PSA and Sex

[WRJames]

I'm wondering if anyone has some experience with this --

For those of you not familiar with the term, PSA is a test given to (possibly)detect prostate cancer. Mine has been climbing a bit the last couple of years, enough to have resulted in two biopsies -- believe me, this is not a pleasant experience. Both have confirmed that I have a perfectly healthy prostate.

So -- why the elevated PSA readings? My wife had read on the Internet that sexual activity within a day or so might be a factor. Last year, my primary physician recommended abstaining for two days -- which did not seem to make much difference. Most recently, my urologist sent me a prescription to take a PSA without any instructions for abstinence. I did it once where I had had sex a couple of hours before -- then again where it had been about a day -- the second reading was higher (not real high, but enough to trigger a biopsy -- yuck!!).

So, at my wife's prodding, I asked her (the urologist) if ejaculations made a difference, -- and she said that it was controversial -- but that those who thought it did thought that abstention for a week was required. A week! I don't think I've gone a week without ejaculating since I hit puberty.

Anyway, I wonder if there are any other fellow sufferers out there -- any words of wisdom on the subject?

 

[sweetness6280]

There are several things that can affect your test results. Although there isn't a consensus among the medical community, the general rule of thumb for ejaculation before a PSA is 48 hours.

Other things that can affect the results:
Recent cystoscopy
Certain meds
UTI's or prostate infections that have not been completely treated/cured
Recent catheterization

 

[WRJames]

There are several things that can affect your test results. Although there isn't a consensus among the medical community, the general rule of thumb for ejaculation before a PSA is 48 hours.

Yeah -- 48 hours was what my primary physician was saying last year -- that's annoying, but doable. However, it's hard to tell if it made much difference.

What about a week? Anyone ever try that?

 

[Guest]

Hubby and I were napping, just having had lovely, lazy sex one warm summer afternoon when he suddenly jumped awake.

Doctor's appointment for him! The one before the scheduled vasectomy!

Probably having sex an hour before an exam isn't a good idea.

Doctor had some concerns about the softness of the prostate until hubby fessed up.

 

[WRJames]

Hubby and I were napping, just having had lovely, lazy sex one warm summer afternoon when he suddenly jumped awake.

Doctor's appointment for him! The one before the scheduled vasectomy!

Probably having sex an hour before an exam isn't a good idea.

Doctor had some concerns about the softness of the prostate until hubby fessed up.

Oh -- that brings back some scary memories. When our second child was born, the doctor who did the bris for her roomate (at the hospital) mentioned that he did vasectomies -- really cheap -- five hundred dollars cash. So who can resist a bargain? It was in the evening -- for some reason, I went down there on my own -- and it was just him and me -- an empty office, not even a nurse in attendance. I did it under a local anesthetic -- and it didn't actually hurt, but I could feel what was happening -- very unsettling. Fortunately -- no complications (and no more kids) -- but I wasn't sure I was going to make it out of there with my balls (more or less) intact.

 

[Guest]

Oh -- that brings back some scary memories. When our second child was born, the doctor who did the bris for her roomate (at the hospital) mentioned that he did vasectomies -- really cheap -- five hundred dollars cash. So who can resist a bargain? It was in the evening -- for some reason, I went down there on my own -- and it was just him and me -- an empty office, not even a nurse in attendance. I did it under a local anesthetic -- and it didn't actually hurt, but I could feel what was happening -- very unsettling. Fortunately -- no complications (and no more kids) -- but I wasn't sure I was going to make it out of there with my balls (more or less) intact.

Eeep!

Actually, though, that's pretty much what happened to hubby.

I went to pick him up and they weren't quite done. It was near the end of the day, there was a nurse there still, but the office was fairly empty.

They did it under local, too, he said. Clamps and snips and very unsettling.

But good for our sex life, yannow?

 

[SlickTony]

I've heard it called having your balls disconnected.

My husband's had a PSA or two, and I don't recall anybody telling him anything special to do or not to do before it.

 

[R. Richard]

Two magic words: beta sitosterol.

 

[Pure]

http://www.medicinenet.com/prostate_cancer/page4.htm
What are false-positive elevations in the PSA test?

False-positive elevations in the PSA are increases in the PSA that are caused by conditions other than prostate cancer. For example, benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and infection or inflammation of the prostate (prostatitis) from whatever cause can elevate the PSA. Note also that even a rectal examination or an ejaculation within the prior 48 hours can sometimes elevate the PSA. False-positive elevations are usually in the 4 to10 range, but they can go as high as 25 or 30. At these higher levels, however, caution in the interpretation of the test is warranted because a prostate cancer may well be present. Non-prostatic diseases or infections, medications, foods, smoking, and alcohol do not cause false-positive

http://www.phoenix5.org/Basics/psaafud.html
Many patients who have a PSA level higher than 4 ng/ml will eventually be found not to have prostate cancer. These men have a "false-positive" test. If PSA is tested on men with BPH but no prostate cancer, as many as one-third to one-half of such men will have an elevated PSA. Their PSA results, however, are generally in the 4 to 10 ng/ml range.

In addition to false-positive tests, the PSA may be falsely negative -- that is, normal even when prostate cancer is present. Some 30 to 40 percent of patients with early-stage prostate cancer have a normal PSA.