serious male problems after long bike ride

beedge · June 2007

I'm relatively new to the world of long-ish bike rides so I'm well aware I have a lot to learn.

However, something I feel compelled to seek advice on immediately, is what happened last week: I came back from about a 60 mile bike ride on my lovely shiney racing bike, went to the loo, and then AGONY!

It felt like I was urinating acid, and boiling acid at that!

And, what was coming out was coming out really quite slowly, as if someone had tightened up a valve upstream.

This probably sounds quite amusing if you're reading it, but it was no laughing matter at the time! I hoped it might be a one-off, but about 3 hours later, it was no better. Another seriously eye-watering experience.

In fact, even the next day, things were still a bit restricted.

Please, can someone tell what to do to alleviate this unfortunate problem. I'm sure I'm not the first...

I did have on a very well-padded pair of cycling shorts + cycling pants, so it's not as if i was asking for trouble by going around in a pair of speedos.

Thanks very much

JRD

photojonny · June 2007

Not sure if this will make a difference, but most people wear padded cycling shorts commando - i.e. no underwear. They are designed to be worn that way, and even cycling specific underwear could be a problem. Cycling underwear is usually for wearing under noramal shorts.

where there's two wheels, there's a way....

photojonny · June 2007

Should also have said consider seeing your GP. It might be something simple like the shorts, but I wouldn't take the risk.

where there's two wheels, there's a way....

method · June 2007

If it happened last week you should have gone to see your doctor by now

Anonymous · June 2007

Urinary tract infection

Non Omnis Moriar

Fnaar · June 2007

Yes, see your doctor as soon as.
Might just be coincidental with bike ride, and does sound like some kind of infection.

No, Dougal, that baby elephant is far away! [:D]

Fab Foodie · June 2007

Welcome beedge

Couple of thoughts.

As per photojonny, wear either padded shorts commando, OR padded underwear under normal shorts/trousers, not both.

Do you also use a soft or gel saddle? This may be part of the problem.

Men have a bundle of pipework in their soft nether regions..The "Taint" (T'aint your Ar5e or your B0ll0xs) ie the perineum area. Wearing too much padding or sinking into a gel saddle will put pressure on this area and hence the water-works tubing and blood pipes, restricting or cutting-off flows. There are saddles that have cut-outs to prevent pressure in the perineal area.

Basically harder/firmer, better fitting saddle and ensuring that you are sitting on your "Sit-bones" may be the simple answer here. Take a look at the Brooks thread...hard saddles may look like archaic instruments of torture but really do work!

Other than that, make sure you are really well hydrated, regular pee-stops are no bad thing.

The pessimists of this world are rarely disappointed....
Fab's TCR1

AINSLEY WILLS · June 2007

Might not may an infection, sounds like cystitis to me ...... was it like p*ssing razor blades ?
60 miles is some distance and I'll put money on you weren't drinking enough, gotta keep really, really hydrated with water, plenty of water.
When you get dehydrated the pH of your urine changes and becomes more acidic, thus the pain. Sounds daft but the best cure is Cranberry juice, has worked for everyone I know and myself included, it neutralises the pH again[;)]
Did a twenty four hour shift at work once, two liver transplants back to back (I'm an anaesthetic tech), it was red hot in theatre and we couldn't get out for drinks as they were tricky cases. I had cystitis that day, very concentrated urine and again, like razors coming out.
I laughed when I was told to go and get a carton of cranberry juice on the way home, but I did and it worked ..... great stuff.

venster · June 2007

Dehydrated ?

I'm just guessing that maybe your body was expelling the acids and toxins from your body, but not enough liquid to dilute it.

Brian B · June 2007

I had something similar after a hard run in the Lakes last year. It was baking hot that day and I severely dehydrated. I was quite sore for days when peeing but not any restrictions in flow.

I do lots of big runs and never had it before or since.

Brian B.

Felix-da-house-mouse · June 2007

i used to wear cycling under oants along with my shorts and i got the same sorta feelings, now i just wear a tight fitting pair of trunk style boxers with no padding and its fine. maybe too restricted in there?

please let me know what you think of this:-
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z63/ ... C00172.jpg

ooooh ya cheeky munkee

labarum · June 2007

The immediate problem looks like an infection coupled with de-hydration: it needs a visit to the doctor; but longer term you may benefit from a man's cutaway saddle. There are many on the market. This one I use, and it takes the design a step further than most.

http://www.trybike.co.uk/carbon-bikes/seats-seatposts/

http://www.blackwellresearch.com/ism_seats.htm

I use the Adamo Road saddle.

