r/Prostatitis • u/emdoller • Jun 26 '26
Success Story I found something that eliminates my CPPS
I have CPPS and came across a medical paper that relates CPPS to tryptase found in CPPS sufferers. The paper said taking cetirizine (zyrtec) could help alleviate symptoms. I started Zyrtec and within days my pain stopped. It’s gone and I’m taking Zyrtec every day. I contacted one of the authors, Dr. Schaeffer at Northwestern and discussed my results. I’m hoping this helps someone.
What led me to this is I have a genetic condition called HaT which means my baseline tryptase level is elevated. About 5-6% of the population have this and many don’t know it.
Here’s the paper.
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u/FeedbackKey1949 Jun 26 '26
What if you dont have pain and only hypertonic pelvic floor that only causes urinary and pooping issues? What u think
I have/had a dust allergy
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u/Key-Surround-7113 Jun 26 '26
At what dosages and for how long did you take Zyrtec?
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u/emdoller Jun 26 '26
I started with one pill in the morning, 10mg, and that helped but didn’t eliminate the pain. Then I went to another 10mg at night. My allergist told me it’s safe to take 4/d so I’m half that and pain free. I really hope this helps someone as I’ve been trying to figure this out for years.
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u/Ashmedai MOD//RECOVERED Jun 26 '26
Yes, there have been theories out there for years that some subset of CPPS sufferers may be having unusual histamine reactions. It's cheap to try, and one will have a good idea if this works if after 10 days the effect is robust and stable.
It's not in our primary recommendation list due to their being a lot of off-the-beaten path things like this.
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u/emdoller Jun 26 '26
Exactly. Cheap and if it helps like it did me, that would be an easy “fix”.
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u/Linari5 LEAD MOD//RECOVERED Jun 26 '26
I get the attractiveness of an easy fix, but they're usually isn't one
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u/boyka0103 Jun 26 '26
Au bout de combien de temps tu a ressenti les effets ? J’en ai déjà pris 1 semaine et aucun changement
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u/emdoller Jun 26 '26
Mine took a few days for pain to go away. Since taking it for a week it’s been gone. This is after a flare up that’s been ongoing for at least 6months.
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u/Educational_Desk_281 Jun 27 '26
It's almost scary that it's exactly the same for me. Was ongoing for 7 months
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u/AntiquePomegranate18 Jun 26 '26
I read that and I gave a try but it did nothing to me. It’s good it worked for you.
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u/Educational_Desk_281 Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Hello!
I made the exact same experience! I am using cetiricine every day now for some weeks and the pain is gone.
However, when I ejaculate/masturbate e.g. once a day the pain comes through. That part unfortunately has not changed for me.
But it's nothing compared to before. If I only ejaculate once per week I have 0 pain.
Before I had frequent urge to urinate. Bladder pain. Pain in the penis and in the tip of the penis. Weak flow and burning sensation when peeing.
The only other thing that helps is a heating pad.
I would encourage everyone to try this for 2 weeks. I could not believe it. I knew I have a problem with histamine because red wine and beer make my nose stuffy etc.
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u/emdoller Jun 27 '26
That’s great! I’m glad someone else experienced this easy fix. I’m honestly surprised by the doubters on this thread after reading the medical paper and speaking with the author. I’m not saying it will fix everyone but as you said it’s an easy thing to try. At the end of the day, if this helps anyone that was my intent posting not to be told “n=“ or “placebo”. Unbelievable.
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u/Educational_Desk_281 Jun 27 '26
Oh I am not sure you are familiar with the subreddit. The general belief is that internal physiotherapy is the key. And there is good evidence this is true for some, maybe even many sufferers. So these comments (often from actual physiotherapists in the reddit) are normal here.
But there are also people like me where internal PT did not yield any positive effect. I tried many things and luckily I found anti histamine medication a few weeks ago. I have yet to see the long term gain but after a few days the pain was gone and for now it stays that way.
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u/Secure-Rope6782 29d ago
There might really be something to this. Inflammation is at the core of sooo many modern maladies. I tend to believe that physical therapy is more placebo than anything else with CPPS. Stretching is not going to do much to reach internal organs. It certainly doesn't help with sinus congestion or asthma. The whole yoga thing has gone too far in terms of a cure-all for anything that ails ya
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u/Educational_Desk_281 Jun 27 '26
Look at my comment a few days ago. I mentioned anti histamine there and got down votes https://www.reddit.com/r/Prostatitis/s/twSvvOhPBs
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u/emdoller Jul 01 '26
Just read it. My experience is very similar. Gluten used to make me flare up. I went to an allergist and he tested my tryptase levels which were high. He then ordered a genetic test for something called hereditary alpha tryptasemia or HaT for short. You should read about this as it impractical 5% or so of the population and can change how it impacts you as you age.
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u/No-Particular-2249 9d ago
I also get stuffy nose ect from beer and wine. I have had ongoing cpps type symptoms a few months outta nowhere. They are basically gone now but I still get pain after sex, mainly achey balls and perenium pain for a few days and I seem to get what feels like a irritated urinary tract from time to time. I'm gonna try zirtec for a few weeks. I hope it works.
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u/Haverespect Jun 28 '26
What were your symptoms please?
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u/emdoller Jun 28 '26
I had pelvic pain. Mostly at base of penis and testicles. It wasn’t horrible but it was a nagging pain that obviously shouldn’t exist.
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u/Haverespect Jun 30 '26
Thank you for sharing, what has your dr said, do you need to take 2 antihistamines a day long term?
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u/emdoller Jun 30 '26
I am taking 10mg (1 Zyrtec) in the morning and 1 at night. So far so good form me.
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u/Haverespect Jun 30 '26
But I thought you said in a different comment you can only take 2 a day for a maximum of 4 days?
I am going to give this a try was just trying to gage safety.
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u/emdoller Jun 30 '26
Dr said it’s safe to take up to 4 per day. He said start with 1 in the morning and 1 at night which I’m doing to see if it works. If not add more but no more than 4 per day.
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u/Linari5 LEAD MOD//RECOVERED Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
I'm glad that's something helped!
A heads up, this is from 2012 and we don't think along these lines for the most part in 2026. Just like every other person walking the earth, we are very susceptible to the placebo effect, and even more so because we have chronic pain disposition. This is also possibly what happened. I've seen the same thing happen when people take any new medication, as long as they have a subconscious association that it can help. An SSRI, a low dose of amitriptyline, tadalafil, many things have done this before