several gastrointestinal problems

[Rob123]

I am a 28 year old male with ashthma and hayfever. I regularly take inhalors for my ashtma, sometimes I take a corticosteroid/broncodilator by Symbicort; I used to take combivent which is a ipratropium bromide/salbutamol sulfate inhalation aerosol but the former lasts longer so I have been taking that for several months now. When my allergies are really bad I take claritin or reactin otherwise I take nothing for minor flare ups. My allergies do act up even during times typically not associated with hayfever, like winter, though I have always assumed this is probably from dust, which does tend to make me sneeze and sometimes make my eyes red.
Since the beginning of April I have been experiencing gastrointestinal and anal discomfort. In the first week I had what I think was a thrombosed hemmorroid the pain from which cleared up in about 4 days though I could still feel a lump in my anal region.
The second week of April the area between the scrotum and the anal opening (I don't know if it has a specific name) felt tight, especially when my legs were close together. Depending on how I moved or when I sat down, the area felt tight but also like it was being stretched. The further my legs were apart, the more comfortable it felt. The first day that this happened, after I took a shower I felt that area again and I could feel a soft ball-like substance which was gone the next day. During the week I had the following symptoms:
a) the area between the scrotum and the anus continued to be sore and feel tight (or like it was being stretched, depending on how I moved or when I sat down). Prior to this problem when I showered I could feel sensation in that area and in my anal region when I let the water hit it but now I felt no sensation.
b) I had regular dull pain in my stomach which concentrated in my lower abdominal, pelvis and pubic region. It felt like it was bloated or inflamed. At times, my stomach would also feel like it was tense or nervous. I could hear a lot of gastrointestinal sounds and I often felt muscle spasms in my stomach, especially when I'd laydown in bed. I also began to pass more gas. Defecating was not painful though it did leave my anus itchy, irritated and hot; and defecating felt incomplete, like there was more to come but never did. Sometimes passing stool did feel like it was scraping against the anal walls and at one point the right side of my anus did bleed a little. The look of stool was not consistent; at times it was in small pieces, at other times it looked normal solid strands but the end were flaked. Also the color fluctuated from dark to light, once it was greenish. Also, at times my anus felt tight, like my underwear was riding up into it but it wasn't. My right testicle hurt a bit. I could also notice some sediment in my stool, and the bubbles it left in the water looked a bit odd, like they were soapy.
Around April 19, I began to have white mucous in my stool. The amount of mucous wasn't the same everytime, though at times some of the stool looked mostly white. Sometimes, there were just white mucous pieces that looked like some type of a flower. Often times the stool looked like diarrhea but mixed in with some solid chunks.
I went to the doctor on Friday, April 23 and he checked my prostate said that I have an inflamed prostate gland, and an inflamed gland can cause the symptoms I described. The mucous could be a result of irritated intestines caused by the gastrointestinal issues (bloating, spasms, etc) which are the result of the inflamed prostate. The thing is that everything I have read up on inflamed prostate problems say that I should have problems urinating, but I don't. Although some of the other symptoms of an inflamed prostate I do have. My doctor gave me anti-biotics (ciprofloxacin) and told me to see him in 10 days. It's only been a few days so I can't really tell if the drugs are working since most of the sympyoms still persist. Though my lower abdominal, pelvic and pubic area seems a bit less painful but I can feel a nervous feeling in those areas and throughout my stomach. I can also still hear the gastrointestinal noises and my anus still itches and is irritated when I defecate. I continue to have some mucous in some of my stool and my stool does look like diarrhea although it doesn't feel like diarrhea when it comes out. Also, since taking the drugs, I have developed some white blisters on my tongue. I have noticed one in front of my tongue and one on the side in the back of my tomgue. I did have blisters prior to taking the drugs though which did pop up now and again and my doctor said that they are probably the result of some viral infection I had, but he never gave me anything. But the current blisters weren't present before taking the drugs, and I have never noticed the one in the back of the tongue before and the one in the front is bigger and I can feel it more than those I had previously. Also, I have white stuff on my tongue in the back of my mouth near the tonsils, though this was also present other times too and may have been present prior to taking the drugs. It's just that since the blisters appeared I have been taking more notice of my tongue.. I have also just noticed some loose, grain-like material on my tongue which I can spit out. There aren't too many of them, just one or two here and there. On Sunday, suddenly, a red rash developed on my arm, just above the elbow which is irritated when it's touched. I rubbed some hydrogen peroxide on it and it stung a little.I am not sure if this is an insect or flea bite. By the way, I did have some gastrointestinal issues in January, 2004 which made me vomit several times during the night. I went to the hospital but they just tested my urine, which they said was fine, gave a **** of codeine with some gravol and that was it. But then my throat began to feel saor, like there was a lump in it and my doctor gave me some anti-biotics (anoxycillin) and that made it better. I know the above description is long and I apologise for that. Anyways, I'd like to get some feedback regarding what may be causing these problems other than the inflamed prostate and what I can do about them. I'd especially like to know about the tongue/mouth problems that have sprung up recently. I've read a bit on candida infection and was wondering if this could be what is causing the white stuff on my tongue and/or the blisters and/or the rash on my arm.--Thanks

[crabbyroad]

Rob,

I am not a doctor- just suggesting somethings that come to my mind, and maybe you can address your doctor about them.

The mucus in your stool could be from Irritable bowel syndrome that relates to alot of the symptoms you are describing abdominally. Also the steriod medicine will suppress your immune system, and/or antibotics could be causing Thrush in your mouth. Have they ruled out IBS ? and ask about thrush in your mouth, if that could be the cause.

The inital case of the tighting between anal area, were you using a hemmorrhoid cream near there? It works by shrinking the area, feeling tight. I hear of women using this cream for puffiness under their eyes to reduce the swelling and tightening up the bag look under the eyes.

Just a suggestion-
Crabby

[Rob123]

crabbyroad, thanks for your response. I did think that IBS may be my problem, or at least part of my problem anyways. But from some research that I have done, my symptoms seem to describe several possible conditions. I haven't talked to my doctor about IBS or thrush yet. When I went to him and discussed my symptoms he checked my prostate and told me that I have an inflamed prostate, gave me a prescription for some antibiotics and that was it. Though I will bring up IBS and thrush at the next visit.
I did use a hemmorrhoid cream (preperation h) the week prior to the initial tightening of the area between my scrotum and anal opening. But I did use that cream before without any tightening. Also, the itchy, irritated and hot feeling that I got in my anus during and often after defecating started after the tightening in the area started. I did have itchiness in the anus after defecating before the tightening started but the irritated and hot feeling started after the tighteing started.
As for the white stuff on my tongue, when I brush my teeth and my tongue, the white stuff seems to go away in the areas I brush, only to return later on. Can thrush on the tongue be brushed away, otherwise I probably have something else? Can the antibiotics and/or ashthma medication also cause the blisters on my tongue? --thanks

[crabbyroad]

Thrush can appear white and thick like cottage cheese, sure you can scrape it off, brush it off, but if you have it, it will return. Your just ridding the build up, also thrush can appear as ulcers or lesions in the mouth, perhaps these are the bumps you are referring too?

[parcelgirl]

Rob 123,

Im not a doctor but having the same kinds of problems you are in my mouth and have had this for 6 months, i also have GI problems. After 3 cultures and 2 biopsies of my mouth they are finally finding out that i have thrush, i have been on Nystatin for the thrush and it didnt do any good, the medicine difcluan helped me so far(keeping fingers crossed), i had this so bad that my cheeks inside my mouth were actually peeling and such a dry mouth, i had alot of white patches inside the cheeks also.