Prostate cancer and Prostatitis are two entirely different conditions, neither of which is EVER caused by cycling!
But if some poor guy has recurrent prostatitis (nothing to do with cancer, remember) it makes sense to curtail upright cycling till it is under control. If it comes back, consider a recumbent to eliminate the pressure on the prostate becuase an upright seat may aggravate it. Simple as that!
But recumbents or uprights NEVER cause prostate cancer or make it worse. As a mattrer of fact, a lot of us over 65 guys have microscopic prostate cancer as we sit in front of our computers right now. The question always is What do you do about it?? Over 80, almost all of us have it. Won't get into that controversy......
Sorry to hear you had prosate cancer stepfam and hope you beat it OK. Don't take this personally but I'm glad your doc rummaged around in there and found it! PSA'a are OK but certainly not even close to 100%

Bobkat, et al.,

Again, thanks for the thorough and good humoured advice. To those that asked, I have been getting yearly PSA's and DRE's for the past five or six years (I'm 56). They are normal-low. Fortunately, no family history of cancer. I was due this month for the regular checkup, but will have to wait for the infection to recede before that will mean much. I would speculate as a layman that there might well be a correllation between irritated prostate cells from infection and the eventual development of Cance.

BobK, I like riding uprights in part because I enjoy competing in tri's. I don't mind eventually (or sooner, if need be) going to 'bents, but I will sure miss the tris. That said, do you think running and swimming also aggravate the gland "mechanically?" I mean, by the simple fact of moving large muscles back and forth in a fashion that irritates the prostate? With running, this is coupled with a certain amount of jarring.

I don't feel like (nor does my well feed body appears like) I am obsessive, but honestly I generally do one of the disciplines each day for 45 minutes or more as rigorously as possible. I haven't done anything now for about a week, and I am missing it badly.

(Bobkat, Staying with this thread a bit longer before going back to your bent buddies would be appreciated.)

Tyson

Nope, running and swimming shouldn't hurt at all. The muscles around the prosate aren't the ones you use in that kind of activity and aren't a factor. And continual irritation by low grade infection doesn't cause prostate cancer-no correlation, there. The main risk factors for prosate Ca is family history and age! And bad luck! If you live long enough we probably all will get microscopic prostate CA! Controversial what to do when you find it though.........
PSA's, DRE's and in some cases ultrasound are the "gold standards" of diagnosis, although it is more of a "iron standard" because of the limitations.

I am sorry in one way to hear you have PCa but glad in another that it has been caught in an early stage.

In for the op- Beginning of October- Should be on your bike by the end of November. 6 weeks after my op I sat on the saddle and got off it very quick., Boy did that hurt. Tears to the eyes did not come into it. Down to the LBS and the anatomical saddles had just come out. Got one and it was perfect for a ride 8 weeks after the op. Wasn't a couple of weeks later though as the body was now readjusting continually for the change that had been made. If Cheeselouise gets fed up with saddles being bought by Cheeseflavor- You are going to be penniless and in pain if you follow my route- In the next 6 months I must have bought 7 or 8 saddles that only worked for a few weeks at a time. In the end I went back to my original Flite Titanium saddle and did a lot of standing.- Oh, On the bike rides again- 4 months after the op- I did a metric century in the foulest weather I have ever ridden in- That ride comes up on the 8th and I am praying for dry weather this year. So how about letting us know when you are back riding- so can all do a ride with a sharp 2" rock taped to the top of the saddle, to commiserate with you.

I also am sorry to hear about your prostate cancer. I was allowed by my doc to ride a recumbent at 4 weeks and did a metric in 6. However, he didn't let me on a regular bike until 12 weeks. My surgery was done perineal so that may be why. Anyway, like stapfam, when I did finally sit on a regular bike, it hurt to high heaven. In fact, by this time I had 1,000 miles on a bent and I said screw it. I sold my Serotta and Eisentraut and never looked back. Strangely enough, though, my AL Santana has never bothered me and I still ride it.

Dennis

Had enlarged prostate for many years,finally had the nerve to get a TURP,rotor ruter,done with laser,best thing that happened to me in years.Tried saw palmetto,Cipro,anti this and that,nothing worked.TURP is still the gold standard for enlarged prostate.

