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Posted 6/4/2013 6:33 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, my husband is in the process of going to a new urologist and I have questions before we go! He has not been diagnosed with prostate cancer but fears he has it. Just wondered if anyone on here was diagnosed in 30's with a low psa? His was 0.9 after 6 weeks of antibiotics. He has a family history of prostate cancer, and his urinary symptoms eased up slightly during 2nd round of antibiotics but he is losing weight like crazy and having a lot of lower back and rectal area pain, and is very scared. Will a doctor do a biopsy with such a low psa or is it normally a waiting to see if it goes up kind of thing? I'm in healthcare but totally new to prostate issues and want to do anything I can from my end to help him.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Angie
Posted 6/4/2013 6:39 AM (GMT 0)
Obviously I'm no doctor but here are my observations. With a PSA of 0.9 I probably would not have had a biopsy. I was 40 and had a PSA slightly over 2 and my urologist thought I was borderline. I remember him saying "we'd like it to be under 1 ideally".

I think it would be very unlikely that even if he had PCa it would have already spread to bones and caused his back symptoms. Back aches and pains and the onset of arthritis are very common in men our age.

What was his PSA before the 6 weeks on antibiotics?

Best advice I can give is to continue following up with your urologist and see what he suggests.
Posted 6/4/2013 6:43 AM (GMT 0)
They didn't check it before antibiotics. Went in because of sudden bedwetting almost every night and had an abnormal DRE but said he didn't feel any nodules. Only thing the urologist has done is a bladder scan to see if he is emptying his bladder and a urine culture plus psa bloodwork, and he wants to see him back in 3 months. My husband is more concerned at this point that he is continuing to lose weight and the nighttime incontinence is getting worse again. It's only been 6 weeks since this started and he has lost 17 lbs.
Posted 6/4/2013 6:45 AM (GMT 0)
The urologist said if he continued to lose weight he might do a sonogram or cat scan. The only other abnormals anywhere were on his labs- low lymphocytes, elevated liver enzymes, and some abnormal red blood cells (poikilocytosis)
Posted 6/4/2013 6:51 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Angie,
David has given you some very sound advice. But I think that monitoring is a best effort. he does not show signs of an advancing prostate cancer, but he is showing signs of a urinary tract infection or prostatitis.

I'm wondering, can you described what his symptoms are and how they have been relieved?

Just a note that in his thirties is vague and also a very uncommon age for our disease here. How old is he?

Tony
Posted 6/4/2013 6:56 AM (GMT 0)
BTW,
Weight loss is not a symptom of prostate cancer except in the very late stages and your description is not that of prostate cancer at all. But still you mentioned symptoms that have improved...It would be worth mentioning what those symptoms are.

Tony
Posted 6/4/2013 7:04 AM (GMT 0)
He is 37, and started telling me in march that he was peeing about twice as much as normal, peeing small amounts every time and never feeling like he was emptying his bladder. Then he started having night time urination and not even waking up, even if he went immediately before bedtime and would go again after accidents. He never said anything about any blood in urine or semen, but said it hurt to start urinating and when he ejaculated. The urologist said he had a large firm prostate without any evidence of nodules. The daytime urination improved significantly after antibiotics, the nighttime got better for a couple of weeks and then started slowly worsening again. Urologist said he does not need anymore antibiotics at this time.
Posted 6/4/2013 8:02 AM (GMT 0)
Those may all be symptoms of prostatitis. Most prostatitis does not respond to antibiotics. There is something called a "four cup test" for prostatitis that he can ask his urologist about - it involves urine collection after a prostate massage. Prostatitis can be a chronic disease that is very hard to get rid of, and may resolve on its own eventually. There are some meds including certain antidepressants that may help.
Posted 6/4/2013 10:09 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to HW, with a problem that doesn;t sound like the kind of thing we normally find people coming here with.
I'm not a doctor, so will leave it to the docs to work this one out, but I was nonetheless thinking about possible problems with kidneys or adrenaline glands, but I even wondered if he might have injured his back recently. (Some back injuries can make you a bit incontinent!)

Hope things improve soon.

Alf
Posted 6/4/2013 11:13 AM (GMT 0)
Angie Rose (pretty name, BTW): just stopping by to welcome you. While the chances are very good that your husband's problems are not related to prostate cancer, he's doing the right thing by getting checked out by a urologist.

His weight loss is concerning : 17 pounds in 6 weeks is alot of weight to lose and is cause for concern all by itself. Hopefully, the urologist will steer you both in the right direction and give you some positive news.
Posted 6/4/2013 11:35 AM (GMT 0)
Maybe read up at these website


www.wmfurology.com 

(Prostatitis)=   http://www.njurology.com/_clinicalconditions/prostate_prostatitis.php

They cover most all related urinary relate things and PCa, etc.

Post Edited (zufus) : 6/4/2013 5:45:39 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/4/2013 11:42 AM (GMT 0)
Angie, welcome to HW.  I agree with the others that it is unlikely that your husband has prostate cancer.  However, these are disturbing symptoms of something and I think your urologist was a bit cavalier to ask him to come back in three months.  I suggest finding another urologist for a second opinion.

Jim

Posted 6/4/2013 1:05 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Angie Rose,

Welcome to the forum. So sorry you find yourself here but we'll try to help.

I will echo the comments above that it is very unlikely that your husband's symptoms are caused by prostate cancer. Prostate cancer rarely has any symptoms in a man your husband's age. But prostatitis does and that sounds like what is causing his urinary symptoms.

