Prostatitis questions

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Paul - 22 Jan 2005 23:49 GMT

Hi all,

I went to see a urologist about my lower back, kidney and penis pains,
and the prostate discomfort. He diagnosed it as prostatitis after the
examination.

In the consultation notes he says: "He had a tender left lobe to an
otherwise smooth prostate. Transrectal ultrasound showed bilateral
increased echogenicity but no focal change with a prostate volume of
around 10cc."

Could someone possibly translate this into layman's terms for me?

My main concern is that I'm just over half-way through a 14-day course
of Doxycycline, and while the symptoms appear to have waned a little,
I'm still in a lot of discomfort. In your experiences, how long does it
generally take for the symptoms to clear?

Also, although the specialist seemed convinced it was prostatitis, I
worry that it may be something else.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Paul

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Gutbuster - 23 Jan 2005 00:42 GMT

> Hi all,
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Could someone possibly translate this into layman's terms for me?

I suggest you do the smart thing and dont expect expert answers in here to
that. This newsgroup is full of charlatans posing as doctors and people
trying to scam as well as quite a few clueless odds and ends who want you to
believe as they do. Go see another doctor and get it explained or better
yet, phone the doctor who wrote that and ask the question you typed above of
him/her. It is YOUR body and they have a duty to be forthcoming with info
that a non-medically trained person can understand.

> My main concern is that I'm just over half-way through a 14-day course
> of Doxycycline, and while the symptoms appear to have waned a little,
> I'm still in a lot of discomfort. In your experiences, how long does it
> generally take for the symptoms to clear?

If you are taking Doxy then you have bacterial prostatitis. The simple fact
is that you MAY get what can only be described as "dead lucky" and it clear
up - I believe there are always exceptions to rules in non-mathematic
areas - but the likelihood is close to 100% that it wont ever go away. It
only gets worse, you go back on the Doxy for a while and it gets better for
a while then gets worse again. Injections into the prostate are one form of
quackery being advised by some in here. Dont do it. Just think about it.
Injecting into the prostate which isnt supposed to BE punctured is going to
end up making things either status quo at best or worse and in either case
you spent good money for that.

Be aware on Doxy that you shouldnt be in strong sunlight while taking it for
very long. Also, from my own experience taking Doxy constantly, month after
month for many months, the more you constantly take it, the less it is
effective. What you need to do is remember that there are other health
problems that may arise that are nothing to do with the prostate which need
an antibiotic to help or cure it and by constantly dosing on antibiotics,
you are risking making none of them work for you.

Get Saw Palmetto. It doesnt work for everyone and not everyone can tolerate
it. My first few weeks on it, I was constantly sick in the stomach but even
I got used to it eventually. It helps a lot. Also get one of those camp
chairs where you have something like calico for the seat base strung between
the wooden frames. Like a director's chair but normal height. They are a
relief to sit on. Avoid sitting on hard surfaces if you can. Take to
standing as long as you can even when watching TV. That helps some.

> Also, although the specialist seemed convinced it was prostatitis, I
> worry that it may be something else.
> Any help would be much appreciated.

Simple rule of thumb when dealing with health problems of any sort - you
aren't happy, see another doctor. Don't sit around wondering. Just do it and
find out.

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Ralph Caccese Jr - 23 Jan 2005 19:59 GMT

Gutbuster has given you a lot of good advise.

14 days of Doxycycline may not be long enough. Typically the first line of
treatment is 6 weeks of a Hydroquinone like Cipro or Levaquin.

A prostste of 10cc is very small. This doesn't sound right. A normal
prostste measures about 30 cc. The only way to know if you have "something
else" is to do a prostate biopsy. If your PSA is normal and your doctor is
not suspicious, follow his suggestions. Keep in mine, ultrasound is not a
good screening test for prostate cancer. PSA is used for that.

This newsgroup has gone down hill and Gutbuster is right, it's full of
snake oil salesmen. If you trust and like your doctor, then tell him what
is really bothering you, physically and emotionally, and he should be your
best resource.

