Strange symptoms-need some help!

[Martin]

Hello,
first of all I would like to say that it's so great to have this forum! I am new here but I have prostatitis for more than 9 months! First I didn't have any clue on what prostatitis means so I was freaked out by the symptoms!It's owefull anyway, my life changed completely!
Beeing at first time here I would need some help because I can't explain some things and I am very scared. I will tell you briefly my CP story and then the symptoms I face them, and I would ask you to help me with your oppinions!
Last year in April I've had an oral sexual contact(for a few seconds unprotected). After a couple of days the disaster started. First, sore and pain in testicles, then frequent urination and all kind of pain but not at a high intensity. I imediatelly started to panik because of that sex contact and the nightmare of contacting a STD!
Well, next step was visiting first Uro and taking a first round of antibiotics, then second and third Uros with the appropriate abx treatments. Everytime after a few weeks I was stopping the abx treatment, all started back. All this cycle lasted for almost three months when I said stop! I didn't use since then antibiotics, I started with diet and I succeed in gaining some reliefs of symptoms.
The tests I did are:
- urine tests and culture - sterile, three or four times repeated
- DRE
- EPS culture- negative
- Chlamidia antibody - negative
- VDRL - negative
- HIV - negative
- Ecography on prostate and bladder, also on liver and kidney
Well the problem that still worry me is that beside the symptoms related directly to prostate like frquent urination and pain in testicles, groin or perineum, IBS or CF, I have had other symptoms like:
- eyes pain
- dizziness
- panik attacks
- white tongue
- fatigue and lymph gland being painfull sometimes
Please if somebody met theese kind of symptoms related to CP let me know because I am still scared of them.
I also am very tired almost without reasons and I can't remember having a night with an easy sleep! Only heavy dreams or nightmares! Could all that be related to CP?
Thanks a lot for help,
Martin

[webslave]

Yes, it could all be related to your pelvic condition. CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome - sore lymph glands, fatigue, stinging eyes etc) is very common in men with CPPS. The reason is unknown, because the cause of CFS is unknown. However, extreme anxiety can, in some predisposed people, "rev up" or activate the immune system via the nervous system. The result is a flood of pro-inflammatory chemicals in the body from very active lymph glands (the body thinks it is under attack), and all the nasty symptoms that this causes.

[londoner]

Probably not in this case but wouldn't fatigue also be a more straightforward symptom of the body fighting an infection, even a low-grade one?

[webslave]

No.

[londoner]

It's just a personal observation but when my body is fighting infection (e.g. I had a lung infection a year ago and didn't want to take the abx that my doctor prescribed so I just toughed it out) I have a definite feeling of fatigue as though my body's using its energy to fight the biological battle and there ain't much left over!

[webslave]

A lung infection will definitely make you feel tired, but that's hardly comparable to an "infection" that cannot be found in the prostate gland. People with true prostate infections can be severely ill (acute prostatitis), but when no infection can be found, there has to be another reason for the CFS-like symptoms (sore glands, abnormal fatigue, etc) you are experiencing. A little hidden, undetectable infection would not mobilize your immune system in this major way. Remember, when your immune system is activated by stress, it feels as if you are infected. The immune system reacts in similar ways in both cases.

[Martin]

Thanks a lot for help,
I am thinking too that in many cases of men with CP body feels like under attak and reacts promptly. The nervous system is also deep involved and depends of individuals if panic attaks take control over ones body and mind so that there is a permanent struggle onset. It's a way to think why from problems with prostate, things are leaded further on to a strong fatigue. I now think that the antibiotics(I guess that all of us took a lot of abx at least at the begining) also influenced the imune system and depending on how strong each of us is, will probably experience all kind of symptoms not directly related to prostate!
Thanks again, and I wish you, all of you, to get better from CP.
Martin

[DX]

Hello,
Well the problem that still worry me is that beside the symptoms related directly to prostate like frquent urination and pain in testicles, groin or perineum, IBS or CF, I have had other symptoms like:
- eyes pain
- dizziness
- panik attacks
- white tongue
- fatigue and lymph gland being painfull sometimes
Please if somebody met theese kind of symptoms related to CP let me know because I am still scared of them.
I also am very tired almost without reasons and I can't remember having a night with an easy sleep! Only heavy dreams or nightmares! Could all that be related to CP?

Some of these symptoms can be caused by quinolone antibiotics. I personally had every one that you list, except the white tongue. I also had many other symptoms of adverse reaction to quinolones, like cramps all over my body, extreme muscle pain in feet, trunk, ribcage, neck, pain in the liver, electrical shocks in the muscles etc. Most of those are improving with time and healthy lifestyle.
Paradoxical relaxation as taught by Dr. Wise was key in helping me get through the worst of it.

[Ginty]

I had all of these extra symtoms you mention develop a few months ago, i.e. the sore eyes, sore neck and armpits, feelings of dizzyness.

These have now almost gone.

The things I did in parallel were:
Take ~4g of vitamic C per day.
Started taking an SSRI, citalopram.
Started PT of my pelvic floor.
Did some limited meditation/relaxation.

I've not been taking the vitamin C for a couple of weeks now with no sign of the symptoms flaring up again.
If I had to say which one influenced me most I think it might be the anti anxiety medication and relaxation.
I was basically f'in scared by these and other symptoms, and I think I was having extended low grade panic attacks on a regular basis which was firing up my immune system. So a combination of the meds and understanding more about what was going on through this forum has really helped.

I am still pretty tired but getting better so I think you're right, chilling out and quieting the immune system is key to this.

[MastCells]

Take ~4g of vitamic C per day.

I hope you're taking buffered vitamin C (Ester C). High doses of ascorbic acid can irritate your GI tract.

[Ginty]

Yep its been the ester C that I've been taking, good point.
Cheers.