New readers start here:

I joined this group in early 2002, after being diagnosed with PCa.  PSA
in December 2001 was 704, and after a biopsy on 22 december, my Gleason
score turned out to be 3+4=7.

My urologist started me on Zoladex, and Flutamide, and until November
last, I was getting regular implants of Zoladex.

I had all the usual symptoms and side effects, particularly urinary
frequency, and the infamous hot flushes, mood swings etc - manopause
really rocks, eh??

Well, 4 years down the track my urologist decided that we really needed
a TURP.  Things had been slowing down steadily, and although the PSA had
fallen very sharply, down to 1.8, in fact, it was now rising again.

Just before Christmas I had a TURP, coupled with a bilateral orchidectomy.

Once the swelling went down it was fine, and the district nurse's
regular visits made a huge difference, but I did return to the hospital
ED a couple of times, partly being a wimp, and partly because i had some
genuine concerns.  I mean, if they cut THEM off, where's all that
swelling coming from???

They were very helpful and sympathetic, even if they DID perform an
attempted aspiration of the scrotum under local anaesthetic!!  That
bloody hurt, and all they managed to find was my Central Nervous System!!

For the first couple of weeks I was peeing like the proverbial horse,
but then things began to tail off rapidly.

I was taking Hytrin, to improve the flow, and Oxybutinin to prevent spasms.

I wound up being catheterized three times (apart from in surgical
recovery).  The first two were bad enough - acute (and total) retention
led me to my local A&E doctor in February, and again a few weeks later,
although the second time was at 4 am, and necessitated an ambulance ride
to hospital.

During the first catheterisation after discharge I was badly troubled by
spasming, and lots of leakage from around the catheter.  Quite
embarrassing, and used up an awful lot of pads.  (We use and recommend
Tena for Men)

Finally, on 8th May, I took myself in to the main city hospital at 2:30
am, where they tried no less than 4 times (and I think 5) to insert a
catheter which collapsed inside the prostate each time.  VERY, VERY
painful!!!!!

In the end I wound up with a Supra-pubic catheter, which was basically
pushed in through the abdomen and into the bladder.  That was a very
strange sensation, I can tell you, and took a while to come to terms
with, but I've got the hang of it now.

Care and maintenance is fairly simple - I shower daily, and clean the
wound site thoroughly.  I often, but not invariably, fit a dressing
around the tube, but lately I've picked up a rash from the tape, so i've
stopped that for the time being.

During the day a certain amount of discharge forms a crust around the
site, and some adheres to the tube.  The tube goes in and out an inch or
more (ugh!), and sometimes the crust grabs the odd pubic hair, which
makes things a little sharp.

Also there is some discomfort when the crust on the tube tries to pop
down the hole.  There's a high risk of infection, and already I've been
on two courses of antibiotics, which isn't exactly ideal.  To reduce the
chance of infection I am banned from taking a bath, which I would dearly
love.

I've stopped the Hytrin, which gave me considerable trouble at Easter,
when I collapsed whilst pushing father-in-law around in his wheelchair,
and also discontinued the Oxybutinin, as it didn't seem to do much for
the spasms.

In fact I get frequent spasms now, but at the tip of my penis, as though
I was about to really let fly, yet nothing happens.  However, I do pass
the odd few drops of urine, as well as some odd spots of other
discharge, and have voided quite freely on a few occasions.

However, it was clear to me in May, when they did a flexible cystoscopy,
that the urethra was badly blocked, and a repeat TURP is highly unlikely
to eventuate, even though a *cunning plan* was devised to enable one.

So - this brings us up to date, and allows me to explain the title.

My prostate is badly swollen, and has for some time affected my bowels
as well as my bladder.  Bowel motions are frequently like sheep
droppings, and the whole process is rather like squeezing toothpaste.
When I sit, it feels like I have a pineapple up my rear end.

But here's the good news...

Today I went for a *mark-up* at Rad-Oncology, and on Thursday they begin
10 sessions of radiotherapy, with a view to shrinking the prostate for
my personal comfort.  I'll be supporting that with a course of
Cyproterone, and I hope it'll do some good.

I'm pretty tired a lot of the time - I notice that almost every
medication is marked *May cause drowsiness* - and it's good that I was
able to retire at Easter 2005, although that doesn't mean I've sat on my
hands since then.

So here we are...  PSA is probably over 200 now, having climbed very
rapidly over the last 9 months, but i'm still functioning.  my sense of
humour is still very good, although i do get a little stressed now and
them.  My wife is coping extraordinarily well, given that her mother,
who lives with us, is suffering from Congestive Heart Failures, and
frequently needs an ambulance to Hospital.

I've totally accepted my situation, and am coming to terms with a number
of things, including the likelihood that i won't make my school's 50th
anniversary, but then, who knows??

I'll give it a go...

Regards,

Jolly John