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PSA level at 4.1

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Posted 2/10/2018 12:05 AM (GMT 0)
red, white, blue, green -- okay maybe not green wine...

enjoy a reasonable amount, can help reduce stress levels, but I've found that red wine increases my craving for chocolate. be careful...
Posted 2/10/2018 12:18 AM (GMT 0)
Paxton- I wasn't implying that I was reluctant about DRE and if it came across that way I didn't mean it to. You know as well as me that many things can affect psa reading so he shouldn't worry himself over one reading go back in a month have the test done that TA recommended and then go from there of course that's just my opinion.

Larry
Posted 2/10/2018 12:53 PM (GMT 0)
First taking Flomax yesterday evening, I felt dizzy and fatigue this morning. Anyone experienced the same, please share. Will these sides effect go away or how long will it last?
Cheers
Posted 2/10/2018 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
Bill Nguyen-

It's a very common symptom of Flomax to feel that dizziness the first few times, especially when you've been lying down and get up quickly (called orthostatic hypotension). Just get up slowly. It usually goes away after a few days as your body accommodates. Another drug indicated is Cialis (it's not just for erections). The most important drug to take for bph is finasteride (Proscar). It reduces the size of your prostate, and the PSA arising from the enlargement. It also may prevent low grade PC.

BPH does not "progress" to PC. They are totally different conditions, although it is certainly possible to have both.
Posted 2/10/2018 10:05 PM (GMT 0)
Bill Nguyen:

Age 64 had 4.3 PSA 11/30/2017 during physical with family physician. She referred me to Urologist. Retested PSA 01/30/2018 3.4. Said in normal range for age. DRE normal. Scheduled another follow up PSA in 6 months.

Between tests drank 7 to 10 glasses red wine per week. No effect on PSA. On follow up PSA test refrained from sex for 48 hours prior to test.

Good luck on the followup!
Posted 2/11/2018 2:20 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for very your helpful info. After two days of taking Flomax, today I see a little bit of blurred vision as mentioned in the side effects as common. Did anyone also experience that?

Johnny,

It's nice to know that you had PSA 4.3 at age 64 and after 2 months your PSA dropped to 3.4. What have you been done to have such a good result? And one more interesting that you mentioned to drink 7 to 10 glasses of red wine per week? Is red wine beneficial to the health of the prostate? Did you take any medication between test? Also the pharmacist recommended me to take Flomax at bed time but according to instructions from the drug guidelines, I should take it 30 minutes after meal. Which one I should follow because I prefer to take it at bed time.

Allen,

You had PSA at 7.3, now you're at 0.1, what was your treatment to get such a fantastic result? You also mentioned about Finasteride, should I ask my doctor to prescribe it to me? Please note that Flomax was prescribed by my family physician not my urologist.

Cheers.

Binh
Posted 2/11/2018 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
All,

One more question, now I have Flomax, should I also take Cipro at the same time to treat bacterial infection since my FP prescribed it to me.

Thanks,

Binh
Posted 2/11/2018 5:11 PM (GMT 0)
SBRT - as it says in my signature.
Your doctor can prescribe finasteride. it's relatively inexpensive as a generic. They often prescribe it along with tamsulosin (Flomax). They even make a pill that combines the two called Jalyn - but it is more expensive.
Don't take antibiotics. Prostatitis rarely responds to them. it relapses and remits on its own. Taking antibiotics increases antibiotic resistance.
Posted 2/11/2018 5:37 PM (GMT 0)
Bill - First and most importantly, BPH has NOT been shown to ever become PCa. Remember, BPH is an acronym for Benign Prostate Hyperplasia - generally harmless increased growth of prostate tissue. It only becomes problematic if the prostate becomes enlarged enough to hamper urination.

To this day, I do not take any medication for BPH. Yes, I do put up with a slower stream than my younger friends, but I do not have trouble emptying my bladder. At last ultrasound, I had little to no urinary retention. I do awaken once or twice per night to pee, but I'm one of those guys who can just go right back to sleep. One thing I have learned is that when you have BPH, try not to wait too long to urinate. When my bladder is "over-full" I sometimes have trouble starting the stream. Not fun just standing there waiting for it.

In addition to Flomax, there is also Rapaflo, which is a different medication but has similar effect on the urinary system. Some men have better luck or fewer side effects with one or the other.

As for red wine. . . what would life be without a good glass of wine (or two) with dinner? Many evenings the wife and I have wine with dinner, and it doesn't affect my urinary habits.
Posted 2/11/2018 8:29 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all Allen and Paxton for your prompt and helpful info. Actually I did get up two times after two~two and a half hours of sleep at night to pee and I can sleep only aprrox 5, 6 hours. Then I went to the bathroom to pee, so far I haven't got any problem to urinate. The only thing was that I didn't feel emptying my bladder. During the day, I can hold on more hours before peeing. What was this symptom mean? Since I will be on vacation starting next week, I would like to know if I can have one or two glasses of wine at night when hanging out with friend while I'm taking FLomax?
Cheers.
Posted 2/11/2018 10:19 PM (GMT 0)
Bill - When I was just taking 1 flomax a day the the doctor had me taking it half an hour after supper now that I am taking it twice a day it's one after breakfast and one after supper


Larry
Posted 2/12/2018 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
I don't remember any specific instructions regarding wine and Flomax. There is some evidence that any alcoholic beverage could irritate the urinary tract, but I haven't experienced that, either.

In my case, the Flomax did help with urination but I chose to wean myself from it due to other side effects. For me, the Flomax occasionally made me light-headed when standing from a sitting position - something I do many times a day. It also took a major toll on my exercise tolerance, which I did not like. These effects may have been worse than average for me, as I am also a cardiac patient.
Posted 2/12/2018 3:44 PM (GMT 0)
Bill,

I don't think there's any link between consuming moderate amounts of red wine to PSA improvement (that I've seen). I was just reporting that I continued to drink red wine between PSA tests and it didn't seem to negatively affect my PSA result. I improved in 2 months from 4.3 (tested by family physician) to 3.4 (tested by Urologist), but when I did the test at the family physician, she didn't give me instructions prior to the test. The urologist sent me a list of a couple of things to avoid for 48 hours prior to the test. I followed his instructions and that may've made a difference. I also read Dr Greger's book chapter on prostate cancer and followed his recommended diet "loosely". I continued to eat some meat, some eggs and some dairy. But, I tried to limit all three. I also got regular exercise 5 to 6 times a week as he recommends.

My Urologist recommended another followup test in six months.

The bottom line is I'm not exactly sure which of the above lead to the improvement, however, I'm going to continue to follow Dr Greger's recommended diet and lifestyle changes as best I can through the next test and see if that does continue to keep the PSA withing normal levels for my age. I'll also point out that my PSA velocity over the last 5 years was about .3 and my free PSA levels tested comfortably in the normal range on the Urologist test.

Therefore, I wouldn't panic from one test result, but continue to monitor.
Good luck with your followup test!

Let me know if you have any other questions.
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