- Jul 26, 2008
- 3,512
- 2,058
This is just a ramble, but if anyone has any ideas/input/suggestions, I'm listening.
I'm 61, and on my yearly physicals at work my PSA level has been above normal over the last two years. Due to that, I've been to a doctor to discuss it (among other things).
I do know there are studies, such as this one, but cycling ergometers seem to come in different flavors--some of them seem like they would be identical to riding a road bike, while others seem to resemble fitness club exercise bikes. And they don't say what type was used. If they used a fitness club type of bike, I'd wonder if a road bike would produce more striking results. Also, what happens at 2 or 3 hours, instead of just 1.
Along the same lines, there are news stories based on that kind of research:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...creases-warning-signs-of-prostate-cancer.html
In that article they mention staying off a bike for two days before a PSA test. The day before my May physical, I did a two hour ride in the afternoon, then did the physical mid-morning the next day, and got a high PSA number (6.210). At last year's physical my PSA was 5.050, and when I looked up that day on GarminConnect, it turns out I did ride that day, but it is not clear exactly how much of it was before that test. (The track shows me going to work, but then doing another hour after that--which means I could've commuted to work and done the test and then ridden more later in the day, or I could've done the full 90mins before the test. I'd guess it was just the commute--an easy 26-28 minutes--but I'm not sure.)
But then a couple weeks ago at my doc's office he repeated the test, and this time I had also done two hours of cycling, but it was two full days before the test (52-53 hrs before, to be exact). This latter test came back as 4.1, which is only fractionally above the top of the normal range.
At the time, he asked that I take a week off of cycling, and then do the test again. So since this is exams time at work, and it's been horribly rainy, this is my week off, and I'll go back to the doc's on Monday or Tuesday to do another PSA. One thing I've learned thru my googling is that there is the regular PSA test (sometimes called tPSA, for total or free PSA), and there is also an fPSA test, which is apparently a better indicator of cancer or not. I'll be asking him about this.
I have also been warned that a prostate biopsy is one of the more painful tests out there. I think it's to my doc's credit that he wants to watch this a little instead of referring me to a trigger-happy urologist.
I'm 61, and on my yearly physicals at work my PSA level has been above normal over the last two years. Due to that, I've been to a doctor to discuss it (among other things).
I do know there are studies, such as this one, but cycling ergometers seem to come in different flavors--some of them seem like they would be identical to riding a road bike, while others seem to resemble fitness club exercise bikes. And they don't say what type was used. If they used a fitness club type of bike, I'd wonder if a road bike would produce more striking results. Also, what happens at 2 or 3 hours, instead of just 1.
Along the same lines, there are news stories based on that kind of research:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...creases-warning-signs-of-prostate-cancer.html
In that article they mention staying off a bike for two days before a PSA test. The day before my May physical, I did a two hour ride in the afternoon, then did the physical mid-morning the next day, and got a high PSA number (6.210). At last year's physical my PSA was 5.050, and when I looked up that day on GarminConnect, it turns out I did ride that day, but it is not clear exactly how much of it was before that test. (The track shows me going to work, but then doing another hour after that--which means I could've commuted to work and done the test and then ridden more later in the day, or I could've done the full 90mins before the test. I'd guess it was just the commute--an easy 26-28 minutes--but I'm not sure.)
But then a couple weeks ago at my doc's office he repeated the test, and this time I had also done two hours of cycling, but it was two full days before the test (52-53 hrs before, to be exact). This latter test came back as 4.1, which is only fractionally above the top of the normal range.
At the time, he asked that I take a week off of cycling, and then do the test again. So since this is exams time at work, and it's been horribly rainy, this is my week off, and I'll go back to the doc's on Monday or Tuesday to do another PSA. One thing I've learned thru my googling is that there is the regular PSA test (sometimes called tPSA, for total or free PSA), and there is also an fPSA test, which is apparently a better indicator of cancer or not. I'll be asking him about this.
I have also been warned that a prostate biopsy is one of the more painful tests out there. I think it's to my doc's credit that he wants to watch this a little instead of referring me to a trigger-happy urologist.