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Beginner's Guide To Do-It-Yourself
Prostate Drainage |
By Ron K
RonK's Disclaimer:
I am not a doctor and am relating only my own personal experience
and opinions. Do-it-yourself prostate drainage is an experimental
technique which is helping some sufferers. I take no responsibility
if you try this and hurt yourself somehow. Neither, I'm sure
does the Prostatitis Foundation. If you experience a fever or
other serious illness within 24 hours of a drainage you should
see a doctor immediately. |
This article covers the following frequently asked
questions: |
- What is prostate drainage?
- Why would I want to do it myself?
- Can anybody do it?
- My arms are too short. Is there any other way?
- What benefits can I expect?
- Can't I get the same benefits from just taking
antibiotics?
- Couldn't I just ejaculate normally instead
of having my prostate drained?
- Is the improvement permanent?
- What are the possible drawbacks to do-it-yourself
drainage? Can I hurt myself?
- How do I know I am doing it right?
- How exactly does Dr. AEF. do it?
- What do I need in the way of supplies and
where do I get them?
- Do I need any preparation?
- Ejaculation? Do you mean I have to masturbate?
- Can't I just skip the ejaculation?
- How do you do it?
- How long will it take before I see some
results?
- What happens if I miss a day or two?
- How will I know when I'm cured?
- How often should I do the drainage?
- Why can't my uro do it for me?
- Can I email you if I have any other questions?
2003 Update
- What is prostate drainage?
- Prostate drainage is an essential part of Dr. AE Feliciano's
treatment for prostatitis. This drainage must be done every two
days or the whole treatment may fail. The rest of the treatment
consists of several cultures of seminal fluid to determine the
cause(s) of the infection and to determine the best antibiotic
or antifungal to take, followed by a course of the appropriate
antibiotic or antifungal.
- Prostate drainage is an advanced version of the digital rectal
exam (DRE). The doctor inserts his gloved finger into your rectum
and presses on portions of the prostate in an attempt to drain
all of the trapped fluid.
- Why would I want to do it myself?
- Ideally, you don't. It would be nice if every uro was as skilled
and knowledgeable as Dr. AEF (and open on weekends). However,
there's only one of him and it's a long expensive plane ride
to the Philippines. Until the treatment becomes widespread this
may be the only option.
- Also, are you really looking forward to spending a good chunk
of every other day in the waiting room of your friendly uro just
so he can do a five minute massage on you? Of course, there is
also the matter of his fee which your insurance company is not
too interested in paying for yet.
- Can anybody do it?
- No. You need to be fairly flexible and have long enough arms.
Short stubby fingers might also be a problem. You also have to
have enough courage to do it. It's kind of frightening the first
time but gets to be routine after a while.
- My arms are too short. Is there any other
way?
- There might be. Dr. Tarfusser uses his ultrasonic probe to
reach where he can't. You might experiment with something like
a long thin dildo if you can find one stiff enough. If it is
too flexible that wouldn't work and you wouldn't want to use
something that could break. It would also need to be easily sterilized.
- You can also try to talk your wife or significant other into
helping you. (Good way to find out if they really love you!)
- What benefits can I expect?
- There is no guarantee that do-it-yourself drainage will help,
especially without the cultures and the antibiotics/antifungals,
however, if done properly it may result in draining the clogged
up pockets in the prostate (called acini). This draining of the
swollen acini is necessary in order to allow the replacement
of the infection saturated fluid with fresh antibiotic/antifungal
laden fluid.
- My own experience, even without the use of any antibiotics
has been that regular drainage has resulted in a reduction or
elimination of all symptoms. My prostate has actually shrunk
in size since I began the regular drainages and I find that I
no longer have any sitting pain or discomfort when urinating.
Urine flow has also improved. The spot left by "the last
drop" on my underwear has shrunk from bigger than a silver
dollar down to smaller than a dime.
- Can't I get the same benefits from just
taking antibiotics?
- No. The antibiotics cannot reach the infection when the acini
are clogged. Only when they are drained regularly does the antibiotic
get where it needs to go in sufficient quantities to do some
good. Without the drainage all you do is breed your own supply
of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
- Couldn't I just ejaculate normally instead
of having my prostate drained?
- No. Once the acini clog up, a normal ejaculation does not drain
them. If it did we wouldn't all be suffering from prostatitis.
- Is the improvement permanent?
