Background Info

[garyholc]

Just thinking, so many people on here, so many stories, would be useful for everyone to know more about each other perhaps, and I thought how about a thread to detail certain items, such as these below, and we can all add to this, and it may offer some hope to people just joining, particularly in knowing who they are talking to etc... in a way offering more info than the small signatures we have under our names:

I'll start :


Name : Gary
Location : Cardiff, UK
Age : 32
Occupation : IT Analyst (all day sitting infront of the screen)

Age when symtpoms first started : March 2007 (32)

Initial Symptoms : Very frequent urination

Possible cause of the symptoms : Went through previous year with severe depression, anxiety and stress. Kept working myself up, always tense about things, very sexually active possible too much, drank a lot of alcohol, little exercise, generally let myself go

Medical Contacts : Went to sexual health clinic, all tests negative. Saw Urologist, all urine samples all clear. Prostate was found to be boggy. Saw Urologist 3 times after this who suspected prostatitis in lack of any other visible causes.

Tests done : Digital rectal exam (boggy prostate), flow rate (low), urine tests (all clear), ultrasound on bladder (emptying totally), ultrasound on kidneys (all clear), kidney function test (all normal), xray on pelvic region (all clear). Was offered cytoscopy and urodynamics but I refused these given they offer limited use.

Medication given : Cipro - stopped taking these as they gave me painful joints however they did help. Was then given Doxy instead for a month, no noticeable change in symptoms.

Symptoms when the condition was at its worst : not long after digital rectal exam, bad pain in the prostate and pelvic region, lack of any sexy drive, difficulty keeping erections, low amount of semen on ejaculation, lasted for around a month before subsiding without medication.

On scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is worst, how bad was the pain at the worst stage of the condition and what did you take to control it : At the most a 4, over the shelf pain killers I would take to help take the edge off it.

Thinking of now, what symptoms do you have now and rate them on a scale on 1 - 10 in terms of pain/impact on daily life: Frequent urination, comes and goes, (usually go once every 1-2 hours) no where near as bad as in the beginning, but will rate 8 on impact to my life as it does severly affect my mood. Pain to the left of my pelvic region, only a niggle so will give it a 1. Sometimes an ache in penile area, again will give it a 1.

What have you done to help the condition ease? : less alcohol, more exercise, trying to keep a positive attitute, not thinking this is going to get worse, reading HITP and doing the stretches now and then, trying to not let it get the better of me.

If you could give a percentage of how much better you are now compared when you first had the symptoms and when they were at their worst, what would it be, higher percentage for lack of symptoms : 70%

Given how long you have had the condition, at what stage did it get the worst, i.e. if you had it for 2 years, how long was it before things got really bad, then how long before they subsided. For example, 6 months into the 2 year period it got bad, 6 months after that it subsided: For me, it was 3 months after initial symptoms, and I believe the DRE caused it.

What has been the impact on your life? : Realise how much more care I need to take of my body, take more exercise, feel more nervous about planning future events due to frequent urination (though flying to New York in Dec), sex life has been affected i.e. reduced, have had to try to relax more and try to destress more often, have been drinking less alcohol and drinking more water, has affected my moods when the frequent urination is bad which I have to try and control, but overall, I do feel this condition will make me a better and more relaxed person - eventually. Just hope it will erradicate itself in the future....

[elitynski]

Name : Eric
Location : Chicago, IL
Age : 43
Occupation : Purchasing (at a desk all day long)

Age when symtpoms first started : July 2007 (43)

Initial Symptoms : Very frequent urination

Possible cause of the symptoms : I had gained a lot of weight (in the high 300's and I think the inactivity / sedentary lifestyle, along with the weight pressing on my bladder eventually brought this on.

Medical Contacts : ER visit first then 3 URO visits. Was initially diagnosed with prostatitis but the diagnosis was revised to Pelvic Floor dysfunction - am currently doing PT to see if it helps.

Tests done : Digital rectal exam (normal all 3 times), urine tests (all clear), ultrasound on bladder (emptying totally), kidney function test (all normal), Cystoscopy (normal bladder).

Medication given : Cipro - 5 weeks and no help. Detrol & Enablex - no help. Uroxytrol - not sure if it has helped. Xanax - to help sleep (small dose). Zoloft - for depression.

Symptoms when the condition was at its worst : Right at the beginning when I had to urinate very frequently.

On scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is worst, how bad was the pain at the worst stage of the condition and what did you take to control it : I dont' know if I had every had true pain - just a lot of discomfort.

Thinking of now, what symptoms do you have now and rate them on a scale on 1 - 10 in terms of pain/impact on daily life: My urinary frequency - I usually go less than 8 times a day, but much of the day I'm aware that I will have to go to the bathroom. I can hold my bladder 2- 3 hours usually. I would rate the symptoms a 7.

What have you done to help the condition ease? : no caffeine or alchol (limit sodas as well), exercise, healthy diet, relaxation breathing, knowing that this will get better. I am currently in Physical Therapy which I think might help some but I still think the weight loss is key.

If you could give a percentage of how much better you are now compared when you first had the symptoms and when they were at their worst, what would it be, higher percentage for lack of symptoms : 65 - 80%.

Given how long you have had the condition, at what stage did it get the worst, I.e. if you had it for 2 years, how long was it before things got really bad, then how long before they subsided. For example, 6 months into the 2 year period it got bad, 6 months after that it subsided: It was probably the worst when it first started and 2 month afterwards I saw some definite improvement - although I feel like I've stalled right now but I still feel like losing more weight will help.

What has been the impact on your life? : I am taking much better care of myself, practicing relaxation more, struggle somewhat with depression because of this, however, it is finally helping me to lose the weight that I needed. This has been a true wake-up call for me.