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  1. #1
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    How to Check Your Prostate




    How to Check Your Prostate

    A digital rectal exam (DRE) is one of the primary methods a doctor uses to check your prostate. It involves the doctor briefly inserting a finger into your rectum to feel for potential abnormalities. The abnormalities may include symptoms associated with prostate cancer, benign prostate hyperplasia (an enlarged prostate), and prostatitis (an inflamed prostate usually from infection).[1] Medical professionals do not recommend trying to perform a self exam do to the training required to reach accurate conclusions based on the exam. However, if you wish to administer your own exam, you should be familiar with the techniques used by an examining physician.


    Part1
    Deciding If You Need a Prostate Screening






    1. 1
      Determine the necessity of a screening based on your age. The American Cancer Society suggests a yearly prostate screening for all men age 50 and over. However, select circumstances may warrant screenings beginning at an earlier age. These include:[2]
      • Age 40 for men with more than one first-degree relative (son, brother, or father) who had prostate cancer before age 65.
      • Age 45 for men with a single first-degree relative who had prostate cancer before age 65.
      • Age 45 for African American men due to carrying a higher risk of prostate cancer.






    2. 2
      Note any symptoms associated with your urinary system. Problems associated with your bladder, urethra, and penis can all potentially have ties to prostate problems. Due to the proximity of the prostate to these systems it can grow and press against them causing dysfunction. With prostate issues you may experience the following:[3]
      • Slow or weak urine streams
      • Difficulty urinating
      • Frequent urination at night
      • Burning urination
      • Blood in your urine
      • Difficulty getting an erection
      • Painful ejaculation
      • Lower back pain





    3. 3
      See your doctor. If you have any urinary symptoms, a variety of ailments may be responsible that a DRE alone cannot diagnose. Also, a DRE is just one of several tests your doctor may use to determine the health of your prostate.
      • Your doctor may order a trans rectal ultrasound (TRUS) to check for suspicious tissues inside of your rectum.
      • A biopsy may also be necessary to confirm or rule out cancer.





    4. 4
      Request a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. Your doctor can order a laboratory test to check your PSA levels (a specific protein found in your prostate) in the event of prostate abnormalities. Most doctors conclude a PSA level of 4ng/ml or lower is considered normal.[4]
      • PSA levels can cause false positive or false negative results. The Unites States Preventive Task Force advises against prostate screening with PSA levels due to these risks.[5]
      • Ejaculation (recent sexual activity), prostate infection, digital rectal examination, and bike riding (due to pressure on the prostate) can cause elevations of PSA. Those without prostate symptoms and elevated PSA may require repeat testing after two days.
      • Repeat elevated PSA levels may warrant a DRE and/or biopsy of the prostate (needle inserted to take a piece of the prostate tissue for analysis) if symptoms are present.
      • Men with a PSA of less than 2.5 ng/mL may only need to be retested every two years whereas screening should be done yearly if your PSA level is 2.5 ng/mL or higher.[6]







    Part2
    Checking Your Prostate






    1. 1
      Consider having your doctor perform the exam. Though it may seem relatively simple to perform, prostate exams require proper technique and the ability to understand what you are feeling for.
      • Possible complications include bleeding due to nail punctures of cysts or other masses. This can lead to infection or other complications, which you cannot handle at home and would require a trip to your doctor regardless.
      • In addition, if your self exam is abnormal and you seek advice from your doctor, he will most likely repeat the exam to confirm the results anyway.





    2. 2
      Assume the correct position. Performed at your doctor’s office, your doctor would position you either lying down on your side with your knees up or standing leaning forward with your hips flexed. This gives the doctor easier access to your rectum and prostate.[7]



    3. 3
      Inspect the area for any skin conditions. This will either require some handy work with a hand mirror or the assistance of a spouse or partner. Inspect your rectal area visually for any skin conditions, such as cysts, warts, or hemorrhoids.[8]



    4. 4
      Put on a sterile glove. You or your partner should put on a sterile latex glove to perform the DRE. Ensure that you wash your hands before touching the glove to put it on. You will only use your index finger for the exam, but you should still wear gloves.
      • Ensure you have closely trimmed fingernails before washing your hands and putting on the glove. Even through the latex, you can accidentally scrape the area or puncture a cyst or other mass.





