Welcome to the Anxiety Forum - A Home for Those with Anxiety, Fear, or Panic Attacks.
Page 2 of 19 FirstFirst 123412 ... LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 189
  1. #11
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Haddenham (Cambridgeshire)
    Posts
    1,158
    Personally I do have a question. Seeing as you're a psychiatrist I assume you did your medical degree prior to specializing in psychiatry. Do you know if there's any news on a possible cure for chronic epididymitis. No STD was found in me or my previous partner when I got it. Had 6 courses of antibiotics over 8 months. Ultrasound showed swelling to the epididymis. Over the counter pain killers did nothing. Prescription codeine did nothing. I suffered with it for over 1 year of constant pain. I saw a consultant urologist who explained how pain isn't still fully understood. 2 people could throw their backs, both physiologically heal but one might experience chronic pain afterwards regardless. He believed anxiety/stress was contributing to the pains. Since then the pains subsided by they do come around sometimes and the bouts are very painful. Wouldn't want to rely on pain killers as I know they can over sensitize nerve endings. H did a scan of my prostate which showed scarring and said there was likely an infection in both areas but 6 courses of antibiotcs would've clearly killed any infection dead and now it seems nerve endings are simply over sensitized.

    It's a real struggle though because this kind of pain is unlike anything else that i've experienced with anxiety. whilst it's a dull ache it's incredibly uncomfortable and I'm at a loss with what to do. Anyway, if you had any possible suggestions or any colleagues at the hospital you could speak to regarding this i'd be extremely grateful.

    Ed
    How strong, how costly, the urge to fight our fate and turn back time. But life is meant to be consumed, not preserved to ward off doom. One can surely die from fear, before the end is ever near.

  2. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by raggamuffin View Post
    Personally I do have a question. Seeing as you're a psychiatrist I assume you did your medical degree prior to specializing in psychiatry. Do you know if there's any news on a possible cure for chronic epididymitis. No STD was found in me or my previous partner when I got it. Had 6 courses of antibiotics over 8 months. Ultrasound showed swelling to the epididymis. Over the counter pain killers did nothing. Prescription codeine did nothing. I suffered with it for over 1 year of constant pain. I saw a consultant urologist who explained how pain isn't still fully understood. 2 people could throw their backs, both physiologically heal but one might experience chronic pain afterwards regardless. He believed anxiety/stress was contributing to the pains. Since then the pains subsided by they do come around sometimes and the bouts are very painful. Wouldn't want to rely on pain killers as I know they can over sensitize nerve endings. H did a scan of my prostate which showed scarring and said there was likely an infection in both areas but 6 courses of antibiotcs would've clearly killed any infection dead and now it seems nerve endings are simply over sensitized.

    It's a real struggle though because this kind of pain is unlike anything else that i've experienced with anxiety. whilst it's a dull ache it's incredibly uncomfortable and I'm at a loss with what to do. Anyway, if you had any possible suggestions or any colleagues at the hospital you could speak to regarding this i'd be extremely grateful.

    Ed
    Ed,

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the pain you are experiencing is called neuropathic pain, or "nerve pain", which is characterized by a "pins and needles" sensation. Now, if your epididymitis stemmed from a bacterial infection, the antibiotics would have had some effect.

    Some cases of chronic epididymitis will simply burnout, some take years or decades to do so. On the extreme end, you have surgical intervention in which the mass would be removed but you would be rendered sterile. This is a tough medical condition that has a lot of uncertainties. A drug called Gabapentin can be used for nerve pain. It is not addictive and relatively safe -have you tried it?
    - Dr. Dan

  3. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Haddenham (Cambridgeshire)
    Posts
    1,158
    Hi, thanks for the prompt response. The pain has always been an ache. never any pins and needles. The ache was originally very intense. Only rememdied by lying down as sitting tends to make the pains feel worse. My ex and I tested negative for STD's but we were having unprotected sex. Saw multiple Dr's at the sexual health clinic who told me the structure of the epididymis is almost like a cave netowrk and so infection can be hard to eradicate due to blood flow levels as well as it's composition.

    My dr did once prescribe me something for nerve pains called amitriptyline. It gave me a bit of an odd side effect where after i'd go to the toilet I'd start noticing a dripping of urine which is obviously quite embaressing. Is Gabapentin in a different family of drugs?

    Honestly the pain had subsided for about 3 months. Occasionally it'd ache very slightly for an hour or so. but this recent flare up seems possibly stress related. Friend's husband got testicular cancer. Which make me somewhat obsess over checking down there. The epididymis on that side remains swollen and with all the rather frantic checking the area then became extremely sore once again and 2 weeks later the pain remains even though the worry about cancer faded very quickly as the testes felt fine, the aches and pains continue to be quite prevalent.

