Prostatitis AntiBiotics - Duration/Efficacy

A bit of a story on this. I was plagued by frequent burning in my urethra. It would keep me up at night. At the same time, my PSA was skyrocketing. My urologist performed a biopsy that FAILED, though he only said that it was negative, and he never used the word cancer. But I did mention to him that the Cipro I was given before the biopsy had stopped the burning. He prescribed a course of Cipro. When the burning returned, it took care of it right away.

As my PSA continued to climb, and the burning became more and more aggravating, he put me on longer and longer courses of Cipro. At one point it was 28 days. My feet were turning purple.

After several years of this I did something I should have done much sooner. I saw another urologist, who did an MRI which found a huge tumor beneath my bladder. Finally knowing that I actually had cancer, I joined an online cancer forum. Others there stated that prostate cancer has no physical symptoms, but I beg to differ.

Those of you who had no symptoms were fortunate. Also you who had a competent urologist. The constant burning and my urologists apparent lack of concern contributed to what eventually became a great depression, which was only aggravated eventually by ADT, plus more doctors who seemed to have a smug and cavalier attitude toward prostate cancer.

Back to antibiotics, I have been on lots of amoxicillin for oral surgeries, so much that I developed an allergy to it and can only take it with prednisone. Also, I have been on and off of Doxycycline over the past 40 years for soft tissue neck and oral infections for months at a time. At one point early on it was about three years.

Dell, have you had a biopsy yet?

Dell58T said...

halbert said...
Dell, have you had a biopsy yet?

Thats not how it works. Ive become much more informed since my first post last week.

I have to finish my course of antibiotics, retest PSA and see the Urologist. FWIW I have no growths or lumps in my prostate. And I had MRI's which reveal no tumors anywhere in my body.

Most likely, as Ive said, its prostatitis.

Thanks for asking.

Dell, I have a suggestion. Could you please put together a "signature" that you can create in your profile. That way we can keep up with your situation at a glance rather than trying to remember from multiple threads.

Jim

Dell, thanks, that helps.

I asked whether you had had a biopsy because I didn't remember if you had said if you had or not previously.

At this point, the biggest thing to learn I suppose is that PSA is not specifically a cancer test. It's test of prostate activity--and lots of things can cause it to jump. Most of the time, cancer is seen as a result of slow, steady rises over time. As we age, PSA also naturally increases, and things like BPH (what I call old man prostate trouble) can also cause increases.

Keep reading, keep learning, keep asking questions...we'll try to answer everything.

Rob, water under the bridge for both of us. Back to incompetent UROs that tell patients with symptoms there is nothing wrong. We then end up with a GL-8. Since I didn’t know about sending slides in for a second opinion, mine could be a GL-9. Hopefully it was lower, In any case, you have been through much more than me and I hope you stay in remission for many years to come.
Jack

Jack64 said...
Rob, water under the bridge for both of us. Back to incompetent UROs that tell patients with symptoms there is nothing wrong. We then end up with a GL-8. Since I didn’t know about sending slides in for a second opinion, mine could be a GL-9. Hopefully it was lower, In any case, you have been through much more than me and I hope you stay in remission for many years to come.

Thanks for the well wishes, Jack, and the same to you. Not to hijack the OP's thread, but there are explanations for everything. First, we don't know anything unless the doctor tells us, and they are unlikely to volunteer anything. The patient must know what questions to ask in order to get an answer from the doctor. My wife even asked me, isn't PSA used to detect prostate cancer? And I replied, I'm sure if there was a possibility of cancer then he would have mentioned it. But he didn't. My bad. I should have looked further into it. I trusted my uro.

He had been a decent doctor in his day. But I later learned that he had Parkinson's, which can include dementia. So I try to not hold a grudge. It would hurt no one but myself. Also why I am often reluctant to venture back into this group (HW). It can stir up too many painful memories. As you say, water under the bridge. Thanks again, and best to you.

Dell58T said...
I was mistaken when I said I had an MRI. I had ultrasounds not MRI. I hope to have an MRI on June 1. I really want to get to the bottom of this. Its annoying and challenging being in the dark.

One little tidbit of info that no one tells you unless you ask... Apparently it's an insurance thing, but in most cases, insurance will not pay for an MRI guided biopsy unless you've previously had a negative random TRUS biopsy and your PSA continues to increase.

I wish my Uro had mentioned this to me. It could have spared me two years of anguish. Being left in the dark is not just "annoying", it's potentially lethal.

Prostatitis is not always caused by bacteria. Hence, antibiotics may not work at all.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prostatitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355766#:~:text=prostatitis%20is%20a%20disorder%20of,not%20all%20cases%20of%20prostatitis