Please please can anyone help me , my son 22 as been told by his consultant that he as a prostate of a 80yr old man. In a matter of 2wks he's had a ultrasound, a camera up his penis , a flow test and a MRI scan. 7 consultants have looked at his results and cant give us any answers , they are baffled as they never come across a lad so young. He is now booked in to have a biopsy on Tuesday. As you can imagine im going out of my mind with worry .
How big did they say that his prostate is and did they do a PSA test?
hi helen your son is certainly young to have prostate problems i have never known as young a person i am 62 and i have had 4 catheters inserted over a period of time i had one taken out today at the urology clinic the surgeon told me i had to stay and see if i could pass urine it took 3 hours for it to work but flow is very weak if it does not work i am to have an op on it try not to worry about it as it can be sorted out regards francis
Helen, a few weeks back I read an account by a BPH sufferer that had drastic problems like your son until he gave up all use of any food containing gluten. He stated that his symptoms lessened in days and in a couple of weeks disappeared entirely. It could be worth a try although you will find that gluten is in most of our food and avoiding it entirely may be impossible.
However if not a gluten allergy why not an allergy to something else? Sounds like a real possibility to me. See a dietician or and allergist or both. I believe I would do that. Good luck!!
Check allergies, especially to gluten, I read an account in these forums pertaining to exactly that, with excellent results when identified. See a dietician!
Hi Helen
The only way you will know with any certainty will be the biopsey.If no cancer is identified you will know and they will know to look for other alternatives.Its a very tough time I do understand.But its a question of eliminating the more obvious reason.
i do wish you luck.
Peter
Whilst an enlarged prostate is odd in someone so young, perhaps what is more important is what is the effects of this. The fact that non of the consultants are suggesting anything would suggest to me that there is probably nothing serious - just the oddity of the prostate being large.
What are his PSA readings - a molecular marker for cancer (not infallible, but used to indicate possible problems; if a low reading, then this probably means that is not an issue)?
How is his urine flow? If that is OK, then maybe there is not too much wrong. Why did he have a check on his prostate - what were the symptoms that caused the doctors to a check?
Hi Helen
I guess the Dr undertook checks for infections? Like everyone else has said, it sounds like some sort of irritation or allergic reaction. Does your son ride a bike or spend many hours sitting down? Bike saddles place a lot of pressure in the groin area which can bruse nerves and / or block the flow of blood. Bad posture can also have a similar effect. Do the sysmptoms deminish after a vigerous walk?
Most seem to be ignoring the fact that he has had all of the usual tests that determine his prostate size and from Helen's words it must be grossly enlarged. Faddy diets and walking are not going to help.
From what you have said and PC is very unlikely at your sons age the answer is going to be one of the surgical remedies. As they can cause retro ejaculation or impotence he needs to speak to the medical team about collecting, freezing and storing his sperm for future use.
If he has had his PSA checked it will be high as large prostate equals high PSA.
My PSA was about 9.8 before I had my first laser surgery for BPH.
hi ian, thanks for your feedback.
Nobody has mentioned PSA readings. His urine flow was poor, his bladder was still 40% full.
He started with symptoms of urine infection in May this year, was given antibiotics but they didnt work . He went back to the doctors again and thats when he checked his prostate, found it enlarged and perscribed some different meds and a blood test as they wanted to rule out a STI,which came back clear. The meds made him feel awful so he ended up going to A&E where they checked him and his prostate , they said they didnt know what was wrong with him and stop taking the tablets.They told my son they would refer him to a consultant , who he saw for the first time two wks ago. After being checked my son was told he had the prostate of a 80yr old man , large and hard.Since then everythings been rushed through,flow test,ultra sound,camera into his penis,MRI scan and now he's waiting to have a blood test because he could'nt have one for two weeks after the camera! and then the biopsy on tues.
hi derek,
yes after he'd had the MRI scan we went straight in to see the consultant for the results where they explained that to us . Not really what a 22yr old wants to here :-/
Normally they would do a PSA test and biopsy before doing an MRI scan. Evidently the MRI has not given them an answer otherwise they would have said. They have also seen the prostate during the cystocopy and have a picture of it from the TRUSS.
Surmising does not help and doing a biopsy is like firing 12 or 16 needles into an orange hoping to hit a pip.
Some notes on how a prostate feels:
"The prostate gland is normally rubbery, pliable, and smooth. Because it is next to the rectum, the physician is able to feel its size and consistency with a gloved finger during a rectal exam. If it feels enlarged or hard or there is a hard lump, then this is an indication that the prostate has undergone a change, not necessarily cancer. If it is swollen, sore and soft it may be infected"
Hi Helen.
Thanks for answering. With that info, there's not anything more I can add - others have done better than I could. Clearly there's something that needs serious attention, and very careful consideration before any further irriversible operations are done. Anything that puts at risk your son's chances of being a father in the future has to checked and checked again, along with possible sperm preservation if there's any chance of it being compromised.
I'd want at least one other consultation by someone at a specialist centre. If your consultant cannot recommend someone, then I'd check out NHS Choices website; pester his GP to find the best expert; etc.
Sorry I cannot be of more help.
Hi Ian , thank you for your advice . I see what they say on tues after the biopsy . Do you think they will know something that day? Or will we have to wait 2 weeks?
Biopsy specimens have to be sent to the pathology lab, for specialist guys to prepare (slicing into think sections and put on a slide) and then stare down a microscope to see if they can see abnormal cells. There's thus a time lag to ge to them; to prepare the speciman; and then wait their turn to be checked. I don't know how long it may take in any particular place, but a few days would seem minimum; mine took a couple of weeks (but I wasn't in a hurry). You could ask the doc and/or ask them to speed it up.
Hi Helen, I recommend the following:
1) Do not assume the urologist you are seeing knows the best approach. Get a HoLEP doctors opinion
2) I don't know where you live, but travel to the closest best HoLEP doctor you can find
3) If you are in the US, the Mayo in Rochester and that woman who performs HoLEP may be your best bet. A friend of mine recently went there. They are taking him on a non-surgical path for now.
4) Enlarged prostate and Prostatitis are commonly mixed up as being the same thing when they are not. He might have a temporarily enlarged prostate from prostatitis. A course of antibiotics may help. Dose level may need to be higher than the urologist has him on
5) If your sons situation just materiialized with real problems for him, your son may have drank or eaten things to inflamt the prostate. But that also may be a sign he may primarily have prostititis vs an enlarged prostate. If this is the case, and if the antibiotics can get him back to a normal level, he is going to need to take responsibility on whatever he was easting or drinking before that might have caused or contributed to the problem.
Good luck!
Have you read the Mayo link on Holep?
No, I only know a woman there does HoLEP. Also, for Helens son, Helen, you need to determine the size of your sons prostate. It may not be large, it may just have an unfortunate shape, often an enlarged median lobe. Many of us on these forums have or had prostates in the 75-200 gram range. If your sons is not in this range, Mayo may prescribe a different approach like they just did with a friend of mine.
Thank you peter.