UKepete,

This thread gets scarier and scarier. I can speculate, but what does TURP stand for exactly? How long off the bike afterwards? How much pain before deciding to as you say, go to Roto-Rooter?

Tyson

TURP = Rotor Rooter

Seriously, TURP = Transurethral resection of the prostate

I've not heard of this drug interaction so I found this for my own use and others to consider for
their use.....(I take both Saw Palmetto and Hypertension meds & have not had problems but that's
just me....your decide for yourself)


http://www.uspharmacist.com/oldforma...&article_id=87

http://www.geri.com/geriatrics/artic....jsp?id=197138

I've read a more conclusive study, but don't have time to search now. In my case, I just don't want to take the chance - my own personal choice.

To TysonB,had it done about 3 years ago,right before I started riding.I do remember doctor told me to take it easy for about 2 months.Years of having difficulty going to the bathroom,lower abdominal pain,waking up at night often and at times feeling like a prisoner at home,meaning being scared to leave home because at times urinating was impossible and a extreme struggle,I had TURP done.It sounds scarrier then it is,but wasn't to bad.

Beautiful day up here in ND and my wife and I did about 30 miles enjoying the changing colors and Indian Summer, when lo and behold a guy rode by on a recumbent! Chased him down and ironically the first thing he said about it was that he had "prostate trouble" for years and couldn't and hadn't ridden for years. I didn't ask him what kind of prostate trouble he had but he said he'd tried everything for it! Whatever "everything" was I didn't feel was any of my business.
He said he saw someone ride by last summer (probably me as I'm one of the few bent drivers around here) and he thought to himself "that looks like even I could ride it without raising hell with my prostate!" So he bought one and has been riding every day for a month. The guy looked about 70 or so.
The only bad thing about this whole thing was that we met him on a fairly narrow bike trail and it was a bit difficult to get past him because of his wide smile! He said the only thing that surprised him was the entry level price, but he said it was worth every penny!
Honestly, I'm not making this up! It was good to see another bent convert in town! Invited him to join our Wed. evening bike club rides.
Another bent biker once told me "we're saving the biking sport, one a-hole at a time!" Maybe he better change that to "one prostate at a time!" LOL!
As we watched him ride away I asked my wife if I looked funny peddling down the road like that? She laughed and said "Yes" except that she thought I seemed to be enjoying it even more than our new friend if that was possible.
Ironic as heck after this thread topic...........

i'm gonna give my two cents on the prostatitis issue.

i think riding a bike can aggravate and\y prostate infection one might have. it just makes sense: cut off the blood supply; compress the afflicted area; inflame it. these are bad things for tissues.

now, some hope for you guys with the -Itis

i had this damn affliction for 4 years, on an off. i got it shortly after my 21st birthday. i got a special saddle (three, actually; the one i liked best was the spongy wonder) and rode through it, working as a bike messenger for a year and 4 months. alas, that saddle broke and the one i got after that was stolen along with my bike ($1,200 Surly). so i stopped riding, and while that did make it better, it didn't cure it.

then, about two years after that and about two months ago, i started quite a bit of yogurt-like milk. i think Kefir is the closest thing in the states. this is a concentrated does of probiotics.
this has greatly lessened my prostatitis. i'm not telling you that i'm cured. but i am saying that it has really helped me.

if you're on a long term does of anti-biotics or whatever, maybe think about asking your doctor or health care professional about probiotics.

That was one long year.

But "enlarged" is not the same as "inflammation" (what the -itis suffix means), and definitely not the same as cancer. TURP worked fine in my case, too.

Just had my first ever bout this summer. Chills, fever, felt bum, difficult and painful to urninate. PSA when sky high, but digital exam normal. Within 48 hours of antibiotics I felt 99.9% better. Stayed on them for 6 weeks. PSA went back to normal, no more symptoms.

I personally feel it "might' be related to cycling, but doubtful and not a strong relationship.. I've never had it before, and my cycling behavior is actually a little less than recent years. Plus, the medical jury is definitely undecided, imho.

