epididymitis after 5 months

[lamota55]

Hi Doc  been reading lots of posts have a few questions.  I am 55 read that not .why is this?  My story briefly had protected sex with fsw 6 months ago 1 month ago got pain in testicle area
no swelling , cant really tell if epididymis is swollen if so is not sore to touch , I can press testicle between thumb and forefinger and not really painful unless press hard.  I drive a truck and I get the pain mainly from pressure when pants get tight while sitting exerting pressure on testicle can usually adjust position and it subsides for awhile.  It is hard to explain pain I feel, it is not overt anyway.  I have not had any discharge or pain while urinating.  Pain does get worse between bowel movements than after the pain seems to get a little better.  Questions  if sti's usually resolve themselves within 4 to 5 months wouldn't it be unusual to get epididymitis after 5 months?  If condom did break or had a hole in it what are the odds a person would get chlaymidia or gonnohrea?  I have had this pain for over 5 weeks I keep thinking it will go away by itself but it doesn't seem like that will be the case.  Is epididymitis always very painful?  Could I have it without real overt symptoms of the testicles and epididymis being real tender and the absence of any urethritis symptoms?  After 5 weeks wouldn't the pain be getting gradually worse?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

AS I said before, this does not sound like epididymitis, at all.

1.does testicle and epididymis hurt constantly and does pain increase with epididymitis?
Yes, the pain is contstant and tend to increase over time with bacterial epididymititis.

2. Is there always discharge from sti related epididymitis.
Not always but typically.

3. Is the testicle swelling always noticeable enough where you could not miss it.
Yes.  The swelling may be the testis or the epididymis

4. does anxiety really produce pain seems almost impossible
Anxiety can cause testicular discomfort which comes and goes.

5. is it possible for my symptoms to resolve themselves over time?
Hard to say.  You do not know what is causeing yoru discomfort.  It is most unlikely that this is an STI but there are other urological problems which might be causing your symptoms.  You may want to see a urologist to be sure.  EWH

[lamota55]

I am not very good at this , this will be last try I promise.
1.does testicle and epididymis hurt constantly and does pain increase with epididymitis?
2. Is there always discharge from sti related epididymitis.
3. Is the testicle swelling always noticeable enough where you could not miss it.
4. does anxiety really produce pain seems almost impossible
5. is it possible for my symptoms to resolve themselves over time?

Thank You

[lamota55]

so just it would be unusual for symptoms of epididymitis to show up
5 months later?  Pain comes and goes depending on position I am sitting in which seems odd.   Is there always pain and swelling of the epididymis would it always be very tender if it was in fact epididymitis?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to the Forum. I'll be happy to address your questions.  Let's start with the easy part- this is not epididymitis.  As you point out with epididymitis the testicle would be swollen and tender to the touch.  Further, it would be unusual (but not unheard of) to have epididymitis develop without some sort of urethritis (discharge or obvious burning on urination).  It would also be unusual for it to have developed well before five months had passed.

Regarding your condom failure questions, if your condom had failed, it would have broken open in a way that would leave no doubt that it had failed.  Condoms do not fail by leaking small amounts.

So, what could this be?  You are of an age when prostate problems begin to occur for many men- this could be prostatitis or some other non-STI related prostate problem.  My advice would be to discuss this with your doctor and to see if he/she thinks it appropriate to see a urologist.  I would not worry about an STI however.

I hope these comments are helpful.  EWH