In late December 2019, I began to feel a burning sensation around my pelvic region. In fact, the pain was occurring as a muscle pull on the right side of the pelvic area. Within a month, the pain had increased to unbearable proportions. I went and consulted doctors including my local urologist in the US where I was a student.

I was admitted to the hospital for a period of two days and the doctors prepared for surgery thinking that there was an growth in my bladder or prostate. I was also put on Vancomycin, a last resort antibiotic. Before this, I had already finished a dose of Bactrim DS (2-4 tabs a day), Penicillin Amoxicillin (2-4 tabs a day) and a few other antibiotics.

None of these antibiotics worked. I was also taking a lot of painkillers, up to 3 tablets a day. Over the next one year, till December 2021, I was prescribed IV-antibiotics, oral antibioti dosages up to 8 tablets a day. I was prescribed all the antibiotics in the fluoroquinolones group, and at very high levels. I developed constant joint pain, muscle aches and I could not sleep very well.

Almost at my wits end, I decided to do some research on Prostate infections. I found that many men above the age of 30 had this condition of prostatitis. One way to treat this infection was through the usage of Phages. Bacteriophages are viruses that target the microbe at the route of the infections and through a process called Lysis, destroy the pathogen. After this research, I found that the Eliava Institute in Georgia was the best for this form of treatment.

I decided to contact them for help. They were more than willing to support me but we were in the middle of a pandemic and I could not really go to Georgia. That is when I got in touch with Pranav from Vitalis. Over the last six months, Pranav’s advice has been guiding me. With his help, I got myself tested in New Delhi and started my phages in December 2021. I have just completed my first round of treatment in late February. My symptoms have improved significantly and repeat testing shows the indicators like leukocyte count are looking better. Although I am not completely free of the pain, and have some symptoms like a painful testicular region, I am overall much better. I am starting my second round of phages now and am hoping to complete the cure by the time I finish it.