This is a bit long but it does have a point...just roll with it. Some readers may recall that my prostatitis started following an extramarital encounter with a former very good friend of mine. That was just over two years ago. In that time I had not communicated in any way with the friend, for obvious reasons. My prostatitis has slowly improved after peaking in 2016. In recent times I've been doing pretty well. Enter Friday.

So out of the blue on Friday evening I get a random email from former friend. It was short, but an email out of the blue nonetheless indicating she was thinking of me and asking how I was doing. As luck would have it, I had already had two glasses of wine and stupidly replied to it. Nothing scandalous in and of itself, just wishing her well for the hurricane (she lives in Houston and parents in Pasadena) but duh I obviously should have just ignored the email. Anyway, I immediately deleted the email after that and regretted what I had done.

Over the weekend I started getting really stressed out - what did this girl want just out of the blue?...why the heck did I reply to her!? If my wife found out I had replied to her then my marriage would be thrust back into the problems that happened back in 2015 when this originally happened. Well in any case, she never replied back to my response and I hope she doesn't, have no plans on responding in the future having learned my lesson. But here's where it gets interesting...

...so yesterday night I'm on the verge of a panic attack. It caused me to go back and drudge up all those old feelings of guilt and confusion I had back in 2015. It was like a switch was turned on and the whole encounter came back.

As I was tossing and turning last night during this stressful episode I noticed something. I noticed a very faint tension in my pelvis. It wasn't at all like I had imagined it. You read about kegels and the muscles that control the bladder when it comes to CPPS...but this was different. It was barely perceptible and it was like something primordial. It was a sensation that I never knew was even possible, and I'd never have noticed consciously had I not lived with CP for the past two years. Surely this has had an impact on my prostatitis, especially in the early days when the event was still raw. Today also feels like a flareup following the weekend which is no surprise.

Anyway, eventually I took a tizanidine, fell asleep and today I'm already feeling better, but what a terrible weekend. I learned a good lesson, luckily with what seems like minimal impact as far as I can tell. But this tension thing is real, and it can be virtually imperceptible if you're not very aware of it. Something to look out for.

It's been proven that stress of any form can aggravate the symptoms of CP\CPPS whether it's bacterial or non-bacterial cause.

I guess the point of my post was really in regard to the bacteria/CPPS debate. I've certainly been convinced for a long time of the bacterial origin of my prostatitis and I do have several cultures that show pathogens though I've never had any permanent improvement from abxs nor any proof that one of them was causing my symptoms.

The notable thing from the stress this weekend was how the tension was not at all what I was expecting. In the past I've always indicated that I wasn't the type to carry tension in my pelvis and I had never noticed any tightness down there, ergo it probably wasn't CPPS. Usually when you think of tension in the pelvis or read about CPPS, the emphasis is on kegel and bladder control muscles. However in my moment of guilt/anxiety, the tension was not in those locations. Nor was it something I ever would have consciously been aware of had I not specifically directed my mind to the region to take stock of what was happening. It never would have even registered to the "old me".

It was like a deep down tension almost at the base of the tailbone and up toward the prostate and I could just barely feel it contracting up against the prostate. I wasn't able to consciously control and relax the muscle, it took the tizanidine and a night's sleep to get it back under control, along with internal stretching and massage.

