A load of symptoms and worried!

User

Posted 14 Aug 2018 at 14:07

Hello all,

I have looked around this site and it is amazing the amount of support and help available. I think I just need to vent a little and if anyone relates to what I am going through then great!

I am 51 and for about 3 months I have noticed that when I pee I get a lot more 'dribble' when I finish. In the past 4 weeks this has escalated to where I pee and then get pain in the groin and in my penis which takes about 30 mins to reduce. I have painful ejaculation now and also I wet the bed at the weekend after a long sleep (haven't done that since I was 5). Panicking and worried as my Mother's side is full of breast cancer (mum, aunties and my sister) and my last PSA was a few years ago. I suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome too as a complication!

I have severe health anxiety and it has been building over the years having seen relatives die and having had a couple of very stressful situations pop up in the last year (well, 4 to be exact).

Lower back pain and muscle pain in the shoulders too...

Saw the GP today, he tested urine for an infection - none found - and did a DRE which he says was 'smooth' and not overly enlarged. He has suggested antibiotics and to then go back in 6 weeks but I feel antibiotics is pointless if there is no infection? He feels it is more indicative of a UTI and I couldn't persuade him to do the PSA test (he says the possible infection would raise it).

I am a huge worrier and I also cannot stand waiting to see what happens next. I am reading all over the place that advanced PC shows itself with my symptoms (pain after urination, lower back pain, urge to go again when nothing is there). Has anyone else been through this awful situation of waiting for the next step? I feel pretty useless as a 'man' right now and am struggling to focus on work and family as I am getting a little OCD about having a disease that hasn't been caught in time...seems to be all over the news too...

Feel a bit selfish writing this as I know many of you have been diagnosed and are on your journey's...just not sure who else I can talk to (my wife is great but she tires of my health issues)...

Take care all,

Mark

User

Posted 14 Aug 2018 at 15:41

You are right that it makes no sense to be put on antibiotics when there is no evidence of infection. However the physical examination you have had will tend to raise psa artificially so you would need to wait a while to have psa tested. Six weeks is too long though. I would ask for and insist on a psa test as soon as is reasonable, and also for kidney function to be assessed using the same blood sample. Good luck and try not to worry, there are many possible causes of your symptoms.

User

Posted 14 Aug 2018 at 16:11

I disagree with Dark Warrior. The dip test GPs use will not identify all possible infections. On the other hand, it can be a bit trial and error to find the right anti-biotic for a particular UTI. I think your GP is quite right. Give the antibiotics a week to work and then have the PSA test. It is very unlikely that you have PCa, but if it turns out that you have, you are in the right place for advice. In the meantime, for goodness sake stop worrying about a minor problem.

User

Posted 14 Aug 2018 at 16:12

Many thanks for the reply. I will have to wait a few days and go back I guess! I am trying to take comfort from him saying it was smooth and not enlarged (overly) but he also said he can only feel so far!

I did notice a few times in the shower last week that soap was causing the end of my penis to sting so I am 'hopeful' that it is more related to that than anything more serious but, as usual, I am panicking...boy I wish I had a different temperament at times like this!

About 2 months ago I had a slew of blood tests done for an unrelated thing including liver, kidney functions etc - all normal - so at least that is one thing!

Mark

User

Posted 14 Aug 2018 at 16:43

Hi Mark,

I think the best solution for your catalogue of symptoms is to insist on a PSA blood test, (it costs the NHS around eight quid, I believe) and a referral to a urologist.

Alkaline soap in the urethra is always painful, so don’t let that worry you!

‘Slews’ of blood tests do not include PSA tests unless specifically mentioned on the phlebotomy form!

Cheers, John.

User

Posted 14 Aug 2018 at 17:01

Hi John - thanks for that - you are probably right! When I was referring to the tests I meant more for the kidney one than anything else as I am sure it was just the standard ones (liver, WBC, ESR and all that) which came back normal! It was a rheumatologist who ordered them as I was being referred for possible auto-immune disorder (which isn't there thankfully!). I may call them up and ask for a copy as he said he was doing 'an MOT' which could possibly include PSA but I didn't see the actual results despite them taking 5 vials of blood...

