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psa levels

For more information about: psa levels visit the prostate cancer site CheckTheProstate.com today.

Q: Are PSA levels in the blood that go from .06 to 1.3 within a six month period, a cause for concern?
my husband is concerned and I always come here when I am in doubt of anything…………….
poretskym@aol.com

A: During a PSA test, a small amount of blood is drawn from the arm, and the level of PSA is measured. PSA levels under 4 ng/mL are usually considered “normal,” results over 10 ng/mL are usually considered “high,” and results between 4 and 10 ng/mL are usually considered “intermediate.” Your husband is well below 4ng/ml so the change from .06 to 1.3 should not be a concern for you.

Here are some things that may lead to temporary rise in PSA:
Sexual intercourse or any ejaculation within 24 hours before the test. To be sure, don’t ejaculate for 48 hours before a PSA test.
Digital rectal examination causes “a modest increase in total and percentage of free PSA.” Make sure your doctor performs the PSA test before the digital rectal exam.
Prostate biopsy “can lead to a dramatic increase of PSA in serum and keep the PSA value high in one week.” After biopsy, it takes a month or more for PSA to return to baseline.
Some people say caffeine affects PSA and others ask if bicycle riding (or exercise biking, spinning, etc.) elevates it. No connection has been found to caffeine and tests of strenuous bike riding (13 hours on a mountain bike) showed no PSA rise at all.

Also the PSA has a normal standard deviation and that may show some slight changes in your husbands results from time to time. I think he is just fine.

Q: can hip replacment surgery affect my psa levels?

A: No. Sorry.

SIncerely,
Doc

Q: Does straterra the ADHD drug raise PSA levels?
There are other symptoms that track prostate problems, such as.several varieties of problems urinating.

Once I stopped using straterra the syptoms diminished but are still nagging two months later.

If you have similar experience can I hear from you?

A: There are prostate-related symptoms (including “swollen, tender prostate”) listed as side effects on this website. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR601491

Anything that causes inflammation or disruption of prostatic tissue can theoretically raise PSA so if you have those symptoms you ought to see your Dr and discuss it further.

Q: can rchop cause psa levels to rise?

A: Yes

Q: What is the best natural way to reduse a Psa level ?
I am eating natural and organic foods. I don’t eat any junk food. I stay on top of the lastest deveopments.

A: you would think that lowering the PSA would be a sign that there is no cancer or inflammation. The underlying condition could still be there even if the PSA should come down. Having said that, the carotinoid called lycopene has the ability to shrink prostate tissue.

Q: My father’s PSA levels are 9. Could he have prostate cancer?

A: Not Yet, PSA result is one of the many test doctors can perform, my dad had a PSA above 10 when tested; however, medication, and hormone injection he was taking apparently was the culprit, once he stopped the injection and medication PSA back to 2. High PSA also indicates that there is more activity in prostate which sometimes signify cancer.
The worst case, not too worry, people over 50 and above has up to 75% up chance(increase with age) to be diagnosed with Prostate cancer, however, mortality rate is less than 25%. (Sources are article I read)

Q: what does it mean when after radiation when you have an undetectable psa level?
my husband had a psa of 9. After 32 bouts of radiation his psa is now undetectable. The radiologist said this is very odd

A: I would recommend that you return to the doctor and discuss this with him again.
psa is prostate specific antigen, this is measured in the blood to see if the prostate is functioning properly. Normal level is about 4ng/mL. Higher results usually mean a possibility of cancer.
I would recommend that you either have you husband retested or find a doctor that will investigate further.

Q: Has Anyone Had An Elevated PSA Level And Evrything Ended Up Being Normal?
I had a digital examine at the Urologists and he said my prostate was nice and small. No lumps or enlargements. But my PSA test was elevated to 5.09. I’m 56 years old. He wants me to do another PSA test in 6 weeks. Has anyone had an elevated PSA test and there was no signs of infection or cancer?

A: when your PSA count rises it would indicate that there is something present that it is fighting. but if your prostate is small and shows no sign of infection, another test should be performed. all the physician will do is compare the two test and make a subjective statement on the two findings. I would be happy though that you have a healthy prostate.

Q: Doctor told my Friend that his PSA level was 5.6 and he is concerned?
He doesn’t know exactly what that means. Only that it is related to his Prostate. Which concerns him, especially because he believes that his Prostate was removed.
What exactly is PSA and Bph.

A: Your friend needs to know exactly whether his prostate was removed or not (does he have an abdominal scar? If not, the prostate was not remove entirely). Usually, it is removed due to cancer and, in this case, the PSA is to assess the reoccurence of cancer.

Otherwise, the PSA (prostate specific antigen) is used to suspect the presence of prostate cancer; the test is not a diagnostic, but a screening (imperfect screening though).You need to know that the PSA can be elevated with different causes than cancer: BPH (benign prostate hypertrophy – or enlargement), local examination, intercourse, etc.

BPH is a condition where the prostate is enlarged and men experience difficulty in urinating (especially at night).

