Prostatitis Symptoms

prostatitis symptoms

Medically reviewed by Dr. Paul Song M.D

Article at a Glance

Some men with prostatitis experience urinary symptoms such as pain with urination, difficulty emptying the bladder completely, or urinary frequency.
Men with CPPS may have pelvic pain that lasts for months or years.
The best ways to manage symptoms are to determine what is causing them and trying various treatments shown to be effective for those causes.

Prostatitis symptoms can vary from man to man, but in most cases they are very frustrating to deal with, especially when they create chronic problems. Different types of prostatitis can share some of the same symptoms even though they are caused by very different problems and require different kinds of treatment. For some men, prostatitis symptoms are consistently present; for others they come and go, making it challenging to know if they are resolved and gone for good or if a flare-up is just around the corner waiting to come back when least expected.

One type of prostatitis, asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis, does not have any symptoms typical of the disease. The other three types of prostatitis (acute bacterial, chronic bacterial, and a non-bacterial form also known as chronic pelvic pain syndrome, or CPPS) share some symptoms but with some minor variations among them.

The following are some generalizations about prostatitis symptoms.

Acute bacterial prostatitis symptoms tend to affect the entire body because the bacterial infection runs through the circulatory system. That is why men with acute bacterial prostatitis experience more symptoms than those associated with the urinary tract. Symptoms may include fever, chills, and other symptoms not typical of non-bacterial forms of prostatitis. Acute bacterial prostatitis symptoms also come on quickly rather than developing over a prolonged period of time.
Chronic bacterial prostatitis symptoms are similar to those associated with acute bacterial prostatitis, but they last a lot longer or come and go. Symptoms of chronic bacterial prostatitis develop over time and must last for three months or longer to be considered chronic.
Chronic non-bacterial prostatitis/CPPS symptoms tend to both involve the urinary tract and sexual function. Pain is a key part of CPPS. As a chronic condition, CPPS symptoms tend to last for months or even years.
Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis does not display symptoms. A doctor typically discovers this form of prostatitis when examining a patient for other health of prostate conditions.

Each man experiences his symptoms, which can range from debilitating to minor, in an individual way. Some men only experience urinary symptoms such as pain with urination, difficulty emptying the bladder completely or urinary frequency. The greater frequency can disrupt a man’s life because that can mean waking up several times during the night to urinate, which interferes with getting a good night’s sleep. Lack of sleep affects a person’s overall health and well-being. Other men experience symptoms of pain that include pain in the penis, testicles, rectum, or other pelvic areas. These men may experience sexual or urinary pain such as pain during or after ejaculation or a burning feeling during urination. Some men may experience fever, chills, fatigue, and other flulike symptoms. No matter what degree the symptoms are, they can greatly affect a man’s quality of life and psychological state over time.

It is important to seek help for any prostatitis symptoms because these symptoms can indicate other diseases or vastly different levels of seriousness in terms of prostatitis. The doctor can run tests to rule out bacterial causes, figure out other causes and get the patient on track with the right prostatitis treatments, which are often a combination of different conventional treatments, natural and alternative treatments, and lifestyle changes.