Just wondering if anybody else has had a similar experience. Since around the end of September I've been having "sensations" in my prostate area. Not really a pain, but more of a feeling of pressure or slight discomfort when peeing or sitting with my legs crossed. This scares part of me silly given my history (details in my profile).
But, there isn't any visible blood in my urine, and if anything my urine stream is generally stronger now than it was a year ago. I want to believe it's the primary tumor shrinking and slowly dying. It could also be nerve pain, a groin pull, a hernia, or something else completely unrelated to the prostate.
I've mentioned it to both my oncologist and urologist, and they seemed unimpressed, though the urologist did prescribe Bactrim in case it was prostatitis. Five days into the antibiotic there is no huge difference, other than more fatigue and more joint aches. Why does everything cause fatigue? Anyhow, these are the same doctors that had an extreme sense of urgency when I was first diagnosed, and given my undetectable PSA, their more relaxed attitude is understandable.
So, has anybody else had "groin symptoms" that turned out to be a nothing-burger?
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Let me make a guess...its more likely to be an infection ...of urethra,....of prostate ..of bladder..I cant say which one...but to me it seems AN infection.
Lots of bacteria now a days are resistant to Bactrim ….Urinary tract infections are mostly caused by either gram negative bacilli such as E coli, Klebsiella or proteus or sometimes, chlamydia. Groin pain is manifestation of such infections. Due to PCA our immunity is not as good as non PCA guys and any bacteria can become opportunistic as they are all there inside in dormant stage.
Most of these gram negative bacilli are sensitive to ciproflox. Do me a favor. Go to Amazon and buy a urine dip stick test. Costs 5 or 6 dollars for 30 strips. Dip a stick in a cup of your urine for 60 seconds. If the color changes for leukocytes or nitrites....you got an infection...now go and kill these bacilli and free yourself of groin pain.
Thanks for the reply! As I mentioned below, my urologist has a recent urine sample, but I don't know the results yet. I've already been on a variety of antibiotics this year for a stubborn tooth infection. I would have thought that would have killed whatever is in the prostate, but just realized this started happening a couple months after my tooth settled down. Also had 4 root canal procedures on the same tooth!
I digress but it does show a pattern of having problems dealing with bacteria at the moment. It also doesn't help that the urologist shoves a scope up my urethra several times a year.
Final question: Does prostatitis always show in a urinalysis? I'm under the impressing it could be infected even if nothing is found in the urine.
No ...prostatitis usually does not show in urine. You are right prostate can be infected even without showing in the urine test. Also, not all antibiotics penetrate the prostate so if some one prescribed you amoxycillin for tooth problem it might not do anything to eradicate prostate infection.
Why do you allow urologist to shoving scope in urethra so frequently ? I think it is unnecessary and harmful because it can introduce different kinds of bacteria inside.
Last month, I had pain on side of lower abdomen and urine dipstick showed leucocyte esterase positive. My PCP gave me 7 days of Cipro and the symptoms disappeared.
I test my urine myself 2 times a week by urine dip stick to catch any UTI in early stage.
Why do I do this. Because once my urologist was adamant that until I have fever, he will not prescribe antibiotics...and next thing I was admitted to hospital with severe urinary symptoms requiring I V antibiotics. We need to take charge of our health and not only depend on doctors.
Sometimes. sitting in a bathtub with hot water with some Epsom salt relieves this type of pain by increasing blood circulation in groin area caused by vasodilatation .
Unfortunately my prostate cancer came with a side of bladder cancer, so I was getting scoped every three months. Now that I made it to a year it will be very 6 months.
I had almost the same pain when I get in and out of the car. It was very bad for over a year. Now, it’s gone. I don’t have it anymore and never took anything. Not sure why I had it.
Hi my dad had a UTI due to a prostate biopsy in the past. The Urologist told us the same story about fever etc, I was adamant so then he got a Urine Culture done and dad was on IV for 5 days.
I like the idea of self test via dip sticks.
Are you planning to test twice a week always ? Or only when you sense something is wrong.
We can easily miss an early urinary infection. I plan to do the test once a week routinely and if have any suspicion to do it as needed. Urine dip stick takes less than 2 minutes. I keep a glass cup in toilet and dip sticks in cup board nearby. Cost of a weekly test is less than 50 cents. Its good for my peace of mind.
Never heard of those dip stick test strips. I've been known to pee into a clear plastic cup as a test. Does it smell weird or show cloudiness? That's my unscientific test for a UTI.
