"the first time"

Ken has had three.

He says no pain with any. His doc does do the "numbing" procedure. Ken says it is like one quick pinch that feels like novacaine. Then can "hear, but not really feel" the punches, he says it is like a paper puncher in his mind. But doesn't really hurt, just the sound, anticipation of it.

I only went on his last biopsy with him because it was a couple days after he sprained his ankle skiing and was on crutches. He did the first two on his own, and did fine driving back and forth with them.

But it depends on whether they just numb the prostate (like they did in ken's) or actually put you under with a mild sedative. ken has had a couple colonscopy's too, and, for those, they kinda semi knock out and there is no way he could drive or function for a few hours.

I would ask your doc what he does for "pain" etc. It can range from everything from nothing, to valium, to numbing shot, to IV pain med which can be pretty strong.

In response to your question about bleeding, there is seemingly a lot of blood to clean up right after the biopsy. My doctor left me in the room with a box of tissue to "clean up" and I was initially stunned by the mess. I used a lot of tissue. I don't remember there being any blood leaking from the rectum after the initial cleanup. There will be blood in the semen for a few weeks. My recollection is that the doctor recommended abstaining from any sexual activity for at least 24 hours, but I remember being shocked that the first discharge after that period was a sticky, bright red bloody mess. I recommend using condoms for a while. There was a lot of brownish dried blood mixed with the semen for a few weeks thereafter. I also discharged a major blood clot while urinating four or five days after the biopsy. It initially blocked the flow and I didn't know what was happening until it came out in a gush with the flow behind it. These weren't major things - I just wasn't prepared for them.

You are wise to take the day off work even though you most likely won't be debilitated for the entire day. My doctor told me I could do the biopsy first thing in the morning and then go to work and it would be no problem. I had planned to go home to shower and change clothes anyway, but once I got home decided to lie down for a couple of hours because I was tired and moderately uncomfortable. After a brief nap, I got up and went to work. I did not experience any significant residual pain.

Not to alarm you, but I disagree with the school of thought that there is very little pain during the procedure. Probing around in the rectum is never comfortable. The equipment is a lot larger than a finger and the biopsy lasts a lot longer than a digital rectal exam. The loss of dignity is the worst part followed closely by the lidocaine shot. The sticks themselves were not too bad, although I remember one spot on each side of the prostate was close to nerves that produced the sensation of being kicked in the groin. The sticks are quick and the noise and effect reminded me of a staple gun. The good news is that the whole thing doesn't last long and it is bearable. It would have been nice to have some mild anesthesia similar to what they give you for a colonoscopy. If the doctor offers you anything to calm you or more than the shot of lidocaine, my advice is to take it.

Good luck. You have the right attitude. All you really have to do is show up. It's not the end of the world.

Very, very useful information.  Many thanks to you guys for taking the time to share.  I'll be seeing the oral surgeon today to begin the process of checking out the top end.  At least I'll be getting the Riviera back from the garage this morning so it will be a good day.

Your experience does sound much more like having a colonoscopy.  You may not actually be asleep, but you don't remember anything about it.  Although needles and such don't bother me I would think that the doctor would prefer having a relaxed patient to one who may become upset.  In my case also the parkinsons occasionaly causes some unintended movement so it might be best if I am under a general versus a local.

My thanks to you and to all of my new friends for your support, knowing that you all are undergoing tougher times than I am.  I have been extraordinarily lucky and I won't try to describe my life other than to say that I grew up in extremely modest circumstances.  I goofed off throughout college and my gpa in my class was second from the bottom.  I have been divorced several times and so on and so on.  Today I have a wonderful wife and a life that is the American dream.  I have the greatest secretary in the world and brave doesn't begin to describe her.  If my health goes down from here, didn't MLK say something like "I have seen the top of the mountain"?  Enough already-the oral surgeon today said that he didn't think that it looked like cancer, but we will do a biopsy just to be sure.  Hope that he's right.  The Riviera is home and running great.  If you catch me complaining just bring me down to earth.

I had a 29-core biopsy! I must confess that there was not much discomfort. A sedative was injected into my prostate (a little pin prick through my rectal wall into the prostate—then you could feel the sensation of the serum being injected). Then it was 29 clicks and we were done. So don’t be fearful of a biopsy—make sure that your urologist performing the procedure gives you some kind of sedation in your prostate beforehand. I was surprised at the large number of samples taken, but it gave me greater assurance of my stage of cancer. If you have a biopsy, don’t settle for less than 12 samples; a minimum of 20 would be preferable--discuss this with your urologist beforehand. Having too few biopsy samples may not give you the best indication of your stage of prostate cancer which is critically important in deciding on your treatment. Because I had so many biopsy samples taken, I had blood in my semen for several weeks thereafter. Good Luck!

Dave

I agree they are cool.  A buddy had one in college.  It was quite a cruiser.

mvesr