I was diagnosed by a fluke blood test from a health fair at my job. They took blood and checked sugar, cholesterol, TSH(for thyroid) and many others. My PSA was 5.4 and flagged. My thyroid numbers were also elevated.
I sent the results to my personal physician and he called me and started me on Synthroid for my thyroid and set up an appointment for a Urologist to see me for the PSA. He found a lump through digital inspection and scheduled a biopsy a month later.
Great!! "I just buried my beloved cool mother in law the month before and now my kids dad is dying".
I had the biopsy and the agonizing three day wait. I had the surgery on July 23, 2008.
The crazy thing is I had a big job interview on July 22, 2008. I did get the job , but my mind was on something else.
I have had four PSA screenings since and the numbers are less than 1.0 every time. Erections work a little by itself and very well with Viagra. I have been hesitant to resume sex with my wife because I am not sure of myself.
All is well. PSA has been zero or negligible for two and a half years. It will be three years since my surgery in July 2011.
I am ok, checking PSA every year now instead of 6 months.
Surgery was July 2008, so going on 4 years.
I get a blood test every year, all have been undetected PSA.
On July 23, 2013 I will be 5 years cancer free.
No changes
Cancer free 6 years
Last PSA; in 2014 was showing about 1, so they had me get it done again and it was undetectable again as the last 6 years. Dr just wanted to be sure. All is well..
7 years cancer free.
Tested every 6 months.
Undetectable
I get my PSA yearly and an in-person Dr visit.
No spike in PSA in last 8 years.
About 4 months ago I started using an app on my phone called Dr. Kegels that has you do Kegel excercises twice a day..This strengthens your pelvic floor muscles, it is about 15$ a year, but I have had very noticeable improvement.
It is a shame doctors don't give better resources, I found this myself. The Docs only give you a piece of paper describing the excercise.
Also, I have noticed a BIG improvement in erections.
At the same time 4 months ago I bought a Phoenix ,a handheld device that uses low-intensity shockwave therapy (Li-ESWT) to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) that you vcan use at home.
It sounds weird and it scared me at first that I didn't use it for the first few months.
A combination of daily Kegels and the Phoenix program and Cialis has given me the hard thing I have been missing for a decade .
Also, the dribbling I was experiencing has practically gone away.
I was wearing a small pad for the leaks for months, but my pee doesnt voluntarily drip anymore.
I credit Kegels for that.
Mark's e-mail address is: buckocamp AT comcast.net (replace "AT" with "@")