I've had enlarged prostate since I was 36 (I'm 58). Antibiotics helps when it flares up.
Twenty years ago it wasn't saw pimento, it was Royal Jelly and hot baths. The baths were supposed to be as hot as you could stand (actually sit) and two spoon fulls of a honey/royal jelly mixture a day by mouth.
These treatments seemed to work, so I followed them for years.
About six years ago, my financial situation got really bad and I had to move into an apartment that only had a shower and I could no longer afford the Royal Jelly. After a few months I realized that my prostate was no better or worse. The power of the placebo effect.
I read of someone who absolutely swore that laying with your head downward on a slant board for a half an hour a day, controlled his prostititus. If you believe it, it will seem to work.
What does work?
Sex at least five times a week. You gotta clear out the prostate.
Lots of vegetables.

It's been big news lately that some say that prostate cancer screening is not recommended for older men. I'm not sure I agree.
http://www.uptodate.com/patients/con...=~dWvVqDE43t4W

When I first started riding three months ago, I had a definite increase in urination pain and even some sexual function problems. It's back to normal now, because I make it a practice to raise my butt off the seat, once every 30 seconds to a minute. A couple of seconds with no pressure on the seat is all you need to ensure blood flow.

I know I'm a little late to this thread, but I figured I'd post my experiences to add to the body of knowledge on how cyclists cn cope with Prostatitis. I've had off and on bouts with it for about ten years, and at first it was rather scary. Hell, I did'nt even know what a prostate was until one day I developed what I call "grapefruit in the arse" syndrome. Couldn't sit comfortably or do any excercise...Cycling was definitely out of the question. In fact, I was so freaked that I basically took a year of the bike, which did not really help because I still had recurring bouts. The next year I could not take it anymore and got back on. I started by adding a suspension seatpost to my road bike, going to Terry's Mens Liberator saddle, and limiting my rides to two hours.

I later moved to the Serfas RX saddle and ditched the suspension post. This worked for me for several years. I still had about two - three bouts per year, but I was able to tolerate riding. However, after about six years of riding the big ass Serfas saddle, the saddle rub on the inside of my thighs and groin got to be a real downer.

I then learned about the Selle An Atomica saddle and reluctantly coughed up the $179.00 to give it a shot. The first few rides did not go that well, as I was not used to a leather saddle. It actually hurt a little more than my Serafas saddles at first. It took about three or four rides before I got used to the uncushioned feel of leather rivited to a steel saddle frame. However, even though the frame was the source of some discomfort initially, from the first ride on, I noticed that I did not experience any perennial discomfort. Selle An Atomica's have a slit in the middle of the leather that has the affect of moving with your privates during the pedaling process. So, there no perceived resistance when your ride. Put another way. The saddle moves up and down with you as you pedal. So, your nads don't get crushed with each turn of the pedals.

The issue with regular saddles (cutout or not) is the plastic base under the padding. The padding may work, but at the bottom of the padding is a hard plastic base that does not give as you pedal. Hopefully you get the picture. With the Selle An Atomica's, I feel no pressure down there at all. I do feel the steel frame through the letter if the saddle is not positioned perfectly, but if I have to choose between pressure on my butt or pressure on my nads, that's an easy decision.

Since I bought my first Selle An Atomica about seven months ago, I have purchased one for each of my five bikes. To ease the cost issue, I purchased several at a steep discount on ebay. However, due to the manufacturer cracking down n ebay sales and not honoring the warranty for saddles purchased via ebay they have almost dried up on ebay.

If you try one, be prepared to spend a few rides pulling over and making position adjustments. The saddle is comfortable, but you really do have to get it positioned just right (height, tilt, fore & aft, left to right). I had been riding for about 20 years before trying the Selle An Atomica, and never had to concentrate on saddle position as much as the Selle's require. I recently purchased a brooks Champion Flyer (a B17 with springs) to put on my mountain bike. I have yet to take it on a real ride, but a cruise around the neighborhood after initially mounting it makes me think it will work. The springs, while corny looking, do seem to take the edge off.

