Hello and thank-you for allowing me to post.
I am 47 years old, caucasian, and back in June-August I had maybe a monthly occasion where, when I peed in the morning, it would be stop start.
I put it down to getting older, but promised myself that, the next time this would happen, I would see a GP. It was only during the morning, and only the first pee of the day, and never 2 days in a row. In fact, never more than once in 3-4 weeks.
I come from a family where my father has an enlarged prostate (PSA score was 600), and my grandfather did also. My sister was diagnosed with a slow form "borderline" ovarian cancer a few years ago. They still are unable to say it was cancer, and she was told that it would split opinions with some consultants calling it cancer, others would say it wasn't.
December 25th I felt unwell, and December 26th I woke up and could only pee a small amount before stopping. I decided to get on with the business of making my son's breakfast and then was able to complete my pee in the next visit. December 27th, I again was unable to pee, but managed to do so by pressing on my belly.
December 28th I made a GP appointment which was on January 8th. December 28th, I had pain in my back area - where the kidneys are located, a fever, and was able to pee without problems that morning. I have had no other symptoms since.
On January 10th I saw a doctor, and explained all the above. She arranged for me to take tests including PSA, Kidney, Bladder, Diabetes, Bone, Blood Count and another two I cannot remember. I also gave a urine test which, I felt, was pointless considering the infection happened 10 days earlier.
She offered to do a DRE but I was not prepared, I felt like I needed to poo (as I often do when nervous), so agreed to take a DRE after the PSA test (January 15th).
My PSA result came in and it was "higher than we'd expect for your age". I pressed the doctor for the score, considering my father had a 600 reading, and explained the family history. He gave me a score of 3.2 which is higher than the 2.6 upper limit for my age.
He performed the DRE (took about 10 seconds), and told me that it was smooth. Of course, as you will all know, a DRE can only cover a certain percentage of the prostate. He did say my prostate was large for someone of my age. He said that, if the DRE uncovered something, he would refer me to a specialist straight away. Otherwise, it would be another PSA in three weeks (four weeks after the first).
Ever since, I am in a state of panic because my understanding is that - whilst PCa is a slow moving cancer in most cases, it can be more aggressive in younger men. I have seen similar comments on this forum.
My gut feeling is that I had an infection, and that has peaked my PSA score which is also affected by the enlarged prostate. Although, I am concerned the doctors seem to be going down a path that does not consider prostatitis. My perineum is sore when sat on my office chair, almost feels like there is a stone there. The last 2-3 days, my penis has felt uncomfortable through the day (although no problems peeing) like it is irritated. I left a hot water bottle on it 2-3 times yesterday and it feels normal again today - but is it a sign I am suffering with infection, or something else?
However, as you know, late at night one tends to Google and find stories that set the panic racing. I am more concerned with this having been in my system for a long time, and the chances that it has spread beyond the prostate due to the higher risk chances that younger people have more aggressive forms. Is that a logical thought process?
I spoke to a nurse today, and she has said that - based on the above, I should not worry too much. I almost feel like I should call the GP and ask them why they are seemingly ruling out infections - is it caution (which is fine, but creates anxiety) - the doctor called it dotting the is and crossing the ts - or is it a genuine suspicion.
I know no two stories are the same, and I'll keep reading through these forums. I wanted to place my story here because, regardless of potential outcomes, it may help someone one day.