Stuck at 80%

[gentry]

I've been battling chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome for nine months now. Thankfully, my pain is limited to a pain in my rectal primarily around my coccyx but at times this can be very uncomfortable particularly when sitting. The first two months were bad, but I made steady progress after that and plateaued at 80% normal. During the last week of December my symptoms completely went away, but the at the beginning they returned again at about 80%. I have periods where it improves a little, and then periods where it flares up and causes me more discomfort. I'm not sure what to do and I'd like input on the following three scenarios, all of which I've experimented with:

In all cases I take the following supplements: 1 gram of omega 3, 2 tsp of virgin olive oil, Metamucil nightly, 1 gram of quercetin, multivitamin, 1 gram of niacin and 60-80oz of water daily. I have not attempted any type of elimination diet, but have tried to eat healthier (less fat and meat). I also exercise 5-6 times per week for an hour (bike/treadmill, and light weights) and try to meditate 30 minute 5 days per week.

I do internal work when the pain is very bad and have located a tight band right around my coccyx. I have never been able to break this triggerpoint, but it is obviously the source of my pain.

• Scenario 1-Quit worrying about it. Focus on meditation and moment to moment relaxation. It's gone away before so its not physical. Treat like TMS (Sarno) and continue to work through repressed emotions and anger.
• Scenario 2-Quit worrying about it. No more research. Consider using pain meds (I occasionally use valium, but I'm talking about Tramadol or Neurontin. Once the pain cycle is broken, the prospects for full recovery are better. The downside for this is I hate taking meds.
• Scenario 3-Go full bore on the internal work. Do it daily for at least a month. This would be consistent with the Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol, but it would have me very focused on the condition, and I believe the less you think about it the better you are.

Give me your thought.

[webslave]

Scenarios 1 and 2 combined.

[superuse]

Also dump the bike and treadmill, or only for a leisurely walk. Take the treadmill off any incline. About 30 % of men on these forums independent of any other factors have a lot of biking under their belt before problems became noticeable so its best to ditch it, regardless of the seat.

This is generally a malady of programmers/lawyers/accountants and students sitting around 50+ hours per week combined with much fewer hours of a bike, jogging or weights, with tennis, soccer, and karate possibly in the mix. That would probably describe almost 70% of men showing up with chronic pain on these forums. It seems if significant exercise was the solution, most of the men wouldn't be here. I'm with webslave here on 1 and 2 with distraction, hot baths/showers, movie rentals and reading, and anxiety coping skills for work.

[gentry]

Webslave

What are your specific thoughts on the pain meds? I'm biased against them, but it's a therapy that I never wanted to pursue but others on this forum have found them to be very helpful.

Gentry

[webslave]

Tramadol. That's the only one I recommend.

[SteveMalk]

So are you guys saying for him to do NO internal PT at all?

[webslave]

No, He says he does internal work as it is, but he gave scenario 3 as a daily regimen of internal work, IOW an increased effort in that department.

[Viking]

I think muscle therapy, internal and external, is especially important in the beginning phase of our treatment. Once the constricted muscle tissue has been loosened up and the trigger points, if any, have been released, I think focusing on the mental side and relaxation is the key.

Sarno is definitely right in many areas, but I don't agree with the fact that once you just focus on the mental problems that could be causing your pain, you will get healed. He even suggests not doing relaxation, which most of us know is key to our recovery. So while many elements of his TMS explanation can be applied to CPPS, I think it is faulty in other areas.

[drydoc]

I sit a lot with work, do better with standing. I have 2 questions: (1) how do you get that running on a treadmill (I jog at about 4.4 mph on an incline of 3 on a 10 scale) especially at an incline is bad? I have problems with my left SI joint (according to my pelvic PT who is good) and it pops out, use an SI belt. It's a likely culprit in TP's. Is it the running or both running on an incline that's bad? I get more depressed when I don't run and only run 1-2 miles a day. (2) Has anyone found anything good to sit on? I bought that expensive $80 Theraseat - too firm. Have used every kind of chair, wonder about the angle of my car seat (driving is definitely worse), used extra foam rubber on chair and car seat, even made a toilet seat folding chair (wrong angle). Doughnuts don't help. Haven't tried the gel seats.

[webslave]

Interesting that SI (sacroiliac) joint problems can occasionally be responsible for pain in the testicles.
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cyber ... oiliac.htm

I think running on an incline with that sort of problem should be carefully investigated, especially a steep incline. I used to run but because of joint problems I changed to walking, and I love it. It's also more companionable. Find a walking partner and it's a real pleasure.