PSA Doubled in One Year

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freedomatlast

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Just completed my annual physical earlier in the week. Doctor's office called yesterday and said everything looked great except PSA doubled since last year. In 2016 it was 2.88, in 2017 it was 2.38 and this year it is 4.59. I'm 58 1/2 years old at this time.

They want me to come back in a month to check PSA again.

Anyone have similar experiences or information on this they would be willing to share?
 
There are some things that can elevate PSA. Research it and you will see what can elevate your test results and before your next test omit what could cause an elevated results. Then see what your numbers are after that test.
 
It can spike up for many reasons my good friend who is a urologist tells me. You do want to take it seriously, but no reason to panic. Mine jumped up similarly but retests had it down to normal range. I'm same age.
 
Montecfo said:
It can spike up for many reasons my good friend who is a urologist tells me. You do want to take it seriously, but no reason to panic. Mine jumped up similarly but retests had it down to normal range. I'm same age.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies.

I found a few of the common reasons for an elevated reading are:

-recent sexual activity or ejaculation
-recent digital rectal exam
-recent prostatitis (infection or inflammation of the prostate)
-recent urinary tract infection (UTI)
-recent placement of a catheter into the bladder (sometimes used to drain urine from the bladder in men who have severe difficulties urinating)
-recent cystoscopy (a thin instrument with a camera that is inserted into the bladder)
-vigorous or extended bicycle riding

I don't believe any of these were applicable for me in this case.
 
Mine suddenly jumped up to 9.5 once and scared the daylights out of me.

Turned out it was just an infection (prostatitis). The urologist gave me some antibiotics and it went right back down again. So just see a uroogist and get a professional opinion.
 
After one of my physicals a few years ago when I was 57, mine jumped from the 2 range to over 8. My doctor gave me antibiotics for a urinary tract infection and had me come back in a month. The retest showed it back to normal.


He has also told he to refrain from sex for 48-72 hours before my physical exam as (also mentioned above) it can raise the PSA level.
 
I would get several follow up PSA tests and follow some of the other good advice others gave you.
 
"About 80 percent of men who reach age 80 have prostate cancer cells in their prostate." from WebMD

Probably a good idea to see a urologist, rather than your primary.
Don't rush ahead with invasive procedures until you have the knowledge.
Hopefully it's just an infection.
The rate of acceleration for PSA is more important than the hard number.

It's very frightening to run into this situation. Finding someone you trust, and believe, is all that matters.
 
I agree with the others, don't panic, but take it seriously. If it is cancer, it's very treatable when caught early, and with yearly PSA tests you're in that category.

Did they test your urine for infection, to rule that out? Any burning or increase in frequency?

Did your doc do a digital test, and note any abnormalities?

If either of those weren't done I'd push for them to be done now. Otherwise, waiting for a month to see if it comes back down make sense to me. Disclaimer that my PSA has never been above 1 (even with infections, and now IC/BPS), so I don't have experience.

What I wouldn't do is anything that might artificially lower the reading. Years ago one doc recommended against taking saw palmetto, as it might mask symptoms of prostate cancer by lowering the PSA. When I asked my current urologist, he said I could take it if I wanted, and neither recommended for or against it.

I would also start researching urologists to find one you'll want to go to. Whether you want to see one next, or just get your next reading from your family doc is up to you. I'd think the PSA test would be the same either way. But I'd say if your doc didn't do the digital exam I'd probably go to a urologist, who should be a better judge of what feels normal or abnormal. The good thing about seeing a GP is that they take an overall look at your system while a specialist will focus on their area only, but a high PSA does put this in the realm of a urologist.
 
I was a consistent 1 or 2 until I got a UTI. It spiked to 17 and then slowly came down to 8 or 9. It's held there for 10 years now. Urologist isn't concerned as we both believe this to be a false positive high.

Had a prostate biopsy about 5 years ago that turned up negative but the resulting sepsis infection brought me closer to death than I had ever been.
 
RunningBum said:
Did they test your urine for infection, to rule that out? Any burning or increase in frequency?
Click to expand...

No, not yet. Just got the test results yesterday. No burning or increase in frequency.

RunningBum said:
Did your doc do a digital test, and note any abnormalities?
Click to expand...
No, not yet. Just got the test results yesterday. However, he did the digital last year with nothing abnormal noted.
 
One of my great disappointments in life: Discovering that a digital rectal exam was actually an extremely analog experience. :facepalm:
 
marko said:
Had a prostate biopsy about 5 years ago that turned up negative but the resulting sepsis infection brought me closer to death than I had ever been.
Click to expand...


Yes, prostate biopsies are nothing to be taken lightly. If it were me, I would ask a whole lot of questions (and probably also get a second and maybe third opinion) before I agreed to have a prostate biopsy done, even if my PSA test result was high. Here is an article you might want to read on the PSA test, and the risks involved with follow-up treatment, including biopsies:


https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/why-i-wont-get-a-psa-test-for-prostate-cancer/
 
freedomatlast said:
Just completed my annual physical earlier in the week. Doctor's office called yesterday and said everything looked great except PSA doubled since last year. In 2016 it was 2.88, in 2017 it was 2.38 and this year it is 4.59. I'm 58 1/2 years old at this time.

