Your Prostate and Your Motorcycle

[BexarWolf]

My father passed away a few months ago from complications of prostate cancer. He was 92 so he had a long life......but he'd been having prostrate issues for many years. Knowing that, I'm dreading the inevitable finger-in-the-poop-chute that should be coming soon (I turned 50 recently). I say "should be" because I'm avoiding it. Enough said about that.

I got to wondering about the effects of motorcycling on the prostate. Lots of interesting info out there. Seems prolonged sitting on a bike and the constant vibration isn't healthy for the prostate. Of course, that's not going to slow me or most of you down but I thought I'd throw out some food for thought.

Prostatis:

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02824/prostatitis.html

What are the therapies Dr. Weil recommends for prostatitis?
In younger men, drinking alcohol or consuming too much caffeine (especially coffee) can act as a prostatic irritants and cause frequent urination, so eliminating them from the diet can help. Other irritants include tobacco use and spicy foods. In the case of bacterial prostatitis, antibiotics can help but are less effective if the infection becomes chronic. Dr. Weil advises patients to drink lots of water, and take 60 mg of zinc picolinate once a day until the symptoms improve, then halve the dose and continue on it. Other measures include keeping clear of the prostate irritants listed above as well as avoiding dehydration and prolonged sitting or bouncing (as on a horse, bicycle or motorcycle). Regular ejaculation also appears to have a preventive effect.

You'll note I ignored the last sentence for a reason (family-oriented and all that)

Then there's the whole other debate about ELF EMF (extremely low frequency electromagnetic field) causing cancer.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/motorcycle-cancer-risk/

Courageous citizens are standing up for truth concerning motorcycle excessive magnetic field radiation emission. Along with the Precautionary Principle it is paramount to provide proper safety standards for public protection regarding various non-ionizing, non-thermal extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF EMF) radiation close exposures. Motorcycle labeling of ELF EMF emission enables consumers to make personal health choices.

So, I'm beginning to worry less about other drivers and more about my bum blowing up.  :giggles

[Lucky Lou]

I had the miss fortune to suffer from Kidney cancer a while back (ok now  :2thumbup:) while they were doing diagnostics i received a letter from my consultant asking me to come in for a procedure which involved a camera being inserted up my penis....... :yow i got  there dreading it and was relieved when he told me that he was not going to do it, but then said i will check your prostate just to be on the safe side  :eek2:.... dont know what the fuss was about it did nothing for me :dunno i am still heterosexual.
Lou

[BexarWolf]

Congrats on being ok now. It's not the procedure I'm dreading (I've had it checked twice in the past), it's the possible diagnosis. I'm a man..that means that as long as I don't know anything is wrong....that means there's nothing wrong....right?  :hehehe

[WayneDW]

Interestingly some are now saying that a man without risk factors should NOT routinely have their PSA count done.  My doctor said that the logic is that many men will eventually get prostate cancer and for many the treatment is worse than the disease.  I think that my Dad was a case in point.  His PSA count was high and at 65 or so he had radiation treatment.  At 77 he died from complications from the radiation treatment!

BTW, the rectal exam is not only about prostate cancer but is also about checking for an enlarged prostate which is another problem that comes with age.

Talk to your doctor, get the exam.

[Agerbundsen]

Take the easy step first - get your PSA checked. A simple blood test. If below the limit value, forget about exams and get on with your life. "Regular" doctors and even urologists canot detect prostate cancer with a rectal exam anyway.

[BexarWolf]

Yeah, I've read a lot about elevated PSA numbers so I don't have a lot of faith in that. Good starting point but not as accurate as a finger-wave. I just found it interesting with the correlation between bikes and prostate issues. I'll get the sphincter stretch soon enough. 

[wmax351]

Yeah. The PSA test detects a lot of benign ones, and the morbidity associated with treatment makes it so that the test doesn't improve livelyhood.

[frankenduck]

Seems prolonged sitting on a bike and the constant vibration isn't healthy for the prostate.

Yet another reason why K75s are awesome!

[Agerbundsen]

Yeah, I've read a lot about elevated PSA numbers so I don't have a lot of faith in that. Good starting point but not as accurate as a finger-wave. I just found it interesting with the correlation between bikes and prostate issues. I'll get the sphincter stretch soon enough. 

There has been a lot of bunk written about PSA numbers. Maybe too many are members of the Texas Bullshippers Association?  :eek:

Fact is that if your number is low and you do not have symptoms, you can forget about it and get on with your life. Easy and secure. If it is elevated, there can be other reasons than cancer, so you need to work with your urologist to get it sorted. You do not get treated just based on the PSA number alone.

Mine was elevated and rising fast. Prostate removed based on biopsy and several other tests. Other details are not relevant to this forum.

[racinrich]

get regular check ups,it is easier when you catch it early.I am 54 and have had colonoscopy and regular exams no big deal.I am not a hypochondriac. not having to worry about this is less stressful. I don't want to hear if we only caught it sooner.You have to watch out for yourself,no one else is going to do it

[Lawrence]

Dreading the rectal examine is a pretty common thing, me thinks.  Doesn't have to be that way though.  When I was living overseas my exam was done with ultrasound.  I can't fathom why that is not standard practice here in the USofA.  :dunno

[frankenduck]

"Doctor, doctor! Your ring is so cold!"

"That's not my ring, its my watch."

[wmax351]

Dreading the rectal examine is a pretty common thing, me thinks.  Doesn't have to be that way though.  When I was living overseas my exam was done with ultrasound.  I can't fathom why that is not standard practice here in the USofA.  :dunno

Think about how your doctor feels.

[racinrich]

dont worry they all buy you dinner after !!! :hehehe :lol:

[detbmw]

"finger-in-the-poop-chute"???

