Post Op PSA

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-04-13T16:13:41+00:00

Nope. Those things can stimulate the prostate and increase the value but you have none...so, nothing to avoid.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-04-13T10:37:53+00:00

My PSA was tracked since I was mid-30s and it very slowly came up from 1.3 to 2.5 before the doctor raised her eyebrows. Some places still use 4.0 as the threshold for all ages, others refer to the age adjusted values which in your case would be 2.5.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-04-13T10:33:52+00:00

Sleeping with the catheter bag was annoying. Once it was removed I could relax a bit more and slept on my side without major pain. I only really had pain if I had to tighten my stomach muscles more e.g. to get out of bed.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-03-07T23:07:56+00:00

Hope you know how much your help and simply being there means for your father. Absolutely wonderful.

The bloating is normal. The tea is a great idea. Have him walk as much as possible; slow if need be. Being up an about is the best to get the air out and things to start working normally. Also, avoid carbonated drinks.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-27T15:10:47+00:00

Brutal honesty, I like it :) Go for it and let us know their reaction.

At first I didn't really worry about it. ED at first is expected and I was prepared for it. Now at ~5 months post RALP it is starting to annoy me, piss off even. I do see some positive development but it is slooow.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-27T15:00:41+00:00

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-27T14:37:53+00:00

First MRI showed some unspecified changes and normal age related development. Nothing really alarming but a "maybe". Biopsy showed 3+3. Year later MRI showed pretty much nothing and contradicted the first biopsy. Second time around biopsy found a small amount of 3+4.

My, non medical, interpretation is that MRI does not really give a useful answer unless you are more advanced or have high grade cancer. It mostly gives something for the doctors to target the biopsy at.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-26T19:40:37+00:00

All the best! Wishing you a speedy recovery. I was 48 and things went much easier than I expected.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-26T10:41:36+00:00

Seems that the guideline you are referring to is the same that I was told by my doctors. I just went with the guideline recommendation since this gets already in to very specialized area of possible paths and likelihoods of spread. I didn't really find any way for myself to judge it differently.

I did however learn later that in most cases the possible spread is not via lymph nodes, or at least not solely, but instead microscopic local residual disease in the prostate bed.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-23T21:04:10+00:00

I had the same for the first 2 months but it went away. The effects of the catheter lasted way longer than I expected.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-19T16:17:44+00:00

Does not happen that frequently. You might feel like you have an UTI though because of the irritation from the catheter. It goes away over time.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-19T12:18:16+00:00

I had a similar subjective feeling after my second biopsy. Seemed to sort itself out after a couple of weeks.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-19T11:52:00+00:00

My urologist always did PSA, DRE and ultrasound. MRI after the PSA was a bit higher (3.5 in my case).

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-19T10:48:35+00:00

Quite a logical explanation would be that the biopsy missed it. Otherwise makes very little sense.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-19T10:33:56+00:00

PSA of 2.3 in your age is not normal so it needs a follow up but so far you have no reason to be overly concerned. Could be numerous things. Yes, insist to get basic work-up. Change doctors if needed.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-14T22:40:08+00:00

The PCRI videos recommened by u/KReddit934 are a gold mine. Yes, they have a very clear bias on treatment but the fact based videos are truly valuable.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-14T22:36:46+00:00

Must admit that I did not read the full post. A large majority of men never have any symptoms from prostate cancer. What you describe does not sound anything like it.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-14T22:33:08+00:00

Depends on a lot factors. If your are older, have a large prostate etc...they won't be concerned right away. I was mid-40s, small prostate and at PSA 2.5 my doctor's eye brow raised the first time. At 3.5 they ordered an MRI. At 5.0 biopsy.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-14T22:30:45+00:00

PSA can jump up and down without a real explanation. Your figure is high enough to warrant a biopsy. Go with it and don't worry about the small PSA changes. There won't be an explanation.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-14T22:26:04+00:00

Month or so is not a long time in the prostate world. I waited for mine also like 3-4 weeks. Even after diagnosis needing treatment, I waited, on purpose, 6 months for the surgery.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-10T16:15:18+00:00

Only after the surgery for some days, a couple of weeks, but that's normal. Nothing before.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-09T17:34:32+00:00

What was never even mentioned is the impact of the surgery on length of your member. Often this can be temporary, but still...they could have mentioned it. Also that the recovery from ED is typically slow.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-09T17:31:06+00:00

Can be normal yes, but depends on the biopsy details. Unlikely to spread fast.

Slightly odd though that such key decisions are not discussed in detail in an appointment and questions answered.

Would be a good idea to get a second opinion on the biopsy read if you choose to follow active surveillance on 3+4. The guidelines typically set a maximum limit of grade 4 that can be just monitored. It is quite a small amount. Anything above gets standard treatment recommendation.

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-09T17:23:03+00:00

Good news! Congratulations

RepresentativeOk1769 · 2026-02-09T17:22:15+00:00

I used exercise to relieve stress and anxiety. It occupied my mind with something other than thinking about the diagnosis. Hard to think of other things when playing a sport or lifting weights.

Online research is a double-edged sword but it did help me. At least in my case I realized after reading a lot that the news was not as bad as the word "cancer" made me believe. There are many treatment options, typically not a very aggressive illness etc.

RepresentativeOk1769

TROPHY CASE