All of this said, it is possible to ride with Prostatitis. I have about two - three bouts per year, but still manage to get in about 3,500 miles each season. When it flares up I make a visit to my Urologist/counselor, get a prescription for some sulfer, and wait about a week. By then it usually subsides enough for me to get back on while I finish the three week dosage. Since I've gotten the Selle An Atomica's, I rode about 300 miles and did not have one bout. Then I took a 20 mile spin on a bike that still had an old serfas rx mounted and three days later I was visiting my Urologist. I'm not downing the Serfas saddle. It allowed me to begin riding comfortably again for many years. Until I found the Selle An Atomica, the Serfas RX was the 'cat's meow'. However, the Selle An Atomica's have proven to be better for my prostatitis and offer a more comfortable ride overall. Just be prepared to dial in the saddle position.

Good Luck, and don't become discouraged!

This thread came back at an odd time for me. I had a really bad bout with prostitus which according to the urologist is sometimes a problem brought on by bracky therapy for PC. I got it in may off and on and in june it took me off the bike entirely and into the emergency room.Worst pain I have been in in my life. they had me on some POTENT pain killers and a cathiter (sp), couldn't clear it with antibiotics. The Doc said the bike was a definate contributor to the problem period. He recomended aa TURP so I had one mid june. Then I was one of the lucky ones I gotto wear depends!! Went into total incontinance, happens in about 1 percent. So here it is mid Sept. and I am still not well healed in the nether region but the incontinance is much improved. He finally said if I could stand the pain I could try riding again, soft seat, gelpad, riding shorts. Bottom line couldn't take the pain and did not want to go through the problem again as he warned me I could do damage and need another TURP. So Friday night I ordered a recumbent trike. I sure hope I like it cause it aint a cheap date and I certainly didn't buy a high dollar one to find out if I like them. But I have joined the three wheeled side lol. I miss my time riding and hoping this replaces my other bikes and keeps me doing what I enjoy.

Just ordered two anatomical seats from Nashbar...

Nashbar F2 Comfort/Touring Saddle
http://tinyurl.com/ybh878c

or the F1 seat
http://tinyurl.com/y9mhvhv

Anyone use these, or comments perhaps on the effectiveness for protection?

thanks

Dogbait,
Best of luck, keep us posted. Glad you did the right thing and got to the doc!

TysonB, I did the antibiotics, started saw palmetto, zinc, vitamin C every day. Stopped all caffeine, (was a coffee-holic!), now drink nothing acidic & PSA went from 20+ to 3.66 last test. Now use a grooved seat on a hybrid with no pain or numbness. Hope you can find the right mix for you SOON!

Had it twice, each time after a hilly century (10,000'). Changed my saddle to a Specialized Toupe 155mm and did the 129 miles, 15,000' Death Ride last year. I didn't have prostatitis then but had a mild bout of inflammation that went away by itself (probably more due to lack of proper hydration). I since lowered the front of my saddle a bit, no more problem even after this year Death Ride.
So yes, a different saddle might help but also look at your saddle angle. Level is a good starting point but lowering the front a little might be crucial for your comfort.

I was lucky. When I had it (twice) I only had the fever and not the intense pain. The first time I thought it was the flu, but had no other symptoms other than fever. Not having medical insurance at the time, I foolishly let it take its course and it eventually calmed down. It hit again with the same symptoms about two years later. This time, fully insured, I went to the Dr. High fever, no pain until the exam. He pressed on my prostate and almost put me through the ceiling! Longterm sulfa drugs took care of it and it hasn't been back since the early '90's. I'm luckier than many!

Never had any physical symptoms or problems with my prostate. Like stapfam, I was up for my annual emergency response team physical and the medical tech at work checked the psa box because I was of that age. Number came up high. Went to Urologist and he did another type of psa test. Number still high. Got a biopsy and came up clear of cancer but still no reason for high numbers. Now it is an annual thing and the numbers remain, so far, the same with no real change. Still no physical problems. I bought a Selle Italia SLC saddle for the tandem and liked it so much I bought another for the 1/2 bike. I love it.
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...eitaliaslc.jpg
http://www.bikeforums.net/[IMG]http:...eitaliaslc.jpg