Scared of the symptoms...please help
I am a guy who just turned 39. In the past one month I have been having a burning sensation in the tip of the penis for quite some time after urinating. I also have pretty bad back pain, hip pain and sometimes neck pain. I get shooting sensations regularly at different parts of the body. My Gp checked my prostate and said it is inflamed and put me on a 10 day course of antibiotics. Through the course the burning in the tip kept wavering where some days it’s gone and some days it comes back but not with the original intensity. I also noticed urine stream problems couple of times. Also have head pressure and nausea sometimes.
In my follow up visit the gp checked the prostate and says the swelling seems to have gone down and he said it is very unlikely that it is prostate cancer as he could not find any abnormalities in DRE.
He also put me on another follow up antibiotic course as my symptoms are intermittent. For the past three days I have developed a very high grade fever(103-104). Doctor said he doesn’t want to test and concluded it is viral.
When I asked if it makes sense to run PSA test he got pretty upset and said just rule out prostate cancer from my mind.
Any suggestions as to how to take this forward.
Sounds like you are having quite the time of it. If I were in your situation it would be time for me to be contacting a urologist.
A General Practitioner is just that a generalist and good first step. At the same time from your description it appears you have a number of concerns and are not sure of the advice you are receiving. Getting a second opinion never hurts.
While it is true that prostate cancer is most often discovered in older men it is not unheard of to have someone diagnosed in their 30's or 40's. In fact nationally prostate cancer is being found in younger men.
It would be good for you to know if anyone in your family ( father brother mother sister etc) has had either prostate cancer (PCa) or breast cancer. There is growing evidence the two appear to follow the BRCA l and ll gene line. If there is a family link your potential for developing PCa is increased.
You have the right to ask for a psa test and if nothing else it will give you a base line for any follow-up. Some MD's do not see the need for it - personally I think it is good to have more vs less information for comparisons.
Sounds like you may have a prostate infection and they can be nasty to deal with and some are difficult to treat and cure. Typically fever is related to an infection. A number of years ago i had a prostate infection and when the gland was checked i developed high fever in the next half hour. It is not uncommon for a GP to miss something doing a digital - it happened to me and I know it has happened to others especially if a growth is occurring on the back of the prostate. What my GP missed the urologist discovered
I hope my personal experiences have shed some light on my experience - that said we are all different. In the end we are all responsible for our personal health and it is good you are asking questions.
... Dennis(prostate cancer.net TEAM)
Hi kkri ... I came across your note from last month hope that you are doing well or at least are getting some answers - Feel free to keep in touch as you can
... Dennis (prostatecancer.net team)
Get a second opinion.
If the doctor won’t order it and the insurance won’t pay for it, I’d simply spend the few bucks it costs and pay for it myself. Here, a PSA test is just $45 (price of a dinner for two at a modestly priced restaurant; well worth the price.). If that would satisfy your concerns, do it.
Hi kkri. Just want to follow-up and see hoe you are doing? Have you been able to get any further answers concerning your problems and have the symptoms improved at all? Please feel free to let us know if you have any further questions. Best, Richard (ProstateCancer.net Team)