User

Posted 14 Aug 2018 at 18:17

I disagree with Dark Warrior and Bollinge. Your GP is taking the correct steps in the correct order. Your symptoms are classic for a deep seated UTI or kidney problem and as AC says, some UTIs can only be spotted in a hospital lab so taking the antibiotics first and having the PSA test later is more sensible than the other way round.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 14 Aug 2018 at 22:51

As a fellow worrier - I lost 12 pounds in weight between my fist PSA test and RALP. I can tell you that you want to rule out Cancer because it burns in your mind as a worry. Differential diagnosis performed by GPS is very unhelpful for people who fear the worst. I didn’t believe a word of my two GP’s and urologist who gave me the same spiel. I was right they were wrong. Your doctor will prescribe Doxycycline almost certainly at 100mg for either 12 days or up to to six weeks . This drug performs a party trick. It reduces PSA because it has an anti-inflammatory effect on the prostate. So if there is cancer present or not the PSA will reduce. So the baseline PSA reading is masked and useless. Mine was 7.5 pre antibiotics dropped to 5.2 ten days later It proved nothing.

Your doctor has no business denying you a PSA test. The DRE is useless at detecting cancer. Cancer does not have to be palpable in the prostate to be dangerous. Start from the reverse order. Eliminate Cancer then work backwards to the UTI. Tell your doctor to do the PSA before taking antibiotics because you can confirm with them the effect it will have. Your GP should be referring you to a urologist as well.

Fresh

Edited by member 14 Aug 2018 at 23:06 | Reason: Not specified

Base jumping without a parachute should be frowned at, never criticised. Fresh

User

Posted 15 Aug 2018 at 07:50

Thanks Lynn and Fresh for the feedback. Just to let you both know I am the kind of person who always goes to the worst case scenario and in the past few years that tactic has caused a lot of worry and rapid weight loss (as you described Fresh). I am also totally able to recreate physical symptoms after I have read them. So I now have quite bad lower back pain and the groin pain is now totally noticeable when 2 weeks ago it was more of a sensation just from my penis. I have muscle pain all over but that is easily caused by anxiety. This year alone I have been tested for neck cancer (swollen gland in neck, now reduced) amongst other things and my poor wife is getting irritated by my preoccupation. I think coming on here has been a double-edged sword as I see many people who have no symptoms and it is found with a routine check, then others with symptoms where it was found too late to cure. I lost a beloved sister to breast cancer 2 years ago and that still causes me problems.

So now I am not sure what to do for the best? Take the antibiotics (it is one weeks worth) and see what happens or demand more tests, which will be the umpteenth time in 5 years I have done that!

fresh, did you have any symptoms or was it a routine checkup that found it? My main worry I suppose is that symptoms = advanced and I am also a little annoyed not to have been offered a PSA in the past year by the GP.

Thoughts are again welcome and thanks for listening again...

User

Posted 15 Aug 2018 at 09:38

It doesn’t work like that - the reason so many men are diagnosed late is because there are often no symptoms. The men with bad symptoms often turn out not to have cancer. Groin pain is not a symptom of prostate cancer. Lower back pain is a symptom of kidney infection.

If you get a PSA test now and then the number comes back a bit high, you will be in another no mans land of ‘well that could be because of undiagnosed infection’ - take the antibiotics and then go back and insist on a PSA test. But I wouldn’t be waiting 6 weeks.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 15 Aug 2018 at 10:22

Thanks Lynn - the antibiotics are for only 1 week so I am thinking I get through that and if no improvement then ask for a PSA next week. I agree it is very difficult to know where one stands on testing as some sites say PSA is not very helpful and others say it is!

to be fair to my GP - he did say that further tests are invasive and can cause other issues so I expect he is hoping it is an infection and clears up before sending me to a Urologist.

Just a hideous anxiety person hence the questions - ultimately I think I have a plan at least...I really appreciate the help!

User

Posted 15 Aug 2018 at 11:41

I had no symptoms last November when a routine blood test found a raised level of PSA, and subsequently cancer was discovered.

The Professor of Urology who did my operation said all men over 50 should have annual PSA tests and DRE examinations, as indeed my friends in America do.

Cheers, John

User

Posted 15 Aug 2018 at 20:56

No symptoms either. Just wanted to start collecting data on my PSA in the same way the NHS wants me to do a routine collesterol check. I had my first PSA because the guys in the office were all doing it. Well 7 out of 11 that I asked were. So that’s my entry point. Last week I had my car MOT done. I asked three of the guys in the workshop if they were having PSA checks. Two didn’t even know what it was the third claimed to know and I asked why. He said it was for monitoring his heart condition!!!

Gentlemen. We have a a major issue in this country. A call to arms is needed.

Fresh

Base jumping without a parachute should be frowned at, never criticised. Fresh

User

Posted 16 Aug 2018 at 07:47

It’s amazing that there is almost no information at the GP surgery on this, nor have I ever been offered a test despite being a risk due to sibling illnesses. I never knew a link between Breast cancer and prostate cancer but my GP knows the history. You are right about a call to arms!

