Advice on prostatitis

[Nativetexan]

2 years ago I got a bout of prostatitis that lasted for almost 4 months and took several rounds of antibiotics to cure.

Now at 40 yrs old I've gotten another bout that I've been dealing with for almost 5 months now.

After 4 months of antibiotics my doc told me to see a urologist and he has now told me my prostatitis is inflammation based and my only recourse is NSAIDs and treating symptoms.

I've been on/off NSAIDs for a month now and while things are better than a month ago I can't sit on certain chairs or drive much in my F80 without creating a lot of pain and needing more NSAIDs to make it barely go away.

I feel like I'm losing my patience in dealing with this and would be grateful for any advice.

Yes my primary waited too long to refer me to a urologist and I believed his "patience in waiting" b/c he said he too battled prostatitis for several years, so he felt confident.


For just some background, I'm a long time cyclist who never a SINGLE issue with urinary problems until 2 years ago. When that cleared up it went away and was gone. Until now… I haven't been on a bike for 9 months now.

[Murf993]

I thought this was advice on prostitutes.....I was going to say you get what you pay for.

[DougVA]

Ask the urologist whether TURP surgery (google it) would help. It fixed my problem 100%.

[nerdogray]

I've had on and off issues with prostate pain that actually turned out to be an indication of when my estrogen is too high. Prostatitis is the "IBS" of the urology world; it's a catch-all diagnosis when doctors don't otherwise know what to tell you.

[WestLAE93]

Have you had imaging done?

[Nativetexan]

Originally Posted by WestLAE93

Have you had imaging done?

No imaging has been done.

I've had PSAs done over last 3-4 years. But not one in a year. My urologist says we need to wait til the inflammation is gone otherwise I'll possibly get a false high reading.

[Nativetexan]

Originally Posted by DougVA

Ask the urologist whether TURP surgery (google it) would help. It fixed my problem 100%.

I will ask him about TURP next visit.

[Nativetexan]

Originally Posted by nerdogray

I've had on and off issues with prostate pain that actually turned out to be an indication of when my estrogen is too high. Prostatitis is the "IBS" of the urology world; it's a catch-all diagnosis when doctors don't otherwise know what to tell you.

I'm learning about it being a catch all and there not being a "reason" : /

I will ask about the estrogen.

Ironically I've had periods of low T and that coincidenced with no prostate problems. But these last two "bouts" I have noticed my T has back in the normal range at the same time these are occurring. I've googled T and prostatitis correlations with no luck.

[chassis]

Originally Posted by Nativetexan

I'm learning about it being a catch all and there not being a "reason" : /

I will ask about the estrogen.

Ironically I've had periods of low T and that coincidenced with no prostate problems. But these last two "bouts" I have noticed my T has back in the normal range at the same time these are occurring. I've googled T and prostatitis correlations with no luck.

When google isn't giving me what I want (usually the case) I try a more targeted search. For health topics try restricting search results to .gov or .edu. sites. scholar.google.com is another way to search.

The NIH has been a good source of health education for me. As has been the UK's NHS and health community sites.

[Kick 6]

If I had your problem, I would decrease my meat intake to only once or twice a week and just a few ounces at the time. My reasoning is complex and speculative, but involves sulfur metabolism and inflammation.

[mapleleaf1773]

I agree with the meat reduction. Anything over 16 ounces in a week is to much red meat unfortunately.

[Kick 6]

Originally Posted by mapleleaf1773

I agree with the meat reduction. Anything over 16 ounces in a week is to much red meat unfortunately.

And it's not just red meat. It gets the bad wrap for its colon cancer links but all meat is high in histamine, nitrogen and sulfur. The meat industry has been lobbying hard for years the way the cigarette industry did.

I'm far from a Vegan, I love the taste of meat but I also know what it can do to me.

[Nativetexan]

Inflammation control is totally it I'm finding.

I had COVID in Dec 2020 and this thing started in Feb 2021. Being on antibiotic last for 5 months then instead of anti inflammatories exacerbated the length of healing.