    5. 5
      Lubricate the glove. A lubricant such as Vaseline or KY Jelly will allow easier, less stressful penetration into the rectum. Apply a liberal amount of the lubricant to the index finger of the glove.



    6. 6
      Feel the walls of your rectum. You or your partner will insert the index finger into your rectum. Turn the finger in a circular motion to feel for any bumps or lumps that could indicate cancer, tumors, or cysts along the walls of your rectum. If no abnormalities are present, the walls should be smooth with a consistent shape.[9]
      • Use gentle pressure.





    7. 7
      Feel the wall of your rectum toward your belly button. Your prostate lies above/in front of this portion of your rectal wall. Abnormal findings as you feel toward your prostate include firm, bumpy, non-smooth, enlarged, and/or tender areas.[10]



    8. 8
      Remove your finger. In a professional setting, the entire exam will take approximately ten seconds, so don’t spend too much time feeling around as it will only increase your discomfort with the exam.[11] Dispose of the glove and remember to wash your hands again immediately.



    9. 9
      Contact your doctor. Make sure that you follow-up with your doctor for further tests and discussion. If you feel like your exam showed abnormalities, then you should make an appointment with your doctor right away. Remember to tell the physician that you administered a self exam if it’s been less than two days since this can result in an elevated PSA level on other tests.

  2. #2
    The Fool on the Hill bowie's Avatar
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    Well, thanks for the info. Food for thought and perhaps a timely reminder for some. Annual Physical Examinations and Blood Work recommended or required.

    As far as the "self-exam" I'll pass, leave it to a professional, at least they'll have comparative experience.

    Not that I'll try it but, wouldn't a self-examination require contortionist capabilities?

  3. #3
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    I have had two of these examinations. The first was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life, though not quite on par with getting a dislocated shoulder. For the second, I chose a doctor who was small and female....because she would have slender fingers. The fact that she was Asian just made the experience a little better. And in fact it was. I would suggest that others choose a doctor who is not too short, but middling height, so that her fingers are long and slender rather than short.

  4. #4
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    I had a sausage-fingered midget.

    ....checked that off the list.

  5. #5
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  6. #6
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    ^ Damn!!!
    ...*shudder*...
    (yes, I literally shuddered).


    Quote Originally Posted by bowie View Post
    wouldn't a self-examination require contortionist capabilities?
    Could always form a mutual probe club.

  7. #7
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    How to Check Your Prostate-aid672316-v4-728px-check-your-prostate

    Is it Friday night already.?

    Seriously, I have this checked out 2X per year. Grandad on my Mum's side died of prostate cancer, and my Dad has it now (very low count). So in genetic and heriditary terms this has my name written on it already.
    Fifty years old is the watershed (snigger) for the male prostate gland, whether you have any family history of the disease or not. Get it checked out.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails How to Check Your Prostate-aid672316-v4-728px-check-your-prostate  

  8. #8
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
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    If they were trying to illustrate the Dr. as a creepy and rapey looking sex pest then they succeeded.

  9. #9
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    My "pal" Tommy does fine for me and he takes pleasure in his work, seriously good advice, tho I think smoking driving or living with a balcony may be higher risks in the land of smirks

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by kmart View Post
    and my Dad has it now
    My Dad died of it a couple of years ago. 17 years from diagnosis to death. He did the radiation therapy in Oz, which seemed to get it into remission, then it sprang up again a while later. He did the apricot kernel oil for a number of years, but it had metastasised to his eyes, spine, and brain.
    RIP Dad, and all the best to your father kmart. There's lots of research on the net for treatments.

  11. #11
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    If nervous and you'd like someone a little less unfamiliar to help, PM Butffly, he travels.

  12. #12
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    Well an old friend of mine did not get checked. Died of prostate cancer 2 years ago. He was of the old school and didn't realise that you could have a PSA without having to get a physical (Well at least in the short term) Fucking idiot.

    After you hit 40, on your birthday, get a fucking blood test.

  13. #13
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    ...no point being a sissy about the digital exam: man up, drop trou and before you can say "enlarged prostate", it's over...in addition to the PSA test and the digital exam, many doctors recommend an ultrasound of the lower abdominal area to see what the gland actually looks like...among the joys of aging...
    Majestically enthroned amid the vulgar herd

  14. #14
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    Mate when you've had that fucking camera up there, a finger is nothing.

    And to be brutally honest even that's a piece of piss, with the drugs you don't feel a thing.

