About four months ago, I began experiencing pain, numbness and an increased feeling of firmness in my right testicle. The doctors I went to treated it as an infection, and I took two rounds of antibiotics with no effect. During this time, however, my symptoms began to spread. First the pain and firmness spread to my left testicle. Then I began to experience pain of the groin at the base of the penis, again starting on the right. Finally, after experiencing pain in the tip and body of the penis, I began to have a feeling of extreme firmness in my penis when flaccid. It seems to my perspective as being in a super-retracted state almost all the time. When I urinate, this hardness and retraction seems to be alleviated, about 90-100% of normal feeling. As soon as I finish urinating, however, it goes right back to its firm flaccid state.
Stress seems to make all of these symptoms, but especially the degree of retraction/firmness of the penis, worse. It is worse when standing and walking than when in a more relaxed position. This is especially problematic as it rubs up against my pants when I am walking, making it very uncomfortable. I can obtain and maintain an erection normally. The hardness even seems to ease up a bit while it is in a transitional semi-erect state, similar to what I experience when urinating. However, if my penis is especially retracted due to stress or activity the erection is often painful. Spontaneous erections during the day usually cause this problem, whereas nocturnal and intentional erections usually do not. About two months into having this hardness issue I began experiencing an increase in the pain at the base of my penis, groin, and testicles for up to 48 hours after ejaculation.
After seeing three urologists, I was diagnosed as having chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome and was prescribed alpha blockers. Although I did not see it as relevant before, I have been experiencing hesitancy before urination (sometimes a minute or two to start going) for the past year. Until this diagnosis, it did not strike me that this is not normal for someone my age (22 years).
I have also had other mysterious symptoms over the past year outside of pelvic area. I have had pain/tingling/numbness in my legs and feet on and off for the past year, and about nine months ago I had a bulged disc at my lowest vertebra, apparently without injury or trauma. The best lead I have right now is that my scoliosis may be causing these problems, as all of my symptoms are occurring below it. I will admit it is not much more than a hunch at this point. The pain in my feet now matches the pain in my pelvic area in intensity and frequency.
The pain I am having is unpleasant enough, but the firm flaccid penis symptom is causing me a great deal more anxiety. My other symptoms come and go, but walking is always uncomfortable. This is also a tangible change to my body, which makes it much harder emotionally.
My questions are, first, could this problem be a symptom of chronic prostatitis like my urologist suggested? Or perhaps a biochemical imbalance? It does not appear in any list of typical symptoms of CP/CPPS. In doing research online and on this site, it seems that many people experience this symptom after injury, sexual exhaustion, or MDMA use. However, I have not experienced any injury to my penis, or done any stretching exercises. At the onset of the firm flaccid symptoms, I was masturbating less than once a week, as the pain in my testicles significantly reduced my desire to do so. I have never used MDMA. I am very confused as to what could be causing my problems.
Second, is there anything I should be doing to either ease symptoms or prevent damage? Am I in danger of permanent tissue damage? Are the alpha blockers helping or hurting me in this situation? I have already quit smoking and drinking coffee. After doing some reading on this site I have been taking vitamins b and c, and fish oil, just what I had around the house. Are there other supplements that could help me with this problem?
I would greatly appreciate any help or insight you may have.
ANSWER
The unfortunate fact is that many people with similar problems are treated for prostatitis/CPPS. It’s important to note that at the same time it is uncertain to what actually causes most of the prostatitis/CPPS cases.
Here is what I consider the problem:
You suffered a hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-testicular lock. If you were not engaging in overactive sexual activities at a time, other factors such as: genetic, stress, and ill lifestyle may have contributed for the exhaustion. Anything that promotes excessive prostaglandin E2, cortisol, histamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and glutamate levels is to be avoided.
Tissue malnutrition due to narrowed arteries as a side effect of excessive inflammatory hormonal release, along with excessive prostaglandin E2, are more than capable of causing pains, stiffness, and cramps. The uncomfortable feeling may than spread like a plague and affect specific areas through specific and individual gene expressions. A painful erection is a bodily response to excessive inflammatory prostaglandin E2. Testicular pains are considered similar bodily responses to excessive inflammatory releases.
Scoliosis is a condition that may put a strain or alter specific nervous responses.
A firm flaccid condition may occur even if there is no actual tissue damage. It will develop through the lack of proper prostaglandin E1 E3 and NO levels for tissue elasticity and/or low androgen hormones.
“My questions are, first, could this problem be a symptom of chronic prostatitis like my urologist suggested? Or perhaps a biochemical imbalance?”
Yes, it could be both actually.
“Second, is there anything I should be doing to either ease symptoms or prevent damage? Am I in danger of permanent tissue damage? Are the alpha blockers helping or hurting me in this situation?”
Yes, there are several things.
There is a probability of tissue damage if left untreated for too long.
I can see why you were prescribed alpha blockers, however, they will prove to be of little assistance.
“Are there other supplements that could help me with this problem?”
Yes, a combination of Alpha-Amino, 5HTP-Nettle, GRB6-GABA, Multi-Alpha, Ultra-Purified-FishOil, and testicular temperature regulatory solutions will stabilize the nervous and endocrine functioning, promote normal modulation on stress and inflammatory hormonal release, dilate blood vessels, increase androgen hormones production, charge the CNS, and promote healthy release of prostaglandin E1 E3 and NO for healing.
You should also discontinue sexual activities for 1 to 3 months and massage the lower abdomen and pelvic area for additional blood flow.