I still have the plastic bottle urinal from the hospital. It has marks on the side so you can measure how much you're peeing. My record so far is 15 0z first thing in the morning.
Actually, I just gave a urine sample to the urologist last week, but don't know what he tested. I'll call his office and ask for details tomorrow (today is usually his surgery day).
A urine culture report should ideally take 72 hours but at times it could take longer. Keep following up cause the sooner the better to switch to the sensitive- meds.
Unfortunately, most prostatitis will not respond to antibiotics. (and as you found, they come with their own set of side effects). Fortunately, it usually goes away on its own. Unfortunately, it usually comes back on its own too.
Another possibility is that your procedure damaged a nerve, which is now healing.
I think that as long as it scares you silly, the perception of pain will continue to increase. I learned to practice mindfulness when I was catastrophizing every ache and pain - it helped a lot.
I've also read that removing the prostate doesn't cure symptoms of prostatitis. Trying not to stress, but after diagnosis I vowed not to ignore symptoms anymore. Didn't realize my body would do so many funky things, too many to think everything is a recurrence.
Many men with severe prostatitis insist on having a prostatectomy, even when they do not have cancer, in a desperate attempt to alleviate symptoms. In many cases, the surgery is futile and symptoms persist after the prostate is removed.
Thanks for the above words, it’s incredibly easy to become a person who focuses on every pain and believe it’s cancer related. Like yourself I have learned to be calm and often the symptom dissipates. 👍
There's very little I can add to LearnAll's replies but, for whatever they're worth, here are a few thoughts.
When I had what was believed to be prostatitis it felt, when I sat down, like I was sitting on something round and hard, like a marble or a small golf ball. Maybe that's a clue for you.
When I researched prostatitis I found some articles claiming that more than half of all cases were not caused by bacteria. Viral infections were also possible, and in many cases, no cause could be determined. Antibiotics were ineffective more often than not, even for some cases in which bacterial infection was confirmed. Perhaps the infections were in places where blood flow, and hence exposure to antibiotics in the blood, was just too little. Or maybe the wrong antibiotics were used.
Maybe drinking lots of water will help. If there are "stones" or "crystals" in your kidneys or ureters, maybe that will help flush them. Maybe cutting back (I hate to contemplate it) on caffeine and alcohol for a while might help.
I agree with Alan. Lot of times, prostatitis is just chronic inflammation of prostate and no bacteria is detectable,.
To suppress chronic inflammation we need anti inflammatory foods and may be anti inflammatory supplements.
For our PCA, any way we need to keep our systemic inflammation (as measured by C reactive protein and LDH) as low as possible.
It may not be prostatitis but it may be UTI. Test the urine please. Alan's clinical description of sitting on marble or small ball is pretty accurate in cases of prostatitis.
However, Groin pain is classic for testicular or bladder/urethral infections.
I've had that nagging pain but mine was more of a strain actually. Spoke to my urologist, he sort of checked and later, strangely, asked me to walk about a bit and kept looking at the way I was walking. Then he told me to change the way I put weight to my gait. Shift the weight and change my gait.
For a brief moment I thought I finally met a quack other than a real duck on a pond. But lo and behold at the commanding behest of my missus asking me to adopt the new changes, it actually worked and it works. Somehow, interestingly, the strain and pain went away by itself.
But i am walking around now like Sean Connery in Thunderball...😁
I tend to agree with your doctor. My pain is usually temporary, occurred after long walks carrying/dragging the suitcase such at the airport. The pain was muscular at my right side of the penis. Pressing on the area gave some relief, but can’t do that when I am in a public place. I will try that gait thing to see if it works when the pain started to happen. Thanks.
You have to rule out an UTI that is something that you can treat and eventually cure. If there is not an UTI you will have to consult with the urologist about the possibility of interstitial cystitis vs prostatitis, since you have pain in the perineum which is a symptom in both conditions.
Had shooting pain straight from my balls up my right hip each morning for about 10 months before original diagnosis in May 2012 at 53...to the point where I had an ultrasound on the balls as I was convinced I must have had testicular cancer. Nah...just prostate cancer...completely gone straight after RP & for the last 6-7 years. So who knows. PSA lifting again now (post SRT) and yes, some small pain starting again up right hip. GA 68 PET/CT probably tell the real story soon..never had one before.