To describe the design in simple straightforward terms, your balls hang off the front of the saddle, and the rear (hidden) section of your shaft is in the free space between the twin horns of the saddle. I find it very comfortable - it removes all pressure from anything tender.

Felix-da-house-mouse · June 2007

ha ha ha look at that touring one it looks like a bl*ody big dohnut

please let me know what you think of this:-
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z63/ ... C00172.jpg

ooooh ya cheeky munkee

Buggi · June 2007

first of all, check you only have one lot of padding. don't wear padded under shorts AND padded cycling shorts. one of either is fine.

but to be honest, sounds to me like you have a urinary tract infection/water infection, commonly known as cystitis (cystitus being the name of the symptoms) something which i am a bit of an expert on being a woman. men rarely get it as their urethra is longer than women's, so bacteria is less likely to reach the bladder. mostly s@x causes it, all that bumping around transfers bacteria up the wrong bit! so you can imagine cycling may have the same effect. but other causes are dehydration and not going for a wee often enough, or taking a quick leak and not emptying the bladder properly (which in effect leaves a "puddle" behind in the bladder which can stagnate. (charming isn't it) so again, you can see why cycling for hours without stopping for a wee could be the cause.

unless you've had one, you cannot sympathise with the pain.
symptoms are:
(1) constant feeling like your bladder is full and you need to go, but when you go, you pass about 2 drips!
(2) burning sensation when you go to the loo, especially when you finish passing it gets really bad for a few seconds.
(3) when you've been, no sooner have you walked out the bathroom that you want to go again.
(4) feeling generally unwell, bad mood and tearful because you just don't know what the hell to do with yourself

cures are:

1. drink lots of water (no caffiene or alcohol). cranberry juice doesn't help either, it only acts as a deterrent, but once the bacteria has got a grip it's not much cop.
2. Go to the loo as often as you can. yes, i know it hurts hun, but you have the pass the bacteria away (i drink a glass of water, go to the loo, drink a glass of water, go to the loo). try going at least every 15 mins, as the day goes on you will be able to pass more water more comfortably)
3. there are a few cystitus cures you can get from the chemist, like a powder you mix with a drink
4. if symptoms persist for more than 2 days after taking medicine from the chemist, a trip to the doctor for some antibiotics is in order, as the infection can pass back to your kidneys.... and if you think you're in pain now you definitely don't want it in your kidneys. if you've had it for a few days and not taken anything, i'd bypass the chemist and go straight to the docs.

i'm one of those lucky women who never suffer from PMT, but god help anyone who crosses my path when i've got cystitus. i am truly evil. hell hath no fury and all that.

hope you feel better soon hun.

_____________________________________________

To infinity... and beyond!
my epic adventure: www.action.org.uk/~Antonia

father_jack · June 2007

notsoracy rich · June 2007

Forget about the infection.
I had the same problem a few years ago after a 100mile plus cyclosportif-The Criquelion.

After being in the saddle all day,and not having a wee-(after all I'm British,and I'm not going to pee at the side of the road, even in Belgium)-when I got to the hotel it was as if somebody had tied a knot in the end, and eventually when the trickle started,Yes, my eyes watered.After a bath it was better, but it still took a few days to get completely pain free.
I still occasionally get the problem after a long ride,depending on what saddle I use,but nowhere near as bad.
Its seems to be important to take the weight off your bum every now and then on a long ride,in my case when I start getting numbwilly its a sign that something is getting squashed/restricted and standing on the pedals for a bit gets the feeling back,and no further problems.
I found a holy saddle worse as when you slide forward and your naughty bits hit the edge of the hole that hurts.Also make sure your saddle is level, or perhaps slightly nose down-whatever works for you -to keep the pressure off your tubes.
Hope this helps, Rich

frenchfighter · June 2007

From my point of view, (and that of my brother also), if you do rides that are longer than say 50 miles, you are likely, but not guarenteed, to have extreme pain urinating. The longer the ride the longer the duration of the pain.

This is also the case for time trails which, despite being short in duration, can also cause this pain. The reason for this is that you are leaning forward, on aerobars or simly the drops, and thus compressing the region even more than normal.

Buggi's post has much good advice that I would concur with.

Pesonally I wouldn't see my doctor unless the pain persisted for three or more days.

Eurostar · June 2007

Er, doesn't gonorrhoea cause the type of pain described? Might be worth a visit to the STD clinic.

vernonlevy · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Eurostar

Er, doesn't gonorrhoea cause the type of pain described? Might be worth a visit to the STD clinic.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

It's unlikely to be that [V]

It's more than likely a combination of poor hydration and position. I have suffered from the phenomenon once or twice in the past. The pain started before I'd finished the ride and I am sure it was because I'd not drank enough and I had concentrated urine. I've not altered the seat or bar oposition on either of my road bikes yet have siffered from the burning sensation more than once on each bike.

