Advice Requested-Long Post

[The Wayfarer]

Hi. My name is Mike. I'm in my early 30's, married, two kids, homeowner and work full time. This is my story.

My general practitioner diagnosed me with prostatitis back in April 2003. For the month preceding the visit I had been experiencing terrible voiding problems running the gamut. Frequency was the worst of them, making it difficult for me to fall asleep at night. A minute after I would urinate it felt like I had a full bladder again. There were sexual side effects to which included a lack of spontaneous erections and difficulty getting erections. Rarely, I would have uncomfortable ejaculation. Most of the time, however, I did have a pressurized feeling just where the prostate is, never any pain really. I figured I had a bladder infection. I was surprised when by doctor came back into the room and said my urine was negative for bacteria. He started me on Cipro, which did seem to help. I thought I was on the road to recovery but a week later the symptoms were back. I was off to see the urologist.

In the urologist office, while the DRE is being performed, the doctor says, "Oh yeah. Your prostate is boggy." Afterwards, I asked him what that meant. He kind of dismissed it saying, "It's a common finding in prostatitis." Since my prostate was not enlarged he wasn't worried about it. My next question was one of desperation because having to urinate/dribble every 30 minutes was killing me, "Will this go away?" "Of course" he replied. He started me on another course of Cipro (which didn't do a thing) and gave me a pamphlet on prostatitis, which was more informative on the condition then he was.

A month later the symptoms where no better and since I was dwelling on them, they even seemed worse. I had been doing everything the pamphlet suggested. I had given up citrus, hot foods, soda, coffee and was drinking water and taking hot baths like a fiend, aside from the hot baths before bedtime, no help. Called up the urologist office for another visit. As I'm walking back to the room, the nurse looks over her shoulder and says, "The doctors' busy today. You're going to be seeing our nurse practitioner." I was slightly annoyed by this. It seemed like I was being shuffled off to the nurse practitioner because I had prostatitis and there's just not as much money in treating it. I didn't say anything and let it go. I just wanted to stop peeing every 30 minutes. Well, the nurse practitioner comes in and to my dismay, besides having a mouth full of braces, is a reasonably attractive, 40'ish, blond"¦female. To say the least, I was more than a little uncomfortable but I tried to step forward with maturity. And as much as I tried to "˜rise to the occasion' I made a poor showing of it if you know what I mean. Anyway, during the DRE she says, "Oh yeah. Your prostate is boggy." She also did an ultrasound of my bladder and said I was voiding fully. She recommended a semen sample and a cystoscopy, which, to the uninitiated, is when a doctor takes a small snake-like camera and weaves it up your urethra. I really didn't want to do either but wanted to get better even more. I'll save the "˜sample' story for another post but it was negative for bacteria. I'll also save the unpleasant details of the cystoscopy for another post as well, except that afterwards, the doctor says, "You do have some inflammation around the prostate but everything else seems normal."

This was the last time I went to see the urologist nor have I been to my GP since. Over the past year by symptoms have gradually improved on their own. Frequency is much better than what it was. Stream and flow are sometimes an issue but minor. On bad days I still feel a lot of pressure around by prostate but even that is much improved. My libido is better as well though not what it was and I think this bugs me the most right now. I still stay away from soda and carbonated drinks as best I can. I no longer require hot baths. I take any accredited quercetin product twice a day, which I believe has helped me. I also take a multiple vitamin daily. I work out and run steady as well. I feel by bout of prostatisis is slowly going away. My PSA is well within normal limits and I get an extensive physical through work every year. But I have some questions and since this web site seems to be well informed I wanted to get your thoughts and answers.

Has anyone else been told they have a "boggy" prostate? Is this a usually finding in prostatitis/PM/CPPS ?

Are there any prescription medications that can be used to help alleviate the pressurized feeling I have around my prostate? What about for reducing inflammation? Would Proscar help (I realize its used mainly for BPE)?

What's your advice?

[webslave]

I'm in my early 30's

Peak age for this condition.