I started having a little pain in the crease of the groin. Started talking to doctors about it. As the pain got worse, I got a CT scan and they took a bone biopsy. Was a tumor on the left pubic bone, and possibly some cancer in a lymph in the crease of the groin. Did not know if I should do surgery or radiation. I had radiated that same bone 8 years before. Looks like the cancer came back in the same bone spot again after 8 years.
I waited too long thinking about it and the pubic bone fractured. Ended up in a wheelchair at the emergency room where they did another MRI and gave me some pain meds. Got it radiated later. By the 5th faction, I was walking again without groin pain.
get an xray. it could be something as simple as your hip wearing out. although i still continue to read this blogsite for my deceased husband, that's how my hip displayed pain before i had it replaced...especially when i tried to cross my legs. the pain, however, was right in the crease between the thigh and the pelvis. not everything is cancer, but i understand the fear.
I am uncertain what other ppl think about your groin bothers, but methinks you might do well to have an MRI done of the area you are complaining about.
Usually radiologists can find things that no doctor ever could because he or she has only got a stethoscope, and years of experience making dreadful mistakes when any diagnosis is attempted of going on in lower pelvic region, an area that would be difficult to inspect by hand pressing around to find lumps or swellings, or golf balls which may have been accidently swallowed, and are now stuck.
My oncologist thought arthritis was so bad in my right hip that he thought I'd need a new hip joint. His young protégé the young registra also thought the same. One orthopaedic doctor also said I needed a joint, and recommended I return to him when things got worse, and all 3 were sure they would. But the pains that had me using crutches over last winter were not in the hip joint.
Not one of these docs felt around to see how the swellings and painful parts compared with other good hip. So they just didn't like touching Patrick Turner's arse.
They would not relish ferreting about in your groin regions either.
Well, I went to a second orthopaedic surgeon who could READ THE SCANS, including the report, and his verdict was that hip joint was just fine, but that I had a problem with right gluteus maximum muscle and a tendon, plus a cyst, plus something else I forget. But what I had was combination of a work injury from paving work months before, and some extra EBRT to right hip to make darn sure that Pca mets were going to die, because someone had a funny idea that the Lu177 I had wasn't working all that well on these 2 pea sized mets.
There was not much anyone said to support that idea. So the extra EBRT to hip was done and aggravated some slightly injured muscles etc. Joint was OK, plenty of cartilage left for thousands more km I could cycle.
So the orthopaedic doc said keep cycling, because I'd already re-started cycling. I'd rested 3 months, and anything that needed time to heal got enough time to do it, and cycling pains months before did not return, and I didn't agree with the opinions of 3 doctors, but the 4th one shed some light.
Psa is now 0.32, 1.28% of what it was when I began Lu177 treatment, so pains were not from Pca.
Over 2 months has gone by and I am now cycling over 220km a week, no pains, and getting faster and healthier after last year's failed chemo then Lu177.
I'm doing OK for an Old 72yo stage 4 patient.
Right hip still has some tender spots but no pain on bike or off, or when walking, or sleeping. Its just an area that's collected some unintended collateral damage from radiation docs who are eager to please. The X-ray beams go right through body. They may well affect cancer cells, but also affect healthy cells in the beam pathways.
Some docs are more eager to please than the benefit they get but I have found one thing for sure and that is that radiation by Lu177 was far better than all 3 lots of pelvic X-ray radiation I have had since 2010.
Of course when I was 30 or 40, there were times when I had groin pains, and I never had a pain in the arse like I had last winter, and the groin pains during my ancient past were usually due to carrying out temporary pussy destruction on a female whose lust which registered 169 on a scale of 1 to 100.
Of course those dear ladies who gave me such small morsels off the Table of Love all have got older, and their hormones have most certainly moaned, and given such dear ladies instructions to pause from men, and to be allergic to them, and the average measurements of everybody's pelvic regions has become unwieldly, and any attempt at sexical procedures will lead to dreadful backache, regrets, embarrassments, depressions etc.
I also found a massage lady who was not shy about performing remedial massage on my arsicle / hippy regions, and she helped my body to heal a bit faster than it wanted to.
I hope I am offering you a story to help you, rather than a one line do this, or do that.
I don't seem to suffer fatigue. I've been castrated chemically by ADT since 2010, and had treatments that should have left me more fatigued, but they have not. Are you sleeping OK? you need some good hours. I get enough even though I have to have a pee every 1.5 hours.
