PSA levels on TRT - SURVEY

[broker]

Tree top flyer. I had similar issues using T with prostate issues.
I still have them but i am convinced i damaged my left testicle with hcg. I had eppididimytis type symotoms. Been goin on for 9 years.
Talk about fun .

 

[SilverSurfer]

Tree top flyer. I had similar issues using T with prostate issues.
I still have them but i am convinced i damaged my left testicle with hcg. I had eppididimytis type symotoms. Been goin on for 9 years.
Talk about fun .

9 years?!? I had epididimytis one time for 3 weeks and that sucked. Every time I got into my truck it was like some kicked me in the nuts.

At 9 years I’d tell the doc to cut em off and keep em. I’d rather be a eunuch.

 

[broker]

I dont have any pain, just an irritated feeling. Every now and then it can get a bit sore but nothing big. My left testicle is now twice the size of the other.
I think that had something to do with my prostate issues,

 

[Systemlord]

2017 PSA = 1.4
2018 PSA = 1.2
2019 PSA = .8 and something is swelling up cutting off urination within 48 hours upon restarting TRT.

So as PSA decreases I have more urinary symptoms.

 

[DragonBits]

Dragonbits
Prostatitis almost always causes annoying and sometimes painful symptoms. Prostatitis can cause a spike in psa levels but not a “ gradual spike”.

True, I don't have symptoms of anything.

But velocity is pretty high, I measured often so it looks more gradual. Most sites that talk about velocity look at year to year, I had a 1.8 gain in six months and 1.6 gain in 4 months.

Cancer seems unlikely since every test like select MDX and %Free are pretty good.

I was looking at not only how fast PSA moved up but also seemed to move down quickly, and I did incidentally have antibiotics around those times which could account for PSA moving down.

I will just have to see what the next PSA test in Jan is and what the urologist thinks. Maybe PSA will stabilize, but I don't yet see any sign of that happening.

 

[TorontoTRT]

So it seems some guys have a stable psa on trt and others have higher velocity. What could account for this? Most medical papers state psa does not increase on TRT. Is this increase benign or dangerous? Or is it similar to hematocrit. Where some guys have no increase and some guys go to 56 just by looking at a vial of test. I’m curious if high hematocrit guys might also have higher psa velocities?

 

[johnoh]

been on trt for ten years, am now 58 y/o
3/2009 psa: 1.6
9/2019: 2.3

psa jumped to over 3 when i was on hcg along with test, and then over 3 again when I was just on 150mg/week test cyp. I had some LUTS issues when psa was at 3 too. My psa moves up and down more than most and is lowest when I'm more into fitness and resistance training. Now I inject just 14mg test cyp every day, total test is 900. I'm kind of paranoid about driving up my psa, which is why I have lowered my test dose over the years. Have also taken every prostate supplement known to man, and only three things really make a difference for me in terms of PSA and LUTS: quercetin and bacopa monnieri, but each causes headaches, so butea superba is my favorite. Better LUTS performance and a little sex boost too with butea. For me anyway

 

[TorontoTRT]

Daily I’m taking: (all these for preventative measures long term)

- Cialis 5 mg
- 1 glass pomegranate juice
- Nootropic supplement that includes baccopa, alpha GPC, lion’s mane, l-tyrosine, l-theanine and huperzine
- Shilajit (fulvic and humic acid)
- 12 mg boron
- 200 mg bioresponse DIM
- 3000 mg calcium d-glucarate
- 2000 mg Vitamin C
- NAC 1000 mg
- Vitamin D3 6000 IU
- Vitamin K2 120 mcg
- 3 grams omega 3s
- Multivitamin
- Astaxanthin 12 mg
- Resveratrol Synergy 200 mg
- Melatonin 10 mg
- Iron bisglycinate 50 mg
- Lysine 1000 m

 

[BJE]

Here’s my PSA history. I’ve never had a free PSA test.
PSA
2/1/2006 .63
11/21/06 .46
3/8/07 .5
1/1/09 .57
11/2/10 .8 first on TRT
10/8/11 1.2 prostatitis
12/1/11 .9
12/3/12 .8
10/17/13 .9
10/12/15 .7
10/24/16 .77
9/17/17 .74
9/5/18 .89
11/9/18 .9
8/20/19 1.01

 

[TorontoTRT]

What were your prostatitis symptoms on the 1.2 reading?How old are you?

