Balanitis or lichen sclerosis or perhaps neither or both (need help)
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hi everyone,
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I am seeking a piece of advice on the condition that I have been suffering from for almost a year (23 years old, not active sexual life). Around eight months ago, when I was dating my ex-girlfriend, I started having some occasional problems with my sex life. Namely, it was quite hard for me to have sex not using lubricant, as my glands were too dry resulting in some friction and pain and so the loss of erection. As a result, I decided to pop in to my local GP seeking professional help. The doctor took a look and concluded that it was not a big deal at all. He then prescribed Clotrimazole which moisturised the glands, reduced that redness, however, this effect vanished as soon as I finished using the cream. Then the doctor gave me Daktacort creme and some others (steroid, anti-fungal) which, unfortunately, proved to be useless as well. Eventually, he directed me to a urologist who took a quick look and concluded that it was balanitis for sure but I did not have to treat it. The only thing he advised was to clean my penis thoroughly with warm water. Well, a bit later 3 mm white spot appeared on my glands close to the urethra (it first appeared when I was using Daktacort but then disappeared, later something triggered it and it reappeared). It did not hurt so I assumed it was not serious. But a month later some small round purple spots started appearing next to the white one. I freaked out but decided to keep on visiting doctors until there was an answer.
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I made an appointment with a dermatologist who also concluded that it was not serious. According to him, it was some kind of post-steroid balanitis caused by the excessive use of steroid creams. I was then prescribed protopic cream which I used for a few weeks. This cream turned out to be useless too. However, there was a really strange reaction to it. Namely, every time I rubbed the cream into the purple spots, they became even more purple and somewhat swollen and bigger. I went back to the doctor who said that it was really good that those spots had reacted to the cream in that way. At some point, I realised that those purple spots became shinny and sticky while the cream was not helping at all (it also got a bit hard to retract the foreskin and so to pee).
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Thereafter, I found the best dermatovenerologist in my city who was dead-sure that my problem was connected to some STD. I got tested twice and the result turned out to be negative; then he took a swab the third time and, VOILÀ, it was positive – I got trichomoniasis. What a nice gift from my ex-girlfriend though! Anyway, having devoured a crate of antibiotics, I got rid of that STD while waiting for the symptoms to disappear. Also, during this antibiotic treatment and the previous tests, the shinny spots got bigger scattered across my glands. I went back to the doctor who shook his head and said, 'well, it seems you've got lichen sclerosis but be not afraid.' He was not sure whether it was lichen, he just did not know what to do with me and why the treatment was not working. Anyway, he prescribed me clovate cream (contains clobetasol propionate) which I have been using for almost ten days. The shiny spots have shrunk a bit but not completely, while the glands remain inflamed, sticky and white/greyish. It does not itch, burn or anything, the foreskin is also somewhat whitish. He said that if the cream does not help than he will give me a stronger one. That is fine but I am not sure if he knows what he is doing.
0 likes, 8 replies
kim12266 recorder7754
Posted
hi it dosnt look like linchen at all if u was given antibiotics for trich theres a possibility its fungal thrush /yeast as those antibiotics disturb the natural growth of yeast and cause it to multiply its very common to get it after taking that antibiotic u should apply clotrimazole cream to the area if sore and red and peeling it seems to be improving in the bottom photo
recorder7754 kim12266
Posted
Hi there,
Thanks for your response.
The thing is that those red spots had been there even before I started taking antibiotics. After I finished my antibiotic treatment, the look of my glands did not really change. Can it be lichen planus then? Or perhaps it is some kind of a resistant dermatitis... In terms of clatrimazole, I used it many times when those red spots were tiny and did not bother me much, however, the cream proved to be of no effect whatsoever.
kim12266 recorder7754
Posted
the best course of action would be to see a dermatologist who will be able to tell u exactly wat it is some skin conditions can look very similar to each other but require different treatments it needs looking at by a specialist if u have tried creams for thrush etc its not really my field i can tell u its not an std but thats as far as id be able to say with regards to wats actually going on
john54641 kim12266
Posted
please keep us posted bud, dealing with something similar , helpful to swap notes . I using just water for washing and organic low acid olive oil for moisturizing which helps my dry flaky stuff
recorder7754 john54641
Posted
So, I got a circumcision on April 28, as had previously advised by my doctors, and about five weeks have already passed. I cannot say if my condition has substantially improved but think the spots have become slightly smaller, it seems so. Yesterday, some of these spots were barely visible but today are noticeable again. Another problem: crust appears on those red spots, stays for about a week, then comes off and the cycle repeats. I am not sure whether it is a good sign but this is at least something. Overall, I think the glans look a bit better now – it used to be pinkish but now has a more healthy colour. Still, the spots are incredibly annoying, and I hope this is some kind of dermatitis (I do not have any other symptoms) but not penile cancer or similar a disease.
I hope you guys get rid of those freaking spots quicker than I do.
davidh12391 recorder7754
Posted
mine also looks simlar, keep us informed of your progress mate
recorder7754 davidh12391
Posted
So, I got a circumcision on April 28, as had previously advised by my doctors, and about five weeks have already passed. I cannot say if my condition has substantially improved but think the spots have become slightly smaller, it seems so. Yesterday, some of these spots were barely visible but today are noticeable again. Another problem: crust appears on those red spots, stays for about a week, then comes off and the cycle repeats. I am not sure whether it is a good sign but this is at least something. Overall, I think the glans look a bit better now – it used to be pinkish but now has a more healthy colour. Still, the spots are incredibly annoying, and I hope this is some kind of dermatitis (I do not have any other symptoms) but not penile cancer or similar a disease.
I hope you guys get rid of those freaking spots quicker than I do.
recorder7754
Posted
So, I got a circumcision on April 28, as had previously advised by my doctors, and about five weeks have already passed. I cannot say if my condition has substantially improved but think the spots have become slightly smaller, it seems so. Yesterday, some of these spots were barely visible but today are noticeable again. Another problem: crust appears on those red spots, stays for about a week, then comes off and the cycle repeats. I am not sure whether it is a good sign but this is at least something. Overall, I think the glans look a bit better now – it used to be pinkish but now has a more healthy colour. Still, the spots are incredibly annoying, and I hope this is some kind of dermatitis (I do not have any other symptoms) but not penile cancer or similar a disease.
I hope you guys get rid of those freaking spots quicker than I do.