Such a nice Spring day here, I cycled 73km, and now its time for other PC work for a friend. I was tired after 73km, but feel well now, no junk food, grog etc.
I can use a hedge clipper or chainsaw or lawn mower but cannot run anywhere due to a dodgy ankle I broke at age 19. But I can cycle 80+km with ease. What your problem could be would most likely show up in an MRI scan.
I suggest you have one.
The MRI I had for a sore hip found I had a number of things I was not aware of, and none were completely explained by doctors, except that one seemed right to say I could continue cycling. The MRI scan for one hip area was about 5 lines of text.
But before I had both knee joints replaced in 2017, there was nearly a page of text for MRI scan report for each knee, and the word normal didn't appear. I hated walking anywhere but I could still cycle, and managed 200km in the week before knee surgery. Knees are fine now and no pains walking but ankle limits me, but can still do all things around the house without much pain. My knee joint replacement were entirely free under Medicare, and included 3 weeks re-hab.
There's a doc in Sydney a friend told me about who puts implants into ankles and that has enabled her to keep walking OK and she's addicted to trips around world and there's always a lot of walking involved.
If I do decide to get an MRI, what doctor should I go to? My oncologist isn't a good choice because unless he suspects the cancer is growing he won't order any scans. Perhaps my GP? It's almost like I need to know if this is urology problem, a nerve problem, or a joint problem first, and then go find the appropriate specialist.
My local doctor, GP, had no hesitation to give me a script for X-rays and MRI for my knees, and for recent trouble with a right hip. MRIs can often see more than X-ray or CT scan, and afterwards the GP can see what radiologist report says about the scan; often doctors can't read scans, but radiologists are trained to find abnormal things, and describe it in words which may guide the treatment.
I've lost count of the number of scans I have had, and without them all the docs and specialists are fighting in the dark.
Scans may let everyone know what you say you want to know.
A tendon? A glute? Soft tissue damage! Hip replacement! Tendon and glute! I know about the damage from the fluoros--unfortunately.
Of five men gathered two had been diagnosed by doctors --other than their uros!--of adverse reactions to fluoroquinolones. Another who had fluoroquinolones had an aortic aneurysm--which the FDA has warned about for the last couple years as a side effect of these drugs. The incidence of aortic aneurysm doubles in those who have used fluoroquinolone drugs. It is all over the net. Three out of five! That surprised me!
Note that doctors other than the men's uros diagnosed adverse reactions to these drugs, joint, ligament, tendon and muscle tissue.
Athletes are at greater risk as these drugs treat old, healed injuries even from decades ago as low hanging fruit. The link below shows that this was known in 2014. The FDA has issued much stronger warnings now that knowledge about the adverse reactions caused by these drugs is known. Black Box warning.
Fluoroquinolones and Tendinopathy: A Guide for Athletes ...
I am not aware I have had any of the drugs you mention. I do know the total amount of EBRT and IMRT I have had in sore hip area comes to a total that is less than what is needed to damage muscles or tendons, but my problems started after hurting something while doing paving work and related to not being able to bend my knees fully after a double knee joint operation in 2017, so I either had to bend back more or sit on ground to re-arrange the paver blocks, so I was a slow worker but very determined, and job is better than anything else any tradie would have done. I was a tradie once before knees gave trouble. So damage can happen to tissues weakened by RT, and slow to heal if more RT happens to be given to weakened area. But so what? I can still cycle OK, and condition is healing because its just not as bad as it was 4 months ago and I am getting good average speed on bike, no pain, and weight loss is 1 Kg per month, and so life is fine; body is coping. No use complaining, but pardon me for explaining.
While in my 40s, I raced on road bikes and had a few falls, and because my bones were thicker than the real fast guys thin as a broom handle, I didn't break collar bones, but rode home sore, had 2 days rest, then got back on and after a week I was nearly good as new. I feel my long bike rides now are encouraging all of me to be healthier.
Tom, I'm dealing with a similar issue of pain in the left groin. It was brought on by reaching down from my lawn tractor to pick up a tennis ball while mowing the lawn . Our Border Collie and I play fetch during this chore. The pain did not come on instantly but after a few hours. My initial thought was a hernia. Our Family GP wasn't sure and recommended a Hernia Specialist. No hernia. The MO has scheduled a Pet Scan so the jury is still out. A lot of discomfort brought on by activity. Painting the house really aggravated it this summer. I think it's pc related. My psa numbers recently advanced and the discussion is Lupron now. In a few weeks I should have more info. Aleve seems to help.
