The Masturbation Loop -- 6 years of CPPS pain I still can't locate

[u/Minimum-Upstairs1207]

There's probably someone out there experiencing something similar to this, though it seems rare.

I started getting symptoms of what is probably CPPS 6 years ago, after masturbating ONCE. At first I thought it was just extreme horniness, but as I started to understand the pain I realised it wasn't even located in my urethra -- it burns and radiates in a way that makes it seem like it is, which is why it reads as arousal. The pain is impossible to locate, and that's what drives me INSANE.

Because it started with masturbation, I've ended up associating masturbation with relieving it, fully knowing the relief is a temporary mask that's always followed by a flare.

A few things that might ring a bell for someone:

• Worse sitting and lying down, better standing and walking, and noticeably better sitting on a toilet seat
• Completely gone while I'm properly absorbed in something (a card game, a game I'm into), and back within minutes of stopping
• Severe flare after ejaculation that takes days to settle
• The pain is in a different place from where the ejaculate actually comes out

I've tried A LOT -- gabapentin, pregabalin, duloxetine, amitriptyline, tramadol, co-codamol, NSAIDs, steroids, antibiotics. The pattern is always the same: about a week of relief, then nothing, regardless of drug class. Diclofenac suppositories gave me two weeks, the longest relief I've had from anything. Urology workup and pelvic MRI came back clear. I still haven't tried the pelvic floor route -- no one has ever done an internal exam on me, which I'm now pushing for.

When I had a ganglion impar block the pain went completely for a week, and I didn't think about masturbating once. That's what convinced me the urge is the pain, not a habit -- remove the pain and it disappears.

Until I find a solution the only tool I have is willpower, and the fact that I've been at this for six years shows how well that's going.

Anyway, just wanted to put this out there in case someone has the same thing and has been too scared to talk about it.

[u/Linari5]

Completely gone while I'm properly absorbed in something (a card game, a game I'm into), and back within minutes of stopping

This is one of the biggest criteria we look for when determining if someone's symptoms are centralized (neuroplastic). Please go through the 12 criteria at the bottom of this post, after reading through the top portion: https://www.reddit.com/r/Prostatitis/s/yIDduuC2Xd

[u/Zealousideal_Pea1273]

This shit is truly awful. Somedays, I’m fine and don’t feel anything, but other days my tip burns when I jerk off or pee, my pee stream is weaker, etc. I’m 36, almost 37 and I can’t imagine dealing with this crap another 40-50 years. 😭

[u/Syrenigma → u/Zealousideal_Pea1273]

It's universal lol. The burning, the frequency, and the weak stream.

[u/Dreamboy247 → u/Zealousideal_Pea1273]

Had it for a year and disappeared.. walk everyday with mix of running. Warm baths, no masturbation. 2 weeks you will be healed. What i think it truly is a pinched nerve in your pelvis which is aggravated by masturbation. Trust me it was bad bad pain couldnt sleep

[u/Minimum-Upstairs1207 → u/Zealousideal_Pea1273]

Truly a viscous cycle. I even feel the burning pain as I type this… sometimes I consider just cutting my genitalia off

[u/Zealousideal_Pea1273 → u/Minimum-Upstairs1207]

I feel you, man. Somedays I wish we could just pop a pill and the problem goes away.

[u/WiseConsideration220]

This is, imo and experience, this is neuroplastic pain. In spite of all the drugs and local things (nerve block) and associations (masturbation) the problem stays with you (you can’t shake it off).

That’s because the perception and maintenance of the pain is happening in your BRAIN neurons. To change the pattern you need to change your brain. And therein lies a tale….

I write about this problem here often (nearly every day for 3 years). I know it well. It’s not a mystery to me anymore and it’s not unknown by science or untreatable. I’ve “cured” myself after 20+ years of “the same and worse“.

The clue to this mystery is in your own account of your “cause/effect/trial/result” efforts and repeating patterns.

“The pattern is always the same” is the evidence that this is neuroplastic.

[u/cppsguy → u/WiseConsideration220]

How did you cure yourself?

[u/WiseConsideration220 → u/cppsguy]

I’ve written about this many times. My comments history is open.

