Serious question - Men's health and unicycling.

Last month I was taken ill with Prostatitis - An inflamation/infection
of the Prostate Gland. I was pretty sick with this, fever/chills,
headaches, contant dull pain in the lower back, difficulty taking a pee
(very slow) and servere fatigue.

After tests doctors found I have a very high PSA (Prostate-specific
antigen) reading of 15ng/mL over the normal level of 0-2ng/mL, or
0.5ng/mL for someone of my age, 30yrs old. A course of antibiotics was
prescribed for a month and come the begining of this month I felt fine.
My GP was very worried as a person of my age shouldn't have prostate
issues and there's always the worry of the 'C' word so I was sent to a
specialist. The latest PSA test still showed a level of 4.7ng/mL, which
is still too high.

Now, could this be related to Unicycling? I've only been riding a
unicycle 5 months, but it's a whole load of pressure in that area. I've
read about cyclists having cases of Prostatitis, and recently
motorcyclists, but suprisingly there's very little information (none) on
the rare breed of us unicyclists!

The specialist told me to stop riding my unicycle for now, after
finding it highly amusing! Though he would like me to find further info
if a I can. This is where you guys come in.

Has anyone suffered from any of the following since they started
unicycling -

Prostatitis, high PSA count?

Pains/ aches to the lower back? testicles? (this doesn't include suicide
mounts!!)

Sweats - fever/chills? Headaches?

Fatigue? (not being tired from riding a heroic distance!)

Decreased urine flow? incontinence?

Any other info....

Thanks for you assistance. I do hope it's not the unicycling that's
caused it as it's really good fun and learning new stuff is a great
challenge.

Jon

*you may want to post as guest (is this possible?) or PM me your
answers.


--
jonjon - One wheeled sterilization master

..... where's your big shoes and squirty flower?
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When I started unicycling I weighed 107 kilos/235 pounds.
At first I had big problems with bruises and blisters at the very tops
of my thighs where my weight sits. The bruises went away when I learned
to balance and stopped doing the thighgrip of death on the seat. The
blisters got lots better when I bought a Kris Holm seat.
My weight dropped to 93 kilos/ 204 pounds after three months or so, but
I still had regular problems with bruising and strain in the prostate
area.
Most of the incomplete solution for me was some of Andrew_Carter's
advice, "keep one-third of your weight on the pedals". That's a *lot*
more work than keeping my weight on the uni, maybe because I weight more
than most unicyclists? Anyway, the bruising and strain has almost
disappeared and my legs are *far* more muscular!
I've started gaining weight again, but now it's only muscle. My 22 years
of programming experience is no longer obvious! :-)

As for the symptoms you asked about, I have had testicle pain when I
rode more than two hours every day, no clue about my PSA count. I have
had decreased urine flow during the two plus hours each day binge. Since
then I decided to cut down on unicycling and practice keeping one-third
of my weight on the pedals always. I still can't keep it up for more
than 45 minutes or so, but I'm getting better.


--
shapr - 70 km south of the Arctic Circle
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I'd love to have a commend of Kris Holm in here, he's one of the
Unicyclists who rode like forever, and he's in the 'critical' age I
would say (no offense on that, Kris).

I'm only riding about 8 Months now, and so far, no problems. Whereas I
don't do long distance, so I get out of my saddle very often, which
makes my blood flow...

Nevertheless: I'm concerned about fertility and health. I'm addicted,
but I don't want to end up not being able to pee anymore...

wogri


--
wogri - I want to say hi to my mum!

http://www.wogri.at
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It sounds odd that you should develop a medical problem like that in
only 5 months, but if cycling can cause prostatitis unicycling can
too.
I haven't heard of any cases of prostatitis among unicyclists, but
thanks for the warning.


--
Borges

"However, I confess that the ultimate wheel lacks the day to day
practicality of the conventional unicycle" -Mikefule
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yes swollen ball not both but one. lots of the same symptems here. maybe
a doctor visit is needed


--
pwood
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I'm in my early 40s, have ridden for about 10 years, though only the
last 4 years for any distance/muni. I hadn't considered prostate
problems as a result of unicycling and haven't noticed any of the
symptoms you mention.

