Peyronie's Vs. Chronic Prostatitis

[John B]

I'm hoping someone will have some insight into this matter.

I'm 33 and the left side of my penis has been burning/hurting off and on for 6 months now. It hurt for 2 weeks in July, stopped, and began to hurt again in October, but now it's hurting worse than ever. The pain is more of a burn, and sometimes waves of burns.

A symptom of Chronic Prostatitis is:

Symptoms may wax and wane. Pain can range from mild discomfort to debilitating. Pain may radiate to back and rectum, making sitting difficult. Dysuria, arthralgia, myalgia, unexplained fatigue, abdominal pain, constant burning pain in the penis, and frequency may all be present.

I have a constant burning of the left side of my penis, with no lump. I can't seem to find the exact spot of the pain in my penis. Sometimes it feels near the base, other times, the middle, other times near the glands.

Also, another symptom I've had is a burning sensation in the glands upon and after ejaculation, which seems to be another symptom:

Post-ejaculatory pain, mediated by nerves and muscles, is a hallmark of the condition, and serves to distinguish CP/CPPS patients from men with BPH or normal men.

Sometimes I have a shooting pain down the inside of my left leg, but only here and there, also a burning type pain above the penis near the base. Also, I sit A LOT, which I think could add to the pain, as I don't feel the pain as much when walking around.


Another factor is I have bad OCD and an anxious disposition. Here's what I found on Chronic Prostatitis:

Category III prostatitis may have no initial trigger other than anxiety, often with an element of OCD, panic disorder, or other anxiety-spectrum problem. This is theorized to leave the pelvic area in a sensitized condition resulting in a loop of muscle tension and heightened neurological feedback (neural pain wind-up). Current protocols largely focus on stretches to release overtensed muscles in the pelvic or anal area (commonly referred to as trigger points) including digital prostate massage, physical therapy to the area, and progressive relaxation therapy to reduce causative stress.

When it comes to curvature of the penis, I don't seem to have any when erect. When flaccid, and semi-erect, sometimes it will curve a few degrees to the left, but I have a large bulging blue vein on that side, so I wonder if that isn't why.


Could it be this constant burning pain throughout the left side of my penis is not Peyronie's but rather Chronic Prostatitis, aggravated by sitting so much, and if so how would I get checked for this to know for sure?

[John B]

Something I forgot to add, is that the pain seems eased with erections. I have no pain with night erections. And after I masturbate my penis seems to hurt less, when it becomes flaccid, and I don't notice the pain as much, if at all, when masturbating.

[MattFoley]

John, you may have Chronic Prostatitis and/or something else as well.

The pain you describe in your left leg is similar to the one I experience occasionally now but very frequently a couple of years ago. It felt like someone was shoving a sharp needle into my leg. It's related to the lower lumbar and a lot of sitting easily aggravates it. I took a lot of Advil and in time, it's now a rare occurrence.

The Chronic Prostatitis possibility is something a urologist needs to diagnose. Your description sounds like that's what it might be but obviously there's no way for anyone here to say, "yeah, absolutely, that's it".

I know your financial situation isn't great but you've got to find a way to get back on the county program or get some kind of discount medical program online because you have to have a urologist look at this. It might be as simple as getting antibiotics. At the very least, you may wish to go to a regular doctor and get checked for an infection. If it's an infection, it can likely be treated with a short course of antibiotics.

In the meantime, if you are assuming that it's Chronic Prostatitis, you may wish to consider homeopathic remedies and possibly some supplements but again, I caution you in following a protocol that isn't assigned by your doctor.

God bless.

[John B]

Yeah. I'll definitely get it checked out. I'd probably think it's Chronic Protatitis and not Peyronie's, except when I push on my penis alot, looking for a lump, the penis will burn more for a few days. That may happen from the Prostatitis too, I don't know. I'll have to get it checked again. I went to a urologist last week but he seemed clueless...

[MattFoley]

John, I don't remember if you said that you had been checked out for infection. If not, any General Practitioner can check it out. Usually it's a cheap office visit. If worst comes worst, you could always go into the ER at the hospital. Of course, the bill for that would be absurd. But I would think a check for infections is definitely something you should have done.  

[John B]

John, I don't remember if you said that you had been checked out for infection. If not, any General Practitioner can check it out. Usually it's a cheap office visit. If worst comes worst, you could always go into the ER at the hospital. Of course, the bill for that would be absurd. But I would think a check for infections is definitely something you should have done.

