Stop taking PC's fuel! I was taking testosterone boosters before I was Dx and my level was over 900! My uro said stop taking it and it dropped to 700. There should be a warning label on these supplements stating you should be tested for prostate cancer before taking them!
The well-known problem with the PSA test is that BPH, etc, is so prevalent and introduces significant 'noise', that PSA alone is not a useful marker for PCa. 80% of biopsies are negative for men with PSA=4-10.
A fluctuating PSA, IMO, is a sign that something other than cancer needs to be dealt with.
To bounce from 5.8 down to 1.6 & now back to 4.2 suggests an infection to me. PSA can be a marker of prostate inflammation and cell damage.
I have known a number of men with chronic inflammatory conditions in the nether regions, where both, testosterone & PSA were affected. When I read up on the subject years ago, I discovered that this was a cause of great frustration to both patients & urologists. Ciprofloxacin (Cipro®) often doesn't take care of the problem.
I don't believe that testosterone therapy is causing the PSA fluctuations.
Your 4K score of less than 7.5% indicates very low probability of having prostate cancer. You do not need advanced imaging or a biopsy.
Your spike in C-reactive protein may indicate prostatitis, which also creates that see-saw pattern in PSA. If it is not painful and doesn't bother you, you can leave it alone. It usually relapses and remits on its own. Taking antibiotics usually does nothing and causes resistant infections, so try to avoid them.
The testosterone may make your PSA go up a bit because of BPH (enlarged prostate), but unless it interferes with peeing, can be ignored. Testosterone does not cause prostate cancer and supplementing in men who do not have it is has never been shown to be harmful. I supplement it, btw.
I agree that the swings are crazy and, as Patrick argued, the fluctuating PSA, especially the wild swings that you have experienced, are not likely caused by prostate cancer.
It's also the case that prostatitis can have other causes besides bacterial infection. Viral infections, "stones" (mineral deposits) and possibly other factors can inflame the prostate and raise the PSA. Antibiotics have no effect on these other causes. Furthermore, I have read that Cipro or other antibiotics do
not always cure bacterial infections in the prostate. Antibiotics in the blood stream don't always affect every organ, some of which have relatively small blood flow. So if Cipro doesn't reduce the PSA that provides some evidence, but not proof, that you do not have a bacterial infection, much less prostatitis due to non-bacterial causes..
Tall_Allen argued that testosterone isn't a cause of prostate cancer. It is my understanding that it acts as a signalling molecule that is required for prostate cells to divide (unless and until they become castrate resistant. Testosterone suppression can stop prostate cell division which is a great help if your prostate is cancerous., but testosterone is not itself a cause of cancer. Also, I have seen some claims that a testosterone level of 150 is enough to fully signal cell division and anything above that has no additional effect.
But don't take my word as gospel for any of this. I'm not a medical researcher and I could be wrong about some of these things.
Not sure that the 3 T test is definitive vs a biopsy. i would do it any way but do not take any T supplementation for now. Its not a good idea with rising PSA. I know you want the boost but with something going on you must defer.
Headed in next week for the 3T MRI, the urologist said he feels it will be negative and that it is prostatitis but I am doing it to put my mind at ease. He also did not feel doing another 4K test was not necessary.
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Why is my testosterone increasing when my PSA is decreasing?
PSA rising. The trend is not my friend.
My Introduction and History
PRE-ZYTIGA LUPRON PSA DIDN'T DROP MUCH
How I got to "undetectable" PSA