I figured I had a bladder infection.

CP/CPPS/IC with inflammation centred on bladder neck, bladder and prostate. Your symptoms are very typical.

I'll save the "˜sample' story for another post but it was negative for bacteria. I'll also save the unpleasant details of the cystoscopy for another post

I look forward to them! This post was quite funny, thanks

I feel my bout of prostatitis is slowly going away.

Could be. Some are lucky. The factors that provoked the bout could be receding too.

Has anyone else been told they have a "boggy" prostate? Is this a usually finding in prostatitis/PM/CPPS ?

Bogginess tends to coincide with acute episodes, IMO. I think quercetin, by relieving inflammation and unblocking ducts, thus encouraging drainage of trapped secretions, allows many men to change boggy prostates to firm ones.

The professional view:

Uro 1: "Boggy prostate simply means it is soft and mushy to the feel. The normal prostate is springy and firm to the touch (though not "hard"). There is no specificity to the finding of a boggy prostate (i.e. it isn't a clear sign of prostatitis, as men with chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome can have normal feeling prostates, though usually tender, or boggy ones or even firm ones if congested)."

Uro 2: "Some [men with CP/CPPS] have huge boggy prostates with PSA's>10 and no symptoms and others have horrible symptoms with tiny prostates and PSA's <1.0."

Are there any prescription medications that can be used to help alleviate the pressurized feeling I have around my prostate? What about for reducing inflammation? Would Proscar help (I realize its used mainly for BPE)?

Avoid Proscar (poor research results and can hammer libido). If you cannot get to a physical therapist who can administer trigger point massage, try alpha blockers, the antihistamine hydroxyzine, Prelief, Elavil etc ... there are many things to try and you'll have to read the forum to get all angles. Our individual genetic make-up dictates which strategies will work for each of us.

[CppsDad]

I was told I had a boggy prostate too. I think this is common. Of course, like you, every test I had was negative for bacteria and other organisms. Your story with your GP and Uro is common. They will all give you antibiotics when in doubt, and will also tell you it will go away. This is terrible advice, as it generally causes us to not do anything to help ourselves all the while hoping the doctor was right. If they are wrong, you are in a worse boat the next time the flare up shows up. Instead, they should say "it might go away, it might not... but in the meantime, here are some other causes of prostatitis that you should be aware of in case things don't seem to improve...".

My initial bout of chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome also improved over the first year. But then it flared up again, and became unbearable. This happened because I did nothing to help myself improve while I thought the condition was getting better on its own. chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome naturally waxes and wanes, which explains why medicines seem to help in the short term (and other things you do seem to make it worse). It makes deciphering it all difficult.

The best advice I can give you is to read up on the Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol on this site, and put it into practice. It costs you nothing to give it a try. The statistics say that your pain is related to muscle tension and trigger points, and therefore the Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol should be something you seriously consider. After all, you changed your diet drastically, didn't you? If you are unfamiliar with the Stanford/Wise-Anderson Protocol, it basically is a routine of stretching, massage, relaxation, and physical therapy (internal and external) that you can do daily and will hopefully reduce your symptoms. Many of us on the board swear by it, and I wish I had found it 4 years before I did. But your story is similar to mine, both in the timing and the details (I'm early 30's, married, 2 kids, homeowner as well, AND my name is Mike too!).

Mike

[Dj Smitty]

My Urologist said the ultrasound "estimated" my prostate as well within normal limits. The cystoscopy found no evidence of immflamation though he was a tad annoyed that my bladder was about 1/3 full of urine. I tried to explain to him that this was part of my problem (not voiding properly) but he was still miffed!

Follow the advice of the helpful people on this board and you will get better. Unfortunately, my family doctor sees no use in me having physiotherapy and says that physio for bladder problems is geared toward incontinence. In Canada, we cannot just go pay for a physio therapist but need a referral. I don't think there are any trigger point specialists in my city and I think my doctor knows even less about the technique than I do.

But I, like you, am getting better over time. I wish you luck.