Red meat is pretty much gone. Along with vitamin supplements, carbonated drinks, spicy foods. Anything that causes inflammation or bladder irritation is avoided.

I started doing PT and it's helping ALOT! I am shocked at how much it helps. The therapist believes that COVID exposed this weakness in my body and the lack of proper attention to it in the beginning is definitely the cause.

What a long slow road to make this damn thing go away. Now I have a better understanding to control it in the future. Hopefully. Feels like I'm walking on a cliff side now. PTSD for sure I can't let it go back to how it was.

[mdf]

Sorry to hear about your issue. I don't have any specific prostatitis advice unfortunately but a couple of comments for whatever it's worth.

I suffered a leg injury that put me in a recovery-relapse cycle for more than a year. I had a very active life but suddenly I couldn't even unload the dishwasher. It was especially frustrating because I would progress and begin to recover and then the injury would relapse and I'd be back to square zero. After months of PT and medication and enduring sleepless nights and finally beginning to get back to my life, full relapse. It happened again, and again, recovery, reinjury, recovery, reinjury, for a year. And it left me close to tears. It felt like I just couldn't escape. I wish I had some profound lesson or advice to relay but there was nothing I could do except persevere, keep trying. Try to stay positive. I'm not really a spiritual person but I signed up for a mindfulness meditation chronic pain class offered through my health plan and while I was suffering the injury I actually got a little bit out of practicing meditation.

I was on NSAIDS for months straight and I did not fully appreciate two risks. Constipation can be sort of a jokey subject but it can be very serious. My mother had knee replacement surgery and was taking pain meds that left her extremely constipated. Her intestines ruptured. That sent her to the ICU and she developed sepsis which can be very very serious. And I didn't appreciate how serious it would be if I developed an internal bleed, which I got while on long-term NSAIDS.

[pablom2c]

Have you tried a Cranberry extract supplement with the right quantity of PACs? (PACs are Proanthocyanidins, this is very important to make sure it has the right quantity or else it will not be effective, Cranberry juice won't be effective). Consult your Doctor about this option, I work in the natural health industry and Cranberry is very effective in UTIs in women. Some studies suggest it might work for prostatitis. Also NSAIDs treatment long term is not good, many bad side effects be careful with that.

[JP10]

Originally Posted by Nativetexan

I'm learning about it being a catch all and there not being a "reason" : /

I will ask about the estrogen.

Ironically I've had periods of low T and that coincidenced with no prostate problems. But these last two "bouts" I have noticed my T has back in the normal range at the same time these are occurring. I've googled T and prostatitis correlations with no luck.

With reduced testosterone comes reduced estrogen. With increased testosterone, estrogen levels will follow suit. This is why guys using will often use supplementation to reduce their estrogen levels as if they are not controlled they will run rampant.

I know nothing inregards to prostatitis, but figured this may or may not be useful information.

[Nativetexan]

Originally Posted by pablom2c

Have you tried a Cranberry extract supplement with the right quantity of PACs? (PACs are Proanthocyanidins, this is very important to make sure it has the right quantity or else it will not be effective, Cranberry juice won't be effective). Consult your Doctor about this option, I work in the natural health industry and Cranberry is very effective in UTIs in women. Some studies suggest it might work for prostatitis. Also NSAIDs treatment long term is not good, many bad side effects be careful with that.

I was using cranberry for a bit along with other vitamins and the combo was a major irritant t my bladder so I stopped all of it.

The bladder is now really sensitive to foods, drinks, etc. I guess it's just needing time to heal who knows…

As far as NSAIDs I definitely tried to take the minimum amount possible throughout all my dosing regimes. 3 days on, try and go 3 days off, etc. skip a dose if I felt fine.

I do this with all medicine and supplements, it's a fine line to walk for sure.

[Nativetexan]

Originally Posted by mdf

Sorry to hear about your issue. I don't have any specific prostatitis advice unfortunately but a couple of comments for whatever it's worth.