You are sensible to get a second opinion but if the new doctor also thinks his problems are caused by prostatitis (an inflammation of the prostate) then it is possible that it may take some time to find the right treatment to manage his symptoms. There are a number of possible underlying causes for the inflammation that is causing his symptoms. A bacterial infection is one of them and sometimes those bacterial infections can he hard to get rid of (the problem keeps coming back). It can also be caused by something else in which case it is called "non-bacterial prostatitis" which is medical speak for "an inflammation of the prostate for which we have no clue about the cause".

Prostatitis that doesn't respond to anitbacterial drugs can be hard to get rid of but there are lots of treatments that can be tried to control the symptoms and usually something can be found that will work. If that is what he has he will have to try to be patient as his urologist tries various things to see what helps.

Prostatitis isn't prostate cancer and it isn't life threatening but it can be hard to treat and you husband will have to be patient. It doesn't increase his risk of prostate cancer but with his family history of prostate cancer he will have to watch things carefully. Prostatitis can cause an elevated PSA reading and it limits the usefulness of PSA testing in watching for prostate cancer but there are other tests that are more specific to prostate cancer that his doctors can watch.

Good luck. Keep us posted.
Posted 6/4/2013 1:21 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone!
Posted 6/4/2013 1:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hello and welcome,

I agree with the other's here. Highly unlikely that your husband remotely has PC. And even more unlikely that it would be advanced enough to be causing pain and weight loss.

Sounds like a severe urinary problem, kidney problems, possible live problems, could be all kinds of things. It's possible he may need to see a specialist and may need CT or MRI scans to get to the bottom of his current problems.

Please keep us posted and let us know what the doctor's decide.

Good luck,

david in sc
Posted 6/5/2013 12:07 AM (GMT 0)
As others stated, time for a second opinion from a different urologist. Not in 3 months.
Posted 6/5/2013 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
As someone who had chronic prostatitis since my late 20's, I had all your husband's symptoms at different times except the weight loss. His prostate is most likely enlarged due to the infection, which squeezes the urethra not allowing him to urinate properly and not completely emptying his bladder. If he is on Cipro, did you check the side effects to see in weight loss or loss of appetite is a possible side effect.

Ron
Posted 6/5/2013 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
He had a bad reaction to cipro, started bruising badly everywhere such as his ribs and legs, the urologist changed him to bactrim and he took that for the whole 2 courses after he had over 9 days of Cipro. I discussed his symptoms with him because he is so concerned about the continuing fast weight loss, and he says he had noticed the frequency and urgency over the last few months to a year but didn't tell me about it until he stated having the enuresis several times a week because he couldn't hide it. He hates when I make him go to the doctor!
He has been losing weight early march and we thought it was his normal summer slim down, but he has not been under 165 lbs since his teens and has never had to wear a belt to keep his work pants up. He didn't start the cipro until after the weight loss was noticeable. Aside from the prostate symptoms we have no idea what else could be causing the weight loss, which is why he is worried and so am I. He has the worst family history of cancer I have ever personally seen with every single person that had passed in the last 80 years having some type of cancer from prostate to lung, colon, stomach, brain and melanoma so hoping that he is skipped somehow! At least we have ruled out diabetes through our family doctor! Thanks for a place to vent our worries!
Posted 6/5/2013 2:20 AM (GMT 0)
Angie Rose, Years ago. I had kidney stones that caused me a lot of pain in my lower back. I was going to the bathroom every half hour yet not urinating at all. I'm not suggesting that your hisband has a kidney stone but it is something that he should rule out.
Posted 6/5/2013 4:13 AM (GMT 0)
Angie:I started having prostatitus issues at age 39 and they may be similar to many of your husbands symptoms. I felt like I was always sitting on a golf ball,my prostate hurt while standing, I leaked urine, pissed blood sometimes, and had blood in my semen sometimes. I got very little help from modern medicine with it. I found very hot sitz baths helped. The prostatitus cure was getting PC and having my prostate removed. I am saying this seriously. I hope he finds relief from it if that is what he has.

Good Luck
Posted 6/5/2013 4:34 AM (GMT 0)
Is it possible that the weight loss is do to the anxiety, stress, depression. Tell him he is not dieing of PCA, he probably has a chronic case of prostatitus. He can be treated satisfactorily and recover to full health. The first thing he should do is fire his urologist, don't care if he is the sweetest, most lovable guy in town. If there is a medical center near or far, go to it, get a urologist who knows what he is doing to get your husband out of this cycle. Your husband must eat even if he does not want to. You need some big guns on this. It is most likely not cancer, but what he is going thru will not end in a good place till he, you, take charge of this situation and gets some action from a medical team that will be proactive. You may need a internal medicina specialist. have your husband read these posts . The weight loss alone is enough to start moving. You were smart to tune in here. We are not doctors, but we have been around the block enough to know ' see me in 3 mos and will take a little looksie' ain't cutting it for your husband.
You instinctively knew this or you wouldn't have looked for and found this forum. Just do it!!! Its a season, things will turn around for you. you'll see. Logo
Posted 6/5/2013 5:07 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks again everyone - nice to have a place to ask people who have been through similar situations. We decided tonight to transfer his records and see a highly recommended urologist in a larger hospital setting than our small town. Maybe it will take different antibiotics or something to clear up whatever it is, hoping we know soon! Will post if we find anything else out!
Posted 6/5/2013 5:11 AM (GMT 0)
Hope the new doc can figure out a treatment. Sound unfun to have to deal with.

do keep us updated. We're here most days.
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