Follow up appointments

I would phone the GP and ask, to save his time and yours, if he could give you a year’s supply of blood test forms, one for every three months. Mine did, and when they ran out I just photocopied some more. I am on six monthly testing now.

Here in Coventry, there are loads of options for phlebotomy, as many local chemists do it, although my surgery, the biggest in the area, does not! And they close on Thursday afternoons and this week were closed on Wednesday afternoon as well, for ‘staff training’. Bloody useless, and most doctors are either part-time or transient locums. For a hundred grand a year we should expect better.

In some areas it seems, getting a PSA test done is like getting blood out of a stone (see what I did there?)

Cheers, John.

Edited by member 07 Nov 2020 at 05:15  | Reason: Not specified

Hi,

In addition to suggestions above, you could also contact your hospital's PALS service. I emailed mine recently and I won a PSA test and telephone consultation. 

Good luck. 

He really does need to have three-monthly tests for the first year or eighteen months. I have only just extended mine to six months after two and half years. As I said, I have a sheaf of forms and I decide when to get tested.

Three friends of mine had ops around the same time as me, and they all had recurrence, picked up by frequent PSA testing, and are now having adjuvant radio and hormone therapies.

It seems a postcode lottery about these bloody tests, but I told you before how easy it is for me. I will have one next month, so I can put my flatline PSA ‘undetectable’ graph🤞 on my Christmas card to my brilliant surgeon.

Cheers, John.

Edited by member 08 Nov 2020 at 03:40  | Reason: Not specified

Fantastic news and just in time for xmas. 

Kev.

Fabulous news. 

I envy you your calm disposition. I am a naturally pessimistic and anxious personality. This malarkey does me no good at all. OH was never an anxious person but that has altered slightly post diagnosis.

The only good side of getting real anxious about it, is the flood of relief that comes ( hopefully) afterwards. It hits almost euphoria.

But living in 3 month chunks is rubbish.

Chris

He had his op at the beginning of June last year. After this time he is almost 100% back to normal. I say almost because although he is pretty much dry, he gets twitchy when he's going somewhere without a toilet. So the 'confidence' pad gets put on.

Straight after the op he was sore but generally not too bad. He took his pain killers on time so any pain didn't build up but after a few days he was ditching midday ones. There were other meds as well and injections into his stomach ( easy). I would recommend doing a tick chart so you can cross off what you take and know when the next one is. Days of the week across the top and various med down the side and tick as you go.

He was ok in the hospital, I spoke to him several times, eating ok etc. Couldn't go and see him because of the plague. But he was bad on his arrival home, he felt really sick, didn't want his tea and went off to bed. I don't know but I blame the journey home. My son picked him up in his very low BMW sports car. This car makes me feel car sick, so I reckon that had a lot to do with it.

We went over the top and bought a bed downstairs so he didn't have to climb up and he could have access to a loo and the kitchen. The next day he was absolutely fine.

He kept moving about, shuffling round the garden. Then up the road a little further each day. It's important to move around but don't go mad. Theres a lot of cutting, slicing and stitching internally, it's classed as major surgery, so keep that in mind. Don't lift anything heavier than a bag of sugar.

He was extremely nervous when he went in...who wouldn't be...but as I said earlier, look at him now, tree felling, hiking with our big dogs, concreting and fixing gaps in the Tarmac. He's back to normal and you will be too.

Keep in touch with how you go

LW