Every once in a while on this blog I write a post that, frankly, is more for my own benefit than anyone else's. I still post publicly just in case anyone else can be helped by it. This is one of those posts.
Whenever I face a new or worsening symptom, or a possible co-morbid condition, like prostatitis, I like to make a list of all the things I suspect may have contributed to the onset of the symptoms. That way, the next time the symptoms appear, I can refer back to the list and see if there are any similar circumstances. I'm looking for factors other than ME/CFS, because there was obviously an additional trigger or triggers. I've had ME/CFS for over three years but have only had two incidents of prostatitis during that time.
So here's the list of suspects.
1) In preparation for the camping trip, and during and after the camping trip, I did a lot of packing and unpacking of the car and moving boxes and semi-heavy items. What's interesting is, the two prior times that I got prostatitis (once in 2005 and once in 2013), was around the time I was moving residences and packing boxes. Is there something about packing, lifting and moving that is causing protatitis?
2) On a camping vacation last week, I drank both coffee (quite a bit) and alcohol (in small amounts), which I don't do regularly. In fact, I do them rarely. The Prostatitis Foundation website states that both coffee and alcohol can aggravate prostatitis.
3) Another suspect: My tri-weekly injections of bioidentical Testosterone as an ME/CFS treatment. Some internet sources say that testosterone levels, and in particular, DHT (testosterone's byproduct) are associated with prostatitis. On the other hand, many more internet search results state that the supposed DHT/prostatitis connection has been debunked. My urologist also told me back in 2013 that the testosterone injections were not related to prostatitis (and he is NOT the doctor who prescribed the injections, so I have no reason to distrust him.)
4) I did some very light yoga around the time the symptoms appeared, but I think the symptoms actually started a day or two beforehand. I can't be sure... This is one instance where my daily health chart failed me. Because the symptoms started so gradually, I neglected to note them when they first started, so I don't know the exact date.
5) Something unknown or unexpected like viral reactivation?
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