Prostatitis exam

Does anyone have any experience with physical exams due to prostatitis?

When I check the internet some sites suggest antibiotics are prescribed after a urine exam… other sites suggest a urine sample is taken and after a prostate massage an other sample is taken.

Does anyone have any real life experience on this subject?

Not prostatitis per se, but back when I was 26 years old, I had a case of epididymitis. That's an inflammation of the epididymis, which is the little sac that surrounds part of each testicle, connecting it to the spermatic cord. I had an examination by a urologist who first had to rule out prostatitis. So he milked my prostate through digital rectal exam and examined the fluid under a microscope. I wrote an account of the exam in my blog, if you'd like to read more details.

https://en.zity.biz/index.php?mx=blog;ox=showpage;pg=6821

Done that rodeo multiple times.

You'll probably get a urine test to differentiate between UTI and prostatitis. Provider may or may not do a DRE to feel the prostate texture. If the prostate is intected it feels different ("boggy" is the word they use) to a non-infected one, but I only got this on my first one. After that they just relied on symptoms and the urine test.

You may also get a STI screen, as these can sometimes be an issue in prostatitis.

I keep expecting my doctor to say "you've been in here enough that we need to get you to a urologist" and have a more detailed look at it, but that hasn't happened yet.

Oh, one other thing. You might get a referral to a PT to have a pelvic floor evaluation. This can help if muscular dysfunction is a component.

I had it last year. The PA did an instant test for microscopic blood in my urine and prescribed a sulfa drug. Next day I was contacted via MyHealth that I didn’t need the antibiotic. OA was female. My symptoms persisted so I made an appointment with my doctor group and saw a male doc. He again ordered urine, bloodwork for STI and PSA. HE told me to keep taking the drug previously prescribed. Two days later I was asked to come back in as my PSA was high at 17! At that appointment he told me the PSA score told it all: prostatitis! I ended up taking a different drug for 6 weeks. It took 3 months for my PSA score to return to normal but in between that I had at least two other PSA tests that showed declining scores.

No DRE. STI came back negative too.

@Srgfgahs If you don't mind me asking, what were your symptoms that got your ordeal started?

@BenDover my primary symptoms were a slight burning sensation in my urethra and milky discharge.

@BenDover my primary symptoms were a slight burning sensation in my urethra and milky discharge.

Start, then it moves up (in me anyway) to the center of the pelvis and gets worse to where you dread peeing or ejaculation, then eventually just about everything you do hurts in the center of the pelvis. That is odd now that I think about it, first time they did the PSA but not subsequently, and prostatitis is known to cause a spike in PSA levels.

I had recurring urinary tract infections, would clear up for a few weeks and come back. Went to my urologist and she examined my prostate and said it was soft and boggy which was a sign of chronic bacterial prostatitis. She massaged my prostate for a few minutes and collected the secretions at the tip of my penis to look under a microscope and then had me pee a small amount into a specimen jar to send away. The prostate massage was actually pleasurable and took my mind away from the other symptoms. Had to take antibiotics for 3 months to clear it up

I had an inflamed prostate, so my doctor took two urine tests and tried pressing my prostate with his finger, which was tender. I was given antibiotic tablets that lasted for 2 weeks and had to be taken 3 times a day