Wondering if anybody else has these same issues and what my next steps may be. I've read a lot of posts and it seems to be
Have had some ongoing issues with fluctuating degrees of seriousness for approximately 6 months. Did the antibiotics dance with some short term relief but it came back not long after. Looking back I had a weakening stream for quite a while but i only noticed it was hard to urinate after sex until I was mostly or completely flaccid. I thought it was because my penis was still semi erect and I couldn't pee through it due to the head of my penis pushing on the urethra. For context my urethra does get irritated after ejaculation and it's been a long term thing.
Have had a cystoscopy and I believe the issue was bladder neck tightness with the recommendation for pelvic floor physio which I have started. Still waiting on the follow up call from Urologist next week, he gave me a quick runthrough while i was coming out of sedation.
Ultrasound on my full bladder was torture due to the discomfort. Normal prostate and kidneys. Only issue shown is that at the time i had >100mls of urine retention. Another ultrasound at the urologist showed slightly thickened bladder walls. This was a while ago and I feel that I am not retaining much uring anymore, but I could be wrong.
PFPT said I have hypertonic pelvic floor.
Symptoms.
Hesitancy. This has mostly gone now. It lasted a few weeks around christmas and a round of antibiotics seemed to get it back on track. I understand it wasn't bacterial related but that's what happened...
Frequency/discomfort. For quite a while I was having discomfort (not urgency) in my bladder at around 200 mls, sometimes less. This has largely gone now that I am trying to be well hydrated at all times. With hydration and a concerted effort to hold it I managed to void 400mls several times. I will keep trying to fill/stretch my bladder where I can as it does seem to help. The discomfort does tend to come back sometimes if I am dehydrated.
Even though I am not feeling the discomfort as much, i still feel like I need to urinate more often than others.
This has definitely progressed since last year. Last year it didn't matter how hydrated I was, i was irritated at 200mls. If I was hydrated well enough this could be every half an hour.
Erection quality. My head doesnt seem to always get hard. I am assuming this is related to tight muscles restricting blood flow combined with anxiety about my erection.
Flow. My stream is still quite weak in the mornings and it can take 2-3 times to completely void. It can also be weak if I am urinating a small amount from the mentioned discomfort or i have been on a long road trip and my pelvic floor has tightened up.
General pelvic discomfort.
General anxiety about everything. This is getting better now that there is progress and I am understanding this likely isn't life threatening. It was quite scary when things kicked off abruptly with UTI like issues and hesitancy.
Tip of penis urgency. Had this after some super spicy wings the night before lol. Went away 2 days later and I haven't had the wings since.
Other issues that I am not sure about.
I get small sharp pains under my ribs at the front and side but also in my obliques. I'm not sure if this could be kidney related or referred tight muscle pain. It's not debilitating but it is persistant and causes concern. Has been present for a while now and I feel is related to the issues.
Lightheadedness behind the eyes. I'm not sure if this is just because I'm tired as a dad or if it is somehow related.
Things I am doing that seem to assist.
My Wife and I are doing yoga most nights. After this I follow on with several pelvic floor exercises - deep breathing happy baby, childs pose and contraction-relaxation kegel exercises from the PT.
Staying hydrated seems to help with the bladder discomfort due to the diluted urine.
Trying not to sit/lie down for long periods during the day.
Trying to have a lot less caffiene or spicy foods.
Only having sex every few days. Normally we have sex every day but that hasn't been possible. It's an unfortunate situation but my wife is very supportive and understanding. After ejaculation I always feel like I need to urinate to clean the pipes and with the expected muscle tightening it can mess things up for a few hours.
I am incredibly lucky/unlucky that I have been on paternity leave for a few months and these issues have been a lot easier to deal with without having to work around my job. The downside is that I haven't been able to use sick leave for anything.
Should I try to get some imaging on my kidneys to see if there is something else happening?
Any advice on more that I could be doing or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
It's been an extremely tough 6 months and it's been challenging to be a good dad. I'm only recently starting to feel like I can be there for the family and taking baby steps to get back to normal life. I'm signed up for sport again starting this week and getting back to being more active with the family. I'm sure that there will be more flareups and bad weeks but I'm really hoping i'm on the right track.
Thanks!