They jammed 85 feet of hose inside of me for my colonoscopy!

I had one by a general practitioner and one by a gastrointestinal specialist. Go with the specialist if you have a choice. I didn't feel violated in the end (pardon the pun) with the latter.

[Lucky Lou]

Not long back i had an ultrasound check due to a small growth on a testicle, a very beautiful young lady did the scan, now that took will power..... :loopy:
Lou

[Honolulu]

Just  had my first colonoscopy at age 60, one small inconsequential polyp, overall a very simple procedure but drinking all the koolaid was a real drag, it tastes like warm slightly sweetened salt water.  Another event in 10 years.

The wife is 51 and just got her first one - but a adenomatous polyp means it'll be five years till her next.

Just do it.  Talking with your urologist will reveal the current thinking about the PSA test.  My understanding (and I may be off base or regard this differently than your people) is that the outcomes associated with treatment based solely on PSA numbers were not leading to decreased mortality - so insurance companies are starting to regard PSA testing as not covered.

[Agerbundsen]

The wife is 51 and just got her first one - but a adenomatous polyp means it'll be five years till heJust do it.  Talking with your urologist will reveal the current thinking about the PSA test.  My understanding (and I may be off base or regard this differently than your people) is that the outcomes associated with treatment based solely on PSA numbers were not leading to decreased mortality - so insurance companies are starting to regard PSA testing as not covered.

No urologist will make any drastic decísions based on PSA values alone. An elevated PSA or more important a rapidly increasing PSA willlead to further investigation - not willy-nilly treatment. The next step is usually an ultrasound examination with samples taken for biopsy. This is not a lot of fun, but also no big deal. Takes 20 minutes and no real pain. Think of it as a rectal exam with a very short broomstick.

Another note on the colonskopy - I could not stop giggling. It seemed at one time like four people playing Nintendo with my intestines and everybody (me included) watching on large screen TV.

[wmax351]

The wife is 51 and just got her first one - but a adenomatous polyp means it'll be five years till heJust do it.  Talking with your urologist will reveal the current thinking about the PSA test.  My understanding (and I may be off base or regard this differently than your people) is that the outcomes associated with treatment based solely on PSA numbers were not leading to decreased mortality - so insurance companies are starting to regard PSA testing as not covered.

Another note on the colonskopy - I could not stop giggling. It seemed at one time like four people playing Nintendo with my intestines and everybody (me included) watching on large screen TV.

That's actually about what it is. The propofol helps too. I've got 28 years till I have to worry about that.

[grant71]

Condolences. Ill settle for 92. A good innings. You know the punchline to the prostate exam joke. Dr. why are both your hands on my shoulders?

[argent brick]

You know the punchline to the prostate exam joke. Dr. why are both your hands on my shoulders?

When I was still a medic, we were doing the "over 40 exam" on some service members. One of the doctors was in the middle of a prostate exam and had his free hand on the patients shoulder. A fellow medic was in the exam room at the time, so he quietly reached up and placed his hand on the pt. other shoulder. The poor guy just about broke his own neck trying to see where extra hand came from. LOL

[detbmw]

When I was still a medic, we were doing the "over 40 exam" on some service members. One of the doctors was in the middle of a prostate exam and had his free hand on the patients shoulder. A fellow medic was in the exam room at the time, so he quietly reached up and placed his hand on the pt. other shoulder. The poor guy just about broke his own neck trying to see where extra hand came from. LOL

That is just so wrong! If that happened to me, I don't think I would have bothered to look around, I would have just bolted for the door.

On a related note, a lonnggg time ago when I was a corporal at Camp LeJuene, NC, one day we were getting our shots up to date. I was next in line. My buddy in front of me was getting his shots, facing away from me, with a corpsman on either side. One corpsman stabs his arm, finishes, and the two corpsmen spin him around, facing me, prepping for the next shot. The first corpsman stabs the fresh arm, and my buddy faints, and falls face first at attention onto the concrete floor. One corpsman drops to aid him and the other one kicks the door shut in my face. Those of us still in line hear rustling around for a few minutes, then finally the door opens and my buddy is resting in a chair in the corner.

The first corpsman looks at me with a syringe in his hand and says, "Next!"

[argent brick]

Try to bolt for the door when you are bent over an exam table!  Some of my fellow medics had a twisted sense of humor. Come to think of so did I, but as a NCOIC, I tried to be more professional.

You know, it is amazing how many people can't handle getting a shot. You would think that all of the young, buff people serving our country would be above all that. I think I saw more MP's with a fear of needles than any other MOS. Wait, I take that back, I would say that chopper pilots might be at the top.  Don't know why.

I have a sister that is a RN and one time she was giving flu shots to her fellow staff members. Right before giving an injection, she normally will say "Stick" to warn her patient of the shot. One of her assistant's, ready to give a shot, turned to a patient, and said "Prick". Without any hesitation, the patient responded back with "Bitch".

[grant71]

That reminds me of the guy driving along a country road. car travelling towards him female driver leans out of her window shouts PIG. He responds with BITCH. Aroundthe next corner he runs over a pig.    On a serious note. I live in Capetown. female drivers on their cell phones while driving are prevalent. Do you have this problem in your own countries? I stop my motorcycle and shout. Its against the law in S Africa

[argent brick]

That reminds me of the guy driving along a country road. car travelling towards him female driver leans out of her window shouts PIG. He responds with BITCH. Aroundthe next corner he runs over a pig.    On a serious note. I live in Capetown. female drivers on their cell phones while driving are prevalent. Do you have this problem in your own countries? I stop my motorcycle and shout. Its against the law in S Africa

Big time. Last time I checked, the fine for phone use while driving was $90 here in The Peoples Republic of California. However, California is broke, so no telling what the fine is up to.