That is interesting as I'm not even sure I got this from sex. My first symptoms was the urine frequency. But when I think of it I also could feel more tension in my buttocks at the same time this started (but I wasn't aware back then I had tension) it took another couple of weeks until I started to get real pelvic pain.
I don't remember even how it's suppose to feel down there anymore. When I need to pee it doesn't feel like the way it used to and certainly not after I have been peeing or after voiding (that aggravates it). Sometimes I can lay on my back and relax and I don't feel any pain, any tension and no urge. But sometimes it's not possible to control these muscles at all.
I keep chasing the bacteria that I never find. I made a new test on culturing prostatic fluid last week and it came back negative. No bacteria found. I don't know if I should be happy or sad? Happy, because it further points out I don't have bacterial prostatitis. Sad, because I can't find something to kill with abx.
It is strange how the pain/burning sometimes feels intense and sometimes doesn't feel at all? I don't feel the pain in the prostate when massaging it either or sometimes it's hard to know if it is the muscles right beside the prostate. But it feels like an inflammation, it burns. But I guess that burning feeling can be felt in muscles that are tensed as well. Or, it could be that there is an inflammation in the muscles surrounding the prostate. At the same time I now have developed a "heart burn" of some kind (had it for months now and it is very annoying). Or it is not a real heart burn or GERD. I don't have any reflux. Medicine against reflux doesn't help at all. I had the same symptom when I was worried about cancer some years ago and it didn't go away until 6 month after I stopped worried. And it's a burning sensation and my throat is dry. I think it has to do with the muscles that are somehow tensing because of the tension down in my pelvis. It's all connected. As you know, the brain controlled muscles can create severe pain in the body. The muscles are not functioning and I can't control them. I think I am constipated and still have very soft stool at the same time. So, these tensions inflict the whole intestines. I burp and fart
It's sooo nice to have burning in the rectum and the throat at the same time, NOT!
I can control the burning in the rectum by relaxing the pelvic floor, but the burning in the throat ? I don't know how to control it.
Brain storming:
I wild guess: I think all tension starts from the big muscle group in the stomach? As they say: the stomach is the second brain. So, if you get stressed out, it's probably in the stomach where it starts and with the brain focusing on the pelvis (because guilt from of sex out of marriage, sex with prostitute, a pain in the penis after sex etc) , then it starts pulling the muscles down in that region and there's where the symptoms appear.
There are many people on the forums that get good results from eating LCHF, gluten free, Mediterranean food etc.
But I think the diet is secondary (in a way) The big issue is the stomach in general. If you can control your stomach (thru diet, calming down etc) then I think you can get control of the tension. The problem is probably that it takes time and at least I get panic thoughts very easy if I don't get results quickly.
Well, that's one theory among others...

Almost two weeks ago, my PT was stopped where I was getting myofascial release, stretching, and doing core exercises. I also have the gut tension, burning in muscles, throat, and rectum sometimes, and difficulty treating the condition overall. I have constipation with soft stool too. One aspect that I've read about lately that could mean much more than I know concerns my testosterone and estrogen levels. I read that too much free testosterone can be easily converted into estrogen and combine with a lowering of testosterone to cause prostatitis and other, similar or associated problems. I'll try to find the link to the article if you want to read it. I have a link to an article with a list of estrogen blocking foods that I could add too. One thing that I experience relief from tension by doing is leaning back when I sit. Most sitting I'm doing is leaning forward, which is weight and pressure on the gut... especially the lower gut near my waist. It gets tucked under my belly and is kind of in suspending lift or unsupportive. I think sitting that way less often would reduce pelvic tension. Any thoughts / questions?

Male hormonal balance can be influenced by your gut flora. If that's off, it can cause all sorts of issues, with prostatitis being one of them unfortunately.

I also had the burning in the throat in the beginning for about 5 months...thought I had LPR.....saw a ear,eye, throat specialist...got my throat scooped and it's was normal..the throat burning kinda went away on it's own....i also did find out that my testosterone levels was pretty low with mildly high prolactin levels.....had to get a brain mri to make sure no tumor on the pituatary gland which was negative..the crazy part is that before the incident, I did have gastrointestinal issues...excessive farting, acid in stomach, etc and told I had GERD......so I just don't know...did I have this condition before and the incident with the anxiety and guilt intensify it....its just amazing how you can brush symptoms off when you don't have anything/tragic event to attach it too....

Hey Jay,

All the symptoms you describe can be triggered by gut dysbiosis, including anxiety. Dysbiosis can lead to food intolerance or allergic reactions to specific foods that come and go. I've dealt with throat issues, eosinophilic esophagitis, if I eat something I react to. I thought it was LPR at first as well, but it wasn't. I was eating too many non organic herbicide / pesticide laced foods, and taking rounds of antibiotics to fight chronic bacterial prostatitis, which eventually worsened the flora disbalance in my gut.