    I'm seeing my GP tomorrow who used to be a urologist. I'd just really like to try a medication free route but I wonder if that's not possible. I was told by all the Dr's that it could simply burn out eventually. i thought that'd already happened when the pain first subsided for a prolonged period. However I still remember the affected area remaining swollen and after examining the area each fortnight to check for abnormalities etc that it'd ache slightly for a while after checking. It just seems odd that the area still feels swollen (not the teste itself but the chords/tubes) but every Dr who checked said it felt "fine" and the ultra sound last year was fine and that's 6 different Dr's now who've checked.

    Anyway, I appreciate your input. I'll have a word with the GP tomorrow, see what he could possibly recommend. It's a bit of a tough situation though. Knowing it could take years or decades for this to pass. I mean I'm comfortable being single until things clear up because after making love it feels like someone has taken a sledgehammer to my balls and remains that intense for days. Decades though? Ach...I guess nobody said life would be fair.

    I asked Dr's about surgery but they said that can create additional problems and cause cysts post surgery. Read a few people on a forum of epididymitis sufferers who'd had the op and still had pain months/years later. perhaps it was similar to phantom limb syndrome. Maybe this is solely to do with the nerve endings? The consultant urologist said he'd book me in for physical therapy as there could be a lot of pelvic tension contributing to the issue. I was quite surprised however that he didn't even perform a physical examination on the testes. Months later and I still never got the letter about the physical therapy.

    Ed
    Last edited by raggamuffin; 11-05-2014 at 10:13 AM.
    How strong, how costly, the urge to fight our fate and turn back time. But life is meant to be consumed, not preserved to ward off doom. One can surely die from fear, before the end is ever near.

  4. #14
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Posts
    6,205
    Gabapentin is very effective, I am on it for over 2 years. No interaction with my other meds, and I had not notice any side effects )
    ''“If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.”
    ''
    ― Rabindranath Tagore

  5. #15
    Why can anxiety cause a lot of fatigue and perceived weakness? Also while this may not be your area of expertise but how much does bad posture play into anxiety?

  6. #16
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Haddenham (Cambridgeshire)
    Posts
    1,158
    ^ Fight or flight response and excess adrenaline and chemicals takes its toll on the body and contributes to a lot of fatigue. Posture can cause aches etc too but overall I think anxiety is often the main culprit if you're aching constantly. That is, if you're sleeping correctly, drinkign enough water and eating well. but i'll leave it to the Dr I think 'cos this is his topic.

    Ed
    How strong, how costly, the urge to fight our fate and turn back time. But life is meant to be consumed, not preserved to ward off doom. One can surely die from fear, before the end is ever near.

  7. #17
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Hawaii
    Posts
    394
    I have a question now, So in another thread you posted that there is a type of seasonal Anxiety? In my "Its back" Thread I stated that it peaked about the same time last year, so I am noticing a trend. Is there something I can do or exercises I can do to help this along? I am in Hawaii so I get year round sun LOL so sun is not an issue. Thoughts?

  8. #18
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    3,829
    Hi Daniel

    What do you recommend for people who have a very negative internal voice caused by a parent?

    My mother is/was not abusive as such but suffers from such bad anxiety that it has passed onto me genetically and environmentally. When I get anxious I can actually hear her voice in my head saying negative, angry things. I'm 41yo now so I feel like I will never be able to change it, but I am becoming more aware of it.

    Thanks in advance,
    Gypsy
    "You're the worst thing that ever happened to me." --Marla Singer

  9. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Exactice View Post
    I have a question now, So in another thread you posted that there is a type of seasonal Anxiety? In my "Its back" Thread I stated that it peaked about the same time last year, so I am noticing a trend. Is there something I can do or exercises I can do to help this along? I am in Hawaii so I get year round sun LOL so sun is not an issue. Thoughts?
    We don't exactly know what causes seasonal depression or anxiety. Some hypothesize that it is a hibernation response, adapted from our ancestors. Some say it has something to do with the reproduction cycle. Who knows?

    The best thing to do is to wait it out. If it's truly seasonal, your symptoms should normalize into the winter months. If they don't, you might have a bigger issue there.
    - Dr. Dan

  10. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by gypsylee View Post
    Hi Daniel

    What do you recommend for people who have a very negative internal voice caused by a parent?

    My mother is/was not abusive as such but suffers from such bad anxiety that it has passed onto me genetically and environmentally. When I get anxious I can actually hear her voice in my head saying negative, angry things. I'm 41yo now so I feel like I will never be able to change it, but I am becoming more aware of it.

    Thanks in advance,
    Gypsy
    Have you tried Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT? It might help. Talk to your doctor about it. He might refer you to a psychologist that actually administers the CBT, if you don't already have one.
    -Dr. Dan

 

 

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •