Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion Men Only Message Board I need some Serious Help--PLEASE

My 34 year old husband is having some prostate problems.

Close to 5 years ago he started having to urinate frequently at night, he'd be up about 6 times a night feeling like he has to pee, not a whole lot coming out.

We still had insurance then, and I know frequent urination is a sign of diabetes, he had that checked, he was fine.

This continued, then two years later he complained that his stream was strained, he was having to push to get it out, or he felt like he had to go, but couldn't go.

About a year ago, it got to the point where I can hear him grunting as though he's constipated, but he's actually trying to urinate.

Now he's having blood in his urine, painful ejaculations, and most recently, difficulty maintaining an erection. He's NEVER had a problem with that before.

I looked up prostate on the net and all these symptoms (along with lower back pain) are all symptoms of cancer.

Or an enlarged prostate, or an infection. I'm getting very scared.

I posted this here, because of the nature of the problem. He really doesn't like me discussing his penis problems. He's really trying to downplay everything.

Could AS cause inflammation of the prostate and cause these problems? Am I right to be scared out of my wits?

This just really scares me, because he started having the first symptoms right about the time he started progressing with the AS. He wasn't diagnosed at the time, and he wasn't taking any painkillers at the time either.

And as you can see, the symptoms are slowly progressing. The doctors also believe he has Crohn's which could contribute to the tremenous amount of weight he has lost in the past year. Actually two years- when he was dxd I think he weighed in around 215 (he needed to lose weight) but now he's at about 150, and the majority of the weight loss has been in the past year. He's gone from a size 38 to 30. And he wears his clothes baggy. The weight loss looks unhealthy, and the thing is, he eats. Maybe not as much as before, but he's still eats quite a bit.

Any opinions at all would be so incredibly appreciated. Can we go to a regular doctor and have some kind of test to see if this is something serious? It sounds kind of serious to me.

Sarah

Sarah, first I believe that AS can cause some of these issues as I have some. I have found that my symptoms have been decreased by the following actions which work for me.
1. Never drink diet beverages. If I
drink even one drink with Nutrisweet I
feel it in my urinary tract.
2. Cut down on carbonated beverages.
3. Cut down on alcahol
4. Try Saw Palminto capsules
Second, see a GP. There are two very simple and fairly inexpensive screening tests, first, a digital manipulation and second, a blood test called a PSA. I would very much suggest that you do this immediatly as if, worst case it is prostate cancer it is very treatable if caught early.
good luck, mike

Sarah, I read the article you wrote the other day and I forgot about it.The symptoms your husband is having at his age is probably
Prostatitis .I had it first at age 26.I went to two different Urologists over the years.The treatment is usually Doxycycline or Floxin.
Getting up at night,freguent urination,low back pain,stinging pain ,slow stream.
The Urologist told me that cancer of the Prostate is rare before early 40s.Even if it is an infection,your husband can have trouble sitting for long periods of time and it can cause fatigue.If he lets it go on without treatment
it could possibly cause a bladder infection and kidney infection.A low grade fever might be another symptom.
You need to make an appointment with a Urologist and make sure he goes.I started back having symptoms a few weeks back and at my last office visit I asked my Primary Care Physician for some Doxycycline.Some of my symptoms have already diminished and my lower back pain is almost gone.
Guys laugh about having Prostate problems until they have had it personally.THIS COULD BE ADDING TO YOUR HUSBANDS LOW BACK PAIN AND FATIGUE.
He will feel better after knowing that it is not cancer and this can be treated usually inexpensively.The test for prostate cancer is a prostate massage and a blood PSA test.
Best,Regards,Mike

I agree with mikwondo. This is the kind of advice that needs to come from a doctor, and the sooner the better. I had a good friend that just got back from having a prostate operation. He was worried sick that he had cancer too. Sometimes the fear of finding out can keep you from doing what's needed.

Sarah,
I agree with getting your hubby to the urologist ASAP. Just for the record I am over 50 and have had an elevated PSA which my Rhumy said could easily be related to AS. I've never read this anywhere and the urologist knows 0 about AS so I can't confirm any links. If anyone knows of any literature linking PSA/prostate and AS I'm all ears. Interestingly my PSA does go down somewhat when I'm on antibiotics which may indicate some link with infection, AS and prostate. This could be an easy fix but he really needs to get on this - life without a prostate is not a pleasant one, especially for a young man. JL Idaho

SARAH HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AND WHEN TO DOCTOR AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE KIDNEY STONES. THE BACK PAIN AND PIAN IN GROIN PLUS FILL LIKE YOU HAVE TO PEE BUT CAN'T. THE DOCTOR FIXED IT. JUST MY TWO CENTS, HOPE HE GETS BETTER. AL

Has anyone heard from Sarah about her husband?

-Storm

I'm wary of writing anything about this subject that's likely to be taken as 100% fact, but I'll add a couple of things that may be relevant...

A while ago I read somewhere that males with AS have a 70% chance of having an enlarged prostate (don't remember the link though, sorry). This worried me a little so I asked my doctor about it, to which he replied that serious problems (or the ones I was worried about at least) aren't normally even checked for until the mid-to-late forties.

Hey Storm-

I've been off the board for awhile.....Jerry still hasn't seen a doctor-he's such a pain in the ass about seeing doctors.

He did see his pain management doc (didn't mention the prostate problems of course) and when they took his blood pressure it was 96/68 and his pulse rate was 52 beats per minute!! He had been taking atenolol for the past two years and was about 65 lbs heavier. The doc told him to quit taking the atenolol and see his his normal doc.

Since he's been off the atenolol, most all his symptoms have cleared. Is that trippy or what?? I guess no blood was circulating, at least not fast enough!!

He has had the frequent urges at night and the difficulty long before the atenolol though, so he still needs to have it checked out (to ease my fears at least), but he's back up and ready at the snap of a finger (or a bra strap ) and he's not experiencing any pain. The blood is gone too, that could be from too many meds during a flare .

Thanks for all the input. He's not a very good patient. I'll have to ride his ass and make sure he gets checked out.

I appreciate all the help.

Sarah