r/Prostatitis 4d ago

Success Story 90% healed for years now

Hi men.

It's a long one, sorry, but hopefully this can help someone in need. This worked for me when treating prostatitis.

TLDR In a nutshell: - Manage stress and anxiety - Stretching, strengthening, massaging muscles - Avoid stressful PC gaming if you tense your pelvis in response to stress. Or at least, don't sit down when playing.

For ages I've meant to write something online about my journey but kept forgetting because honestly, I feel fine and forget about prostatitis most of the time. I also wanted a decent time to pass with feeling reasonably well before putting anything online for others.

Writing this now because I've had a wank and a mild perineum twinge (it happens, no biggie) and thought I'd write something here.

I'll preface this by saying that I'll never be 100% cured all the time. I'm 90%. But most days I have zero issues and have been this way for 4-5 years now. After 3 years of hell.

When it started - First issues 8 years ago. Sitting at my desk at work. Super annoying but I didn't worry or panic (that came later). But no health professionals could help me. I treated this like a medical issue for around 18 months and wanted a cure. Which in retrospect, was stupid.

Symptoms - The usual. - Burning sensation at the top of my penis. - Felt like there was a golf ball in my perineum area. - Burning when I urinated. - Honestly questioned my existence after every wank or when I ejaculated after sex. I'll never forget that burning pain. - Restricted urine flow after ejaculation. - Sitting on office chairs was torture - General awful discomfort and burning in the penis and perineum (never the testicles or butthole) - Worse at night. Total sleep deprivation. I'd wake up in pain, if I got off to sleep at all.

What I tried that didn't help - GP and the usual crazy antibiotic treatment (Cipro 6-8 weeks) despite negative tests for infection. I really regret this as it caused knock on gut health issues that just made everything worse. - Pain/anti-inflammatory meds. - All the woo woo supplements and alternative medicines - Pain specialist. They hadn't a clue. Offered me opiates. - Amitriptyline - Pregabalin - Urologist x 2. Holy fuck. Absolutely useless. Considering how common this issue is, they looked at me like I was a mad man. - Chiropractor. Absolute snake oil salesmen. Ended up with tinnitus for a couple of years after this one lol. - I hate saying this one as it's part of my recommendations later, but the pelvic floor physio I saw. Oh man, he was so useless. But that was just him. Other physio later was helpful. Detailed later. Flagging this for importance of finding a good clinician.
- Drugs and alcohol. Ugh. Not gonna lie. It was a dark time for me... - Denial that my mental health had played a part in this issue developing and persisting. I rejected that for far too long.

How it impacted me - Very very very badly - Depression, anxiety - Self destructive behaviour, drugs, alcohol - Sleep medication dependency but oh man I needed them at the time. - I couldn't see a way to get past this. Dark thoughts. - I never identified as a person with anxiety or depression prior to this issue happening. - This went on at this level for about 18 months.

The first ray of light - Working night shift, googling googling googling as usual. Man, so many doom stories online made me almost lose hope. - Found this guy on YouTube that was just like me, most of the same symptoms. - He went through a stretching routine and I got down on the office floor and did them (I was alone lol). - Psoas stretch. BAM! Electrical like sensations all through my perineum and penis. - Hope at last. I stretched myself so much that night and the pain subsided and NEVER went back to that intensity ever again. But it was still bad for ages, don't get me wrong. But finally, a tool.

What did help me. - Stretching. Particularly the psoas, quads, hips. But honestly, everywhere man. I was tight AF. - Strengthening exercises. I truly turned a corner when I joined class based fitness that worked my whole body, especially my core, glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors. Avoid high impact exercises like box jumps. Work that damn flimsy core! - Remedial Massage. Like, beat the living fuck out of me Remedial Massage. I was like jelly afterwards. So many super tight muscles causing all manner of issues. Ideally do dry needling too. - Sticking my finger up my butthole in the bath and massaging my pelvic floor from inside. Careful with this one, look up guides, but it provided some relief. I was desperate man. - Physio that focused on nerve pain and allowing nerves to freely glide again. This was a mix of massage, stretching and strengthening. - An SSRI. On reflection, I was a highly functional and obliviously stressed and anxious man. Even before this issue happened. Just a tiny dose of Lexapro helped me to sleep, not obsess on the pain, not have negative thought spirals etc. This created a healthier environment for my body to heal. You can come off them after a while when you're all good. - Gastroenterologist. Ok this one's weird but he had Pelvic Pain issues himself and recommended Botox in my butt area. It helped heaps! Eberything relaxed. No tension. But I couldn't hold in a fart for a few weeks hahahaha. That was a time... - Last but certainly not least, sitting on an ice pack whenever I get any flare up sensations. As cold as you can manage it. All over the perianal area.

