Prostate exam...crap!

Setting my appointment for my prostate exam, I don't look forward to this. I think it's a waste of time, but I've head the horror stories. What questions do I need to asked but don't know where to start.

chiphead

You might find better medical advice at Mayoclinic.com, or by Googling "prostate exam" instead of a flashlight forum.

This sounds horrible. I am lucky I'm still quite young and have a few years before this happens. Always better to be safe though isn't it.
Good luck!

Marmaduke the forum gives all kinds of information and advice from real people . Much easier than spending hours trawling google.

I guess I would want to know about wine and candlelight . Seriously, I am in your shoes, or will be soon, and I do not know anything about it yet. I wil hold off on any EDC jokes.
I hope that all goes wel

chiphead said:

Setting my appointment for my prostate exam, I don't look forward to this. I think it's a waste of time, but I've heard the horror stories. What questions do I need to asked but don't know where to start.

chiphead

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You should be aware that a very high percentage of men actually die with Prostate Cancer ... They don't die OF Prostate cancer but it is there nevertheless when they eventually die of something else.

The initial examination is nothing to be worried about ... I had my first examination about 50 years ago when I was in my twenties ... I ended up walking round the surgery on tip-toes dragging the doctor behind me with his finger doing the inspection ... If you relax , it is perfectly OK and you won't dislocate the Doctors finger either.

About ten years ago when I was visiting my Doctor on another matter , I asked if I could have a PSA (blood) test done as I was going rather too often to the Loo ... My PSA was over ten so I had to have further tests and biopsies ... I was put on medication which helped to reduce the number of nightime toilet visits ... Over the last few years , my PSA went up into the twenties and I had yet more tests including a "magic-eye" examination of the bladder ... I am now on more medication to shrink the prostate and it is working great.

Unfortunately I also know of several men who were too embarrassed or scared to go for the tests ... Unfortunately they are no longer with us , having left it too late to get help.

I'm 73 now and although I have other non-related health problems , I can still enjoy my life ... I just take all the pills and get on with life.

Every man should have the Prostate test ... Don't be shy.
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OMG, it's not a waste of time and is over before you know it.

The exam part has been painless, for me at least. The part that gets me is the PSA blood test because my veins are very small.

This is one of those cases where 'what you don't know can kill you'. Same for a colonoscopy test, esp. if your family history has occurrences of it. I'm 54 and have had 4 normal exams.

Good luck on your test, the first one is always the worst.

Acid87 said:

Marmaduke the forum gives all kinds of information and advice from real people . Much easier than spending hours trawling google.

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Got it, kind of like getting some input (no pun intended) from the chaps at the pub. Good luck!

It's really no big deal, chiphead. I'm sure it's much worse for the doctor. Why don't you offer him a headlamp beforehand? :laughing:

Geoff

might help if the doctors good looking.

I quite like it myself but then my Doc is qiute attractive.

Good point!

Thanks due.
chiphead

Four...ouch!

robertrock said:

OMG, it's not a waste of time and is over before you know it.

The exam part has been painless, for me at least. The part that gets me is the PSA blood test because my veins are very small.

This is one of those cases where 'what you don't know can kill you'. Same for a colonoscopy test, esp. if your family history has occurrences of it. I'm 54 and have had 4 normal exams.

Good luck on your test, the first one is always the worst.

Click to expand...

That only happens in Penthouse Letters.

Jay R said:

I quite like it myself but then my Doc is qiute attractive.

Click to expand...

Funny.

Flying Turtle said:

It's really no big deal, chiphead. I'm sure it's much worse for the doctor. Why don't you offer him a headlamp beforehand? :laughing:

Geoff

Click to expand...

are there any questions to ask . i dont think so. the 'digital' exam looks for texture and lumps. and is apparently more reliable than the PSA test tho less palatable ,(for some). but any findings here are far from conclusive for cancer because enlarged (swollen) prostates are common and follow up investigation would then be needed. that is when you ask questions.

cheers . and dont chicken out the PSA is no substitute.

If you mean a digital exam that's nothin. No doubt it feels odd and it's no fun but it only takes a minute and it's over.

You guys must have had a better urologist than I had (if you had a cystoscopy). It was definitely painful and it feels exactly as you would imagine it would. (like trying to fit an SR90 into a straw if you catch my drift) I was so shocked by the sensation I accidentally hit the assisting nurse. It was just a reflex but I hit her pretty hard. As if I didn't feel bad enough from the test itself. Anyway...everything was OK so it was good to know symptoms were from a benign condition. My wife made me go because her friend's husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer even though his PSA was in the single digits.

I do agree it's worth getting it done...and a colonoscopy too. We all want to be here for whatever technology comes after the LED! I expect to EDC a small pocket flashlight that delivers 1000+ lumens and will run for an hour before I kick! No rush mind you.

i reckon i was happier before i googled cystoscopy.

march.brown said:

I had yet more tests including a "magic-eye" examination of the bladder ... I am now on more medication to shrink the prostate and it is working great.

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I assume that this test is a Cystoscopy ... The surgeon squirted some anaesthetic first before putting the 'scope in ... I don't know whether all these 'scopes are the same , but mine had a light and a fibre optic lens plus a drain tube plus a tube for inflating the bladder with air or water ... All in something much smaller than a pencil ... The anaesthetic made me jump as I wasn't expecting it ... As I was apologising to the nurses for saying "S**T" , I noticed the picture on the large colour TV as the probe went in ... I didn't feel any pain or discomfort with this ... The surgeon explained what the various bits were and pointed out an extra lobe on my prostate that shouldn't have been there ... He explained that it could be removed by surgery or it could be shrunk by medication ... This extra lobe was apparently the reason why I needed to go more often to the loo ... A bit like a dam on a small river really ... My "dam" was holding back over half a litre even when I had finished ... It is now only a few millilitres with the effective medication ... They measure the amount left in the bladder using ultra-sound techniques.

Anyway ,we continued up into the bladder where he inflated me to make it sort of spherical and after examinating it thoroughly , he said it was perfect ... I was then deflated and rinsed out ... The surgeon made a tactical error with the drainpipe and both he and the nurses got wet ... The probe was removed with absolutely no discomfort.

I then had to sit and drink a couple of cups of water to make sure that I could pass water OK ... This took a while as I was already running on empty ... I was warned that there would be some discomfort when passing water for a couple of days ... This is true but not eye-wateringly so ... The Nurse had to check the colour of the urine and said that a Chardonay or Rose would be perfectly accepable ... Mine was perfect ... I had to drink lots of water to flush things out and after three days was functioning perfectly and painlessly.

Having had biopsies done on my prostate on several occasions , I can understand why some men are apprehensive about it ... But I look at it like this ... I'm still alive.

It's not as bad as childbirth ... That is based on my Wifes experiences having had four children.
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If you think back, there have probably been times in your life, parties, family dinners, where you ate an unreasonably large quantity of food and then paid for it dearly not long after when the processed result tried to come out all at once - your prostate exam won't feel nearly as uncomfortable as those times. Bottom line, you've already been through worse..