- We don't know yet. Dr. AEF.'s full treatment appears to completely
cure the patient. Do-it-yourself may only help to ease the symptoms
until Dr. AEF.'s treatment becomes more easily available. You
may need to continue on a regular schedule until then. It is
too soon to tell.
- What are the possible drawbacks to do-it-yourself
drainage? Can I hurt myself?
- The major drawback so far has been a slightly sore wrist due
to the extreme angle required but this goes away quickly and
after a while your wrist adjusts. It is conceivable that you
could possible spread the infection to your urinary tract but
so far that has not happened. See the warning in the disclaimer.
There is a small chance that you could cut yourself with a fingernail
but if you keep them short and wear a glove this should not happen.
- You will probably feel an increase in the burning sensation
in the region between your prostate and your penis after a drainage.
There may also be some itching at the tip. This is caused by
the high alkalinity of the infected fluid. Always urinate immediately
after the drainage to wash the fluid away. I take 1000 mg of
Vitamin C every twelve hours in order to make the urine more
acidic to help neutralize the alkaline fluid.
- Some people have reported that this seems to make their burning
sensation worse Perhaps their infection actually turns it acidic
instead (though supposedly this has only been seen in dogs and
not humans). Anyway, if Vitamin C doesn't help I would experiment
with antacids to see if that helped but it may just be that the
urethra has been so irritated by the infection that the salt
in the urine is enough to make it burn. Only solution then is
to cut back on salt and take plenty of fluids.
- There may be a short term reduction in flow but this usually
clears in an hour or so.
- Per Dr. AEF. drainage of the prostate has no negative effect
on the prostate, though a bruised feeling is common at first.
I suppose if you really tried you might do something dreadful
like puncture your colon but this would take some doing.
- Another poster (Scott) has been told to do this same drainage
by his uro so at least one doctor thinks that it's not too dangerous.
The worst I've had was a slight bruised feeling which faded quickly.
No worse than what I got from some DREs.
- How do I know I am doing it right?
- You can feel the movement of fluid. If you get enough fluid
movement you will see a few drops at the end of your penis but
don't feel that you are a failure if you don't. It's a long way
from the acini to the tip of your penis. If the burning sensation
increases after a drainage then that is also a good sign that
you have managed to get some out. Don't worry. You will get better
and braver with practice.
- How exactly does Dr. AEF. do it?
- The following is from a post by Dave T. one of the first sufferers
in our group to be cured by Dr. AEF written in response to my
question.
- How did Dr. AEF. drainage you? Was there anything special?
Was it from one side to another? Did much fluid come out? Did
he push hard to eradicate all fluid or was it a gradual process
in which if a blockage didn't come out today, he didn't worry
because it would come out later, etc. Can the prostate be damaged
by drainage?
- His drainage starts by inserting his right hand index finger
and finding the middle of the prostate. (There must be either
a ridge or indentation there that he can feel.) Then he prepares
to counteract the pressure of the push on the prostate by putting
his left had around your waist and onto your belly beneath the
navel. He moves his finder to the right to the side of the lobe
and pushes down as hard as he can. (He only uses 50% of his strength
at first on sensitive prostates and then works up to 100% as
your sensitivity lessons. As you can surmise, he pushes very hard.)
- While holding down his finger down as forcefully as he can
he slowly moves it towards the center. I never timed this but
I would guess that the total pressing time is around 7 or 8 seconds.
Then he finds the middle again and performs the same procedure
on the left side. If you can stand it a second time he may repeat
one or both sides depending upon whether the prostate feels hard
(meaning it still contains fluid) or if too little prostatic
fluid is extracted. (In my case he would often redo the left
side saying that it needed more work.) The entire drainage procedure
takes no more than a minute. He stops to collect a drop of prostatic
fluid on a slide after each side is drained.
- He is so good at feeling the prostate that he can detect when
he is opening up blockages. And sometimes you can even feel them
opening up yourself. (It's incredible!)
- The pain isn't as bad as the above description would make it
sound. In my case, I kind of groaned barely audibly during the
first week or so of treatment while he was pressing. It was *nothing*
near the type of pain that would make you scream out. The pain
never got any worse as he went from 50% to 100% pressure during
the first week. As your prostate heals and you get used to the
drainage the pain reduces to nearly nothing. By the third week
it was a piece of cake.
- If you want to read more of Dave's postings, many are linked
from the " Philippine Treatment " page
at the prostatitis website
- What do I need in the way of supplies
and where do I get them?
