Played with fire

[Ruined]

have been healthy all my life and recently have encountered something that hopefully will resolve itself soon. My girlfriend and I were recently having sex after drinking heavily all night. My girlfriend enjoys using a large vibrator on occasion and convinced me to try it on me. We had read that a prostate massage would enhance oral sex. She applied lube and carefully inserted it into me without any terrible pain or aggressive action. The vibrator was on and provided me little joy and just minor discomfort. She left it in me for a few minutes and did not do any back and forth motion. The vibrator was then removed and we had sexual intercourse that night and the following morning.

The problems began immediately later when I had the urge to go the bathroom and after a bowel movement. I didn't have pain with the movement but noticed a dull pain in the lower left side of my abdomen. I immediately chalked it up to the use of the vibrator and possibly some residual soreness. I began to worry later when the pain increased and didn't go away after a few days. I noticed that the pain was greater when sitting and would be manageable or go away when going to bed. 7 days later I panicked when the pain didn't go away and thought the worst. Fearing a perforation of the bowel I immediately went to a local hospital where a Cat Scan as ordered up and my blood and urine checked for infection. Everything came back clean with no issues and I was released and my mind put at ease.

The pain continued the next day and I decided to schedule a colonoscopy to further investigate the cause of my pain. The colonoscopy came back clean and I was told that I didn't need to return for ten years. It all sounded good but my pain returned the next day and I was back to square one.

Things changed over the next few days and other symptoms came my way. I noticed when waking at night that my left testicle was achy as well as burning from my perineum and my rectum. I also noticed that I had a hesitancy with urination especially in the morning when waking up with a full bladder. I tried sexual intercourse twice during this period and noticed that my symptoms were worse after ejaculation. I decided at that point to go see a urologist and explain my symptoms but was to embarrassed to tell him about the vibrator. (I eventually did on a follow up and urging from the free forum members.) A urine flow test was conducted and he indicated that my stream was below average and not as strong as he would like. An ultra sound revealed that I still had urine in my bladder after completely voiding. The doctor did the old finger wag and said that my prostate was about the right size for a 56 year old man and that I did not have acute prostatitis. He did however say that I probably had some form of prostatitis based on my symptoms pending bacterial results from my urine and a semen sample that I provided. I was prescribed an anti-inflammatory (Meloxicam) and told to come back in a month. I took the Meloxicam over the next few days but it did little for my pain. I also tried Naproxen and that didn't help. Over the course of a month, my symptoms have gotten worse and I now have trouble sleeping because of the intense burning in my perineum that wakes me up and gives me anxiety. The bacterial tests of my urine have subsequently come back negative. I have been give a course of Doxycline that has failed as well as tramadol for the pain and Cymbalta for the nerve pain and anxiety. When I didn't improve, my urologist had my prostate via MRI with no negative results. He believes now that I have a pelvic floor disorder and prescribed PT. I have been to a PT for a couple of appointments and a couple of trigger points were located internally and externally. The jury is still out there whether it's working or not. I am now on Cymbalta and Tramadol for pain and hoping for the best.

My initial thoughts were that the vibration may have caused some damage to the prostate. I don't believe that anymore but is it possible that I caused some damage to my pudendal nerve because of the anal pressure and sex toy. I played with fire and now i hope I can fix this. Help anyone.

[Violet M]

People do more aggressive sexual things to themselves all the time and don't have problems so please try not to be too hard on yourself over this. It's possible there was already some underlying thing going on and this was just what set it off so that you have pain now. It sounds like you are on the right track and hopefully a little more PT will work out any tension in the muscles and ease your pain.

If cymbalta and tramadol aren't helping you might ask about trying lyrica for the burning pain and if your pelvic floor is tense, maybe some valium especially at night to help you sleep better. Valium is addicting so you might not want to take it around the clock -- just for sleep. Or you could try clonazepam, a related drug for sleep. It helped me quite a bit. Just be careful about mixing it with alcoholic beverages because they are both central nervous system depressants and you want to be sure you wake up in the morning!

I don't think you need to consider yourself ruined. You are just going through a tough time right now and most likely, if you are careful to avoid activities that flare you up, you will pull out of this. You could read through some of Ezer's posts about the mindbody approach if you think anxiety is playing into your symptoms at all. You have lots of other options too as I'm sure you've figured out already if you are reading through the forum much.

Violet

[Ruined]

Thank you Violet for the words of encouragement. I just feel so stupid because I created this mess and so many people on this site did not. It's embarrassing to discuss with doctors and can't really be brought up to your peers. I will keep everyone posted and updated in case they ever run into this problem. Thanks again!

[Violet M]

Well, I guess I can understand that because I was very mad at myself for continuing to exercise even after I started having pain. It's not like any of us ever imagined there was such disease like this out there -- until we experienced it. And I know what you mean about not being able to talk to anyone else about it. Makes you feel kind of isolated. Which is one of the reasons we try to keep this forum going so that you know you are not the only one and so that you can stop feeling like a freak and realize that this happens to other people too. And even more importantly discover that many people do get well from it and move on with their lives if they get the right treatments.

Take care,

Violet

[Ruined]

Thank you Violet. Had a PT session yesterday after a rough day. Went to a work function the prior night with a bit too much alcohol. Unfort this flared up by abdominal pain the next day and prob one of my worse days to date. PT helped tremendously and I was able to sleep all night without any problems. Perineum is getting back to normal and my urinary function is almost there too. If I can just beat this abdominal pain that sent be to the doctor in the first place. Seeing my Gastro doc on Monday to see if he missed anything after every the colonoscopy. Maybe this ab pain has another origen.

[Violet M]

Sound like you and alcohol aren't very good friends. What about constipation -- does that seem to be an issue?

Has your PT checked the Psoas muscle? Just brainstorming here. Glad to hear PT is helping.

Violet

[Ruined]

You are right about the alcohol Violet. Constipation is an issue when things are really bad and I am addressing that with the information on this site. My PT has really worked my Psoas muscles and I am really feeling those sore affects as we speak. I am just tired of suffering and trying to keep a positive attitude.

[Violet M]

Maybe you already saw this page on the website then. http://www.pudendalhope.info/node/32

Violet

[Ruined]

Thank you Violet. I did see this page. Went to my Gastro doc today and he has referred me an internal hernia specialist. I truly don't think I have this but he can't do much for me anymore. Amazing how many specialists we see in our search to feel better. I am losing hope in the medical profession.

[Violet M]

I know it's tough to go through so many providers but eventually you will find the one who can help you. It isn't a bad idea to rule out a hernia. Every now and then someone comes on the forum who says a hernia was the problem. You might want 2 opinions though if hernia surgery is recommended. Good luck,
Violet