THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO AN UPDATE REMINDER IN 2014 SO THERE IS NO UPDATE.
Hello, my story began in 2004 when I noticed I was having to visit the restroom much more frequently both at night and in the daytime. Finally decided to see the doctor (GP) in Jan 2005. He ordered a PSA test, measured 3.7, DRE normal. He advised repeating the PSA and a month later it measured 3.1. He advised to come back in six months.
In June 2005 took the PSA again and it was 3.6. Doctor referred me to a urologist. Urologist did a DRE (normal) and recommended a biopsy which I had in Aug. 2005. The biopsy was positive with one sample (2mm) containing Gleason 6, and one sample with "high grade PIN". Urologist recommended I have the Da Vinci surgery. Said he had performed 40 operations using the system. Since my father also had been treated with seed implants, I decided to see a radiation oncologist. He recommended either the seed implants or external IMRT (Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) radiation.
I decided to have the external radiation treatment at Florida Hospital, Orlando, which was for 8 weeks, total 75 Gy. The treatment went fairly well but I did experience some diarrhoea. Radiation doctor prescribed Imodium which worked well.
At 3 months, the PSA was 2.0, but at 9 months post treatment the PSA had risen to 3.0. I also experienced a burning sensation and frequent need to urinate. The urologist said that I was probably going through the PSA bounce phenomenon which should slowly go away with time.
Here is a table showing my PSAs after treatment:
Pre-treat 3.6
Oct 05 Treatment finished
Jan 06 2.0
Jul 06 3.0
Jan 07 2.1
Nov 07 1.5
May 08 1.7
Last reading in May 08 showed a small increase which may be another bounce. ( I hope!). Side effects of the treatment have been mild, some blood in the stool. There has been some sexual side effects( less spontaneous erection), but not enough to require treatment (yet). Urinary flow is much improved, but I do experience an occasional burning sensation.
Next PSA in November. Good luck to all.
Latest PSA was 1.8 in December, up slightly from May (1.7). The urologist said it was OK. DRE was normal. Everything seems to be working OK, no change from the last report. Next checkup in June 09.
Had another PSA in July, which was 1.3. A good result considering the previous two readings were rising, though very slowly. My urologist said to only come back for yearly exams now, but still have 6 month PSAs.
He also prescribed some Viagra to see if it will help with erectile spontaneity. I take half of a 100 mg dose daily. It seems to help.
It appears to affect blood pressure also, it dropped from 140/90 to 120/75.
Hi all,
My PSA was 1.6 in February 2010 and 1.5 in September 2010. The urologist was a little unhappy with my PSA, but he said as long as it stayed in the current range ( 1 to 2 ) he did not recommend any action.
I decided to not take daily Viagra after reading one of the YANA member's story of hearing loss. Side effects continue to be minimal. Some slight rectal bleeding occurs about once a week. More if I use aspirin, so I need to be careful with any NSAID drug.
All in all, things are going well. On a personal note, I have moved to a different city (Melbourne, Fl) and new job.
Good luck to all the YANA members.
Hello, things are going well on the prostate front. My PSA was 1.4 in April 2011. The latest test in April 2012 was 1.0, which was the lowest since the radiation treatment in 2005. Side effects are minimal, the rectal bleeding is less frequent and there is only occasional mild ED. Hope everyone is doing well. ---Ben
Hello, just a quick update. Haven't had a PSA lately, planning to get one in the next few months. Things are going OK. Had an increase in the rectal bleeding a few months ago and used suppositories to get things back to normal.
Best wishes to all.
Ben's e-mail address is: bfox3891 AT gmail.com (replace "AT" with "@")
NOTE: Ben has not updated his story for more than 15 months, so you may not receive any response from him.
