Epididymitis - views/thoughts?

You're right that prostate problems can make any guy's life miserable and with that kind of urine retention, it had be surgically treated no matter what else is happening. Hopefully, once you're past the 6-8 week mark, you will see an overall improvement in your health.

Currently, I am not experiencing a lot of pain, just aches and discomfort. This is good and bad. Good in that I am no longer spending my time and money on doctors, ER visits, and medications... and that I am no longer in a great deal of pain. It's bad in the sense that since I am no longer in a lot of pain or tremendous discomfort, the docs don't want to treat me. They're all assuming I can live with the way things are right now.

I still can't run, jump, or do any kind of strenous physical activity - including sex and masturbation. I can't even sleep on my side (right AND left) and can barely sleep on my stomach. I have to wear scrotal support/jock strap 24 hours a day. The doctors see my testicles and they notice right away there is something wrong: one testicle still hangs far lower and horizontal and the other testicle rides up to the top of the scrotum and is also horizontal. Since I am not in a lot of pain, they blow it off and won't even attempt to try to find out the cause of this.

If I could post pictures, it would freak some of you out there hahaha. Maybe I'll eventually wear out on the pain and get used to this. I still check this board frequently just to read about anyone else who may have had the same thing happen to them just out of morbid curiosity and to see what they did about it.

Again, lotsa luck to everyone here.

Evening chaps,

 

Not been on for a while, in fact been very busy with my life, summer holidays and moving house. Anyways my pain is a lot better. Sometimes it's there for an hour sometimes it can not be there for atleast a week. Felt the best I have in a long long time. I woke up with pain this morning and decided to go to the docs to try and get this sorted once on for all. I have now been prescribed with 5 days of CEFALEXIN 500mg 3 times a day...

Good luck with the Cipro. they had me on it for 40 days and 10 days and 14 days with no help in resolving the pain issue.
The amount to 60 days of wasted time and misery. It seems they were just throwing darts.

WelshGuy here, I have been suffering now for 2 years 4 months,tried all the different antibiotics no luck, I am now taking Pregabalin for the chronic pain ,it is helping a lot but I can still feel the pain in the background I have some good days and some really bad.

I believe the Pregabalin is causing erectile dysfunction,I just wish this nightmare would end.i feel for you guys as I know what you are going through.

if anyone has any advice for me I would be very grateful ,Thank you

You need to try the nerve block to see if it's nerve related pain, WelshGuy. If the nerve block works, then the urosurgeon can do a spermatic cord denervation. If the nerve block does not work, then you should ask about the sacral nerve device implant, which delivers electrical stimulation for pain relief. Your very last resort is epididymectomy (removal of the epididymis) or orchiectomy (removal of the testicle). All of these are fairly extreme solutions, but you have had this going on for too long. You need to discuss this with your GP and specialist.

Well back at the doctors this morning after completing a week of Cefalaxin. My doctor was off sick so had a new person who seemed very blunt and came across rude actually. Felt my testicles said everything was back to normal and sent me away! Not happy a wasted journey. 

Dude, if they cannot detect any kind of bacteria from testS, then you shouldn't be taking so many antibiotics. Other bacteria in your body will begin to develop resistance to it, so that other bacterial infections will be difficult to treat. Not to mention it'll destroy your intestinal flora, which can lead to serious medical complications. Don't take so many antibiotics if the doctors cannot prove you have an actual bacterial infection!

If you're still in pain, ask to be referred out to a pain clinic for pain management. From there, you can try to look for other solutions to this problem. You already know you're wasting your time with antibiotics. You might not even have epididymitis, but something else that defers pain to that region.

Hi new here got the epididymitis infection Friday went to the doctor at 300 am in the morning cause something didn't feel right they gave me 14 day cipro and some oxycocet for pain but only used the oxycocet for two days on my 5th day no pain laying down but mild pain while walking I know I should get a jock strap to wear I'm only 27. Does everyone react differently to the antibiotics?

You should wear scrotal support and be doing bed rest this whole time. Combine this with intermittent ice and heat applications to the area (not direct contact - use a towel or shirt or something). Sit in hot water for 15 minutes two or three times a day. Avoid sex and masturbation during this time, as it will be uncomfortable or painful. If you have an active infection, you don't want to transmit it to your partner.

The majority of guys get through this, so you should be fine.

