Hello, Strobers here

[strobers]

I have always wondered what came first, problems with my pelvic muscles, which affected my bladder, or a bladder problem that affected the pelvic muscles. I think a lot of us here wonder the same thing.

I'm leaning more and more towards the pelvic muscles affecting the bladder.

Yesterday, I played almost two solid hours of racquetball. By the end of the second hour I started getting the urge to void, which I did. A few minutes after that I started getting the feeling again, but ignored it because I knew I had just gone and there was no urine inside of me.

When I got home I took a shower and did some stretches in the tub. When I got out I took five fish oil tablets and did more stretching; including the pidgen toe stretch, which I learned here on the boards. When I went to bed I felt normal and when I woke up I felt normal as well. It's almost 3:00 and I have had a perfect day; no pain, no frequency. It's days like today when it's hard to believe I have a chronic problem.

It's been almost four days since I felt crappy. What I've been doing lately is really doing some major stretches as soon as I wake up and I then take five fish oil tabs. Before I was just stretching one time per day and taking three fish oil tabs per day.

I think the stretching makes a world of difference because usually after playing racquetball for that long I would be at a level 1 or level 2 of pain and discomfort and it would continue the next day.

This is why I believe that my muscles are the issue, which has affected my bladder. If it wasn't, then why would abdominal/pelvic stretching relieve everything?

[strobers]

My wife is starting to give me some deep massages nightly to augment my stretching, but she isn't using any lubricant. What kind of oil do you guys use to work out trigger points?

Thanks.

[strobers]

Part of my wellness protocol is to embrace and accept my IC/CPPS. I try to look at it as a difficult friend. It's part of me. Fighting it by worrying, obsessing, re-checking to see what is hurting or where it hurts only makes it worse. All it does it just slow down the day and makes me aware that I'm not normal down there. Some days though, it's just hard to do.+

What's funny, actually it's not really funny, it how it ebbs and flows. Like right now I'm sitting and I have to go to the bathroom, but when I get up the urge lessens 40 or 50%. I haven't had sex since October 13th, 2007. That's like almost half a year ago.

I stretched last night, took a hot bath, massaged myself and took my supplements. Yesterday, all I ate was chicken soup. This morning I skipped breakfast because I didn't want to take the chance that something in the soup would cause me to flare more. I weigh 176 pounds now. I wear the same belt size I did back in H.S.

After I had sex on October 13th, I had a horrible flare that lasted 3 weeks or so. Right around the 3rd or 4th of November I felt normal and that lasted until early Janury, '08. I mean I was completely normal in every respect. I actually forgot what it felt like to have this thing. I wonder sometimes if I need to blow of some sexual steam to take some pressure off down there. Maybe it will cause me to go into a remission like last time. But if I do, I'm going to be miserable for three weeks. I mean miserable to the point where I pray to God to please not let me wake up.

CPPS is like a crazy wife or girlfriend. You just don't know how it will react to what you do. It's like walking on egg shells with yourself.

I feel for all of us.

[Paso]

I share your rant. I am having my worst day in terms of pain so far since this debuted 5 years ago...

[carld]

Good post....

I look at this condition as a wake up call instead of getting a heart attack or some life threatening disease. What I mean is prior to my onset I had on and off anxiety and panic attacks for over 15 years and had no clue why I was getting them. I know my life was almost in ruin because of it.(anxiety) This condition really forced me to step up my cognitive work to deal with my anxiety and internal issues and for the first time in my adult life I have control over my anxiety and panic attacks. It's been a long hard road and cp/cppps is just the result of years of anxiety/clenching pelvic muscles and injury to my pelvis from stress.

I think about my CP/CPPS everyday now, not because I feel symptoms and BTW when I do they are minimal. But I think about it as my marker to remind my self of how I feel at the moment. This is where moment to moment really helps. CP/CPPS is my red flag warning to stay on track and take care of me so I can take care of my family.

Strobers,

You have gone a long time with out sex....this is the part I don't always agree on with CP/CPPS. If you can have sex in a relaxed way....perhaps this will help. Everyone has a limit on frequency of sex....you have to find yours with out depriving your self. Take care....

Cheers, Carl...

[webslave]

I share your rant. I am having my worst day in terms of pain so far since this debuted 5 years ago...

Could this have anything to do with the bad economic times we are experiencing? Ever since the market troubles began, registrations here have shot up.

[Paso]

Not for me at least. I am in no financial trouble or worried at all about the market...

[webslave]

I believe there is always a reason for a flare. Look carefully at your life. Any stresses about any personal issue that have become worse in the last few months? Any change of diet? Eating or drinking more of an item than you are used to? Change in sexual habits? Exercise habits? Medication changes? Sometimes it is very tricky to work out what's going on, and it requires some real detective work.

[graeme]

The current flare I've been in since August wax and wane now, I could not put a finger on what the cause was, but I believe now it was something simple which I never thought it was stress but of course it was.

The night my Mrs went into labour in March my symptoms really came back for the first time in over 12th months, I did not fear this as the odd bad day could always happen. However the whole time in hospital and when we came home I was in some pain — not a lot but some.

The pain went after a few days but weeks of sleepless nights and the new responsibility (it was my first child) is what led me to my August 2007 flare and until now I just could not see it

The problem is when you flare it is not a quick fix the damage is done

[carld]

the pain went after a few days but weeks of sleepless nights and the new responsibilty (it was my first child) is what led me to my August 2007 flare and untill t now i just could not see it

My onset came 3 months after the birth of my second child and my first warning came 1 month before the birth of my first child...Being the provider for 3 and own a home and everything else can be a trigger, but we have to get over it and live and do the right things as best we can.

[strobers]

I played racquetball yesterday for an hour and totally went into a flare. I made the decision to stop playing for three months and just walk and stretch and maybe do some light weights. I love playing racquetball, but it seems that playing perpetuates the problem.

I realized that when I went into remission back in November for almost a good two months I had stopped playing racquetball due to my tinnitus, for a few weeks anyway, and I'm thinking that is maybe ushered in my feeling so good for those months.

I believe exercise is important, but I'm going to just have to learn how to exercise more passively.

What's odd is that there have been days when I have played two solid hours of racquetball and not had a problem and other times just playing one 15 point game will start giving me symptoms.

Part of me is saying I'm a wussy for stopping, but the other part of me says I can go back to playing at a later date. I'm going to listen to the second voice. In the meantime, I'm going to continue doing all my daily stretching, relaxation, supplement regimen and see how things go in the next few weeks from the standpoint of symptoms. Who knows, maybe before too long I may attempt sex again if I'm feeling pretty good. I think I may have forgotten what an orgasm feels like.

[webslave]

If the theories involving cortisol depletion are correct, then heavy exercise will be counter-productive. I suggest mild exercise, like walking for 30m-1hr daily.

[benzo]

See what works for you.
It's trial and error. I started hitting the gym hard again and I feel it lowers my stress level which in turn has a beneficial effect on my symptoms.
Overall, I'd say that it improves blood flow and muscle relaxation too.
However, make sure to release trigger points and stretch a lot before, during and after exercise.

[benzo]

I share your rant. I am having my worst day in terms of pain so far since this debuted 5 years ago...

Could this have anything to do with the bad economic times we are experiencing? Ever since the market troubles began, registrations here have shot up.

It's so strange, I can get through stressful periods at work unscathed and then go on holiday and have a bad flareup.
Maybe it's a delayed onset at times...

[graeme]

It's so strange, I can get through stressful periods at work unscathed and then go on holiday and have a bad flareup.
Maybe it's a delayed onset at times...

A busy mind can stop you dwelling on it