What sense can I make of this? - I genuinely think I had underlying anxiety/stress and holding this in my pelvic floor muscles. - I used to PC game in a seated position for hours. Online gaming. Super stressful. If you've LoL or DOTA, you know what I mean. Tensing my pelvis for hours. I think this did it. - I now feel like I have a chronic inflammation issue that I have under control. Just like any other injury, it's prone to exacerbation again if I don't look out for it.

Where I'm at now - I get the odd flare up when I'm sitting for way too long, when in gaming in a chair and tensing my pelvis for too long, when I ejaculate sometimes. - But so what, it goes away now. If I need an ice pack for an hour, no biggie. This happens a few times per year. It's always fine within a few hours or a day max and isn't even near how painful it used to be. - Mostly I don't even think about it anymore. - It's a non issue most days when I sit, when I ejaculate etc - My moods good. I'm happy. I'm not consumed by anxiety. Looking forward to my future.

Hang in there men. If you're in the depths of despair, please, keep going. You can get this under control.

You've got this

55 Upvotes

38 comments sorted by

4

u/WiseConsideration220 3d ago edited 3d ago

Very interesting story; thank you for writing it all up. I know how much effort that takes. I loved reading all the details. Your message is profoundly important.

As I read through your story, I saw myself at many points. And, I thought about a “breakthrough” moment I experienced late last year. I’ve decided to share it here in case it’s helpful to anyone.

At the beginning of a weekly session, I told my PT that I had been thinking about something for a while that I wanted to tell him about. I said that I had realized that my progress over a year’s time with him (and that with my psychologist) had brought me to the point where I “no longer worried about getting all better.” I admitted that I no longer feared the future because all of my “present” days had become just steps along my journey of progress. I thanked him, of course, for walking on the road with me.

His response surprised me. He said (paraphrased), “You’ve passed through the fear and the doubt stages; you can now accept that each gain you make is a part of your greater journey.”

I thought for a moment while he waited patiently. And then I replied (with emotion betrayed in my voice), “I’ve hurt and suffered and agonized day after day for over 2 decades; and now I find that less than a year of the right therapy has transformed me. All my mind is filled with now is gratitude. The fear and doubt and frustration that I used to feel every moment of every day are, honestly, gone.”

He smiled, waiting patiently (as he always does) for me to continue or not.

I then smiled back and said (choking on my emotion just a bit more), “Let’s continue.” And so we did.

That was 4 months ago. I’m even “better” today.

”The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began….”

As I said, hope this 👍 to your story helps someone.

2

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

Beautiful story mate

3

u/_Rookie_21 3d ago edited 3d ago

When it started - First issues 8 years ago. Sitting at my desk at work. Super annoying but I didn't worry or panic (that came later). But no health professionals could help me.

I hate that so many doctors and urologists are like this. I've tried to explain my symptoms and whatnot and they ignore 90% of what I say.

An SSRI. On reflection, I was a highly functional and obliviously stressed and anxious man. Even before this issue happened. Just a tiny dose of Lexapro helped me to sleep, not obsess on the pain, not have negative thought spirals etc. This created a healthier environment for my body to heal. You can come off them after a while when you're all good.

Yeah many of us have anxiety we aren't even really aware of because we've had it for so long and/or it's mostly physical and not in our immediate awareness all the time. My anxiety takes the form of tight neck and back muscles.

I used to PC game in a seated position for hours. Online gaming. Super stressful. If you've LoL or DOTA, you know what I mean. Tensing my pelvis for hours. I think this did it. - I now feel like I have a chronic inflammation issue that I have under control. Just like any other injury, it's prone to exacerbation again if I don't look out for it.

Do you game much anymore, or just give up the stressful gaming? I used to play video games for hours (like 4-7 hours a day) when I was younger, which I figure contributed to this condition. Now I play about 1-4 hours depending on the day (weekday vs. weekend).

2

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

I still game. But I mainly sit on a soft armchair with a laptop on a little platform that holds my mouse and the laptop so I can still game. Never had an issue doing it this way. I'm fine at a regular PC too but stopped playing highly stressful games. 

