fenoderee

Hello, this will be my first post. First I want to say how much I appreciate this forum... it helps so many people in so many ways. This will be my contribution.

Background: I've had many urinary problems for almost two years now. I'm a male, 19 years old. I'm 6'3" and weigh 160 pounds. The longest standing problem is some incontinence while sitting and standing, and sometimes coughing (a bit dribbles out). About 7 months ago I had a couple very painful ejaculations, the pain lasted for almost 3 hours, and was centered in my lower left abdomen (I should mention my bladder was very full in both instances). After this, I experienced frequent urination, which got worse and worse... I usually go every hour. Some nights I have to go around 5 times. I'm not sure if this problem started right after those painful incidents, but this is when I started paying more attention to my urinary functions. Then, I started to realize that I felt a constant urge to urinate when I slept on my side (this is one of the most troublesome). Now I have to sleep on my back, almost cross-legged in order for the urge to go away.

After chickening out on my first cystoscopy, I scheduled another, which I just got back from an hour ago. I was told they were going to use the rigid cystoscope, which I've been told is more painful. Since any other hospital is hundreds of miles away from me, I had to go through with it. When I got there, I believe he used the flexible kind, as my legs were not in the stirrups. But, the cystoscope did not appear to be connected to a monitor screen, and he just looked down the eyepiece connected to the probe. The nurse injected my member with a numbing/lubricating gel via a non-needle hypodermic device. This was uncomfortable... not necessarily painful though. They used no other drugs. The cystoscope didnt feel too great, but it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. Basically there were a few points at which there was pain, but most of the time was just uncomfortable . Before I knew it, it was over... it only took about a minute or two. I'm a little unsure on if the procedure was thorough for this reason. My message to all you procrastinators and worriers (like me ) : go through with it, it's really not that bad. Well, I know I suffered more from the stress and anxiety of worrying than the actual procedure. I can't speak for the rigid 'scope people... at least I don't think. On one of my urinations I did notice blood, just a few clots, but nothing since. I've been drinking TONS of water both before and after the procedure, and I think this has helped with the associated burning, as its not too bad.

The results: nothing. After he was done, my doc just told me everything checked out fine, and walked out of the room. I'm not a big fan of my urologist because of this... he doesnt seem to care, and rarely ever talks to me. Well, now that it's over, I'm relieved but also very disapointed. The nurse said there's nothing else they can do unless my symptoms persist. I hope I'll be hearing from my uro soon... if not, I will call him.

My big concern: I've had other problems, with malabsorption and low white blood cell and hemoglobin counts that persist to this day. I've seen a GI doctor about problems with digestion (lots of gas, stool always sinks). Basically, most of my problems are all within my lower abdomen, and maybe they are connected. I've had a nervous habit for about 4 years now of voluntarily twitching and jolting my abdominal muscles (like I was trying to go to the bathroom) nearly constantly at times, in response to the large amounts of stress I've had in my life. This might explain the malabsorption (damage to the intestines) and the incontinence (because I might have worn out the muscles or a lining). I dont know... I'm still very worried. These past 4-5 months I've spent in constant worry and fear for my life. The general doctor who has done the bloodwork is a bit worried, and confused.

I guess I'm trying to give people hope here with the cystoscopy procedure, while at the same hoping someone has experienced similar symptoms. I'd really like input as to my notion of my nervous abdomen twitching causing these problems. I stopped doing this altogether two weeks ago, and have since not noticed any improvement. Well, I want to say again how much I appreciate this forum and the sense of community I feel here, even though I've never posted before. I appreciate very much in advance any input I can get with my problems. At 19, it seems like I should be enjoying great health (especially since I eat well and get a lot of exercise).

One last note: Does anyone know about prion diseases (CJD for an example) being transmitted from surgical equipment? I know it happens, and I'm a little worried. In a biology class I took last semester my professor said that it's likely half of the sufferers of alzheimer's disease actualy had prion-related nueurological disease. Well anyways, thanks for reading this lengthy post.