Q: Elevated PSA level after chronic prostate?
I had suffered (43 years, male) chronic prostate infection for 2 months, took tons of antiboitics. CT scan and Transectal ultrasound done. No maligancy detected. Now i am free from infection, but still my PSA is high 9.7. Dr. suggested for biopsy. During these 2 months my PSA levels are 10.7, 6.7 and very recent one is 9.7.
Please suggest.

A: the PSA is nonspecific and cancer and prostatitis are both causes of elevation. This is one reason that it isn’t recommended as a screening test because of the many false negatives. That said, a biopsy would only rule out a malignancy in the tissue sampled. You have a known cause for the elevation and a negative ultrasound, so it is really up to you if you feel the need to persue it further.

Q: safe testing levels of psa?
mine is a 5 something

A: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the PSA test for annual screening of prostate cancer in men of age 50 and older. PSA levels between 4 and 10 ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter) are considered to be suspicious and should be followed by rectal ultrasound imaging and, if indicated, biopsy. PSA is false positive-prone: 7 out of 10 people in this category will still not have prostate cancer. But this test is better than nothing.

Q: Does Saw Palmetto lower Prostate PSA Level?
If it does please provide as much as scientific facts published on this item

A: Why would you want to lower your PSA level? It is an important constituent of semen and has a job to do .. thinning the semen after ejaculation to allow the sperm to swim freely away. It is when PSA leaks into the bloodstream that it becomes a worry, because this is an indicator of possible prostate cancer.
So if Saw Palmetto does indeed reduce PSA production, it will also reduce the level that leaks into the bloodstream proportionally, and thus mask detection of prostate cancer until it has developed beyond the treatable stage.

Q: Medical questions regarding PSA level and getting life insurance.?
I’m a life insurance agent and have an applicant who has an elevated PSA level of 8. He has had 3 biopsies in the last 3 yrs, all indicating no cancer, yet he was declined due to the elevation. When I spoke with an underwriter at one of the insurance companies I’m affiliated with, I was told to have the applicant go on “the medication that lowers PSA levels”, get a declaration of good health from his urologist, resubmit his application in 3 months when his PSA level has returned to a normal range (around 4), and then have the applicant stop taking the medication if he so desired. When I spoke with the applicant he informed me that there is no medication that lowers PSA levels or his urologist would have recommended it to him by now because he’s had an elevated PSA for 10 yrs, yet had no cancer. My questions are…

1.) Is there a prescribed medication proven to lower PSA levels?**

2.) Is the recommendation made by the underwriter ethical or even informed?

3.) Would any urologist in his right mind submit a declaration of good health when prostrate cancer is involved considering the inconsistencies between an elevated PSA and prostate cancer. By inconsistencies I mean many men have elevated PSA’s but never get cancer and many men have PSA’s in the “normal” range and do develop it.

**Please do not take this opportunity to post your “all natural supplement” website w/100’s of quotes about how well it worked for other people. I’m looking for an actual prescription medication that doctors prescribe to lower a man’s PSA level.

Opinions on the underwriter’s recommendation are welcome.

A: I’m an agent who mostly does group and a former pharmacy techinician. I have never heard of it. But the person I would ask is your local pharmacist. They are actually much more up to date on drugs, since that is all they do.

Not sure who the underwriter is (or what company), but I would send him an email with the clients response and ask him what drug he is looking for. I think it is ethical, because he is at least giving you some options. The UW is looking at a chart that says what he has to do to approve the claim. If the chart is telling him he needs X, Y and Z, that is what he has to have.

Q: PSA level of 4.01 in 34 year old, could it be Prostate Cancer?
Hi,

I am a healthy 34 year old healthy male.
Recently had my annual physical done.
First time my PSA was measured.
The results show that my Total PSA is 4.01 and Free PSA is 9.7%.
The doc told me that based on the DRE the prostate appeared to be normal.
Right now he has asked me to take Cipro for 2 weeks and get retested in 4 weeks again.
My urine analysis showed that there was no infection.
I am very anxious and finding it hard to get through the waiting time.

Is there anybody out there who had a PSA of 4.01 in their 30’s and did it come down after taking CIPRO for 2 weeks.

Also I took the PSA test almost 15 hrs after the DRE was done. I read that DRE artifically raises the PSA levels, does anybody know how much it raises it by?

I am hoping my PSA will come down.
Thanks
Alkaline Phosphate test was done and it showed the result as 39. The normal value apparently is between 50-136

I am now experiencing regular urges to go pee. and I am peeing in small quantities, but it doesnt hurt or burn. when I run, I can feel some discomfort in my testicular region and tummy, dont know what to make out of these, perhaps a side effect of Cipro?
Really beginning to wonder where all this will lead to, any thoughts?

A: before you get all bent out of shape, go to a uroligist. he will no doubt do a digital exam, they like to do that, and i would recomend a biopsy of the prostate tissue. i was 4.01 with a gleason scale of 8. you are not too young to have this problem but taken care of early will help in the long run. yes, run dont walk to a uroligist.
willnotgiveup

Q: how concerned should i be with a PSA level of 10-my doctor ordered additional tests.?

A: I would be concerned you might have an enlarged prostate or even worse:that is why more tests are done to rule things out
Success:Planets.

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