- Disposable gloves and KY jelly are a must. Gloves so you won't
have to worry about scratching yourself with a fingernail or
introducing new germs and so there is less mess, KY because Vaseline
is almost impossible to wash off and isn't really as slippery.
I use Kleenex to catch any discharge and to clean up with afterwards.
Of course you also want to keep your fingernail cut back so as
not to risk tearing the glove.
- You can get everything you need at most pharmacies. I get my
supplies at Wal-mart and use their Equate brand jelly.
- Do I need any preparation?
- I find that a hot bath followed by an ejaculation is the best
preparation. The ejaculation clears out most of the fluid which
is not trapped. The hot bath seems to open up more of the prostate
and causes the ejaculation to produce as much fluid as possible.
I also recommend 1000mg of Vitamin C every 12 hours starting
at least the day before. This is to counteract the alkalinity
of the discharge and also to make the urine less hospitable to
bacteria.
- I used to feel that a bowel movement just before the bath was
necessary but I've since learned that it is not. The area where
your finger goes appears to stay fairly clear all of the time.
- Ejaculation? Do you mean I have to
masturbate?
- Not if you have an available partner, but if you don't, that's
about the only way I know to ejaculate. Be warned that if you
have a partner the infection can be passed back and forth so
you should use a condom. If you have problems with masturbating
a trip to your friendly neighborhood adult bookstore can help
inspire you.
- Can't I just skip the ejaculation?
- Sure, Dr. AEF. doesn't require that his patient's ejaculate
first. Ejaculation just lets you concentrate on the stuff that
won't come out on its own. I think it works better this way but
it's up to you.
- How do you do it?
- I find it's easiest for me to lay down on the bed on my left
side (I'm right handed) and try to work my index finger into
position. I generally start by bringing my right knee up towards
my chest and then straightening up after entry. Note that the
hand goes behind your back, not through your legs. (You can try
it that way if you like but I don't think you will get good results.)
- I usually start by massaging the opening a little and then
inserting a finger in the easiest way with a little back and
forth movement until I can feel that I have dilated enough. Then
I insert my index finger so that the fingernail side is up toward
my head. (This is the hardest part. You have to bend your wrist
backwards as far as it will go to get it in.) You need to get
the finger inserted this way. It's a lot easier the other way
but then you don't have the strength or the reach that you need.
This is really the hardest part and may be impossible for some
people but I have long arms and it's not too bad though it does
put some strain on my wrist.
- Once you get your finger in place you will have no problem
finding the culprit. It's that bump on the floor about an inch
and a half in. Don't be surprised if it's bigger than an walnut.
Mine was about the size of a small apple. Ideally you should
be able to feel a depression in the middle but often because
of the infection it will not be apparent. It may or may not hurt
to touch it. This depends on how badly swollen it is. If it does
hurt you may want to take some ibuprofen an hour before trying
the drainage. If it really hurts and feels warm see a doctor
before going any further.
- Don't be in a hurry and don't press too hard at first. Move
your finger around and learn your way around. Press lightly in
each area and you will probably find an area where you can feel
some fluid. This is the "boggy" feeling you may have
heard your uro refer to.
- You may also find some really hard areas. These are probably
areas where the acini are so swollen that there is no give left.
If the whole prostate is not infected you may also find a spongy
area which is softer than hard area but doesn't feel like there
is any fluid. This is what your whole prostate should feel like.
- You may also find hard lumps. These are probably calcifications.
(The body tries to isolate the infection by covering it with
calcium sort of like the oyster does with sand to make a pearl.
Luckily they don't get as hard as a pearl and can pass out of
the prostate without pain.)
- You should probably start with the boggy areas as these seem
to be the easiest to drain. Press down gently using the pad of
the first joint of your finger or the side of your finger. Don't
use the tip. Kind of stroke it toward the center or the back.
Take your time and don't scare yourself by pressing too hard.
It's more important the first time that you get used to the idea.
You may feel some movement internally. If you do, concentrate
on that area for a while. Slow continuous pressure is better
than sharp hard pressure.
- With time you will learn your way around and it will get easier
and you can apply more pressure and follow Dr. AEF.'s technique
more closely. Don't be disappointed if you don't get any drops
out of your penis. It's a long way from the prostate so takes
quite a bit of fluid to get that far. I find that I have more
luck pressing around the base on the left side and at the back
so I assume that is where most of the my clogging is.