No pain there, but body scan showed mets in the area . Run a search of side-efects of all meds they have you on. I discovered one when I had a similar problem.
Part of this is a language problem. You say "groin" but describe the perineum. Your physicians are programmed to equate groin with the front of your body to the right and left, maybe your scrotum. So language is important. Secondly, for a physician, "sensations" are vague and subjective and not able to be evaluated. They can make educated guesses and do tests but they cannot measure your sensations. Thirdly, nerve function in and around your prostate bed is limited and imprecise; therefore hard to pinpoint. They have to rely on lab tests and not much else. In the face of non-detectable PSA, they are limited to urine dipsticks and urine cultures. I would not prescribe as a physician "just in case" Bactrim (R) and as a patient I would not take a just in case antibiotic. I know: this leaves you without a specific diagnosis/explanation. Sorry. But that is the reality: we have to live with anxiety and not-knowing.
I think you've nailed it. The funny thing is, a little over a year ago when I had similar symptoms and more the same doctor also prescribed Bactrim, and it seemed to be working and I was feeling better. But it turned out the root cause was metastatic prostate cancer, so probably not an infection then. This time it's doing diddly.
I'm generally okay with uncertainty and no specific diagnosis, but still working on coping with symptoms that I thought were gone but then come back again.
I have been on Lupron for 6 months till a month ago..I'm off of it now...had 39 treatments of proton to my prostate bad for recurrance....had Gleason 8 psa 31 prior to RP.
Recently I have been feeling the same pain more on my left side of groin...area looks puffy...my psa now is undetectable <.01
I'm wondering if it is just the fact that my body is now going back with replenishment of testosterone due being off from Lupron....as of the time of this writing I was feeling sharp pain...I'm also not ruling out a hernia as the area looks puffy
I have suffered quite a few aches and pains since being on Zytiga but I think much of it is down to muscle wastage which has occurred slightly due to no testosterone to repair tissue. If I do heavy lifting etc I feel achy for days. 👍
I completely agree. No t is the culprit of much . 😩
Oh yah! I have groin pain . The docs know that this goes with the turf . I’m in osteopenia and my SI and hip joints are in rapid deterioration .. I think that’s my groin pain . I too get a raking effect on my radiated prostate if I hold pee too long . But I went through different stuff that you have .Such as tubes coming out of my kidneys . No man wishes to go there . Bactrim is power stuff . It’s the last anti that I used during a year and a half of constant UTI’s due to foley and tubes . These ants cause muscle and joint pain on their own . The do damage but can save our life’s .. That bactrim for me was the worst anti given to me . It was the only one to still work while all of the others failed me . Hope you get a fix soon and also get to the point of no antibiotic use needed.
If telling people about my catheter doesn't gross them out enough, I tell them about the guy on the internet that had dual nephrostomy tubes. That usually gets a squirm. It's the people that aren't uncomfortable with any such topics that I can really talk to because they can handle the truth.
But yeah, between cancer in the prostate and strong drugs to kill it, it almost seems like common sense that I would feel something. I'm almost surprised by the complete lack of "get a scan" replies, excepting one recommendation for an MRI to look for what should be a non-cancerous cause.
When I'm done with the Bactrim, I won't be calling the uro back to ask for more unless things get significantly worse. The pain is less of a hassle than a doctor's appointment.
You must rid severe pain any way possible .. you will feel much better the further you get from that bactrim . That was narley stuff for me . Like I said . The anti biotic use takes a toll on us . . I lost alll inhibitions and ego and I’m an open book to talk about the real issues . Take care brother . You will find a fix .
Happily I don't have any severe pain, it's more of an occasional discomfort. The Bactrim isn't helping, and may be making things worse, so as of last night I stopped taking it, only 4 pills short of the full 10 days.
I did a Google search on antibiotics and neuropathy this morning and found a reply of yours several months ago here on the forum to somebody else where you blamed the antibiotics for causing neuropathy. I also found a list of neuropathy symptoms and they were a surprisingly good fit.
So I'm going to proceed on the assumption that this is late effect of docetaxel earlier this year and a variety of antibiotics over the summer, and hope it will gradually go away if I stop poking the affected nerves with a stick (so to speak). As much as I try to avoid self diagnosis, at heart I'm a do-it-yourself-er and in this case the doctors are obviously guessing.
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