I suffered a leg injury that put me in a recovery-relapse cycle for more than a year. I had a very active life but suddenly I couldn't even unload the dishwasher. It was especially frustrating because I would progress and begin to recover and then the injury would relapse and I'd be back to square zero. After months of PT and medication and enduring sleepless nights and finally beginning to get back to my life, full relapse. It happened again, and again, recovery, reinjury, recovery, reinjury, for a year. And it left me close to tears. It felt like I just couldn't escape. I wish I had some profound lesson or advice to relay but there was nothing I could do except persevere, keep trying. Try to stay positive. I'm not really a spiritual person but I signed up for a mindfulness meditation chronic pain class offered through my health plan and while I was suffering the injury I actually got a little bit out of practicing meditation.

I was on NSAIDS for months straight and I did not fully appreciate two risks. Constipation can be sort of a jokey subject but it can be very serious. My mother had knee replacement surgery and was taking pain meds that left her extremely constipated. Her intestines ruptured. That sent her to the ICU and she developed sepsis which can be very very serious. And I didn't appreciate how serious it would be if I developed an internal bleed, which I got while on long-term NSAIDS.

Persevere is definitely the name of the game.

I hope your situation has improved. I feel for ya through that journey.

I did long distance cycling and running for 20 years, and noticed since cutting back my immune system was definitely touchy for many years from all the stress that does. I'm not sure I'll ever go back to that level, even if I could.

I'm grateful for an modest workout now and will forever be that mindful about it.

NSAIDS have their place and I walked a fine line trying to take as minimal as possible. After 5 months of antibiotics I learned that lesson.

[Nativetexan]

My wife took me to lunch Friday and told me she thinks I need to sell my car b/c it's not helping my situation…

Over the last few months I've really tried to sit less by getting a standup desk, eating a better diet, got a thick cushion to drive around in my F80 ZCP.

September was the month I felt like it was behind me. "I'm back baby". Then slowly stopped doing all the things above and now in October it's crept back some (though maybe just a level 6 instead of a 9 like it was from Feb-June).

She thinks it's ridiculous me driving around with a cushion to try or constantly taking her Tahoe when possible to not let the driving impact me.

I've only had this car for 1.5 years now and I really envisioned keeping it a long time. I absolutely love it. I usually only keep cars for 1-3 years at most. I even bought 19" wheels to get rid of the 20"a to see if it would help. It did help the harshness a lot but the stiffness is just there b/c it's a F80.

I guess my thought now is… how long do I let myself try and heal before accepting I need to get rid of my car…?

[chassis]

A car has nothing to do with personal health.

Personal health is a priority far higher than a car.

If you are convinced “it’s the car” then dump it. Is there a different, non-health related issue with the car? Emotional or financial? Does your wife resent your car? It happens.

[Nativetexan]

Originally Posted by chassis

A car has nothing to do with personal health.

Personal health is a priority far higher than a car.

If you are convinced “it’s the car” then dump it. Is there a different, non-health related issue with the car? Emotional or financial? Does your wife resent your car? It happens.

Originally Posted by chassis

A car has nothing to do with personal health.

Personal health is a priority far higher than a car.

If you are convinced "it's the car" then dump it. Is there a different, non-health related issue with the car? Emotional or financial? Does your wife resent your car? It happens.

I'm not convinced the car is the cause but it definitely doesn't help the healing. Which is why when it flares I avoid the car and have been driving around with a prostate cushion.

I don't think she resents the car at all. She was the one that encouraged me to get it actually. I'm a really conservative person and she is very outgoing. So change is easy for her and hard for me.

Emotional or financial…I'd say no. We can afford the car no problem. And I am a car person so I get attached to every car. So emotionally I just don't want to regret it 6 months or a year from now if this thing goes away. And if it doesn't go away by then, then I'd guess it'd be more clear then to dump it. It's just been several months already.

[Wolf 335]

Have you tried a daily dose of Cialis? It's used for people with chronic prostatitis...and some other good stuff.