New member - mishap with sex toy

[Violet M]

Sometimes the side effects from lyrica will lessen over time. You could ask your doctor about lowering the dose and then titrating up slowly until you adjust to the medication. But there are other meds you can try if that one ends up not working for you.

I don't think visible injuries are a reliable indicator of whether you have nerve damage. You can have nerve damage without a visible injury. You said initially an exam of your prostate was not painful but now it is. I wonder if over time you are clenching your pelvic floor muscles as a reaction to the initial pain. I think it could be worthwhile to at least have an examination by a PT who specializes in the pelvic floor and chronic pelvic pain or even by a manual therapist who can evaluate your pelvis. You could have some underlying muscuskeletal issues that have contributed to your developing this pain in the first place. Where someone without those underlying issues might not have any problem at all using the massager, there could be something underlying musculoskeletal issue that triggered your response to the use of the device.

I think it's important not to get into the mindset that you have permanent nerve damage. Peripheral nerves can heal over time. The reason medications to lower your pain levels are important is to help you keep from getting into a cycle of pain where the nerves themselves have healed but your brain is still interpreting the signals as pain. So you can look at the pain medications as temporary while you are finding treatments that help you to heal.

Violet

[theman77]

Some update...

First, thank you Violet for giving me idea to find PT specialized to pelvic pain disorders.

I found a good physiotherapist who is dedicated to treat pelvic pain. She also accept male patients. I've seen her 4 times once per week. Would like to see her twice per week, but she's very popular. She is the first person who has successfully pinpointed the location of my pain. Pain originates from the left edge of levator ani muscle which is remarkably more "tight" than contrary side. I just couldn't find that spot by myself. When she applied pressure there with her fingers this elicits the pain immediatly. Unfortunately, after these sessions I've not seen any long lasting improvement, but it can take awhile.

I also tried amitriptyline with small dosage for about a week. I started to experience strange erections through the night. I freaked out and stopped taking them cold turkey. My doctor also put me off from Lyrica because my anxiety got way worse. Now I have prescription for gabapentin, but I've not started it yet because I'm afraid of adverse effects of it. I hate the idea to take any meds, because they carry risk of severe side effects which can hurt you even more.

While ago my urologist did cystoscopy for me. Procedure was just uncomfortable and quite embarrasing. Only moment I had severe pain was when the scope entered prostate area. It hurted so much I yelped. Urologist was kind of pleased with my reaction, say it only further backs up his earlier diagnose of chronic prostatitis. He added there was nothing more he could do for me and told me to follow instructions from my pelvic PT. I agreed.

[Violet M]

Yes, I agree all the exams etc. aren't good for your self-esteem. Many of us have been through that journey.

I think it is reasonable to try physical therapy for 6-12 sessions to see if it will help. Dr. Wise told one of my friends if you haven't seen improvement after 6 sessions of PT you probably won't, but there have been patients who posted on the forum who took longer to see improvement. So I can't say for sure how long you should try it. I think I had about 12 sessions before I decided it wasn't working.

I know what you mean about being scared to try medications because of the side effects. I had good luck with opioids and clonazepam without too many side effects -- just to help me sleep.

Violet

[theman77]

Hello,

I decided to update my status here incase someone is interested.

It's now 3.5m since my accident. I'm not in horrible 24/7 pain anymore and I can work. I also stopped medicating myself with paracetamol+codeine two weeks ago, because it's bad for your liver and kidneys in long term use. Recent study seem to back this up. So I'm not taking any pain killers at the moment. That's the good news. Bad news is, I still have burning and tearing pain in my rectum, perineum and buttocks. I can't sit more than few minutes at a time or pain increases tremendously on the following day. This is something I've never understood.

I've seen my pelvic PT maybe 15 times once per week and I've started to skip weekly sessions just to see if there's any difference. Unfortunately I can't say there is. I also tried to pursue chronic prostatitis diagnose more by taking PPMT (pre and post massage test) to catch any possible bacteria in my prostate. Test came back negative.

Chronic prostatitis is still the only diagnosis doctors have come up with.

[Violet M]

That's encouraging that you can work now and that you are not in horrible pain anymore. But it sounds like you don't believe that physical therapy had anything to do with the improvement. Hopefully over time you will continue to see some improvement in your pain and quality of life.

All the best,

Violet

[theman77]

I had appointment last week with another pelvic pt. I wanted to see if this new person would have new approach to treat my condition since I felt I was making no progress seeing my previous pt.

My new pt wants me to start using TNS device daily for 30mins at least. She said TNS can be used for hours without any adverse effects. I'm still going to start slow and easy from few minutes at a time. I'll probably hire one device from her for couple of weeks to see if it helps. She said electrodes should be placed on lumbosacral area to stimulate pelvic floor nerves. My next appointment is next Monday.

I also experimented with Tramadol 50mg. I think it worked terrificly for the pain, but it made me to feel kind of "unreal" and nauseous so I discontinued taking it. Still tramadol worked far better than codeine.

Symptoms are random burning pain in left and right inner butt cheeks very close to natal cleft starting from the level of my tailbone. Pain deep inside rectum, perineum and in genitals. Sitting aggravates pain severely. Pelvic muscles are tight and painful when pt has palpated them internally.

[theman77]

That's encouraging that you can work now and that you are not in horrible pain anymore. But it sounds like you don't believe that physical therapy had anything to do with the improvement. Hopefully over time you will continue to see some improvement in your pain and quality of life.

All the best,

Violet

Violet,

I've not mentioned this clearly on my previous posts, but I really want to thank you for all your helpful responses and guidance. English is not my native language and I'm not too great to listen what people are telling me. But you're a one good and caring person in this world of anonymity called Internet. Thank you.

[Violet M]

Your English is fine. I can understand what you are saying.

I think the TNS device is what we call a TENS unit -- trancutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, right? I tried it before PNE release surgery and after surgery. It did not help before surgery but it was very helpful about a year after surgery to get the muscles calmed down. I used it about 2 hours a day for the obturator internus muscles and the piriformis muscles.

Good luck....I hope it helps you. It is definitely worth a try.

Violet

[theman77]

Yes I was talking about TENS unit. I ordered this from UK and it already arrived. I'm seeing my PT on next week and she walk me through the settings and instruct how to use it. Maybe it's the same brand you were using at a time?

https://www.desmitmedical.com/shop/neur ... stimulator

I also had a Biofeedback/EMG test during my last PT visit. After half an hour doing these work/release cycles and watching graphs on the screen my PT told me that my resting tonus is completely normal and I can easily generate sufficient contract force with my sphincter muscles and also relax my pelvis. She told me that some people with pelvic paim can't relax their pelvis and biofeedback device is very sensitive to pick up such activity. I'm satisfied there was no anomalies detected.

I also started nortriptyline 10mg/day but had to put it off after 3 days because my ears started ringing (they still do). My doctor tried to talk me to try it again after tinnitus subsides to confirm if it was the medication. Have to say though, that whike i was on it 3 days it made me sleep better and pain was toned down a little.

[Violet M]

Mine was a different brand and didn't have the internal probes -- just the exterior electrodes. It sounds hopeful for you though. If you are lucky you will be able to get your pain levels down with this.

I couldn't tolerate the side effects of a tricyclic antidepressant related to nortriptyline so I know what you mean about not wanting to take it. Maybe medications won't be the answer for you, unfortunately.

Violet