I have noticed however that by drinking plenty - enough to need to stop to urinate after 20 miles seems to havbe eliminated the problem. Drinking plenty before the ride helps.

peter_andrew · June 2007

Hi. What age are you?
If you are very late 40's or older, you may have had an episode of prostatitis.Do you have hesitancy in peeing at other times?
Since it was last week and you only mentiuon it lasted a day then the "rest" has calmed the inflammation down. Do you get"numb" when cycling long distances?
The prostate gets inlammed and swollen thus constricting the urethra which in turn reduces the flow/force of the urine.
You might want to get your PSA checked by your GP
Get a good saddle with a cutout which will ease the pressure on your perineum. also it is a good idea to stand on the peddles every now and then which takes the pressure off the area.
As mentioned before drinking plenty will also help as it prevents the urine becoming to concentrated.
2yrs ago after upping the miles on the bike i got a urinary tract infection. My PSA was through the roof and had to gat a couple of checks/investigations done at the hospital. Seems all is well now but take cranberry capsules every day now not just when on bike.

Peter

beedge · June 2007

Thanks for all of the helpful advice

Couple of things: looking back on things, I think I probably must have been de-hyrdated although i wasn't aware I was. I remember (surpisingly) not needing to go the loo pretty much for the entire journey plus stops, which was over 5 hours long, so i think that's a good indication i hadn't taken enough liquids on board.

Lots of you also suggested that having 2 layers of padding was not a good thing. I was simply thinking the more padding, the more comfortable it would be but clearly that may have backfired on me.

And standing up! Such an obvious thing to do, but something I hardly ever do on that bike. I'm sure standing up for 30 seconds every 20 minutes would all help to take the pressure off the sensitive areas in future.

If it was cystitis, then thankfully it cleared up within a day or so.

Right, I'm off to buy some cranberry capsules, whatever they are. And i'm now looking forward to my next pee pain-free ride.

JRD

ademort · June 2007

Hi i can identify with your problem,i cycle 20 miles to work five or six days a week, with that i have no problem. However from february to October i also cycle in the evening between 40 and 70 kilometres, then the waterworks problem starts just as you describe it absolute agony burning, hardly being able to urinate, i have to say its so painfull. I live in the Netherlands and was sent via my G.P. to the specialist. I had all the tests which came back negative, the specialist gave me around six different prescriptions over a period of one year and despite this my problem still persisted, eventually the specialist told me that the best prescription would be to just stop doing as much cycling, the symptoms only appear when i cycle in the evenings after work. So needless to say i am still cycling in the evening and still have the discomfort, this first happened 4 years ago.At least i know its nothing serious, however the specialist cannot explain it. But in your shoes i would certainly go to the doctor, you never know.

ademort

yenrodcp · June 2007

These are supposed to work wonders:

http://www.materiel-velo.com/boutique/i ... comp_1.jpg

[;)] 'tuono nel mio cuore...[:)]

Fab Foodie · June 2007

I can't help thinking that if people are suffering such discomfort then maybe more experimentation with saddles, bike set-up and positioning might be in order?

The pessimists of this world are rarely disappointed....
Fab's TCR1

woody-som · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by yenrod

These are supposed to work wonders:

http://www.materiel-velo.com/boutique/i ... comp_1.jpg

[;)] 'tuono nel mio cuore...[:)]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I would have thought that a saddle like that would put real presure on nerves in the groin where the legs meet the torso. No enough surface area to spread your weight.

Buggi · June 2007

what if your bits get stuck in the hole? ouch.

why don't you all just nip off the bike every 20 miles or so and go behind a bush?

_____________________________________________

To infinity... and beyond!
my epic adventure: www.action.org.uk/~Antonia

Wogan · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Buggi
what if your bits get stuck in the hole?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
*crosses legs* owowowow

Back on topic: seconding all the advice about a decent saddle, lots of fluids, one pair of shorts and good positioning. Consider one more thing - that "compressed" feeling in your abdomen.

Next time you're on the bike, think about the feeling in your guts and pelvis area. Does it feel squashed? Rather like *ahem* the feeling you get when pushing on the toilet? It's generally not good to have high pressure in your abdomen for long periods of time, so sit up frequently and release the pressure.

Bigtallfatbloke · June 2007

regular dihydration is bad, can lead to kidney stones...and trust me...you dont want those.

serious male problems after long bike ride

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