Is PN really that rare?

[travelisdangerous]

Some of you may have seen my earlier posts, if not just to recap I'm 18 and got what I suspect to be PN nearly two months ago. This was due to a sexual encounter whilst drunk so I assume I did something stupid which damaged the nerve.

Anyway my symptoms started off primarily urinary, felt like a had to urinate all the time for about a week, this thankfully left but I still have a small amount of urine leakage. 

Then about two weeks later I started to get sitting pain. However at this moment in time the pain is not crippling like some people with pn describe, it's more of a dull ache which I feel around the groin and thighs. I also occasionally get a tingling feeling in my penis.

From my many hours frantically googling my symptoms and PN I cannot believe the lack of knowledge there is on this subject. I have read so many posts in forums and health boards that have very similar symptoms to me, a lot complain of pain whilst sitting. None of these people have any idea about pn and all seem to be worried that they have some kind of std even though all tests come back negative. 

If you add up the thousands of people that have no clue what's wrong with them, and add up the amount of people misdiagnosed with conditions like prostatitis and the people that know they have pn I think it would be a lot more common than people think. (I'm sure everyone here knows this anyway but I'm just in disbelief about the lack of understanding).

It's brilliant that there are websites like this or I can imagine people would feel even more isolated feeling like they are the only ones with this illness. 

Right now I'm trying to limit my sitting time, which is difficult as I'm at university doing a computing course, but I'm hoping the nerve may be able to heal on its own as my damage doesn't seem too severe (at this moment in time). Is this a sensible estimate or am I being overly optimistic?

Right now I'm getting various scans done and have an appointment with a neurologist. So far all test results have come back fine which I knew they would anyway but its definitely got me on the right track for a pn diagnosis.

Also another question, are there mild cases of pn that gradually get better or at least don't get worse? Because all of the stories I read about pn seem to be very severe, I'm thinking mine may just be not too painful as I've caught it early and it hasn't had time to progress.

Anyway thanks for reading!

[Violet M]

Yes, there can be mild cases of PN. I know someone else who is mostly OK as long as they don't sit for long trips in the car. I had mild PN for about a year when it first started. Since having surgery it is back to being mild again as long as I don't do anything stupid. Some people can maintain low levels of PN pain just by being careful.

Violet