I have no medical training, but if you were prescribed antibiotics
Jonjon, then presumably that was because of a bacterial infection and I
don't see how an infection could have resulted from sitting on a saddle,
bruising maybe, but not infection - any insights or enlightenment from
anyone with medical knowledge/experience of male problems would be
welcome.

I have wondered about reduced infertility due to:

a) Damage to testes from accidental sitting on them or overheating on
long rides (nut roast).

b) damage to blood vessels that feed the errectile function, which the
cycling community seem to have taken on board with the design of male
friendly saddles, i.e cutaway at the area of contact with the perineum
and base of the pen1s.

Personally I discount a) because I have 4 fit & healthy kids and have
been firing blanks for several years now anyway. You younger riders may
want to bear it in mind i.e. suicide mount with care and take regular
cooling breaks on long rides; I guess wearing padded cycle shorts may
help with the former, but hinder the latter.

I also am not overly concerned about b) because I have been married for
20 years already and loss of errectile function, though it would be
missed, I could live (and ride unicycles) without - there's always
Viagra if one gets lucky . It hasn't happened yet, the loss of
function or the getting lucky . I must try cutting away some of
the front middle padding on the seat on my Coker uni, a la male friendly
cycle saddle style, or it would be easy to leave a lengthwise gap
between the folds of the innertube on an airseat - hmmmm, I feel a
session in the workshop coming on.

Thanks Jonjon for raising the issue - those girlies have it easy, eh !

Chris


--
munidobs - Level - whatever - who gives a ****
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I did a school report on this smae thing but on bikes. you shouldnt
unicycle more than ten hours a day


--
CRAZY legs - "I need some skills"

-fat guy in little coat-
TOMMY BOY
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munidobs wrote:
*suicide mount with care *


what a brilliant quote! :P


--
theamazingmolio - A Unicylist, a juggler, and a prat

Luke Duller )
Never trust anything you read on the internet
'~*~*Random Forums*~*~ ' (www.randomforums.tk)

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munidobs wrote:
*I don't see how an infection could have resulted from sitting on a
saddle, bruising maybe, but not infection *


Actually, the rubbing, or, chaffing, from the seat, does create open
wounds, although not any more then the first layer of skin, wounds none
the less, which could get infected, and spread to the scrotum, or
depending on how you sit start directly at the scrotum, as for
infertility, I don't think pressure plays much of a role, I learned to
sit in a position that was kind to my man package within the first day
of ridding, although accidents do happen sometimes, no more often then
other sports where you sit on a seat, motocross, bmx, but the heat could
cause a infertility problem, I even read that men that use laptops often
may have infertility problems, because of the emense heat on there laps,
I live in a reletivly cold climent so I don't really have to worrie to
much exept durring the summer I suppose, but I think the moral of this
story, is to wear something that circulates air well, and will slide
easily, along your legs to prevent chaffing, so once again we look the
the bike shorts, although i'd never wear a pair, they make you look like
a queer.

P.S. if you live in florida, use a laptop often, and ride a uni, your
screwed. But for the rest of us, BE FREE AND PROPOGATE ON OUR UNI'S!


--
cyberpunk - Started:12/26/04 Level 1:12/30/04
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This is the first I've heard of this medcal issue in relation to
unicycling. For the most part, I think you're just unlucky, though the
unicycle could have been a contributing factor.

For the people who have had actual erectile dysfunction and other
medical issues from cycling, generally they are the ones putting in
several hours a day in the saddle. If you haven't been riding several
hours every day, you are unlikely to be susceptible there.

But as a relatively new rider (only 5 months) you are still learning
lots of new things, which can mean lots of legs clamping the seat, high
energy for low output, and general greater abuse to your body than when
you get more set in your ways.

Tell us about your seat and riding habits. What kind of seat, what kind
of riding do you do, hours per day, etc.?

None of us are medical professionals. But if I had to guess, it's
possible the unicycle contributed to a bacterial infection that occurred
through whatever means. Or, if you don't wash your shorts enough,
unicycling could have contributed to that as well...


--
johnfoss - Walkin' on the edge

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com

"Read the rules!" -- 'IUF Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/) -- 'USA Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
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