What I wish I knew after 3 years in

[havefaith]

I feel the need to give back in some small way to the great people in the forum that hold out hope for others.

What I wish I knew.

I am not sure what caused the initial flare up, likely stress and maybe a bladder infection. Anyway the first 3 months were the worst. I had a restriction that was causing numerous problems and for the first month I had a bladder infection that was not treated for a few weeks. I first went on Cipro and I was elated when the symptoms began to improve. I saw my first uro and went on Doxycycline as I was still having symptoms. All the while the restriction had gotten worse.

This may sound unbelievable, but a restriction makes Prostatitis seem like a walk in the park. I was in serious pain and the frequency issues were horrible. When I was in a car every bump in the road caused shooting pain in my abdomen. I decided that although there was some risk with surgery, I could not continue to live this way and went forward with surgery to remove the restriction. I was told before surgery that it was likely that surgery to remove the restriction would still leave me with Prostatitis. The surgery was a success as I could now pee again. It would take another 1.5 years for most of the symptoms to clear.

Here is the good part, what I know now that I wish I knew then. The first year or so is really bad, you have to accept that you are doing hard time and you need to know that it will likely get much better. It would have been great to know all of this information back then. In most cases you will get your life back.

Antibiotics are kind of like playing with fire. In my case they maybe cleared an initial infection. Unlike some on the board if your doctor thinks you have an infection I would not talk you out of trying them. They worked to greatly reduce some very nasty pain and frequency symptoms at the start. I would caution that most people do not have an infection and you will get better results with other methods listed. Try the other stuff first. The side effects can be dangerous and can cause some very bad complications for some people. Think twice and do your homework about going longer than 30 days on these drugs. Remember they only work on bacterial infections, they are pretty specific, as you need the correct one to clear whatever infection you may have. Taking them to reduce prostatitis symptoms without a infection just reduces their effectiveness for everyone and creates superbugs.

What works for me

I find that both fish oil pills and any accredited quercetin product are pretty effective for me. The fish oils are actually the most effective (Arctic Oils Omega Pure 600 http://www.xymogen.com). When I feel frequency or mild tingling (like a foot asleep) in the prostate area I take 2 fish oil pills and within 15 minutes it goes away. This is very noticeable cause / effect relationship. I discovered this by accident as I was taking them for general nutrition and found this cause / effect relationship. If anybody out there can explain this one I would love to hear it. Bottom line it is very effective for me with no side effects. The second most effective product is any accredited quercetin product by Quercetin suppliers this is pretty good, but sometimes I have a mild upset stomach with this one. When symptoms are bad I will take 2 fish oils and 1 any accredited quercetin product and I am good to go for half a day.

Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol

Get the book. I was a little disappointed in this as I had really high hopes. I was looking for a complete cure. That being said, buy the book as I do external abdominal trigger point work with relaxation and have had great results. Just use your hands to firmly press and move across your abdomen. If you feel a tender area press quite firmly on the most tender area and hold pressure for 60-90 seconds. After that use firm massage to loosen up the muscle. If I have a really bad flare I will try internal work as well. Learn about trigger points and reduce stress thru deep relaxation and this will bring you a great way to reduce symptoms. I do not enjoy regular workouts and aerobic training, I do it anyway because it works to strengthen my body and reduce symptoms.

When you run across strong triggers for a flare you may need to give them up forever. I have found 2 big triggers. Booze is a huge trigger for me. One beer equals three weeks of flare. I was a social drinker, but I gave it up totally.

The other trigger is stress before sex. If I am stressed out sex is a really bad idea as it leads to a flare as well.

Get your rest. A good night sleep is essential.

I go most of the time without hardly any symptoms. Life is good again and this does not rule over me anymore.

Good luck and keep the faith.

[Sleeper Service]

Excellent news!

Having had surgery myself to remove an obstruction, which has helped a number of my symptoms greatly, it's good to see that time and the correct approach seem to - as the published literature suggests - reduce things further.

Who knows? Things may continue to improve as time continues on.

[kevin]

Thanks for the post.

Anybody with difficulty urinating (hesitancy/straining) should see a urodynamics specialist to have any potential obstruction taken care of. Not only is voiding dysfunction an annoyance in itself, it can make other symptoms, like frequency/urgency and pain, much worse. And the inability to urinate (retention) is a very serious problem that must be taken care of immediately, as it can lead to reflux up the ureters.

[rider fan]

If anybody out there can explain this one I would love to hear it. Bottom line it is very effective for me with no side effects. The second most effective product is any accredited quercetin product by Quercetin suppliers this is pretty good, but sometimes I have a mild upset stomach with this one. When symptoms are bad I will take 2 fish oils and 1 any accredited quercetin product and I am good to go for half a day.

I can't explain it but at least one other person reported success with Olive Oil. I've thus added Olive Oil to my regimen when things don't feel right.

Thanks for sharing your success story!

[scoobysnacks]

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) which are found in fish oil, olive oil and flax oil to name a few commons ones, also borage oil and safflower oil are known anti inflammatories with a slew of other benefits.

I suspect the fish oil exerts its anti inflammatory properties to your pain.

They are also great for our joints, testosterone production and energy.

I take one swig of flax oil a day and 1tbs of olive oil per day.

Good Post.....

Ss