Epididymitis/ Orchitis

[Need Help]

I am a 42yr old male. According to my doctor I am in overall good health. The problem I have been having over the past 6 months is swelling and mild to severe pain in my testicals. At first I was told it was prostatitis then I was told it was Non-bacterial protatitis. I have seen 3 urologist ( 2 of which did a digit exam) all by referral of my primary doctor, 5 different antibiotics and am getting no better. Within the last 2 weeks I have been put back on Cipro for what is now being called epididymitis My primary doctor has told me that there is nothing wrong and this is just chronic pain I am going to have to live with. My testicles swell to the size of small apples and the pain is at times so severe that I will actually scream. I cannot sleep at night and of course I cannot work due to sitting makes them swell. I have done everything I have been told(support the testicals, ice, warm baths). The pain starts when I walk, sit up straight or on a hard surface, urinate, during and after BM, get an erection, or just sitting in a recliner. PLEASE HELP we are at the end of our rope. I cannot live like this. I am looking for any words of wisdom or even a referral. PLEASE!!

[bushidogrl]

I feel ur pain. My bf has had the same problem now for 7 or more months now & it's not getting any better. We are at the end of our rope here! The problem is that he's not getting anywhere with the doctors & he is seeing 1 family doctor & 2 Urologists. He has had every possible test run on him & the doctors are still puzzled only to finally say that he will have to get a referral to a Pain Specialist.....riiight, another words, we don't know what to do for you now! I don't think so!!! I understand what ur going thru cuz I watch him suffering every day & it kills me. The best advise I can give you from our experience is to look up any & everything on the web that you can paying attention to the following information...
1) Epididymitis
2) Orchitis
3) Epididymitis-Orchitis
4) Alternative Medicine for...(the above)

Also, when we recently went to the Family doctor, they discovered from the paper work that was transferred over from the Urologist that in 1 of the 6 Ultrasounds that he has had done (he is also scheduled for a Nuclear Testicular Scan to measure the blood flow & another Ultrasound) that he had calcification in his prostate. You might want to look into that as that can cause similar symptoms & also cause Epididymitis etc. He has had multiple ultrasounds, CAT scans, x-rays, & recently had a colonoscopy to rule out polyps in the colon (suggested by a friend that had testicular pain due to them) the results where negative by the way, everything looked good except he did have a hydrocele on the left testi & a 9 millimeter cyst on his right. His pain is in his right testi only. Keep in mind that my bf is only 24 years old & this all started with a blow to the testicles by his pitbull who was "happy" to see him & this dog has a 23" head that is like a concrete block! 3 days later his testis swelled up REALLY big & he was in so much pain he had to go to the Emergency Room. They ruled out a torsion & discovered the hydrocele, 2-3 months later the cyst was found by my bf & the doctor confirmed it. Umm.. my question is how could he miss it in the first place!! All in all this is a very confusing subject since their are a lot of different factors that may or may not complicate this matter..for instance, he does not & never has masturbated,& has not been very active at all before me, has had an inguinal hernia...(could this be a mesh problem? He keeps mentioning this to the doctors it goes in 1 ear & out the other).

Like I have stated we don't know what to do, so I have done some research on line & am turning to the "Alternative Medicine" side. In my research I have found many sites where men with similar problems have taken Magnesium/Zinc combos to help in the calcification problem with success. It breaks down the stones & exits in the urine & sometimes the semen...this is good! We are going to Walmart to get some of that! Also, I have read that being too acidic is a problem also, so taking 2tsp of apple cider vinegar is recommended everyday. Cutting out all caffeine in ur diet, we are also going to be buying some herbs to help in this problem.

It's really sad that all the men that are suffering with these & other related problems are not getting any relief or answers as to what the hell is going on here! If all else fails in the above road that we about to embark then we will turn to Chinese Medicine...including acupuncture & Chinese herbs.

The only thing they can do for him now is stick him on 3 months of Cipro & pain meds & hope for the best. Pfft! This annoys me to the point where I am considering if we ever find a fix for this problem I will post it on ever darn message board I can find in order to help anyone else suffering. I wish I could take it all away from him & magically make him better. He can barely work outside the home..thank god that he is a software developer/programmer. It is so bad that we have had to move out of our apartment (due to a possible testicle cancer scare) & move back in with his mother, & that was a blow to his ego big time, not to mention his problem. I know guys it's not good on the ego :( It also affects the quality of your life, outdoor activities, & sex life. Since he is in constant "discomfort" as he likes to call it. He says it's like being kicked in the balls all day & has constant kidney discomfort. There are times where he has to lay on the couch with his legs spread or lay down in the same manor. It's no way to have to live your life everyday.

