Well eventually I had no choice but to visit my doctor, I was feeling so ill and could only manage to eat my food after liquidising it. That was the final straw that made me go as I love my food!
I explained all my symptons,he did a few tests, and took some blood,which he sent off to the hospital.
I came home from work 2 days later and there was a message on my answer machine from my doctor asking me to contact him immediately. All my life I have enjoyed good health and never visited the doctors,so the urgency of the message put me in a panic.
I rang the doctor and he asked to call in the surgery straight away. On arriving he told me the results of my blood test had shown a high PSA reading,and creatine and that he had made an appointment for me at the hospital for the following day.
I didn't sleep that night laying awake worrying about what was wrong with me.My girlfriend said I told you months ago to go to the doctors!
The next morning my girlfriend and I went to the Churcill Hospital,Oxford. It was September 2007 and I was to stay in the hospital on and off for the next 5 weeks!
This was my first visit to a hospital for an illness of my own so I was nervous and agitated. I had been visiting other people,or taking them to hospital over the years and even then I had a fear of hospitals.I used to feel faint if someone even talked about what treatment they had been given!
The lady doctor talked through my blood test results and symptons with my girlfriend and me,she said that she wanted me to be admitted to hospital immediately. She said she wanted me to have an ultra scan on my kidneys as my blood test showed I was suffering renal failure and I was retaining urine in my bladder,this was why I felt so ill and had ammonia on my breath.
Off I went for the ultra scan, the results showed my bladder was retaining about a litre of urine even after a pee.
We went back to see the lady doctor and she said due to the fact I was not emptying my bladder she wanted to fit me with a catheter ! (panic! as I said earlier I felt faint even talking about other peoples treatments) Well I did faint! the next thing I was aware of was the doctor and my girlfriend saying are you all right and feeling far away. My girlfriend said she thought I was dying as she had never seen anyone faint before and that it was frightning as I had gone white as a sheet,my eyes were rolling, and my tongue had gone back in my mouth. With that description of how I looked I would have probably frightned myself looking in a mirror!
Well the catheter was eventually fitted successfully and off I went to the ward at the Churchill hospital Oxford. ( The catheters were to remain fittted for about the next 3 months).
When I started having to liquidise my food,being sick,a taste of ammonia in my mouth,stiff aching neck continuosly,and even more frequent trips to the loo.Every time I tried to clean my teeth and put a toothbrush in my mouth I gagged.I couldn't stand trying to put my false teeth in again it would cause gagging reflexes.My teeth started falling out and coming loose.My girlfriend forced me to go to the doctors after we went to a friend's birthday party and I tried to eat a beefburger and I was violently sick. She saved my life!The point of my blog is to share with you ideas on how to try to control our "PSA" count,by a change in life-style,diet,etc I will be posting articles ,about information I have gathered ,from reading ,and other sources,about the latest treatments,and future drugs under test around the world. Hopefully,one day soon ,a cure or a way of halting the progression of all cancers will be achieved! Until that magic day, if we can gather fellow suffferers World Wide,to discuss their ideas and knowledge, who knows a common theme on diet life-style etc. may stand out that we can use or avoid in our own lives! I welcome comments,advice,and information from doctors,scientists,and other professional people,or bodies,that you feel would be of help and interest to myself and others!
I will go back to the early symptons of my cancer ,which as a typical man I ignored! ( Full of gung-ho, Testosterone ,male filled bravado,I can cope with this!,I don't need to see a doctor!,attitude.)
All my life as far back as I can remember,after drinking a few pints of beer,I would rush to the loo for a pee
The reason for explaining the above is that as the years progressed the classic first symptons of possible prostate cancer,having to rush to the loo suddenly had always been natural to me, and one of the reasons I was ignoring warning signs,until I eventualy had to do something. I ate red meat most days,and processed foods,mountains of cheese,and at least a pint of milk a day. Since my diagnosis all of this diet has changed as I will cover in more depth later. For about a year before I started to feel really ill I joined a local gym and started swimming, and circuit training. I have read since that exercise can increase Testoterone,just what men with prostate cancer don't need, as doctors say Testosterone feeds cancer cells! It maybe a coincidence but during this year beginning 4 years ago my symptons began to increase dramatically! When I was a teenager I had often got off buses on the way home after a night out with the lads,in desperation for a pee! I'm sure you've been there too!,off went the bus without me, and then the long walk home from the middle of nowhere. The only good thing about it I was able to pee in the bushes as freely, and as often as I needed on my long meandering stagger home! lol.
My diet prior to being diagnosed consisted of, bacon,eggs,white bread,thickly spread with lashings of butter,and weekends sausages and mushrooms were added, this was my weekly breakfast routine! I loved it like millions of other Brits!
