Masturbation post prostatectomy and radiation. Will it affect PSA?

Hi James. When I have PC questions I often defer to my A.I. friend. When I placed your information about a prostatectomy 6 years ago, pelvic radiation 2.5 year ago and PSA values in the 0.03 to 0.06 range my A.I. friend provided a "generally reassuring" response in the following two paragraph excerpt:

PSA values in the 0.03–0.06 ng/mL range two years after prostate bed radiation are very low and remain well below standard biochemical recurrence thresholds used after prostatectomy and salvage radiotherapy, so they are generally reassuring if stable over time. That said, the ideal postoperative target is undetectable PSA on an ultrasensitive assay, and the pattern over serial tests (flat vs. steadily rising) is more informative than any single number in this low range.

A stable PSA hovering between 0.03 and 0.06 ng/mL over multiple draws is commonly considered low and compatible with good biochemical control, given that it remains far below the 0.2 ng/mL definition of recurrence used post‑prostatectomy and after salvage radiation.

Your walking habits also sound great and admirable. I think you're on an effective path.

Per my oncologist, if you had radiation (or no treatment), bike riding can raise PSA by 0.2 to 0.4 ng/mL and any ejaculation can cause a bump of ~0.5 for 24-48 hours. For someone like me whose post radiation PSA is 0.05 that would be a jump to 0.55 which would be considerable but still not enough to put in the +2.0 over nadir category.

Ken , thanks for the information. Well thats cool ! Is that Grok or ? What AI do you use . Yes, it gave me a 'pass' I do think. Just got back from a Hike here now at 355 pm . Went early today. Got a good sweat going and dogs look tired. I love hiking , the Dogs tend to love it too. I am blessed with great birds, fishing, and trees to look at while hiking. Eagles galore today and early Salmon in the creeks the dogs were chasing. Vancouver Island has a special climate for this far north ! I spend 6 months a year in Canada(Vancouver Island) for the most part, and I love it. Tax heavey here and the politics suck, but like I said I am only here six months out of the year and overseas in Southeast Asia usually for six months out of the year. I hike over there as well. The only down side is I miss my dogs while I'm away, however, the boy looks after the dogs really well. He is a hiker as well , so I dont think they miss me that much ! HA!! Tomorrow Im up at the Aquatic centre with the gang doing a swim and sauna . I love life, but Gezzz I get anxiety when I get my PSA test . My father passed away from prostate cancer about 25 years ago. I was his caregiver. I was there when he passed away and pulled the shoots over his body. I think I got my anxiety from being his caregiver.? I have renamed the PSA test too, "Patient Source of Anxiety ". The night before is tough ! Thanks again for your Bot review , I may try it on mine via Grok . Take care, James on Vancouver Island .

Thank you for replying. That was what I wanted to know about the effects of ADT. What could I expect as far as worst side effects. It seems like you are doing well with it hope it continues to do well for you. Thanks again

The one side effect that I have heard people complain about is fatigue. I’ve never had it. I’ve always been very active if you exercise a lot it really reduces it. For the first five years, I didn’t really exercise at all. Then I started walking the track across the street every day twice a day about 14 miles a week. I’ve also gone to the gym for the last year and a half, I try to get there three days a week.

The second side effect is the loss of muscle strength, which causes A belly, Like a beer belly. I’ve always been thin so I got a little bit of a belly, but not much. It also prevents you from getting off the ground without putting your weight onto something. Going to the gym has resolved that.

You do need to take bone strengtheners I’ve have for the whole nine years. I’ve been on it.

I posted today two times about what I do to offset ADT. You can probably find the comments.

The rise in PSA with ejaculation as well as bike riding, etc., is a transient bump and not indicative of disease progression. No reason to abstain other than the 48-72 hour before the labs are drawn.

Thank you again for sharing your info sometimes it’s better than physician’s. Thanks again

I did the same with my urologist and oncologist. I got the same answer as you.

@vancouverislandhiker - Hey Vancouver -- the AI I use is Perplexity.AI. I subscribed to the $20/month Pro upgrade which allows virtually unlimited "deep searches" each day (okay...I think there technically is a 600 search daily limit, but that's not a problem for me). The $20/month upgrade also provides access to other non-Perplexity search models. I have been very impressed and found it to be extremely helpful.

There may be other AI models on the market with better features, but my investigation concluded Perplexity was great for situations where the user's primary AI interest is performing research.