Chronic pelvic pain not suffered exclusively by women
DEAR DR. ROACH: My 46-year-old son has suffered for nearly five years with what seems to be CPPS (chronic pelvic pain syndrome). Being the mother, I am involved only to a limited extent, as my son, of course, is embarrassed to go into details with me. Although after he read an article delineating the symptoms of CPPS, he said, “Yes, that’s exactly it!”
He has sought medical help, but after two colonoscopies and several prostate exams, he has been told only variations of “We can’t find anything” and “There’s nothing we can do for you.”
Articles I’ve read state that millions of men suffer from this worldwide, and it is the third most common reason men visit a urologist. Can you shed any light on this painful, mysterious condition and outline what steps he might take next? — V.P.
ANSWER: I’ve written several times about chronic pelvic pain in women, but this is the first question I’ve received on chronic pelvic pain in men. It is indeed far more common than many, including me, may have thought: 10 percent overall, and about 1 man in 8 (13 percent) in your son’s age group — the most common group to have this symptom. As men get older, the condition decreases in frequency.