Feeling quite down

[guyincog]

Hey All,

I have started to realize the pain I'm experiencing may not go away like it has for many of you.  I tried to abstain for a long time but recently decided to see how things were going.

Horrible last few days.  I am in such misery.

I could really use some support and encouraging words.  I have an appointment with a pain clinic tomorrow and was wondering if anyone has some advice for what I should talk about?

I also broke up with my gf about 4 months ago due to this.  I am trying to resist emailing her - she's moved on - but really just feeling down and would like to know how she is.  I cared about her a lot but the lack of energy from the pain really put me in a place where I couldn't see things moving forward.  I hope she's doing ok.  I guess I also need someone to smack me upside the head and keep trying to move on from that relationship as it's over.

Sorry for the rambly ramble.  Just feeling like crap and would love to hear some positive words of encouragement.

[restore]

You need to focus on you right now.  I would not contact her even though you care for her, since it may just make you feel worse, for now.  One thing about life I've noticed, is that it is about change.  As you said, she has moved on.  You should do the same.  Who knows what may happen in the future?  But for now, focus on getting better (emotionally as well as physically).  

It does get better.

[james1947]

guyincog

I don't remember what is your treatment. It is including Pentox?
It is helping a lot with pain, I suppose you know that.

James

[guyincog]

James, I was on Pentox for a while but it wasn't helping much.  I was also dealing with a LOT of pain at the time and was very depressed.  As a result I was very lethargic and very tired.  Even getting out of bed was a huge effort and trying to make it to the living room took a lot out of me.  It was a very strange feeling.  This coincided with when I started taking the Pentox.

I went to a doctor and he suggested I try stopping the pentox.  Within a few days I was feeling much better - still a lot of pain and depression but nothing like what I felt when I was taking it.

It's hard to say how much was in my head or not but almost everyone I know around me was saying it was VERY noticeable between when I was taking it and when I stopped.  My urologist is hesitant for me to try it again given what happened.   I was on it for around a month and half so no likely enough to be able to see any results in terms of healing.

I might try to take it again in the future.  I am currently taking Celebrex for 2 weeks with the hopes that maybe my pain comes from some sort of inflammation.  

This week has been very rough.

[james1947]

guyincog

Sorry to hear you had so bad side effects from Pentox. Some people have.
Hope some other medication will help with the pain.
My side effects were upset stomach and general bad/uncomfortable feeling, but with my now 3+ year daughter was impossible to concentrate in my own problems It passed after two or three weeks on 400mg.

James

[Adam]

hi  guyincog, i can  understand you very well. Pain is a very strong cause of depression..  It is hard to go out of the bed every day, when you are in pain. But my experience is, that i f feel better when i have done something usefull even with pain. I really hope and would be very happy, when the pain subside and i can move more normal. I wish you a fast recovery and no more pain. Try to think of something positive and  joyfull. I know its hard, but its worth a try.  I still try it too.

[MattFoley]

guyincog,

The other guys here know what I'm about to say:

Have you had a full blood panel done to determine your lipids, blood counts, and most importantly, your testosterone?

I seriously recommend you check into that because your testosterone level could be very low.

Have your doctor request the following:

Testosterone Free
Testosterone Total
Thyroid Panels (T3, T4, TSH)
IGF-1
CMP Profile
Lipid Profile
CBC w/Diff profile
PSA
C-Reactive Protein
DHEA-sulfate
LH
Estrogens
Vitamin D

Please check out: https://www.peyroniesforum.net/index.php/topic,3117.msg43494.html#msg43494 for ideas on how to naturally solve low testosterone issues.  

[George999]

I would second Matt's comment.  There is something very wrong when depression afflicts.  A very thorough examination would be in order.  Most docs won't go there.  I highly recommend seeing a doc specializing in functional medicine or anti aging medicine.  They tend to follow through until they come up with answers.  The other big gorilla is DIET.  Changing one's diet can have a huge effect on sense of well being.  - George

[swolf]

I firmly believe the obstacle that stands in many people's--including mine--way of healing (just in general, but in regards to mental health, Peyronie's, etc, too) is diet and lifestyle. Another huge one is sleep. Quality sleep (Not necessarily quantity. Getting out of bed is just as important) can't be underestimated. Knowing this doesn't mean you know how to fix it, but awareness is one step towards reordering your life so that the moments that make up your day (the food you ingest, the energy you exert, the activities you engage in, etc) work FOR you and not AGAINST you.

I don't suffer from depression myself but I have similar problems with anxiety (not a large problem for me at the moment) and just general intensity of thought, most likely heightened by Lyme disease's neurological effects. Depression and other mental states are products of the body and mind in tandem. These things have physiological bases. If you treat your physical body, you treat the health of your mind. And vice versa.  

[guyincog]

The depression came from the months of chronic pain.  I was experiencing an 8/10 pain for months and months - erections really aggrivated the pain so I was very sexually frustrated, basically immobile, trying to find help and support and just very down.  Depression isn't feeling 'sad', it is a feeling of not wanting to do anything.  I think the pain I experienced was higher than what most of you may have experienced.

I am reading some books on chronic pain and the stories being told are strikingly similar.  When this first happened I thought that it was the sexual nature of the injury that was giving me my depression but I'm starting to realize that people who have pain in other parts of their body go through many of the same things I experienced.

I will ask about the blood work.  I had multiple blood samples taken when I was so sick I couldn't even make it out of bed - multiple trips to the ER from feeling so weak and down.  Nothing abnormal came up other than slightly elevated blood markers that indicated some form of inflammation (which I guess makes sense).

I am doing a bit better than last week but again only because I'm abstaining.  I don't have good and bad days, I have good and bad hours - for a few hours I might be sort of fine (and I am on a cocktail of pain medication - Amitryptaline, Celebrex and Tramadol if the pain gets too severe).  I am realizing that asides from the sexual issues I need to get this pain issue under control as well or it will take my life.  I am very scared.  I don't want to die but this pain is so hard to bear and not even having the relief of looking forward to sex or a normal relationship.