POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: pozzitive on November 21, 2013, 12:41:18 am
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Argh. Here I go again with antibiotics.
I feel like after I became POZ I take more antibiotics than ever.
It has been a few weeks since I feel a burning sensation on my penis and mild burning sensation when I pee, very mild. I haven't been ejaculating as well and as often as I used to. I have been working way too much I barely have time to think about sex.
So I did blood tests and urinalysis nothing came positive but my doctor tells me that based on what I tell him I have a prostate infection and we should treat it with Levaquin (levofloxacin) 500 mg a day for 28 days, 28fucking days...
It is supposed to be a mild antibiotics with very mild side effects but I always hear that anyway.
I'm not sure why I am posting here. I guess I am venting. Maybe I am pissed.
I have almost zero sex life and I have a prostate infection? How's that even possible?
He also suggested I ejaculated three times a week during the course of the antibiotics...
So, antibiotics here I go again...
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Did the urinalysis actually show anything? Did he feel your prostate? You said based on what you told him, he said prostate infection.
I sometimes have a very mild burning sensation, when I pee. I occasionally have it, when I ejaculate. It is one of those things where I wonder whether I'm getting an infection, but I drink more water and it goes away. And, I don't have much sex and don't masturbate much, so I wonder whether I just need to do that more.
Not knowing whether the urinalysis showed something or your prostate was enlarged on exam, I would wonder whether this warranted an antibiotic at all, and especially a 28 day course of Levaquin. That is a long course. I'm actually surprised by that. When I had pneumonia, I only took a 5 day course. Levaquin can cause some bad gastro issues. Around day 2, I started getting the bombs going off in my gut. Then, I had mushy poop and diarrhea for a couple weeks. And, gut issues can come on a few months down the road.
I'm just going by what you said, which was this was a mild burning sensation. I am just surprised by this prescription. The shorter 5 day course of 750mgs was approved to help with adherence and resistance issues. That is what I took. Even with the 500mgs, I think the normal course was 10 days. But, I'm no doc. Here is some info:
http://www.uic.edu/pharmacy/services/di/faq/levofloxacin.php
Modified:
I'm sorry, you did say blood and urine tests showed nothing, which just makes me question this more. I realize we want to prevent something from getting worse, but I think antibiotics are over-prescribed.
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You have a very, very good point.
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Sorry that's happening to you. I too have been having a burning sensation at the tip of my penis when i pee/ejaculate. I finally got my urine looked at today and they found nothing to be wrong and want me to re-do the test. It seems like such a minor issue but it really is annoying.
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Its been my experience that prostate / bladder / Kidney infections can be hard to treat some times . I went for almost 2 years from one infection to another and was on antibiotics way to long . What finally cleared it up was a two month course of antibiotics and getting off androgel . The steroids were causing my prostate to swell and contributing to the infections . Just be sure to take the full course of meds if you want to be successful at treating this . I was lucky and had no side effects from the meds .
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While he means well, you can't extrapolate Teddy's experience with antibiotics to your own. The strength and/or length of time for taking antibiotics are based on a number of factors including likely bacteria type AND the ease of getting that drug where it is needed. The lungs have a much larger blood supply than does the prostate.
If you have any bad side effects from the meds, talk to your doctor -- but DO NOT STOP TAKING THEM, unless he/she tells you to do so.
Sorry you are going through this -- but treating a prostate infection now is better than letting it get worse -- I had one years ago and it was much more painful than a little burning sensation. Don't let it get that bad.
Good luck,
Mike
edited to remove a typo....
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Finished a course off anti -bio , s for a urine infection yesterday.The first test done at the clinic showed neg , the sample that went to the lab proved positive in 5 days for an "infection '. & 7 days off Trimethoprim have taken away the pain, but I am a dish rag flopping about.
Do not underestimate how debilitating these infections can be and at times how hard they are to identify.
My advice to anyone would be to seek treatment , always finish the course off treatment and drink as much bloody boring water as you can for a good ole flush out. Oh and put a picture off someone you hate at eye level around your urinal so you can scream abuse at it because they can really be that bad.