    That hardest part is drinking that revolting shit the night before to clean your tubes out.


  15. #15
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    I applaud the message and commend it to all. I cannot, however, resist the temptation to praise those members of Teakdoor who have taken such an examination to a degree of refinement rarely achieved by mankind. You will know who these men are. They are the ones with their heads up their own arses and they abound here.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by harrybarracuda View Post
    Mate when you've had that fucking camera up there, a finger is nothing.

    And to be brutally honest even that's a piece of piss, with the drugs you don't feel a thing.

    That hardest part is drinking that revolting shit the night before to clean your tubes out.

    I'm with you there, although a proctoscope really takes this to a whole new level....and really sorts the men out from the boys.(So to speak....) No drugs, except you may bite on an old leather belt!

  17. #17
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    I have a finger-up-the-bum check when I go to BKK for a full check-up (heart, exercise stress etc etc).

    My prostate is about 25% enlarged, but doesn't make any big problems for me (I'm 59), and doesn't seem to be getting any bigger. My PSA is always a little high at about 4.3 (because it's physically bigger than normal), but it's been that value for yonks and hasn't increased at all with the testosterone treatment that I started last year.

    Now I check PSA every 3 months, and sit on the doctor's finger once a year.
    Groping women when you're old is fine - everyone thinks you're senile

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon43 View Post
    I have a finger-up-the-bum check when I go to BKK for a full check-up (heart, exercise stress etc etc).

    My prostate is about 25% enlarged, but doesn't make any big problems for me (I'm 59), and doesn't seem to be getting any bigger. My PSA is always a little high at about 4.3 (because it's physically bigger than normal), but it's been that value for yonks and hasn't increased at all with the testosterone treatment that I started last year.

    Now I check PSA every 3 months, and sit on the doctor's finger once a year.
    Is there any correlation between PSA, prostate size and testosterone? I ask because I have no idea and I know you're taking testosterone. (Or is that Mandy? It's one of you Burma guys).

  19. #19
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    I'm no medical man, but what I understand is:

    - If your prostate is physically enlarged, then your PSA value will be somewhat higher than the norm, simply because your prostrate is bigger
    - Taking testosterone (TRT) doesn't increase your risk of prostate cancer at all - BUT if you already have prostate cancer (which may not yet have shown itself with symptoms etc), then TRT can cause that cancer to grow/become more active, and that is usually indicated by a jump in your PSA value.

    That's why it's very important to measure your baseline PSA value before you start any TRT, and then monitor it every few months to check that it's not jumped or is not increasing.

    My baseline for the past few years was always about 4.3. Don't have a wank before you do the PSA test (I don't mean in the doc's waiting room!!). Sexual activity will increase your PSA temporarily. A few PSA tests ago I was at 7.5 which worried me until I realised that I was 'sexually active' the night before. For my next PSA test, I abstained and the value went down to 4.0.

    You also need to check your testosterone level of course, (to see if you need to up or down the dosage). Also your estradol level (the amount of estrogen in your body). Men need a little estrogen, but not enough to grow tits....

    Mandy doesn't need to take extra testosterone! He's a manly sort of chap, engaging in Mongolian yak wrestling most nights... I'm a wimpy sort of chap with a limp dick and no muscles.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Latindancer View Post
    For the second, I chose a doctor who was small and female....because she would have slender fingers.
    That is the gayest thing I have ever heard.

    Man up and take a proper girthy blokes finger up yer blurter and just damn well bite the pillow if it hurts.

    A real man would ask him to use 2 fingers just to show you are not scared of pain.

    This 'slender lady's finger' wimp-out is for pooves handbags!

  21. #21
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    ...^agree...

  22. #22
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    Have you ever had it done, Looper ? It's not so much the pain, it's just so damn uncomfortable ! Second to having a dislocated shoulder.......something inside you screams to end it..

  23. #23
    Thailand Expat tomcat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Latindancer View Post
    something inside you screams to end it
    ...that would be your tapeworm...

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by tomcat View Post
    ...that would be your tapeworm...
    .....

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Latindancer View Post
    Have you ever had it done, Looper ? It's not so much the pain, it's just so damn uncomfortable ! Second to having a dislocated shoulder.......something inside you screams to end it..
    Does self examination regularly cause shoulder dislocation?

    Only If Latin Dancer does it wrong. lol

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