Hi guys, I had the surgery for an enlarged prostate because the retention was close to 217 ml and things are beginning to feel a bit better. The surgeon said it would be about 10 weeks for almost complete recovery and I am starting week 7. The pain in the right testicle is about 50 percent of what it was before the surgery and I still need to be careful about lifting, if I lift too much I feel the pain for a couple of days. The other thing that seems to help if you can believe this is when I take alcohol and lay on the floor an rub it into the pelvic area. I do get discomfort that feels like a scrape and then zanax helps with that.
Of course all of this sux as I have to be careful about whatever I do but hopefully in a little while longer it will be mostly a thing of the past. I use Oxy maybe only one or twice a week and that is probably because I have done something I should not have.
I wish they could find tests that would identify the cause and be able to cure us and not always downplay the pain we go through.
DJAA

It's good to read you're recuperating and feeling a little better than before, DJAA. God knows what horrific pain you must've soldiered through during those trying times. We all hope you and everyone else here finds a cure or at least relief for these painful symptoms.

This past week, I went to my first visit at a pain clinic to discuss a nerve block, but, as 80-90% of the pain had resolved itself at this point, the doctor was hesitant of doing a nerve block. He doesn't think it will do any good and if there are any sort of results, they will be very short-lived (a few hours at best), which is the same kind of results I've been getting with heat application to the area. As of now, I'm just taking Lyrica (it's like Gabapentin) at night before going to sleep. This medication knocks me out! I haven't slept like this in 6 months/since my injury hahahah.

I've sort of resumed my life slowly over the past coupla months. I walk a little more, sleep on my stomach a little more, have sex once or twice a week - briefly, as I've ended up with ED at 34... although that's funny because we've ended up using other things to keep the momentum and our sex has been better than before, resumed my work duties, drive around more, etc. Just about the only things I definitely cannot do is run, ride a bike, exercise intensely, or anything that has to do with straining/flexing my core and abdominal muscles (as this causes my right testicle to tightly ride up to the pelvic region). I think I will get there, though, even if it takes a while.

In the meantime, I'll still seek out medical advice just to satiate my curiosity as to what happened to me. A surgery at this time seems less and less a viable solution that will improve things. It actually makes me more afraid of the results since I'm no longer in any great deal of pain (I just have the "twisted" testicles to show for what happened). Even my surgeon friend said there's most likely nothing the urologists can do for me other than treating the pain and that the pain, aches, discomfort, and other symptoms will just wear out over a long period of time.

I thought I was on the road to recovery and the rt side testicle developed a pain that was almost as bad as when this all started. I am at wits end and will go back to the dr and get a urine test to check and see if I have an infection from the surgery.

It seems that once you have this it is there forever.

The prostate area is still sore and this too seems to be too long in the recovery period.

7 weeks post op and even my heart surgery was easier to recover from than this.

Welsh guy here. After nearly two and a half years of suffering with this pain here is my latest, I'm now taking Lyrica 75 mg 3 times a day.
I still get the pain but not as bad so the Lyrica must be doing some good.
Any sexual activity definitely makes it worse.
I just pray that some day the pain will go .
If anyone has got any further advice for me please let me know.Thanks Guys I wish you luck.

Hi Welsh Guy, I am so sorry for what you are going through as I know your pain. This is DJAA. I have had 2 surgeries and still have pain in the right testicle but not as bad as before. I will see the Dr. on 8/4 and hopefully I can get some meds to help keep the pain down. I am just doing very light duty things and am limited to about 20 LBS of weight otherwise the pain comes back in spades. I am 7 weeks post op and will find out if I am just too early to have really good results or should I be pretty normal by now. One thing that I do that help after the initial pain is take rubbing alcohol and rub it into my lower pelvic area and the scrotum. Like I said the initial pain on the scrotum is tough but only lasts a few minutes.I will get you posted on the reviews from the Dr. He initially felt the problem with the prostate aggravated the whole episode.
DJAA

Welshguy,

I did not get to try the nerve block because the doctor at the pain management clinic said my condition is not a good candidate for it. However, I saw a poster there in his office for a "sacral nerve stimulation" device to treat pelvic pain and, possibly, testicular pain. Have you asked your doctor about this device implant? Look it up on-line to see if this is something you think may be worthwhile asking about.

I am sorry you are still dealing with this kind of pain and, believe me, I understand what you are going through to a certain extent. Whilst I don't deal much with pain anymore, I still have to deal with other on-going issues in the same region, which have pretty much [radically] changed my physical/active life, including sex. I'm also taking Lyrica, by the way. I don't think it works, but it's drowsiness side effect seems to work wonders in allowing me to sleep for more than 2 hours straight hahah.