PSA Test & Cycling

raj
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by raj »

Has anybody else had a PSA test and did they give up cycling for two weeks before the blood sample was taken ? (or were they given different instructions?).

Apparently any strenuous exercise can raise the PSA to some degree. I was recommended to have a PSA test after symptoms and a DRE by GP suggested hyperplasia.The PSA result was a shock to say the least and I was given an urgent referral to urologist. I mentioned cycling and that 2 days before the PSA test was a particularly arduous 15 miles along the canal (bumpy). GP never mentioned refraining from exercise but urologist said to do so for at least 48 hrs and requested a repeat test. I sat on my ar$e (not saddle) for 7 days beforehand. Value halved (but still too high).

The rest of the story is incidental to the topic, but MRI picked up 2 suspicious areas but biopsies came back "normal". As previously mentioned in another post, sample size of 1, but depending on the cause of raised PSA, pressure in the perineal region prior to a PSA test might not be a good idea. As the urologist said "you're sitting on your prostate" (on a bike), particularly if it's 3 times the size it should be.
rmurphy195
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by rmurphy195 »

Psamathe wrote:Got the all clear (based on DRE and PSA score) so I guess any more peeing blood and I'll contact Highways and try and persuade them to fix a few potholes!

Ian


I just came across this thread - glad it all worked out!

I regularly have blood tests at my GP surgery (T2 diabetes) - its always a case of several samples being taken (often with some difficulty!) then being sent away, with a follow-up with my GP. It includes of course HBA1c, cholesterol and probably a few other things I don't know about! Then there's the wait for the results which I get at the follow up.

While the wait is always a bit nerve racking (esp the PSA test I had a while back), I'm fortunate in that if there is a problem the surgery will call me to make an appointment, even if I've already made one.

And every time I go, I keep a little notebook with me to jot down the results and with any questions that I have for the GP, which very useful if you find out something that would otherwise make you forget to ask, or you aren't quite taking something in.
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Cyril Haearn
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Psamathe wrote:
crossy wrote:The nurse who took the blood said if the hospital was quick it could be back the same day. The blood is picked up and the results are sent back by e mail.

My appointment is midday so I suspect blood unlikely to be collected and processed that quickly. And there is always the risk that my results might require a GP visit (as I just edited above), in the past my GP has insisted on giving me certain results face to face, he was not even prepared to discuss them over the phone (and that's a 3 week wait)!

Ian


If he insisted on giving the results personally in 3 weeks I would worry that it was bad news (could there be any other reason?)

Might have a serious effect on my mental health
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Cunobelin
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by Cunobelin »

John100 wrote:
Psamathe wrote:
Ray wrote:....
My doctors (knowing I ride a bike) have never suggested I need to lay off beforehand. Nver, that is, until the last occasion, when a new doctor, being told about my cycling, said I should lay off for a fortnight; not only riding a bike, but also, I seem to remember, energetic sex (is des any other kind :wink: ......

I wonder if there is new "guidance" or more recent training (the GP that told me this was a fairly newly qualified as a GP) that has not yet got through to the various web sites. My GP did also say no sex for 2 weeks before the 5f8

For me this all started after I returned from a ride and was peeing blood (real Ribena concentrate, not a "might have been"); after "finger check" GP said all seemed fine but she'd discuss it with her colleagues and she called later to say to do the PSA test, just to be sure.

Ian

With all due respect to your GP if you were peeing blood, your prostate may well be ok, but you need your bladder looking at - as well as the rest of your urinary system which is done by a combination of scanning and cystoscopy (a camera into your bladder).



Could this be a confused message in the OP’s visit

Exercise can in some cases cause blood in the urine

Stopping that exercise before carrying out further tests would be sensible

Are you having a series of tests and the stoppage is not specific for the PSA
.
Cyril Haearn
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by Cyril Haearn »

George Monbiot has an interesting article about PC in the Guardian today
(sorry, can't post a link from my smartphone)
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Psamathe
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by Psamathe »

Cyril Haearn wrote:George Monbiot has an interesting article about PC in the Guardian today
(sorry, can't post a link from my smartphone)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/13/prostate-cancer-happy-diagnosis-operation ? (not read it yet but might be the one you are mentioning)

Ian
Cyril Haearn
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Psamathe wrote:
Cyril Haearn wrote:George Monbiot has an interesting article about PC in the Guardian today
(sorry, can't post a link from my smartphone)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/13/prostate-cancer-happy-diagnosis-operation ? (not read it yet but might be the one you are mentioning)

Ian

Thank you
It is a good optimistic article
Of course Mr Monbiot is financially and otherwise more able to be optimistic than some
Black men get PC more than white, no-one knows why
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bigjim
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by bigjim »

I has a very high PSA result [16] over ten years ago. GP said almost certainly cancer. I went to see the consultant and had the finger test. Not even slightly enlarged was the diagnosis and told to go away and have another test. Googled it and refrained from cycling, sex, tea, coffee and alcohol. Evidently all these things can irritate the prostate and give a false negative result. The results from the second test came back as 0.75. I was given the all clear. The prostate is quite high up and well away from the sit bones, so I imagine only a really soft saddle that would swell up between the buttocks, or if one has a very soft fleshy ass would it be affected by cycling.
steady eddy
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by steady eddy »

I came out of hospital in October following a cancer related hernia repair and my consultant did a PSA test before Christmas, just as a precaution. The result was high but she thought probably surgery related.

In late Jan she asked me to have another one as a follow up. The Drs surgery is near the community Gym. Having just been told I could cycle again I spent half an hour in the Gym on a static bike to see if the legs still worked - they did- and then went for the test. The PSA figure was sky high, which inevitably has set unwanted hares running! In a subsequent discussion with the Oncologist she said no cycling or ejaculation for 48 hours before the test and that is now printed on the blood test request form!

I am now awaiting another one in the hope that things have returned to normal.
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Audax67
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by Audax67 »

My doc puts it on the docket for my 6-monthly blood test and it has always been about a quarter of the heads-up level no matter what I've been doing.
Have we got time for another cuppa?
Winged wheels
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by Winged wheels »

Lots of false positives due to trauma from exercise so follow GP advice
Hermoglyph
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Re: PSA Test & Cycling

Post by Hermoglyph »

To add my two penn'orth - my first blood test was deemed 'suspicious' and a further test was advised. My doc hadn't given any advice about pre-test abstinence from cycling or sex or anything else! For the retest, on my own initiative I did abstain for 48 hours before, and it came back normal. Doesn't prove anything, but suggests to me that cycling and/or sex can temporarily raise your PSA - though I know good authorities doubt it.
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