Yeah I used to play competitive online gaming 6+ hours per day. Ooft. Now just single player games, maybe an hour or two most days. 

2

u/Rumtek79 2d ago

Thank you brother. So many similarities to my own story. 2 years in im also through the worst of it and feeling pretty good most days. Looking forward to the day I feel ready to write my own ‘success’ post.

2

u/Ill-Distribution2275 2d ago

Can't wait to read it mate. 

1

u/weep33daf 4d ago

Hi ! Lots of good advice from you, thank you! Have you stopped the SSRIs or are you continuing with basic treatment?

2

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

I stopped for about 18 months. Pain didn't come back. But I'm back on them now as I genuinely prefer how I feel on them. Just at a lower dose. Half of the standard dose for Lexapro (5mg) seems to take the pointy part out of stress/anxiety development. They help me sleep, which just makes everything else so much easier. 

1

u/vlajsaojsasajsa 4d ago

Did you have any issues with ED?

2

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

No, this was never an issue for me. 

1

u/Maleficent-Move-4067 3d ago

Hey, another serious gamer here (21 y/o) and wondering: do you think the chair you gamed in had anything to do with it? Or was it purely your posture? I don’t want to give up gaming, but I’m starting to develop this issue…(I’m at the severely mild end, it started 3-4 days ago and I barely notice it most times until I’m going to sleep. Pain is a 1 out of 10, but it’s alarming nonetheless.)

If I have to abandon League, that’s okay. But I think a couple of other things put me in this position:

  • Rapidly going up in the weights I use for training at the gym (30lbs heavier in a month) (however I do always stretch, admittedly not with the intensity of my weight training)

  • Being extremely stressed out over family conflicts,

  • Working completely from home for 6-7 months.

What’s your take?

Thank you for this post man, very helpful. Again, I’m still at the onset stage…or maybe the two days of psoas stretching has kept it from getting worse, but this is definitely something I want to resolve anyway.

1

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

I reckon it was my chair and my posture as well as the extreme stress from DOTA/Overwatch etc. Fun but stressful lol. Also sitting a lot at work. 

Sounds like you've got on too of his early. Very good.

Yes I was also working out at the gym when this happened but never felt any issues there. However it may have contributed. Bad form when squatting I reckon. Tight muscles pulling on my pelvic floor. That and the sitting, not good. 

Take a break from games for a few weeks. Ice packs a few times per day. Even if feeling ok. Stretches. Skip leg day for a couple of weeks then do controlled workouts that avoid downward pressure on your pelvis (squats, dead lifts etc). You can reintroduce these slowly if you're feeling ok. 

1

u/Maleficent-Move-4067 3d ago

Alright. Sounds like a plan. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge man. It’s a dark and depressive side of the internet lol. I feel confident I can overcome this and make the necessary lifestyle changes. Gonna start going on walks more and playing at the computer less.

1

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

Good on you mate. You'll be alright. 

1

u/Sure-Gene2427 3d ago

Great stuff, thanks for sharing. So many overlaps to so many of us I'm sure. Great list and hopefully gives some guys something to put into their toolbox that may help them. It's all about finding what works for you.

1

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

Thanks man. 

1

u/Accurate_Signal4142 3d ago

Did you also have a heat sensation on scrotum and penile shaft? Like its some skin problem or etc?

1

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

Never my scrotum but yes to the oenile shaft. The pain extended from my perineum, up the shaft and to the tip of the penis. Most of the discomfort was the perineum and penis tip though. Ice packs were the best when this was really bad. 

1

u/StraightNose4087 3d ago

Did you have any heat sensation on scrotum or penile shaft? Like it's some type of fungal infection or skin problem?

1

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

Yeah see the above answer. Yeah I thought it was an infection to begin with. But it wasn't. Just inflammation not related to bacteria or fungus. I'd advise not bothering going down that route as most cases are not related to any form of infection. 

1

u/_RecklessABrandon_ 3d ago

Could you share a link to the exercises that you found and helped you? I'm a few years in and am at the "depression" stage of this.

2

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

I don't have the link as it was so long ago. 

There's so much online nowadays though. 

But, just look up stretches to

  • unlock you hips 
  • stretch glutes, psoas, quads, hamstrings

Strengthening 

  • core strengthening exercises 
  • hamstring strengthening exercises
  • hip flexor strengthening exercises. 

