Any help will be most appreciated

[brock]

Hi everyone,

I am a physically fit 26 year old male. 75kg, 5'11.

I have had a pain in my testicles radiating from left to right for the past 7 months. I thought it was TC but I did 2 ultrasounds and there was no evidence of any tumors. It started mildly and continued to progressively get worse until I visited my GP. He gave me levofloxacin and I almost recovered only to get worse again. I then developed a white discharge. He gave me Zithromax and I was fine for a few weeks. The discharge and pain stopped and I regained my libido and erections.

Now once again the pain has started and I took Zithromax again but it has not helped my problem. I've had a swab taken from my urethra and some inflammation was confirmed. I have done 2 ultrasounds and they both show no signs of varicoceles. Could it be that that have missed them both times? What are the chances of this? I have done tests for STDs and everything has come out negative. I did a transrectal prostatic ultrasound and everything is normal there too. The doctors are telling me its all in my head but I cannot live with this pain and complete loss of libido any longer. My penis feels almost non-existent and I am also developing balanitis from this. I have absolutely zero libido even though I have a beautiful girlfriend who I have only been seeing for a few months. I am starting to think that whatever caused this has hit my hormones and I am wondering if I should do a full blood checkup to see my balances.

I have also noticed that the veins on my penis are more visible, especially a long large blue one towards the upper left all the way down the shaft. I am not sure but I think my testicles have lost a little bit of size but I will have to confirm this with another ultrasound. I also feel that I am losing more hair than I used to, but its difficult to tell if it is just me being paranoid or not. I also feel like I am finding it harder to lose weight, which is further strengthening my thoughts that whatever this is has hit my testosterone. I think about this from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. I'm not sure how much longer I can go on like this. I suppose I can live with the pain. I just can't handle the fact that I have no sex drive and I'm almost completely impotent except when I take Cialis, and even then sex is nothing like it used to be.

I also noticed the following symptoms:

• Cloudy Urine
• Extremely poor ejaculations - the sperm almost dribbles out a second after orgasm.
• Penis feels almost numb and deflated
• Severe depression
• Zero morning erections unless I take cialis
• Groin pain
• White discharge - On & off, can go weeks without any.
• More recently, I feeling of heat running down my thigh which I believe could be resulted nerve damage.

Around four years ago I remember I had a phase which lasted about a month in which my libido crashed. I was unable to get an erection all month. I did not feel any pain.

More recently, last year, I had a case of balanitis coupled with once again the complete loss of libido. It cleared up with Canestan and my libido returned instantly. Could these be related to what I am experiencing now? Could it be my testosterone has been steadily dropping over time? I have been like this for months and it is really beginning to play with my head now.

A lot of the symptoms match up with prostatitis so I am wondering if anyone can relate to any of the above. .

Any advice will be appreciated. .

[webslave]

The systems involved are the HPA axis (incl cortisol), and the nerves and muscles of the lower spine and pelvis (wind-up, crosstalk). Your agitated mental state is certainly fuelling the fire. You need to take time and do quite a lot of reading of the posts here.

Briefly:

1. Don't bother with more ultrasounds
2. Nerves can create skin blemished that look like balanitis
3. No more antibiotics
4. Ask doctor for a short course of benzodiazepines (eg valium) to help with the anxiety

[brock]

Thanks for your reply.

Wouldnt it make sense to finish the course of antibiotics just in case it is a case of bacterial prostatitis?

[webslave]

Up to you.

[brock]

are there any pros and cons do doing so?

Strangely enough i do feel the testicular pain is not as bad when I'm on the antibiotics.

[webslave]

The reason you may be feeling a bit better (common and temporary reaction):
https://ucpps.men/antibiotics-are-anti-inflammatory-agents

[brock]

Thats an interesting read. On the same lines, i might as well just be taking anti-inflammatories then..

I can't understand how the rectal ultrasound showed that my prostate is only very mildly inflamed. Could it be that someone can suffer from CP without a significantly inflamed prostate?

[webslave]

Most times no inflammation can be seen with u/s. Most prostates in men with chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome are small and firm.

[brock]

Could you suggest what tests i can take that could actually confirm i have CPPS? I have done STD tests, U/Ss, etc.
isn't there a sure way that i can diagnose this to surely be the problem?

[webslave]

Not yet. It's a diagnosis by exclusion. There are a few candidate tests on some specific cytokines according to a few research papers, but nothing generally available. In other words, you will not be able to order a test to confirm CPPS.

[brock]

I've had a blood test done. Does any of this make sense to anyone? Could high progesterone contribute to low libido?

PROGESTERONE 1.03NG/ML 0.11 - 0.56 *****
OESTRADIOL II 35.00PG/ML 0 - 62
TESTOSTERONE 22.7NMOL/L 10.4 - 36.8

THYROID FUNCTION:

FREE T4 15.52PMOL/L 9.0 - 20.00
T.S.H. 1.00uU/ML 0.3 - 5.0

LIVER FUNCTION:

BILIRUBIN 8.8UMOL/L LESS 17.0
TOTAL PROTIEN 75G/L 62-80
ALBUMIN 54G/L 38 - 54 *****
ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE 190U/L(37C) 100 - 290
ALT (GPT) 30U/L (37C) 0 - 40
GAMMA-GT 27U/L (37C) 11 - 50
AST (GOT) 32U/L (37C) 0 - 37


GLUCOSE, FASTING 4.3MMOL/L 4.0 - 6.0

[webslave]

Only unusual thing is high progesterone.

• Progesterone is made in the adrenal glands and in the testes.
• HCG and LH can increase the production of progesterone.
• Progesterone is a precursor to testosterone and cortisol.
• Progesterone has a mood stabilizing, antidepressant, antiseizure, neuroprotective effect.
• Progesterone helps myelinate nerves - i.e. increasing the insulation around nerve axons - increasing signal transmission speed.
• Progesterone helps improve thyroid hormone effectiveness.
• Progesterone increase the production of estrogen receptors - increasing the potency of existing estrogens.
• Progesterone is an aromatase inhibitor - reducing the production of estrogen from testosterone.
• Progesterone is an alpha-reductase inhibitor - reducing the production of DHT (dihydrotestosterone) from testosterone.
• Progesterone can directly relax blood vessels - reducing blood pressure and improving blood flow (including through the coronary arteries of the heart)
• Progesterone can inhibit the formation of blood clots.
• Progesterone can promote nurturing behavior.
• Progesterone has a mild diuretic effect.
• Low progesterone is a clue for the presence of adrenal fatigue.
• Low progesterone can cause insomnia, anxiety, impaired ability to adapt to stress, impaired concentration.
• Low progesterone may promote hair loss.
• Excessive progesterone can cause gynecomastia - by increasing the potency of estrogen.
• Excessive progesterone can be sedating.
• Excessive progesterone can reduce libido.

Also have a look at possible hyperthyroidism and Graves disease (unlikely).

[brock]

thanks for your input webslave, you really are a big help.

Seems like my progesterone is double the maximum of an adult. This could indeed be the reason for my extremely low libido. Do you have any ideas what could cause this and is there any way that it could be lowered?

[webslave]

Progesterone is a cortisol precursor, so you could be stressed and producing lots of cortisol via progesterone. Just a guess. See viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5529

[brock]

Just got my latest test result..

DHEA S04 : 4.34 - 12.2 - 13.5umol/l

a bit on the high side.. wonder what effect this could have on everything.