They want me to come back in a month to check PSA again.

Anyone have similar experiences or information on this they would be willing to share?
Click to expand...

I have very similar situation. My PSA was 2.9, 3.1 and 3.9, prostate is enlarged.
My urologist prescribed 5mg Finasteride. So started taking it trying to see if side-effects are tolerable.

Anybody has first hand experience ?
 
That sounds pretty scary, man. Hope you get the answers soon. That's the hard part, waiting for the answer. Hopefully it's just prostatitis or something like that.

My prostate level has gone up in the past few years, but it is still within normal range. My dad had prostate cx when he was in his 60s, and it was successfully treated with implanted radiation seeds. So I keep an eye on mine.

Well, good luck, man. I hope it turns out well.
 
Just_Steve said:
Oh boy, here we go.
Click to expand...


??
If you are implying that it's a bad thing to gather as much information as you can on a medical issue or test result before agreeing to treatment, I disagree. In fact, the OP asked for information on PSA testing/treatment that others cared to share, which is exactly what Human and I (and others)
tried to do. Doctors often disagree on the best course of action for certain issues or test results also - see the links that Human posted for evidence of that.
 
My PSA hovers around 12 - 13. It has risen since 15 years ago when it was 1.0. Two negative biopsies; however, there are two better screening tests that have come into play in the last few years. The 4K score is a simple blood test like PSA testing but it has its own algorithm as it measures multiple criteria and then predicts the % chance of cancer. Urologist says it is more a predictor of Ca than PSA alone.I was fortunate to have only 3% and it did say 'low' in the report. Also, the prostate MRI is now a reliable tool to show masses rather than the biopsy which is literally guessing where to take samples from (although it is from 12 sections). My prostate (from the MRI) turns out to be 96 grams, which is Jumbo, and thereby producing a lot of PSA, which likely accounts for my high PSA (I had no masses). Doc put me on Tamsulosin (generic Flomax) which relaxes prostate muscles which has helped for treatment of BPH.

Best luck, Rich
 
Richard4444 said:
My PSA hovers around 12 - 13. It has risen since 15 years ago when it was 1.0. Two negative biopsies; however, there are two better screening tests that have come into play in the last few years. The 4K score is a simple blood test like PSA testing but it has its own algorithm as it measures multiple criteria and then predicts the % chance of cancer. Urologist says it is more a predictor of Ca than PSA alone.I was fortunate to have only 3% and it did say 'low' in the report. Also, the prostate MRI is now a reliable tool to show masses rather than the biopsy which is literally guessing where to take samples from (although it is from 12 sections). My prostate (from the MRI) turns out to be 96 grams, which is Jumbo, and thereby producing a lot of PSA, which likely accounts for my high PSA (I had no masses). Doc put me on Tamsulosin (generic Flomax) which relaxes prostate muscles which has helped for treatment of BPH.

Best luck, Rich
Click to expand...
Wow, useful new info for me. Thanks!
 
Richard4444 said:
The 4K score
Click to expand...

Thanks, I hadn't heard of this test but it sounds very interesting.
I'm another one with a very large prostate (my PSA is currently over 7) and I've had three negative biopsies, which are no fun at all.

I'll be talking to my doc about the 4K test, so you've passed on some useful info.
 
I had been around the mid 1’s and then it jumped to high 2’s. I had it retested 90 days later and it was back to the mid 1’s. Never given any good explanation,
 
freedomatlast said:
Just completed my annual physical earlier in the week. Doctor's office called yesterday and said everything looked great except PSA doubled since last year. In 2016 it was 2.88, in 2017 it was 2.38 and this year it is 4.59. I'm 58 1/2 years old at this time.

They want me to come back in a month to check PSA again.

Anyone have similar experiences or information on this they would be willing to share?
Click to expand...

I just had my physical last week and for the past few years my doctor (UCLA Heathcare) stated that PSA tests are optional as their treatments from false positives can do more damage than leaving things alone. The protocol changed a few years back. The last one that was done for me was back in 2014. Below are the reference ranges I am reading from my results:

Result Date - 3/26/2014

Component Results
Component Value Ref Range & Units Status
PSA,Total 0.29 ng/mL Final

Total PSA Reference Range:
40 - 49 year old: 0.0-2.5 ng/mL
50 - 59 year old: 0.0-3.5 ng/mL
60 - 69 year old: 0.0-4.5 ng/mL
70 - 79 year old: 0.0-6.5 ng/mL
Method: Roche-Electrochemiluminescence
WARNING: The concentration of PSA in a given specimen
determined with assays from different manufacturers can
vary due to differences in assay methods and reagent
specificity. Values obtained with different assay methods
cannot be used interchangeably.

This past week he said that my PSA test results were consistently below 0.4 with 0.29 being the latest result from 2014. Since I don't have any family history of prostate cancer, he recommended skipping the test which I did and doing the next one if I wanted at age 60.

Since you are over the 3.5 limit, it's probably a good idea to re-test. You should get seek multiple opinions before seeking any treatment.
 
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