For me the antibiotics have done nothing apart from cause more issues from the back passage so I will give it the weekend then go back and ask for a referral. I have a burning sensation between scrotum and anus now all the time and the end of my penis is stinging pretty much when I am awake. Urge to pee after finishing also present but not having any issues at all at night, which I guess is one thing!

User

Posted 16 Aug 2018 at 08:35

You need to finish the course!!!!! Listen to what Lynn and the others have said PC usually has ZERO pain symptoms in the areas you describe!!

The most likely cause of pain is an infection and as the GP said if you have an infection in that area your PSA could be raised.

The fact you are sleeping OK also means it is highly unlikely to be cancer pain - my dad died of this disease and if you have pain from bone secondaries you will know about it!! Without treatment or strong pain killers your life will not be bearable.

Finish the course, then reassess with your GP. Remember the only conclusive diagnostic test fir PC is a biopsy - you do not want one of those without good reason as they are potentially life threatening serious preceedures in their own right.

User

Posted 16 Aug 2018 at 13:10

Thanks again, more good advice :-)

i will try to relax and see where it goes! Either way I will get a PSA test done soon to check. I think as the penis pain, lower back pain etc has come on quite quickly with this constant urge to pee it has scared me somewhat!

What has been heartening on here is the care shown to others and the inspirational stories regardless of journey. There are no guarantees in life but it helps to talk (well, type) and know there are others out there keen to help and advise. Regardless of my outcome I clearly need help with my anxiety and thinking processes (ie catastrophising).

Cheers,

Mark

User

Posted 16 Aug 2018 at 13:45

I had / have prostate cancer 🤞 and I have not had any pain from it at all and hardly any from my prostatectomy surgery. I was given a virtual pharmacy of painkilling pills and their antidotes upon discharge from hospital, and apart from a few paracetamol for a day or so back at home, none were used.

I fondly remember penis pain, aka ‘blue balls’ or unrequited love, but I wonder if that is now a thing of the past for me. We live in hope!

User

Posted 16 Aug 2018 at 21:50

@MarkBerks...

The replies have good sensible advice, to which the only things I'll add (if they've already been menioned, I didn't see) are...

1 Learn (there's a lot of good info onsite) about likely and potential scenarios (because uncertainty is often a cause of worry, which appropriate knowledge should help reduce).

2 If you do get into the 'diagnose for cancer' thing, be aware that opportunities for worry increase greatly... wait for test then wait for result, wait for another test (and the result), etcetera (for MRI, biopsy, bone scan, CT, etcetera).

3 Worry is natural, to be expected, and you shouldn't feel bad about it.

4 'Share'... simply composing a post can help order (and hence calm) the mind. As will the replies.

5 'Prostate cancer ain't an arterial bleed.' Yes it can kill, but relatively slowly... providing relatively generous time for consideration of various things and treatment.

Edited by member 16 Aug 2018 at 21:51 | Reason: Typo.

User

Posted 17 Aug 2018 at 12:22

Thanks Gulliver - I especially like the comment about it not being an arterial bleed. I am sure there is a ton of worry and anxiety but there appears to be a lot of work on the horizon to deal with it. One thing that has shocked me coming on here is the number of chance discoveries and the fact that GPs don't seem to be clued into that fact and suggest routine stuff. I have been to my GP 5 times in the past 2 years and not once has it even been suggested, even when I have been suffering some pain and fatigue! Almost like it is at the back of their minds too perhaps?

I get the impression that education needs to continue but I do feel that GPs need to also be at the front of that as none of my friends either (over 50) have even had a test suggested...not even a DRE. Is it the embarrassment factor? Is it the time constraints that GPs have? I am not sure but it is not a good situation today that diagnosis or even testing appears to be a lottery when it should be routine?

Example, I have had some neurological issues in the past 6 months...burning skin etc. Went to see a Rheumatologist who charged me £250 for what he called an 'MOT'. Now that was a whole lot of blood taken to assess liver, kidneys, white cells, ESR, rheumatoid factors, ANA you name it. Was a PSA on there? Nope...that to me (now I am informed) is not a full 'MOT' for a man over 50...

Cheers,

Mark

User

Posted 17 Aug 2018 at 12:34

Hi Mark,

Unfortunately the simple fact is that most men over 60 have prostate cancer, and the overwhelming majority of them will die with it, not from it, and will never need any treatment. In terms of simple numbers, it would overwhelm the NHS to treat every man with prostate cancer, and in most cases such treatment would be unnecessary. I'm sure you can imagine the worry it would cause to a huge number of men to know that they have cancer, even when that cancer produces no symptoms and will never need treating.

Chris

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