Prostate Infection and Tinnitus: Choice of Antibiotics and What You Could Do Instead of Antibiotics

I've been meaning to make this thread for a while. Just never got around to it.

Last year I got hit with what first looked like a UTI. This is in the middle of our first COVID-19 lockdown, so it was a real joy to deal with.

I had all the symptoms of a UTI. But urine tests really didn't show any. I bought my own urine strips on amazon (which is a really good idea if this ever happens to you). It did show abnormality in my urine, but the doctors kept coming up empty handed. An ultrasound didn't help either.

I was the one who the the idea for a prostate exam, and sure enough, that was it. The doctor could tell immediately on inspection.


This post has 2 goals:

1) The antibiotics side of this thing.

2) What you could do instead of antibiotics.


#1 The antibiotics side of prostate infection

Not all prostate infections are created equal, and your doctor is going to have his own theories on antibiotics for it. We started me off with Ciprofloxacin. I did a hearing baseline test on my phone using app, then took my first dose. Holy disaster. Eyes, ears, it was a hot mess.

We did a quick pivot to Septra (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole), way better. I actually managed it for 3-4 weeks without totally killing my hearing. It did affect it though, permanently to an extent. But it never finished off the prostate infection issue. We protected my ears during those 3 weeks with NAC, Melatonin, and a few other supplements.

That takes me to #2.


#2 Do you really need antibiotics for a prostate infection? Not always!

Doctors prescribe it because honestly they don't know what else to do. I went to a pelvic physio when it became clear the antibiotics weren't going to cut it. They taught me ways to relax my pelvic floor. I exercised more. I ate really well (there's a whole prostate friendly diet you can get into). And I took a few supplements that I suppose we can get into. I'm not 100% sure the supplements would have mattered to be honest, next time around I'll see.

Suffice to say on this particular option, be mindful of if you're the kind of person with tight abdomen, tight butt muscles, clenching, stress, excess weight, and so on. You'll be surprised how dysfunctional the prostate gets in those cases.

 

What were those supplements?

Did your tinnitus get louder, and if so, has it faded by any chance?

 

I sometimes think I have a prostate infection. For years my semen has had a brown tint to it. I saw the doctor 3 years ago and he sent me for a PSA test which came back normal at the time. I have no urine flow issues or anything like that. He said it's not that unusual to get blood in semen. I produce very little semen now (am 58) and it still is a little brownish. I managed to clear it last year by drinking excessive amounts of water like 4 litres per day but I can't keep that up. Maybe antibiotics could clear if it is an infection? I am probably reluctant to take antibiotics. I use raw apple cider vinegar in water every day. Is there anything else you would recommend?

 

I forgot about this thread. Shame the OP seems to have vanished as I wanted to ask what were his symptoms.

I started intermittent fasting 2 or 3 weeks ago - 20 hours per day fast. The brownish iodine like colour in my semen is now very faint and looks like it is clearing. I would have to attribute this to the fasting which seem to have produced some benefit to my immune system. I also rarely get up in the night for the toilet.

No change to my tinnitus though - or it is a little better when I am fasting but not much.

 

3 or 4 weeks is quite a bit longer than someone is usually on antibiotics. I would spend some time on Google figuring out if this is OK, because for every antibiotic I have been on, this is about twice the recommended length.

FWIW, doctor prescribed antibiotics is what caused my tinnitus 20-25 years ago. It's still there.

 

Doesn't surprise me one bit. In America, your time w/ a doctor is usually very limited. It's as if they're racing to meet a quota or something (which may be true w/ some of them). I have had to do my own research on just about everything health related, and much prefer a nurse practitioner to a doctor.

In my senior apt building, everyone says the same thing. If its high stakes like surgery or emergency, you have access to the best of the best. But that isn't true for your usual GP. It was a GP that ignored me and said to continue taking the antibiotics and now I have tinnitus for the rest of my life. So I don't blame you for wanting to look at alternatives to antibiotics.

I would NOT stay on any of them beyond 2 weeks. That's what happened to me, and is just asking for serious trouble in my opinion. A quick Google search showed "Third-generation cephalosporin (such as ceftazidime and ceftriaxone) and even carbapenem (such as imipenem or ertapenem) are usually alternative antibiotics for fluoroquinolone resistance (Shigehara et al., 2008)".

So I would put in 20 hours or so researching ALL the alternatives to antibiotics and pick the one(s) that fit your particular issue the best. Apparently, this is a question that comes up a lot, so there should be plenty of reading material for you to make a decision. I usually harvest every bit of data I can find, put who made the studies w/ them, then start cross referencing them to correlate the data. If you try to do this all at once it will be overwhelming. But just go w/ a) getting the data, b) research where the data came from, how old it is, and attach a ranking number to it, and then c) put it all together and see what you have. Don't forget to cross reference things to see if there are issues w/ other health problems you may have and other meds you may be on.

 

Hi, @T-talker:

From personal experience, I would encourage you to take a cranberry extract high in PACs and D-Mannose for a long time (say 240 mg of PACs + 2 grams D-Mannose) and your problem should gradually improve. It worked with me on chronic prostatitis of infectious origin, very stubborn.

I am also a victim of antibiotics, now I only take Amoxicillin when I need an antibiotic, but it did not work for the prostate, despite taking it for a month at almost the maximum dose (my doctor prescribed 5 grams per day) because I refused to take another type of antibiotic. I must add that there were no notable side effects either, beyond a little diarrhea.

Drinking a lot of fireweed tea with horsetail throughout the day will help reduce inflammation in your prostate. Practice Kegel exercises if they don't cause pain. Have little sex and never hold back your ejaculation. Always urinate afterwards. Eliminate milk, cheese and any product that has milk protein from your diet. Daily brisk walks are also recommended to strengthen the pelvic muscles.

Please, remember that natural remedies need time to act, give them time and be constant, in a month you should already notice improvement. I hope this helps.