Still having problems

Hello,
I posted a question previously about my persistent uritheritis I have been experiencing.  A quick recap is I had chlamydia, was treated with many antibiotics and relaxants (urimax,diflucan) for about 5 months straight.  I've tested negative for chlamydia, gonnorrhea, and HIV. I have no lesions or bumps of any kind to indicate a virus. As you suggested I stopped taking the antibiotics, and overall I have felt healthier.  However I still have the very annoying symptoms of a very clear discharge from the penis, a lil stinging when urinating, and just sorta itchy discomfort in the genital region. Like I said I have no bumps to suggest a virus, and the way I understand it is that the only way herpes causes discharge would be internal, yet wouldn't it still be present elsewhere?  So my question would be, does this sound like its still urethritis, or could it be prostisis, or perhaps even a mycoplasma organism.  An important note is that my symptoms are greatly inflammed by any ejaculation.  There also seems to be a weird, itchy sensation around the rectum area (which I original chalked up to the massive amounts of medication I was on and their side affects).  After ejaculation it takes a few days for the symptoms to lessen, yet never disappear.That sounds sorta like prostisis I think?  I am 22 years old and in very good shape. I eat healthy and exercise so I don't understand  how I can't seem to throw this off.  As you can see I am quite confused.  So I would like your input on what you think I have and maybe some suggestions for the next step of my treatment. Thanks!!

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

As I (probably) responded before, your symptoms probably reflect ongoing mild inflammation, but no active infection.  Just to be clear, "inflammation" is the body's immune system producing symptoms; infection is the most common cause of inflammation, but not the only cause.  Many cases of inflammation (including most arthritis, for example) are not due to infection.  So your symptoms don't mean you are carrying some bug that will harm you or a partner.

The cause of persistent symptoms in some men with NGU isn't well known and hasn't been the subject of much research--primarily because the syndrome doesn't seem to be harmful.  In any case, this syndrome has never been found to cause infertility, cancer, or any other bad outcome either in the man who has it or his sex partners.  Whether the inflammatory reaction is in the prostate gland or just in the urethra isn't known and probably isn't important.  Some of your symptoms may be due as much to anxiety about it all as to any ongoing inflammatory process.

Relax and don't let this interfere with your life.  But if symptoms persist and my reassurance doesn't quite cut it, continue to follow your doctor's advice, and perhaps consider a consultation with a urologist with particular expertise in infections, prostatitis, etc.  Such persons often exist in major academic medical centers, if one is nearby.

Good luck-- HHH, MD

[Captnemo]

I had NGU which led to epididymitis. The Urethritis took about 5 weeks to return to normal on its own. After about 3 months the pain in epididymis had still not healed and I was thinking I would have for life. A doctor sugested I take nurofen, an anti- imflamatory. i took this for 2 weeks and then to my great releif the pain went away. Don't know if it was the nurofen or it just healed itself but it may be worth a try. Careful with the nurofen it can cause ulcers if you take too much

[Captnemo]

Forgot to add that I had to take 4 weeks of antibiotics to kill the infection of course...