 

[BJE]

What were your prostatitis symptoms on the 1.2 reading?How old are you?

I’ve had a lot of prostatitis over the years. The symptoms I get are usually pain in my prostate and testicles. That test was done while having prostatitis symptoms which likely account for the blip. I am 55 years old.
The recent .89, .9 and 1.01 are essentially the same within a margin of error.

 

[TorontoTRT]

Mine jumped from 0.77 to 1.8 in 10 months. I was majorly constipated and ever since (November 23) I’ve experienced what sounds like prostatitis. Pain in the perineum and under testicles and internal burning kinda like hemorrhoids. But no urinary issues at all. Just pain after bowel movements. Seems like it’s all almost gone. The crazy thing is googling psa velocity non stop increased my stress so much that I think it brought on these prostatitis symptoms. I’m 43.

 

[Scors60]

I started out back in 2014 with my PSA at 1.4. I was 59 and my testosterone level was 150. So, I went to a TRT clinic and I started at 100 mg per week. I eventually adjusted to 60mg per week, a very low dosage, but it got my testosterone up around 600 and I felt fine. My PSA jumped to 2.2, but it was 3 years later, I was 62, my DRE was normal, I had no family history of cancer at all and my Urologist was not concerned. He is on TRT as well, and does not buy into all the TRT causes Prostate cancer hype.

That said, I was cruising along until about a year ago. My PSA suddenly jumped from 2.2 to 5.1. A retest had it back to 2.4. The next draw a couple months later had it up to 5.8, then back down again after that. Mind you, ALL of those tests were 4K tests and each one kept saying I had less than a 5% chance of finding prostate cancer on biopsy. I had no BPH symptoms and prostatitis was ruled out on testing.

Finally, my Urologist ordered an T3 MRI for me to see WTF was actually going on. Sure enough, there were 3 small areas, two at PIRADS 3 (maybe cancer, maybe not) and one at PIRADS 4 (most likely cancer). That, of course, triggered a biopsy--thankfully, a fusion biopsy, using the MRI image for guidance (most guys get a blind biopsy which could miss things) which returned a finding of Prostate cancer, low intermediate risk or Gleason 7, for those who know what that means (3+4).

My Urologist told me straight away that the TRT did not cause my cancer. However, with a positive finding, it COULD possibly fuel it, so I should stop. But I was way ahead of him, and had quit cold turkey right after the biopsy, about 5 months ago now. No sense possibly making things worse.

I'll be seeing a Radiation Oncologist next week to set up Cyberknife as my treatment of choice. Thankfully what I have is not very aggressive and is contained to the Prostate, so I should be fine. My Urologist said that if I show steadily low PSA numbers for 9 moths to a year following treatment, I could possibly go back on TRT if I so wished. I don't know. I'll see. Frankly, I don't feel all that bad, probably because my dosage was so low for so long anyway. My motivation in the gym is a little lower and my libido is definitely lower, but it's hardly the "living hell" I was expecting.

TRT does NOT cause Prostate cancer. It MIGHT, however, fuel it if you already have it. In my case, at least in the short term until I muzzle this rabid dog inside me, I decided not to hedge my bets. Make sure you are getting your PSA checked at least every 6 months and a DRE every year, especially for you over 50 types. Ironically, had I NOT been going to a TRT clinic, I STILL would not know I have cancer because my Doctor back 6 years ago was one who bought into that "PSA test unnecessary" bullshit from 2012. I'd still be going to him and still not getting a PSA test or DRE since I am totally a-symptomatic and have zero family history of ANY cancer at all--and that's with 3 of 4 grandparents living into their late 90's, my mom in her 90's and my dad never even having BPH symptoms before he passed at almost 80.

