Prostatitis Questions

[Southerngal410]

7 weeks ago my husband went to the Urgent Care Dr because of frequency, urgency, burning, groin pain and pain at the tip of his penis. These symptoms were sporadic and had been coming and going for several weeks. The dr performed an exam, including a prostate exam and said that he had Prostatitis. He was put on an 8 day course of Cipro. Around day 4 the symptoms started to improve and he was feeling better.

About a week later the symptoms came back and were more constant. This time we went to the Urologist. They too said that he had Prostatitis and that a long term antibiotic is needed to get rid of it and was put on Doxycycline for 6 weeks. We are starting week 5 of the antibiotic and the symptoms are still coming and going. Not so much the urgency and frequency, but still the burning sometimes, groin pain and pain at the tip of the penis on a regular basis. It's crazy because he can have a few good days where he has no symptoms at all and then have a rough couple of days with symptoms.  

Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue with the antibiotic not really helping, what you did or if it was something totally different.  

[BonzoDog]

No, no prblms w/ it now - in fact, I no longer even have a prostate, had prostate cancer surgery 07/31/18, now trying to regain normal functions. But I had prostatitis on & off for a cpl yrs back in my early 40s. It’s typical to feel better for awhile & then have it come back again, but after awhile it cleared up. Also started having prblms w/ BPH = benign enlargement which caused some difficulty urinating, mostly at night & 1st thing in the morning. But don’t be alarmed -  nether BPH nor prostatitis necessarily mean he’ll get cancer. In my case, I developed cancer much later on, a high PSA test was the first indication. Please tell your husband to take these PSA results seriously - I waited too long to seek treatment & it had already spread beyond the gland itself, so now I have a continuing issue even after the surgery. Prbly if I’d sought treatment earlier, the surgery alone would’ve been sufficient, but now I’ll need add’l treatments. Also, please be aware that any type of inflammation of the prostate, including prostatitis, can give a high PSA result, but that should return to normal once it clears up. Good luck to your husband, just don’t get discouraged, but keep letting his Dr know what’s going on, he may have to try different antibiotics or other treatments, but eventually it should resolve...

[BonzoDog]

This is kind of typical of prostatitis - it’s very tough to get rid of. I’ve had it myself, so I know. Generally it does improve over time. One of the problems is, the prostate is kind of an ‘encapsulated’ gland, so it’s not real easy for antibiotics to kind of ‘penetrate’ & do their job. Give it some time, may have to continue the meds for awhile. Also, it’s been said that maintaining a regular schedule of ejaculation helps - not too much, not too little. Generally about every 2-3 days, about 3 times a week, prbly not good to do it 2 days in a row & also not good to go too long without either. Often ejaculation with prostatitis is not as pleasant as usual, at times can even be a bit painful. I guess if it’s teally just TOO unpleasant, give it a rest for about a week & then resume the schedule. You can check this out with the Urilogist, though, he/she may have a different opinion on this.

[Southerngal410]

Thanks for your thoughts! It this something that you still deal with? My husband is just super frustrated at how he can have several good days and think "I'm finally getting better!" and then the symptoms come and he feels awful for a few days.