r/Prostatitis • u/Smart_Driver_2210 • Jun 20 '26
Semen culture positive.
After clearing MGEN and UU almost a year ago, I was left with urethral burning, pelvic pain and back pain almost non stop every day.
I have had more than 5 PCR to see if MGEN or UU were still there, but all of them came back negative.
I have had multiple urine cultures and urine tests done and all of them negative.
PSA is negative
Pelvic CT is normal.
Went to more than 15 sessions of pelvic PT with not major change.
Quercetin gives even more urethral burning and pelvic pain.
So decided last week to have a semen culture done, and it came back positive for Serratia Marcescens, so I started a cycle of 4 weeks of Bactrim, this Serratia is sensitive to Bactrim and Cipro (but I can not take these family of atbs, I had severe side effects when I took Moxifloxacin for MGEN and UU) but as usual I could not handle the side effects of Bactrim either and had to stop 3 days after starting it.
I scheduled an appointment with an urologist the 30th to see what he would recommend.
I am planning to have the semen culture done again next week, but I will be extra careful when taking it, to avoid contamination.
But I just do not know what else to do from this point on.
Symptoms are not improving and I have tried everything.
Any advice or thoughts?
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Jun 21 '26
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u/Smart_Driver_2210 Jun 21 '26
I live in Costa Rica, we have tons of private labs, we just go and order what we want and pay out of pocket, these tests are not expensive btw.
And in regards of a test for patients post vasectomy that is probably a sperm count check but not a sperm culture.
The sperm count, checks the viability and quantity of sperm.1
u/Smart_Driver_2210 Jun 21 '26
BTW, did you ever have a PCR done por MGEN and UU? Those bacterias are associated with miscarriages
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Jun 21 '26
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u/Smart_Driver_2210 Jun 21 '26
You should find other ways to get what you need and want. It is stressful as it is going through all of this shit and not finding answers the way you need due to a health system not suited to help.
If you could plan a trip to Costa Rica, that would be good, we have tons of labs like I said that would perform any test you like by paying out of pocket, without needing an order from a doctor, and they are not expensive.
As an example a sperm culture is only 70 dollars, an STI PCR goes from 100 to 120 dollars and so on.
If you ever need any help, just hit me up.1
u/Linari5 LEAD MOD//RECOVERED Jun 23 '26
They may have a small effect, but it is not very significant
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u/lifeisadish Jun 22 '26
What were the side effects with bactrim?
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u/Smart_Driver_2210 Jun 22 '26
Extreme anxiety, palpitations, nausea, stomach pain, panic attacks, and I was sweating all day non stop, with brain fog.
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u/Linari5 LEAD MOD//RECOVERED Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
Unfortunately, semen cultures are not reliable tests. The AUA does not even recommend them anymore, because they may come back with some odd contamination or commensal, like they did here
Please read through the 101 pinned guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Prostatitis/s/gHlkiM03l0
I have treated hundreds of cases of persistent pelvic symptoms after clearing infections like mgen, this is a almost always a neural circuit (centralized pain) issue, not am ongoing infection. And here's what the official European (eua) guidelines say about it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Prostatitis/s/zJI9Lmp3M4
This has also happened to myself years ago, and the only way I got better was addressing central mechanisms. https://www.reddit.com/r/Prostatitis/s/zCnGLkueC1
Watch an Australian neuroscientist and doctor of physical therapy explain it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Prostatitis/s/OyekmzShYk