PSA tests are notoriously sketchy, but they are still the first alarm that something may be up. If this is caught early, you have a 95% chance of living at least another 15 years, probably more. Don't get spooked by a high PSA, but don't ignore it either. It doesn't necessarily mean cancer, but it could. Be smart. Get tested.

 

[VacationMan]

My PSA remained static pre and post TRT. Consistently between 1.2 and 1.5. Only time it spiked was due to adding scrotal Test cream. Started that because my DHT level was a bit on the low end. All of a sudden - BAM! PSA at 3.9. I discontinued the Test cream and PSA went back down to my "normal" level of 1.2 to 1.5.

Might have your DHT level checked...

 

[TorontoTRT]

I think DHEA might’ve spiked my psa numbers. At the sane test for psa 1.8 my DHEA-S levels were 810! I have since stopped the 75 mg daily dhea and 100 mg daily pregnenolone to see if these added to it. Testing psa again in 2 weeks.

 

[Smokin Joe]

.85 Pre-TRT.
Now 3.2 after five years on TRT.
Stable last 3 years but watching closely.

 

[TorontoTRT]

@Smokin Joe how old are you?

 

[DragonBits]

Daily I’m taking: (all these for preventative measures long term)

- Cialis 5 mg
- 1 glass pomegranate juice
- Nootropic supplement that includes baccopa, alpha GPC, lion’s mane, l-tyrosine, l-theanine and huperzine
- Shilajit (fulvic and humic acid)
- 12 mg boron
- 200 mg bioresponse DIM
- 3000 mg calcium d-glucarate
- 2000 mg Vitamin C
- NAC 1000 mg
- Vitamin D3 6000 IU
- Vitamin K2 120 mcg
- 3 grams omega 3s
- Multivitamin
- Astaxanthin 12 mg
- Resveratrol Synergy 200 mg
- Melatonin 10 mg
- Iron bisglycinate 50 mg
- Lysine 1000 m

Look into lycopene.

Lycopene may lower the risk of developing prostate cancer. It can also help men with BPH, according to the National Cancer Institute . ... Lycopene also helps lower the prostate specific antigen (PSA) connected to prostate inflammation, BPH, and prostate cancer

7 Foods to Prevent an Enlarged Prostate

 

[DragonBits]

So it seems some guys have a stable psa on trt and others have higher velocity. What could account for this? Most medical papers state psa does not increase on TRT. Is this increase benign or dangerous? Or is it similar to hematocrit. Where some guys have no increase and some guys go to 56 just by looking at a vial of test. I’m curious if high hematocrit guys might also have higher psa velocities?

Good questions, I have both situations at different times. BTW, most medical papers claim TRT causes a modest increase in PSA.

For 5 years on TRT my PSA was stable between 2.1 - 2.8. In 1992 my PSA was 2.1, during 5 years of trt psa rose to 2.8. From age 57>62, maybe a small age related rise?.

Quit TRT for 3 years.

Restarted TRT at age 66 with a PSA of 2.4, PSA quickly zoomed up to 3.9 in 5 months. Only difference this time was adding HCG/DHEA, and I am 3 years older.

Even after quitting HCG/DHEA, PSA fluctuated between 3.2-4.8.

The highest my hematocrit has even been is 47.5, it did go up on TRT, but only from 40 > 47.5. Last time I looked HCT was 45.

Cause? Maybe HCG, maybe DHT increase, maybe age related, maybe cancer, maybe even DHEA, maybe prostatitis, no real way to tell the cause.

Hematocrit HCT seems totally unrelated.

 

[DragonBits]

Recently, I chatted with two acquaintances in the gym with prostate problems.

Neither was on TRT.

One is about 53, he had a PSA that rose to 27 and was urinating 5 times in one hour. He had a Radical Prostatectomy, this was a month after surgery. He was feeling much better but was a little scared of having sex so he was waiting a longer time for that.

The other guy is 88, he had a PSA level of 5 for 20 years. Then it started to increase to 7 and then 11. He was diagnosed with cancer.

At age 70, or in his case 80, they won't do chemo or Prostatectomy, they gave him 3 years to live with no action. He elected radiation treatment, they give him 10 years, his goal is to make it to 100.