> > Hi all,
> >
[quoted text clipped - 56 lines]
> aren't happy, see another doctor. Don't sit around wondering. Just do it and
> find out.

Reply to this Message

mrpubmed@hotmail.com - 24 Jan 2005 12:11 GMT

> 14 days of Doxycycline may not be long enough. Typically the first line of
> treatment is 6 weeks of a Hydroquinone like Cipro or Levaquin.

Uh, quinolone. But if there really is an infection 2 weeks is not
enough.

> A prostste of 10cc is very small. This doesn't sound right. A normal
> prostste measures about 30 cc.

Not correct. In a young man the prostate will be 10-20 cc. 30cc is
already slightly enlarged.

> This newsgroup has gone down hill and Gutbuster is right, it's full of
> snake oil salesmen. If you trust and like your doctor, then tell him what
> is really bothering you, physically and emotionally, and he should be your
> best resource.

Yes, the re-emergence of Polachek, who sells dangerous prolonged
courses of megadose polypharmacy antibiotics along with prostatic
massage to all patients (even though it only helps a fraction of them)
is a concern.

> > If you are taking Doxy then you have bacterial prostatitis.

Absolutely wrong. You have bacterial prostatitis if you have recurrent
urinary tract infections that localize to the prostatic fluid.
Gutbuster has made up his own definitions for everything and I am sure
that the sky on his planet is a very unique color.

The fact is that over 95% of doctors prescribe antibiotics for
prostatitis whether or not they do cultures and whether or not they
believe an infection is present. This has been documented by several
published studies in the medical literature. Since at least 2/3 of
patients get better with antibiotics reglardless of the culture
results, this is a reasonable approach for someone presenting for the
first time with symptoms.

>but the likelihood is close to 100% that it wont ever go away.

Don't be discouraged by this fantasy. If as studies show, prostatitis
develops in 2-7% of men per year and it never went away, how long
before every male on the planet had it? Newsgroups give a very skewed
impression of most conditions because people who respond to simple
treatment are not the ones who usually seek them out.

>Also, from my own experience taking Doxy constantly, month
> after
> > month for many months, the more you constantly take it, the less it is
> > effective.

Particularly when you don't have chronic bacterial prostatitis. But
don't expect any scientific debate from this poster. Just typical
toddler like responses. "I win you lose end of debate, won't post on
this subject again (repeated 5 times). In his world, it's what he
believes passes for being clever and having a rapier wit.

There are actually many types of therapy that help men with this
condition when antibiotics don't work, including alpha blockers
(Flomax, Uroxatral), phytotherapy (quercetin, bee pollen, Permixon
(type of Saw Palmetto)), dietary changes, neuroleptic drugs (Elavil,
Neurontin), physical therapy and acupuncture.

Reply to this Message

Ralph Caccese Jr - 25 Jan 2005 02:25 GMT

> Uh, quinolone. But if there really is an infection 2 weeks is not
> enough.

Gasp! I must have had a brain fart. I don't know what I was thinking
about. Quinolone is what I meant. Absolutely right.

> Not correct. In a young man the prostate will be 10-20 cc. 30cc is
> already slightly enlarged.

That's true too. I'm just not used to seeing prostates less than 30cc. I
assumed the original poster was middle aged, why, I'm not sure.

Paul, by increased echogenicity of the prostate, do you mean
calcifications? If so, that probably means nothing. Some people think
calcifications are the cause of prostatitis, but that is not the
conventional main stream thought. Although, there was a recently published
article in The Journal of Urology by Dr. Shoskes about chelation therapy
along with tetracyline for treating nanobacteria infections associated with
calcifications which was pretty interesting.

Reply to this Message

Paul - 30 Jan 2005 16:36 GMT

Hi Ralph,

I'm not sure if the doctor meant calcifications - that was just how he
worded it in his report to my GP.

I saw the urologist again last Monday, and the prostate is no longer
tender when pressure is applied to it. However, I do still have the
kidney pains and urinary problems. I'm about 2 1/2 weeks through the
antibiotic course - if my prostate has responded to the antibiotics, is
it reasonable to assume that the other symptoms will improve as well?
Many thanks,

Paul

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