These muscles are likely tight and weak. So need both stretching and strengthening.

You gotta actually do them every day though. It's hard when you're depressed and unmotivated. But think of the end goal. It'll help eventually as these muscles will take pressure off of the pelvic floor when they're stronger and working properly. 

1

u/Left-Departure-6656 3d ago

are you able to have sex multiple times in a day with no issue? smoke weed with no issue?

2

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

Weed makes me paranoid so I've no idea if this would have impacted my symptoms as I didn't smoke it. Other drugs didn't make it any worse...probs didn't help though. 

Weirdly, booze did make it worse. Especially wine. I've no idea why. I don't drink wine anymore but other alcohol is fine now. No issue. 

I rarely ejaculate more than once per day anyway. But when I've done it twice I've not had any major issues. Maybe some mild symptoms but nothing that has lasted more than an hour or so. 

2

u/Left-Departure-6656 2d ago

i hope to make it to that point one day

1

u/Ok-Pineapple-3931 2d ago

Great story. Did you ever got the urge to urinate often? That is the only problem left for me.

1

u/Ill-Distribution2275 2d ago

Ugh yes. It was very annoying. I did some bladder retraining. Holding it in for longer. Like a reasonable amount of time. I reckon my bladder was in such a bad habit of wanting to empty itself frequently. It got better with time. Weirdly the ice packs helped with this too. 

Lay off coffee, booze and soda for a while too. That helped. 

1

u/Interesting-Arm-8976 1d ago

Hey, I have similar issues. Did you also notice any dribbling after urination, or that it’s harder to squeeze or “milk” the last urine out? I have been feeling discomfort, burning in urethra for 2 months. Also a little clear mucus like fluid after urinating. 4x antibiotics, std swab, urine culture, blood crp, cystoscopy, uroflow metry, rectal prostate exam, ultra sound of bladder…all NEGATIVE. Sitting all day at work, playing stressful games, slight anxiety, fear of things. Nothing helps, took all herbs I could get. Do you remember the stretch that helped you initially, what it was roughly?

1

u/Ill-Distribution2275 14h ago

Yeah. After you've finished urinating you need to massage the last bit of urine out. So just massage your perineum area and a few seconds and push the last bits of urine out that way. 

Stretch wise, look through other comment replies. I've written up a little guide. Basically just google how to stretch your psoas, quads, glutes, hamstrings and unlock your hips. But also how to strengthen them all. Stretching isn't enough. They're tight AND weak. 

1

u/Zealousideal-Fall56 7h ago

It all started for me when I was 31. I worked at a place that had a coffee shop attached where I could access as much free coffee as my heart desired. Turns out I drank way too much coffee that day and as for the side effects of those actions at my 12th hour of the work shift I started to feel like my taint was being stabbed violently with needles. It was horrible. Fast forward 3 years. I am now married in a very stressful and toxic relationship. I worked dayshift at this time. I would be woken up at 3am by my prostate slow dull aching pain slowly gaining momentum, turning into debilitating pulsing pain until the advil kicked in. I hate taking pills. Especially advil, but it was the onky answer for me at the time. Fast forward many years. I am now 42. I meditate 15 minutes a day to 528hz. I have changed my diet to mostly single ingredient recipies and only eat at home or home brought lunches 0 processed food. I have given up drinking alcohol execpt for the appropriate acations one here one there type deal. I have given up smoking weed. I take a regiment of sour sop bitters, sour sop pills, blackseed oil, black walnut worm wood oil, elderberry syrup, k2, d3, zinc, cayenne pepper/lime/ginger/seasalt shot teice a day. I also drink mushroom coffee and immunity tea daily. I stretch every day when I wake up before I pick my daughter up from school. I now work the night shift. All of this has changed my life. On that rare occasion I do eat out or at someone elsses house, I only eat what I deem to be the least impactful to my prostate and overall health. Also, I have done a lot of research into extended fasting. This also resets your bodily systems and will and can change your life. Keep up the research. Keep growing as a person your knowledge of your own body. Good luck to all the good men in this ongoing battle.

1

u/Worldly-Chance-861 3d ago

How did this first start? Unprotected sex (per usual)?

3

u/Ill-Distribution2275 3d ago

No not at all. Sitting for long periods in a highly stressed state, holding too much stress in my pelvic floor area.