- If you have really long fingers and are really determined you
can also reach the seminal vas. Off to the left and right of
the big bump and as far back as you can reach you may find a
fluid filled area which can be drained in the same way. It also
drains through the prostate and gets blocked because of the infection.
If you can drain this area you might be able to reduce that pain
or discomfort in your testicles.
- Afterwards be sure to urinate immediately so as to wash out
any infectious material you may have knocked loose. You don't
want it lying around. Keep drinking a lot of liquid so as to
keep washing out the infection. If the burning gets really bad
try some more Vitamin C or some ibuprofen.
- How long will it take before I see
some results?
- I noticed an improvement within 3 drainages but it will depend
on your own prostate and your own skill. It's been almost 4 weeks
now but I have seen a big change in my prostate. Where it was
once swollen up like a ball it now has an almost normal left
lobe and the central depression is there again. The right side
is still hard so I'm not done yet but every day I get a little
better.
- What happens if I miss a day or two?
- From my own experience you don't want to do that. I went four
days without a drainage and lost a lot of my progress.
- How will I know when I'm cured?
- The only sure way is to have a culture done after a drainage.
I would think that if your prostate has returned to normal and
you haven't had any symptoms for at least two weeks that you
might be over the worst of it. Even then I would recommend a
periodic drainage just to be sure that the infection has not
returned.
- How often should I do the drainage?
- At least every other day. You can do it more often if you like.
It won't hurt anything. On weekends when I have the time I actually
do two drainages every day.
- Why can't my uro do it for me?
- He could but he was taught that drainage is about on a par
with bleeding the patient to get out the bad humors. It will
take some time before we can reeducate the medical powers that
be. This includes not only the teaching hospitals but also the
insurance companies.
- Can I email you if I have any other
questions?
- Sure. But first make sure you first read through Dave's stuff
(Manila Reports). He's the best source of general information
on Dr. AEF.'s methods. Dr. AEF. has also written an article which
has just been posted. It's pretty technical but worth wading
though especially if you are planning to do it yourself. I can
be reached at: ronk@planet.ho.att.com
- 2003 Update
- I guess the original DIY article was
written back in 1996 and it's now 2003. Thought I'd add a
little update
on my condition. I'm still doing the massage but am down
to about once a week or maybe every 10 days. My prostate
feels totally
normal to my doctor. The only symptom I still have is a
tendency to a split stream but that usually goes away for a while
after a massage. I recently had a complete rectal examination
with
camera and there was no damage or other sign that I'd been
there. So I'd have to say it's a safe effective treatment - at
least for me.
Over the years I have made a few changes in the procedure.
I've switched to Walgreen's brand gloves size Large
since they fit
better than the Wal-Mart gloves (one size doesn't fit
all) which seemed to shrink when they changed suppliers.
Still
use Wal-Mart's
version of KY Jelly. I've tried other types of lubricant
like Astroglide but they are not slippery enough. I
now do the massage
standing up with one leg up on a toilet or sink. Goes
faster and seems a little easier and I can apply more
pressure.
I stroke the area a few times to relax it then dilate
by inserting my
thumb. (I can just barely reach the beginning of my
prostate with the thumb. It has a little more power than
my finger
and does a better job on the small section it can reach.)
I pull
out the thumb and then insert my pointer finger (the
one next to the thumb) with the thumb pointed up then
press
with the side
of my finger. I find that dilation with the thumb makes
it easier to get the finger in and doesn't tire the
finger as much. I know
most doctors are taught to use their middle finger
since it is longest but I have tried both and the pointer
finger
has better
reach - at least for me.
I recently started taking guaifenisen for a sinus condition.
Shortly after my first dose of 800 mg (2 400 mg pills) I noticed
a feeling similar to the burning I get after a good massage.
I think it managed to loosen up a few blocked acini all by itself
so it might actually make the drainage a bit more productive
by thinning out the mucus. I got it off the web from one of the
links at http://guaifenisen.com without a prescription. (http://www.healthpx.com/hpe/)
It seems it is supposedly a good treatment for a variety of other
diseases. For those of you not familiar with it, it is an expectorant
found in many over the counter cough syrups.
For what it's worth I tried Saw Palmetto extract and it definitely
increased the amount of fluid that comes out but it makes my
prostate feel uncomfortably full so I don't take it. For those
of you who measure the success of the massage by the amount of
fluid you get out you might appreciate it. My feeling is that
it definitely increases the amount of prostate secretion but
if your acini are not draining as they should this might not
be a good thing.
---Ron |
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