Worried sick

LegacyUser

Alright...
First post on boards, whether reg'd or otherwise.

I'm a dude, I'm 24 and I'm a virgin. So far, so good.

For a year or so, I've noticed that I had to "go" maybe more often than before. Also noticed a foul smell occasionally from my urine. That defo wasn't very incapacitating or anything, so that I pretty much had no problem pushing the whole thing to the back of my mind. Still, I was aware that something wasn't quite right down there.

Then I eventually decided that I should do something about it and, thanks in large part to this forum, I consulted my GP yesterday. The doc did a quick test on a urine sample, decided that yeah, there had to be some kind of infection in my system and ordered a lab test done on urine and blood samples.

So here I am waiting on the results of these tests, which I'll get sometime next week, and reading all I can on the internet.

And holy sh.t, am I mortified!

As I said above, I'm a virgin, so the logical thing to assume is that I don't have a STI. I mean, that makes sense, right? But then, from what I've read, the other possible explanations sound a good deal worse. Urinary tract infections are rare in men, so I read, and the symptoms may point to problems with my prostate.

Now I don't know why, but I'm relatively cool with being sick in the bladder, however the idea of having prostate problems sounds utterly terrifying. I really thought I'd have at least another twenty years before I'd have to worry about that organ. Like, even having a prostate exam sounds really, really bad. And on the other hand, if it does turn out to be a STI, then that raises one big question: how?

So I'm pretty much worried out of my mind now and longing for the days when I just ignored the issue and got on with my life.

I'm not gonna ask for medical advice, that's the doc's business, but if you've been in a similar situation, I'd like to hear about it.

ChewChew

Dude, first off please dont be worrying! (I know you are saying easy for you to say )

But it could be something very simple.

I work with a Urologist and would you believe that about 90% of her patients are male.

You are most likely not alone with whatever your diagnosis may be.

Just dont fret too much. At least you had the sense to go and get started and soon enough your GP will have you back to normal in no time.

And just remember, you can pick up infections from not washing your hands properly, oh and sitting on a dirty loo try think of somewhere you may have been that you used the loo and remember it no being too clean and possibly a loo you never used before. or if you remember a time you mayhave used a public loo and forgot to wash your hands :pac:

Dr Galen

dude it was for people like you that this forum was created! The fact that at least one person has taken on board the constant ranting about going and seeing the GP makes it a worthwhile endeavour.

fair play for being so honest, even if it is unregged, it's not easy to talk about stuff like this at the best of times.

i'm going to give you a piece of advice, take from it what you will. Get off Google, stop looking up all the mad **** regarding peeing too much, and take a deep breath.

Your totally right, it could be a load of things causing this, some simple to fix and relatively insignificant, some more complicated and harder to fix, but no amount of googling or worrying is going to help at this stage. You've done the right thing, you had an issue and you've gone to get sorted.

regarding what your problem is, well no one here will be able to really suggest anything, eventhough you've been pretty decent with your descriptions etc. You mention that your a virgin, does that mean that you've had no sexual contact with anyone in the past? Prostate exams are not that bad, what makes them worse is when people clench........it's not pleasant granted, but it's over pretty quick tbh and really nothing to worry about.

As for wanting to go back to the days of ignoring the problem, well to be quite honest thats just wrong. You've taken responsibility for your own body, your own health, you've thought "**** it, I'm going to get checked out here, I need to be fixed" and you deserve total respect for that dude. Just take a bit of a breather now and wait for the results and take it from there. Let us know how you get on?

sam34

Unregistered wrote: »

reading all I can on the internet.

But then, from what I've read, the other possible explanations sound a good deal worse. Urinary tract infections are rare in men, so I read, and the symptoms may point to problems with my prostate.

Like, even having a prostate exam sounds really, really bad.

Ok OP, calm down.
seriously, calm down!

this is exactly why it is such a bad idea to go researching your symptoms on the internet...

those "diagnostic" sites give you all sorts of weird and wacky diagnoses, i'd say if you put in any combination of symptoms you'd get diagnoses varying from CJD to cancer to AIDS. you will always then imagine the worst.

they are INACCURATE and UNRELIABLE.

put your trust in your GP, a qualified professional who, unlike a search engine, will be able to piece together all the information from your personal history and examination and lab resuls to make an informed diagnosis.

good luck, hope all works out OK.

r3nu4l

Yup, the 'informed' patient is often woefully inadequately informed by the internet.

Now, something others haven't really covered. Prostate exam...trust me, it's a doddle, you don't even have to do much, just drop 'em, bend over and relax Easier than getting a needle in the arm for a lot of people!

If the thought of a finger up your ass turns you off or shocks you remember that a lot of guys actually like when their other half slips a cheeky finger in and it can be very pleasurable. That said, I doubt that having the doctor do it for them turns any guy on...unless she's the kind of doctor that a lot of porn films would have you believe exists out there My GP is a guy in his 50's with a big belly so I wouldn't be getting very excited by that, nevertheless, if he needed to give me a prostate exam, he'd be the model of professionalism and I'd be happy for him to do it.

If it's a UTI or kidney infection then hopefully it'll be easily treatable.
Ease the mind, let the results come back and go from there. Let us know what transpires (if it's not too much for you to talk about).

Adamisconfused

I’ve suffered from Kidney stones on and off since I was twenty. On occasions, they decide to rip me up on the way out and give me a nice UTI as a parting gift.
I’ve only had one prostate exam and that was when I was in the hospital with serious pain before I was diagnosed with kidney stones. A UTI was detected and the doctor wanted to check for a prostate infection which made me pull the most shocked face of my life.
Apparently, if a young male shows up with abdominal pain, he gets a DRE. Don’t know how true that is, but my GP told me it’s what happens. He never gives me a DRE; just prescribes some antibiotics if I have a UTI and that’s the end. Prostatitis requires a longer dose of antibiotics to cure it, so he probably should perform a DRE every time, but I’m not complaining. He knows what he's doing.
As for the DRE itself, it was performed by a young, female doctor.:o At twenty, that was rather embarrassing. The DRE was nothing. Actually, I don’t remember feeling it. My face was grimaced just waiting for it, but I didn’t notice anything. She asked if I felt any pain and that was it. Over and done with.
The procedure is nothing to worry about. You’ll be embarrassed, but that goes away when you get a clear bill of health.
And might I just add, you don’t even know if you’ll require a DRE yet. If your Doc didn’t do it the first day then he might not do it now. Anyway, wait and see and don’t worry about these things you have no control over.
I remember reading the same thing as you and for some reason started to fear I had bladder cancer. That’s embarrassing to even write now. So silly. One infection gave me reason to think I’d be pissing into a bag, strapped to my waist, for the rest of my life.:o
Have no more to do with the internet. At the moment, the only thing wrong with you has been a UTI, which is very minor. Let your GP worry about the rest.