Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

antibiotics for prostatitis

I am a 50-year-old man.  About a week ago, I started experiencing frequent urination with urgency and waking at night to urinate.  I visited my family doctor who did a simple test for blood in the urine, which was positive.  He diagnosed prostatitis and prescribed 2 weeks of cipro.  I tried it for two days but experienced anxiety and insomnia, although I must say by the second day the urinary symptoms were completely gone.  But the insomnia was miserable so I called my doctor to ask if there was anything I could do for the side effects, so he switched me to 3 wks of doxycycline, which I started taking immediately.  Now I sleep OK but after two days the symptoms are back in full force.  I'm wondering if I made a mistake in switching.  Have others had similar experiences?  Is doxy just slower to take effect?  My experiences with antibiotics in the past have been that they usually work right away, and you just have to take them for a while to make sure you've totally eliminated the infection.  
4 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Thanks for sharing your experiences and thoughts, it helps to hear others are dealing with it and finding favorable outcomes.  Best of luck to you as well!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Here is what I ended up doing:

2 days on cipro (couldn't sleep, but seemed to work)
5 days on doxycycline (didn't work)
2 days back on cipro (again couldn't sleep, also didn't work)
4 days on bactrim (didn't do much)
10 more days on bactrim + flagyl

So basically 3+ weeks of antimicrobials.  I have never taken Flomax and nobody has suggested it.  I'm not sure what lifestyle changes I could make, other than perhaps having more regular ejaculations.  I do 12 minutes on an exercise bike every day but other than that don't ride a bike.

Toward the end of the treatment things started to get slightly better, in that I might have a good afternoon once in a while and I was able to sleep better.  After one full week of no treatment the cloud started to lift and I've now had one week with only mild urinary symptoms and basically no depression (which was the worst part).  Now I'm under treatment for the GI after-effects of the antimicrobials.

I've been reading more about this disease, and by a strange coincidence the coordinating center for the big national studies of chronic pelvic pain (including prostatitis) is in my department, right down the hall from my office.  Based on their work, there is some reason to believe that, except in those cases where there is an obvious infection (with fever, discharge, etc. that I never had), prostatitis is not an infectious disease at all.  Moreover on other occasions when I've taken antimicrobials (for an arachnid bite, strep throat, bronchitis) they worked right away.  So I'm inclined to agree with those scientists who are questioning whether there ia any role for antimicrobials in this disease, and whether they had any beneficial effect in my case.

Anyway, it's been a strange journey, and I'm glad to be coming out of the tunnel.  I am hopeful that with serious and rigorous research we will get some new insights and possibly new treatments.  Best of luck to you!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm a 54 year old male and have had similar experience with both doxycycline and cipro.  The first time I had a prostititis attack cipro didn't work and doxycycline helped me after 2 full weeks.  18 months later I'm having another bout, this time its the other way around - Doxycycline didn't help and cipro seems to be working after 2 weeks.  

Are you taking Flomax too?  My prostititis problems seemed to start when I went on Flomax.

Sounds like we're on the same track - I'd love to hear how you're doing and what works. Have you tried any lifestyle changes?  I've stopped biking, I suspect it may have triggered my latest case.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi,

In your case, acute infectious prostatitis usually need to take antimicrobial medication for 7 to 14 days. Almost all acute infections can be cured with this treatment. And it usually takes 3 days before the resolution of symptoms. However, if the second drug does not eliminate all your symptoms, inform your doctor for proper management. It may take a longer time before the effects could be seen depending on the dose. Or you may be shifted to a stronger drug with milder side effects.

Take care and regards.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Urology Community

Top Urology Answerers
Avatar universal
Southwest , MI
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Discharge often isn't normal, and could mean an infection or an STD.
Dr. Jose Gonzalez-Garcia provides insight to the most commonly asked question about the transfer of HIV between partners.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.