Positive dre but low psa

Hi all,

I'm 43. August 31, I visited a urologist complaining that I had been feeling some pain in and above my perineum. He asked about urine stream and I mentioned it had been vaguely weaker over the last two years. He asked about pain and I said I had some low back/hip pain on and off, but that I'd put that down to sleeping in odd positions after a painful vasectomy a year and a half ago. He performed a DRE and pronounced that my prostate was "firm" but he didn't say whether he felt a nodule or not.

He put me on Bactrim (can't take quinolones) and Flomax with a follow up September 31.

I was kind of worried that the urologist didn't have me perform a PSA test, so I visited my PA the next week and asked for a PSA which came back .57 and a Testosterone test which came back amazingly low (16/47-210).

Since then, my lower back has become increasingly pained in just one specific area on my right low back/pelvis, making sleep very difficult, and although I'm hoping I'm just psychosomatic, I'm still worried because I've read that low Testosterone can mean that low PSA scores are actually higher than tested.

I'm wondering if I should seek a second opinion, or at the very least a second DRE from a Urologist. Any thoughts?

Post Edited (Choral Lover) : 9/7/2014 8:58:12 AM (GMT-6)

Thanks, man, for the heartening response. The pain is actually in the pelvis/low back on the right side, so I edited my previous post. Still, I need to be told to take it easy I think because this stuff has had my mind racing.

I think your Uro gave you some great advice and is doing the right thing. The pain and a uniformly hard prostate are tell-tale symptoms of prostatitis and not PC.

I think you should talk to him about getting your T up to normal levels and determining the cause of why it is so low.

- Allen

You have a similar story to me. i was 44 in August.

I also have a low psa of 0.50 and also suffer from low "t". My difference is i am getting no urinary problems and i dont have any pains in my perineum.

I am getting pains in my low back, pelvis and left hip but mine is now constant after about a year of being on and off. it affects my sleep too as i find my bones hurt more at night.

i also have pains in my low left abdomen which is also constant.

Im hoping mine is also prostatitis but my symptoms dont seem to fit as well as yours. My DRE was performed by my endocrinologist whilst discussing testosterone patches. He did not state if it was lumpy just that he was making me a referral with a urologist. The referral cant come quick enough. (NHS in England)

ive also heard about the low testosterone masking the true psa and that agressive PC can also show as very low PSA.

Post Edited (york70) : 9/9/2014 5:04:09 AM (GMT-6)