Question about my Urologist

[brianinthenorthwoods]

I am a 37 yr old male and I have been suffering from Prostatitis for the last 14 mos. My symptoms are frequency, burning during urination, loss of sexual sensitivity, and depression caused by all of the above. All tests are negative for bacteria (urine negative and white cells normal.) I am currently on Cipro 1000mg/day, Qurecitin, and a Beta sito sterol supplement. My question is this: My Doc does not feel that Prostatitis contributes to my sexual symptoms and I am curious to know if others have found that their doctors also dont link Prostatitis and ED/Loss of Sexual Sensitivity. I like my doctor but I am wondering if you guys feel that I am better off with a Urologist that sees a correlation between my disease and the sexual symptoms. Let me know and thanks in advance for your help. I should also mention that it helps me to know there are others that can relate to the isolation and desperation that I feel about my situation. I will be donating to this site soon.

[Viking]

Hi there

To my knowledge, there is a definate link between chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome and loss of sexual interest. I used to be horny 24/7 and since I got this shit two years ago, my sex drive has been decreasing.

I just try to stay positive and believe in my heart that I will one day beat this condition. I have had times where the symptoms have vanished for a few days and my sex drive immediately responds. It`s just a matter of time and doing the proper adjustments in life. For me, that might be cutting out stress related to work. I have not done so yet, as this will likely mean a lower income, but I am thinking more and more about it. As you know, all of us here would pay anything to get rid of our shitty condition.

My advise is, keep positive and share your thoughts and experiences. Also tell your doc that he doesn`t have a clue of what he`s talking about..

Cheers

[brianinthenorthwoods]

I am also curious if a lot of people are first diagnosed with Prostatitis and then arrive at the conclusion that it must be chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome after no infection is found. One of my main concerns is that I still dont have a diagnoisis for my condition. If I knew for sure that I was suffering from chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome I would probably change my regimen drastically. Thanks for your suggestions.

[CppsDad]

I think most of us here were diagnosed with prostatitis first, had negative culture tests, saw a lot of "um, well, I think you just have pain in the prostate and it will probably go away on it's own" type diagnoses. You are NOT alone. For me, the worse part was the lack of a diagnosis and feeling that no one WANTED to help me. I was shuffled between doctors and no one could help me understand what was wrong. Yes I was lonely, depressed, and then launched into panic attacks after 18 months. I don't blame the doctors 100% since they just don't know and haven't been trained in this area with the relevant research. I have no doubt that 10 years from now doctors will be more on the ball.

Waiting around for a diagnosis wasted 3 years for me, and that was time I could have been healing. Instead, things just got worse since I ignored the real causes.

Knowing whether you suffer from chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome is hard to diagnose. Here are some ideas I mentioned in another post of mine. Use these to do a self diagnosis of yourself:

1) How much stress/anxiety you have
2) Have you ever had stress/anxiety related conditions before (IBS or Panic Attacks or Nervous Stomach)
3) Do you have muscle pain anywhere else that you can't explain (back pain or neck pain or abdominal pain)
4) Does a hot bath make your burning go away
5) Do muscle relaxants help?
6) This next one was hard before I started phsyical therapy, but try to assess whether you have any trigger point pain in the abdominals, groin, buttocks, lower back, perineum, or interally in the rectum (this is the hard one to determine without help)


I have had EVERY one of your symptoms. Muscle tension can reduce blood flow, which can reduce erectile-strength and sensitivity, which can reduce your sex drive. So the answer is YES, chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome can be causing your problems.

Personally, I don't think you are better off with a urologist. They, of all specialties, are clueless in this area. You might be better off with a physical therapist that can help assess your flexibility, tension, and look for trigger points (even external trigger points can cause pain). Where are you located?

Michael

[brianinthenorthwoods]

I am located in SE Wisconsin. I will take your advice and look seriously at the whole PT/Trigger Point strategy. To answer your question a warm bath does help with the burning temporarily. I do have pain and burning in my penis (1st half-inch) that I did not mention originally. I have had issues with anxiety/panic-attacks/ulcers in the past and my job is very stressful. I did notice that I had a period with no symptoms while I was taking Zoloft so perhaps relaxing me was a key element in feeling better. I think that improving your state of mind (no matter how you achieve that) will always lead to better health. Thank you again for your insight.

[sto876]

You brought up a good point, most Urologist Diagnose it as being prostatitis

It would be very helpful to have a step my step list which test to take to come to the conclusion that it is chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome

I know it took 4 doctors to finally find my problem
If I had a list of test to ask for I could have started with the proper treatment right away and save lots of money.

this web site has been very helpful to me, once I get back to working full time I will donate money

Thanks

[CppsDad]

I'm glad I could help Brian. I feel like I type the same responses in here over and over. It's amazing how many of us have the same problems and get the same poor level of help from the medical community.

You are right in that no matter what the cause of your problems are, good mental health and low stress level make a big difference. You mention you have a stressful job; that is a very common thread between all of us here. Many of us are predisposed to stress and anxiety, and muscle tension.

The fact that you matched some of the symtoms on my list probably means that at least part of your pain is being caused by muscle tension. Tight muscles can certainly restrict the flow of urine and cause pain, as well as decrease blood floor to essential areas when they need it.

Good luck! Stay in these forums and read a lot. There are bound to be other posts that address your issues as well.

Take care,

Michael