I went to the ER for a different reason like 3 weeks ago, and they took a blood and urine sample. I don't think it showed any infection, but the Chronic Prostatitis is not from infection.  

[MattFoley]

If it is chronic then, yeah right, but if you don't know whether they were looking for infection, you should probably call and ask. Please don't just assume.

[John B]

I went to the ER a few days back for extreme penis pain, which was shooting down my leg. The doctor checked my penis and said it looks fine, and then checked my urine, which came back clean. He also checked my prostate, and it hurt when he touched it, but he said it's not Prostatitis.

Well, tonight I was peeing, the between the base of my penis and pubic bone, there was pain when I peed, like in the tube that connect to the urethra. Is it possible a chronic bacterial prostatitis won't show on a urine test, or by feeling the prostate?

[Hawk]

Is it possible a chronic bacterial prostatitis won't show on a urine test, or by feeling the prostate?

It is possible and in fact non-bacterial prostatitis obviously would not show.  I would see if a uro would give you a 14 day supply of cipro just in case it is a bacterial infection.  Cipro has a potential side-effect of reducing the formation of the types of collagen found in scar tissue and ligaments so it will definitely not hurt you even if you have Peyronies Disease.  

Isn't this the at least the 2nd doctor that told you there was nothing wrong with your penis?

[John B]

Hawk, I went to a general doctor, after 3 weeks in pain. He squeezed my penis, said it was fine, and lay off masturbation a few weeks. A few months later, I was still in pain, so I went to a urologist. He felt my penis and said it felt and looked 100% normal. He said, "Not 95% normal. 100% normal." Then I reminded him I've been in pain, which is getting worse, for 6 months. He said, "I can only think it would be the start of a condition called Peyronie's Disease. Take two 400mg of Vitamin E a day, and see me in 3 months." After my penis was checked by him and after checking myself for lumps, the penis did begin to hurt much worse. The ER doctor a few days ago, said he sees no inflammation, the penis lays rightly, and he doesn't know what the problem is, so go see a specialist.

I find the left side of my penis always hurts pretty bad now... And if my penis is laying to the left, which it has always tended to do, and I pull it to the right, the whole left side of the penis hurts, as I pull my flaccid penis from left to right laying position... That seems more Peyronie's than Prostate, I'd think... But even tonight, I squeezed the head of my penis softly and felt a sharp pain in the head of my penis, and discomfort in the urethra when peeing, and discomfort around the pubic bone... I'd like to figure out what's going on.

[Hawk]

A round of Cipro would not hurt and it would deal with most infections so it would eliminate some possibilities.  You next need some tests such as ultrasound imaging, complete blood panel, and whatever a GOOD doctor recommends.

[skunkworks]

Not knowing much about chronic prostatitis, I took a look around and there seems to be quite a bit of controversy as to whether antibiotics will help or hinder...

[Hawk]

That is because prostatitis is just a term meaning inflammation of the prostate gland for any reason from bacterial, to physical injury, and several things in between.  Antibiotics will obviously only help bacterial prostatitis.  My point is a very simple one.  Whether you have bacterial prostatitis, an ingrown hair, a badder infection, or an abscess in your bowel, either a round of Cipro will help or it won't and that will at least be a piece of evidence that can be used toward your diagnosis.  It beats reading Peyronies Disease forums, assuming and stressing that you have a condition 4 doctors have failed to confirm.  Even if you have Peyronies Disease you can't even treat it because you don't know for sure what you have.  

Everyone is different, but if it were me I would not waste time plotting how to cope with a condition that it is no more than a coin toss that you even have.  I would spend that time pushing every test, every doctor, and every avenue to get a detailed, definitive diagnosis.  That is step 1.  Only then comes step 2.  It seems to me you are progressing to steps 5 & 6 and actually contemplating how you cannot live with this disease and how you may end it  when you have yet to complete step 1.

While I consider most all suicide a selfish waste, can you just imagine for a moment if someone were to kill themselves over a condition they did not even have.

Get a definitive diagnosis and do not stop until you do.  Do not treat Peyronies Disease, or IBS, a psychosomatic disorder, or Peritonitis, until you have a diagnosis.

Regards

Hawk

[John B]

Yeah. I'll try to get this "What if?" thinking under control. I wouldn't kill myself unless things got really bad, and even then I may not. I don't know.

I'll let up on posting until I know what's going on for sure.