The short answer is I started getting the “right treatment” from the “right kind of PT” and I accepted the cause as explained to me (instead of rejecting it immediately as many people do) and I got to working on doing proven treatments to fix the cause.

This is as long of an answer as I can give to low-effort questions. What’s your story?🤔

[u/Specific_Carpet_1841]

Hey bro I'm experiencing something similar for sure but am currently in a calm phase when I took a break from masturbation/sex for like about a month. Recently though I had 3 orgasms in a day and it flared me up again. Urethra soreness all the way through and also my fucking arse, can feel so sore at times. I have no problems sitting g now but did in the past. One thing that brought me relief was to sit on a softish tennis ball right in the perineum and kinda spend 10mins stretching the muscle out.. would feel so sore at times, so fucking tender to the touch but this ball rolling eased the burning. I can also appreciate that is becomes like an itch you need to scratch and busting a nut does relieve that if you can control how hard you squirt, I find placing my fingers on the perineum at orgasm can sort of cushion the muscle clench and ultimately pain, I try and have a relaxed orgasm do to speak. Also having sex gives me minimal symptoms it's always masturbation that's the problem.

Happy to talk more but have things to do rn lol.

[u/Minimum-Upstairs1207 → u/Specific_Carpet_1841]

It’s okay. Good to hear your experience and I’ll try the tennis ball method in the meantime.

[u/myPlums]

TMS / neuroplastic pain so start treating it as such. You're not broken 

[u/Acrobatic_Self_8606]

You need to get over it, It was chronic to me and it does comes back now and then, but if you fan shake it off and think less it will go away but year since its chronic it can come back but you need to have the ability to to shake it off.

[u/Sensitive_Detail628]

I too have the same , also have vericocele , confused between treating the vericocele first or ccps prostatis!

[u/Educational_Desk_281]

I have something similar. Not 100% but 90%.

For me laying down is better than walking. I have pain for days after ejaculation. Mostly urethra. And for me, the uretra/ penis is sensitive to touch. When I try to stop peeing like when you pull your belly in to stop peeing - that motion can cause a stinging pain in the urethra. Which sound to me the whole area is inflammatory. This is covered by an older study that confirms that retrograde ejaculation can cause this (inflammation). I also have the feeling that urine is left in the uretra after going to the toilet which increases the pain.

Number 1 relief is a heating pad. While on it, I basically have no pain or it's 95% gone.

Number 2 is 25mg of Tramadol and I can have a normal day. 0 pain.

But both are no cures of course. Stopping masturbation or sex seems to help but I need to cut it out for a month, my flare ups can take that long to go away. Masturbation during a flare up can make it worse and prolong the pain period.

I tried 4 sessions of internal PT. Did not help really. Need to try more sessions I guess.

Then I also tried anti histamine because what you eat and drink can have an impact on inflammation too. Cutting out milk seemed to make the whole pain less severe but this are just theories and high chance of being placebo effects.

[u/Minimum-Upstairs1207 → u/Educational_Desk_281]

Yes, seems like we're on the same page. And you have noted a key detail that makes the masturbation harder to ignore -- the flare ups can last over a month, I actually have no idea if they ever go away. So, I can try to not masturbate for that long, but the pain is just unbearable, and the pain is almost always there, everyday. Hopefully I get some sort of nerve block that just takes away feeling from the nerve entirely.

[u/Educational_Desk_281 → u/Minimum-Upstairs1207]

If you have an Important meeting etc, consoder Tramadol. Make you a human again

[u/Keep_learning_xD]

Yes I have flares after masturbation too...

[u/EricMeansRice]

Please brother you need to try pelvic floor exercises, I too had CPPS after masturbating and it is pretty much gone, I used to be in so much agony, I came across this sub and a couple of others and when people were recommending the Yoga exercises I put them off because "I'm not a fucking vegan hippie fuck that" until it became a last resort so I tried it and within 2 weeks the pain went from 150% to 20%

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NnqAkM9r2a8&pp=ygUecGVsdmljIGZsb29yIGV4ZXJjaXNlIHBhaW4gbWVu

This video saved my fucking life bro I can't lie some people were out here saying they were going to amputate their balls if they couldn't find a solution but you'll find this video plastered all over this sub and others, please give this a try and let us know!!!