So, I will be a regular on this forum with updates on his progress & the methods that we have found to work for us. In the meantime, don't give up hope! There has got to be an answer somewhere & I'm gonna find it for my baby & others like him! Sorry for the long post but I want to let guys know ur not alone.

[ROBC]

thank you so much for the info and the care! i pray that he is healed soon!
God Bless...

[bushidogrl]

Just trying to help since there is no real help out there for this problem. It can be really upsetting when u need answers and you simply don't get them. The latest test that he has had is a nuclear testicular scan, along with yet another ultrasound (I've lost count). His doctor said this should shed some insight as to the blood flow in that region. Hopefully this will give us some answers, tho I won't lie things are not looking good at this point. You know what frustrates me the most is hearing his doctor say he doesn't know where to go from here & that pain management is pretty much his only answer. This all makes me so mad!! Anyway, I am still researching every/any thing on the net that I can find, so I will keep anyone interested posted.
Another symptom that we have noticed is extreme kidney pain at times. Sometimes he is in such discomfort that he can't even lay still. We have yet to figure this out, but I'm not giving up.

[unigiant9]

I feel you and especially, your boyfriend's pain. Hope you find the right direction, the solution, for this dreadful symptom. I admire your caring and courage to help your boyfriend. I sincerly wish his recovery soon. Many Blessings.

[bushidogrl]

Thank you! Just looking for some answers here like so many people. Plus, any help that we can give we will. Thanks for your support! Have you had similar problems? Any additional info would help at this point as this is not an easy journey. :) Thanks again!

[unigiant9]

I've had chronic prostatitis for many years with bouts of epididymitis. Sorry I have no solution to this except to say that the doctors will want to prescribe more antibiotics. The dilemma I'm going through is that after taking antibiotics for so many years, I've developed gastritis. It is very difficult for me to take antibiotics. When testicular symptom arises, I just have to ride it out with extreme, unbearable pain in the groin. I've tried ice, sitting in a hot bath, pain meds, jog strap, zinc, bee pollen...anything I can lay my hands on. I must cure my upset stomach first before I can proceed with anything I can take. It feels ominous but what can you do?

I wish I can post something positive with your boyfriend's issue which I can totally relate. I don't know what to do. One note: Doctors do favor Cipro over other antibiotics because of its effective penetration into the prostate. Other than months of Cipro, there isn't any resolution to this according to the doctors anyway. Best of luck.

[bushidogrl]

Yeah, I know what u mean. His doctor has prescribed Cipro as well, and they have suggested the same things that u mentioned, all of which don't help too. Only thing he hasn't gotten yet is the stomach problems that u mentioned, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time :( Just what he needs another problem on top of what he already has. Thank you for sharing ur story with us. If we find anything that seems to help I will share it so others can hopefully find some relief too. Again, thank you & keep in touch. Oh yeah! I'm just curious, how long have you been dealing with this problem? It has been 8 months for him. Another thing that I am concerned with is that he has been taking Vicodin for pain relief, I know that he is in pain, but I am really against taking any kind of pain meds for long amounts of time. Of course he only takes them when he can't stand the pain, but still.

[unigiant9]

I am 43 years old. Believe it or not, I've had prostatitis for more than ten years. Unlike your bf's traumatic pitbull head-on collision case, mine was gradual. Iinitially, it was diagnosed as NGU = non-gonnoccal urethritis, then, it gradually progressed to chronic prostatitis. I've had symptoms like frequency, urgency, weakness in urine flow, discomfort in the testicle, mild eurethral and prostate symptoms that were not as difficult to manage. I say not difficult to manage because there was not much pain involved. The latter years, I would say within the last two-three years or so, I've developed on and off, severe pain and swelling in my tesiticle. When it does happen, OMG, It's like all my attention is trapped in the groin area that there isn't much room for anything else, much less, my career, my life.

I take Vicodin only when the pain is excruciating (which happens to apply to any and all testicular pain I suppose) because I've heard nightmarish stories about addiction to hydrocodone. I always have Norco (much stronger than Vidodin) ready to be taken in case of one of those screaming episodes of pain I MUST deal with sometimes. If the pain is mild to moderate, I usually take Alleve (2-3) which I think is easier on my stomach than Advil. Other than that, it's all Cipro or any other new quinolone family antibiotic. Man, I'm tired of taking these things. Really.

One note: Just as you mentioned, get rid of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, do apple cidar vinegar, drink lots of cranberry juice, yogurt. You want to avoid anything acidic because bacteria loves acidic environment as I was told. Most importantly, your support is huge part of this process. Hey, good luck. I'll drop in time to time.

[goodguy]

Hey guys

i was wondering if its at all possible to surgically remove the testicles? will that be a solution to your problems? Just a thought since from my understanding there is no medicines to cure it