41y.o./PSA 3.7

41y.o./PSA 3.7

User

Posted 18 Nov 2021 at 09:52

I am 41 years old. I had weak pain/discomfort in the bottom right abdomen, GP asked me to do CT scan that found that "There is calcification in the prostate gland". GP said I should not worry about it, but just in case asked to do PSA test.
Result of the test was 3.7. According to the doctor it is just a little elevated, but no reason to worry right now. He asked to do PHI blood test in about a month.

After the PSA result I read about the test and realised that I made two mistakes:
1. Ejaculation before PSA test. Probably several hours before, certainly a day before, possible both. I don't remember exactly. Doctor did not warn me that it can elevate PSA result.
2. Exercises day before the test. Not too much but quick walk/almost run for one hour. Same as above, I did not know it can affect PSA.
So might be I should not worry too much and the next PSA will be lower if I do not repeat these mistakes.

But meanwhile I did a colonoscopy. No relation with PSA issue, but I asked the surgeon to check prostate in addition to what he was going to do. As a result he added these lines to the report:
"The R prostatic lobe felt a little firmer than the left."
"Review with GP regarding PSA & prostate"
(is it just due to prostate calcification or something more serious?)

Other notes:
1. I had "Massive Grade III Haemorroids" according to the surgeon report (which were already removed, but they were in place at the day of the PSA test). Probably it is good, due to I read that they can increase PSA test result (but I have no idea whether it is true or not)
2. As long as I remember myself, I also have the following: "dribbling after urination, excessive urination at night, frequent urination and weak urinary stream" - they do not bother me and I found out that they are symptoms of BPH (as well as about BPH itself) just couple days ago.

Any suggestions/recommendations/ideas where to go from here would be greatly appreciated. Did anybody here had similar issues?

Probably the most obvious, what I should do is just to wait for a month, prepare well (no sex, no sport for several days before the test), not to panic until the test and finally to do PSA test.

But I am very nervous. Any idea what it all can be?

Edited by member 18 Nov 2021 at 10:29 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 18 Nov 2021 at 15:02

Hi,

It's surprising your GP didn't feel your prostate. The psa test and DRE are about all they usually do before referring to urology for an MRI and then probably a biopsy and bone scan.

Your psa isn't that high as you say. I don't think the ejeculation and exercise will make a big difference from what I've read, perhaps 0.1 or so.

Also you noticed that other things than prostate cancer can give the same symptoms.

As you say waiting and then having another psa test to assess for change seems a good option. The PHI test isn't something I've heard of but looking it up it's a combination of standard psa and free psa test. I don't think it's normal in the UK.

It can be found that once you start looking up symptoms they start to appear more and stack up to something that isn't there. Also once you're on the testing treadmill it's hard to get off without being brave and logical.

There might be better scans you can have such as a PSMA scan. A biopsy might find something but it might be something that isn't really a problem and it might set you off on treatment that isn't required.

It's always a matter of probability and it seems you have a decent handle on things.

That's my thoughts, there will likely be others from others.

All the best
Peter

User

Posted 18 Nov 2021 at 15:15

VP,

Your PSA result is elevated for a 41 year old but not wildly so. An elevated PSA reading can be caused by a number of reasons, some of which you mention, and are not cancer related. For peace of mind though, try and get you PSA retested in a month or so.

Flexi

User

Posted 20 Nov 2021 at 01:58

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Probably the most obvious, what I should do is just to wait for a month, prepare well (no sex, no sport for several days before the test), not to panic until the test and finally to do PSA test.

Flawed thinking - the best thing to do is to do the same things before the next test - otherwise you don't have a true comparison between the two results.

In all honesty, it isn't as big a deal as you might think. A period of extreme exercise is thought to raise PSA by a very small amount for up to 2 hours and then it falls back to its normal level - walking or jogging for an hour won't make a jot of difference to the PSA reading. Ejaculation can raise the PSA for a day or so but it is thought to be less than 10% increase. Did the GP feel the prostate with his finger before doing the blood test? That can cause PSA to rise temporarily.

Calcification in the prostate is quite common - possible prostatitis?

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

User

Posted 20 Nov 2021 at 02:20

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Probably the most obvious, what I should do is just to wait for a month, prepare well (no sex, no sport for several days before the test), not to panic until the test and finally to do PSA test.

Flawed thinking - the best thing to do is to do the same things before the next test - otherwise you don't have a true comparison between the two results.

The reason I think I should do the preparation is because I need to know my natural PSA level, not artificially elevated by sport and ejaculation.

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

Did the GP feel the prostate with his finger before doing the blood test? That can cause PSA to rise temporarily.

No, he did not. So it is probably not the case.

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