I've been in Tucson for 9 weeks, and...
John James
I have been an active patient at the Tucson Prostatitis Center since
September 8th.
My wife Martha and I first contacted Dr. John Polacheck by e-mail in
July. After some correspondence, both of us e-mailed detailed case
histories to him. He wanted the opportunity to review them, ask
questions about them, and possibly to consult with Dr. AEF (with whom
he frequently consults on specific problems) before we arrived.
My symptoms were: gigantic prostate, weak or non-existent erections,
weak ejaculatory function, very frequent urination (6 or more times a
night), some pain when starting and while urinating, and occasional
feeling of sitting on a golf ball. I do not have other pain and none
of it is extreme. Martha had no symptoms.
We live in Yuma, a four-hour drive from the clinic. We opted to stay
in Tucson, at a motel with a kitchenette, during the week and go home
on weekends.
The first visit took almost three hours. Dr. Polacheck asked a lot of
questions, took copious notes, and gave us a copy of Dr. Hennenfent's
prostatitis monograph. A good book - thank you Dr. Hennenfent!
First week:
Because of my unusually large prostate, Dr. Polacheck advised daily
drainages in order to relieve the congestion. With each drainage he
did a test of WBC (white blood cell) counts. Later in the week, after
my WBC count had risen considerably, Dr. Polacheck ordered an
extensive blood workup for both of us. He wanted to check liver and
kidney function before prescribing potent antibiotics. A nice touch:
he asked us if we wanted any other tests at the clinic discount. As
it happened we did: Serum ferritin for Martha, zinc and Candida
antibodies for me.
Second week:
Dr. Polacheck took EPS (expressed prostatic secretions) samples from
me and a vaginal secretion sample from Martha for culturing. Note to
ladies: Dr. Polacheck warms the speculum before inserting it, and
Martha says that he's very gentle and doesn't hurt.
Continue daily drainages, getting progressively harder. With each
drainage, Dr. Polacheck takes an EPS sample to get the WBC.
Next few weeks:
Continue daily drainages. Take antibiotics as indicated by the
cultures. Lab messed up one culture, and it had to be taken again.
After six weeks:
The test-of-cure culture. The lab had switched to the broth method
for processing cultures - a much more sensitive method. To our
surprise it came back positive for staph - surprising since I had just
taken a course of antibiotics for staph. Dr. Polacheck suspected a
contaminated culture, as my WBC had been comfortably low for two
weeks. A re-test showed no growth.
Unfortunately, even though I was "cured", my symptoms, while improved,
have not gone away. My prostate is sore from all the pounding, and I
am currently taking a short sabbatical from treatment.
Dr. Polacheck believes that I still have an infecting agent in there,
and, despite the negative culture and the low WBC, my intuition agrees
with him. In a couple of weeks, we'll resume looking.
General comments:
My wife Martha and I agree that Dr. Polacheck is a serious,
conscientious, and caring physician. He has spent time outside the
office researching my case, including a lengthy consult with Dr.
Feliciano, Jr., and he did not charge me extra. His drainages have
been firm, even very hard, but he has never hurt me, and he is careful
not to do so. He takes pains to keep me informed of the latest lab
results. He takes whatever time is necessary to explain and reassure.
Other patients to whom we have talked feel the same.
I found it interesting that Dr. Polacheck travelled to the Philippines
and stayed there at his own expense in order to learn the protocol,
and he quit a job with an HMO because he was dissatisfied with the
quality of care he was permitted to give his patients.
When I first started treatment, the lab did not understand the
requirements of the treatment protocol, and they made several
mistakes. They have been much better lately. Growing pains I guess.
The Tucson Prostatitis Center is a very small operation. They do not
have a nurse, receptionist, or insurance claims clerks. Dr. Polacheck
answers the e-mail, keeps his own appointments, collects the money,
and hand-carries the samples next door to the lab (or has the patients
do it).
I do not know whether various insurance plans will cover the cost of
treatment. One patient I talked to said that his insurance would only
pay for the drugs. Whatever your insurance company is willing to do,
you will probably have to do the paperwork. Dr. Polacheck doesn't
have the clerical help required to do it.
At this point, even though my symptoms are mostly still with me, I
will continue treatment. Dr. Polacheck has amply demonstrated that he
is willing to do whatever it takes to help, and I both need and
appreciate that.
John James.
jwor...@cpcug.org
In <34796095...@news.compuserve.com>,
>I have been an active patient at the Tucson Prostatitis Center since
>September 8th.
>
>My symptoms were: gigantic prostate, weak or non-existent erections,
>weak ejaculatory function, very frequent urination (6 or more times a
>night), some pain when starting and while urinating, and occasional
>feeling of sitting on a golf ball. I do not have other pain and none
>of it is extreme. Martha had no symptoms.
>
>At this point, even though my symptoms are mostly still with me, I
>will continue treatment. Dr. Polacheck has amply demonstrated that he
>is willing to do whatever it takes to help, and I both need and
>appreciate that.
>
>John James.
John James,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience. Thank you to Dr.
Polacheck for taking on this new challenge, and I wish him
increasing success. Meaning, of course, clinical success: helping
patients.
I hope that we will hear more about Dr. Polacheck's work from
patients and from the man himself. I hope that we will not
be treated to a lot of judgmental ranting on this topic, especially
from anonymous persons.
We would like to hear about successes and disappointments. An
environment of snotty attacks will not help this to occur.
Thank you again John James and John Polacheck!
Jim Worthey
jwor...@cpcug.org
Gary
John James wrote:
> I have been an active patient at the Tucson Prostatitis Center since
> September 8th.
>
I wanted to ask, have you had any prior surgerys such as TUIP, TURP, or
cystoscopys?
ca...@icx.net
In article <3478D358...@freewwweb.com>,
gar...@freewwweb.com wrote:
> I wanted to ask, have you had any prior surgerys such as TUIP, TURP, or
> cystoscopys?
And what about an ultrasound(TRUS)?
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John James
I have had no prior surgeries. No TURP, TUIP, or TRUS. Never been
catherized. No vasectomy. Taken very few antibiotics or other
standard medicines in my adult life.
John James.