating pain. You are certainly right about the cycle of pain: see topic viewtopic.php?t=771
Once the prostate has been damaged I think it takes a long time for the body to repair it.
Out of curiousity, were you ever diagnosed with a specific "prostate" problem? Many of the sufferers here have been diagnosed with "prostatitis," which is a urologist's catch-all diagnosis for pelvic pain. There are many other problems that can cause the pain you described (e.g. pelvic floor muscle tension, referred neurological pain, etc.) that are not caused by your prostate.
And DO NOT take Ibuprofin, this made mine MUCH, MUCH worse
I do not knw if there is medical evidence to support this. NSAIDs like Ibuprofen/Advil can help if there is inflammation. Vioxx, another anti-inflammatory has helped me during flare-ups.

Keep us posted!
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Post by webslave »

7% of patients taking ibuprofen have significant adverse events. (Forty years of ibuprofen use. Int J Clin Pract Suppl. 2003 Apr;(135):28-31. Moore N. CHU de Bordeaux, Hopital Pellegrin, Bordeaux, France. )
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alprost
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Post by alprost »

Ibuprofen is a fuuny one for me. When I take it, it improves my symptoms markedly. If I take it before bedtime, when I wake up to go to the toilet (usually only once a night nowadays :) ) my bladder is significantly fuller. Also, the phantom pains I get if I watch someone hurt themselves dissapear when I take it. (I actually heard that there is some research going on looking at direct analgesic properties of the drug, in addition to it's established anti inflammatory properties).

The problem with me lies several hours after taking it, when the metabolites are passing through my bladder - they significanty iritate it. Interestingly nothing else such as spicy/acidic foor etc. seems to, but Ibuprofen certainly does.

For this reason, I try to avoid taking it unless absolutely neccessary.
This is not Medical advice - Consult your Doctor!

Age:39. Age at onset:31. Symptoms prior to treatment: Golf ball in rectum, severe urinary frequency (2-3x/hr; 5-10x/night); weak stream; painful ejaculation; coccygeal pain; tip of penis pain; general pelvic pain on left; testicular pain; supra-pubic pain. Current | Symptoms: Urinary frequency 1x every 2-3 hrs and 1-2 x a night; mild pelvic pain on left hand side (all symptoms still improving!)
Helped by: Trigger point release; avoiding exercise; pelvic floor relaxation; Neurontin decreased bladder sensitivity somewhat. Worsened by: Exercise; frequent ejaculation; ibuprofen irritates bladder. Made no difference: Diet; biofeedback; quercetin; Steroid anti-inflammatories; Elavil.

****UPDATE*** I am now able to sit again at work all day, and can perform moderate aerobic exersise again for the first time in 8 years!!!

Please read:
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=808&p=3954
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=239&p=1158
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=248&p=1214
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