4.7 PSA

[Dan9267]

Had my levels tested a year ago which was 3.2 and just last week they were tested again which shows 4.7. Considering my age my consultant thinks it's just inflammation but has ordered a MRI to have it checked. Is 4.7 any reason to be concerned?

[Dan9267]

Sorry I forgot to put important information in. I'm 30 years old.

[Tall_Allen in reply to Dan9267]

PCa is almost unknown among 30 yos. But prostatitis can be challenging.

[Dan9267 in reply to Tall_Allen]

My doctor thinks it could be that. But a full month's course of antibiotics were completely infective.

[Tall_Allen in reply to Dan9267]

Antibiotics don't help it, unfortunately. In fact, American Urology Ass'n guidelines advise urologists not to prescribe them. Often, it is asymptomatic- I hope that is the case for you.

[Dan9267 in reply to Tall_Allen]

If it is prostatitis would that show up on the MRI scan?

[Tall_Allen in reply to Dan9267]

It can sometimes. It is very hard to diagnose.

[Dan9267 in reply to Tall_Allen]

Ok thank you for all the information I appreciate it.

[dentaltwin in reply to Tall_Allen]

You know, I'm not surprised to hear this. And besides all the cautions re: fluoroquinolones, the first thing my urologist did after I presented with elevated PSA was to put me on Cipro for a week. Of course it didn't work.

[Dan9267 in reply to dentaltwin]

Yes didn't work for me either despite being on them a month. On the plus side I didn't get any side effects from the antibiotics.

[dentaltwin in reply to Dan9267]

I was only on it for one week. The idea I guess was to treat any possible prostatitis, though Allen says it doesn't work.

(I was also put on Cipro after my TRUS biopsy. My brother, who was just recently diagnosed, asked for and got a transperineal bx.)

[leach234]

Absolutely. I was a Gleason 8 with a PSA of 5.2!

[Dan9267 in reply to leach234]

Sorry to hear that. I hope you've recovered well.

[leach234 in reply to Dan9267]

Fully recovered. PSA now checked annually. <0.02. No ED, no incontinence. Picking an experienced surgeon who has done thousands of surgeries is the key!

[Dan9267 in reply to leach234]

That's great news. Just one final question I've not heard from my consultant yet despite getting the MRI done like a week ago. I mean if it was cancer I'm sure I'd have been contacted asap

[dentaltwin in reply to Dan9267]

You should bug them. If you're like me (hope you're not; one therapist I went to said I "live in the negative prediction") you may be nervous. If the MRI was done at a medical center with a patient portal, often the results are uploaded.

Good luck!

[Dan9267 in reply to dentaltwin]

I got the MRI done 14th of this month. I'm taking no news as being good news. Because if it was anything serious I'd have surely heard something by now.

[dentaltwin in reply to Dan9267]

I went to the MSKCC infusion center yesterday for a blood draw for a PSA; the result was uploaded by 8PM. PSA was undetectable, which means I can probably reduce my testing to once per year. Getting that result promptly was very helpful for my ever-present anxiety.

[Dan9267 in reply to dentaltwin]

Glad it went well. Fantastic news

[leach234]

What type of antibiotics did they put you on. The only one that works for prostatitis is Cipro.

[Dan9267 in reply to leach234]

That's exactly the one I was on.

[leach234 in reply to Dan9267]

I was put on Cipro for 6 weeks thinking I had prostatitis but my PSA didn’t go down. Biopsy and MRI showed prostate cancer. If you end up having cancer collect and freeze your semen in case you want kids down the line.

[Dan9267 in reply to leach234]

Sorry to hear that. Well I'm a little young for that so hopefully it won't be anything like cancer. And I bat for a different team but thank you for that advice haha.

[MiaAmia in reply to Dan9267]

Doesn’t mean you won’t want kids yourself one day. Also, my grandkids’ donor, who “ bats for the other team” helped out my daughter and her wife. Save those little swimmers!

[Dan9267 in reply to MiaAmia]

That's a fair point. Thank you for the advice.

[Dan9267 in reply to leach234]

And the other one was trimethoprim

[NYC_talker]

Hi Dan. Even if you were 60 rather than 30, many urologists looking at these numbers would say test again in 3 months, and then 3 months after that, before going to an MRI (not that it was bad to get the MRI--just saying). That is another option moving forward--test more frequently and establish your baseline. Some people just have higher PSA than others, and any mild infection can make it rise, even an STD.

[Dan9267 in reply to NYC_talker]

Yes but have a lot of troubling symptoms not just the slightly raised PSA. I've been tested for all of that which came back clean

[NYC_talker in reply to Dan9267]

I didn't realize you had other symptoms. I have a friend in his 30s who may have had similar issues. PSA rose, took antibiotics, didn't do much, and yes, had frequent urination, inflammation, some pain. I believe in his case it eventually cleared up, as happens with prostatitis. I'll ask some more.

[NYC_talker in reply to Dan9267]

My friend had other symptoms, some pain and discomfort, but mostly frequent urination. Antibiotics didn't work at first, had to switch a few time -- who knows they ever did--but he took tamsulosin and had a bad reaction to that. Took a while, but it eventually all resolved.