Health

Garion_55

(1,931 posts) Tue Jan 21, 2025, 03:08 PM Jan 21

PSA test false positive

Has anyone ever done A PSA test Through your blood work and had a wildly out of bounds false positive number?

Supposedly normal ranges are 0 - 4.0

Mine just came back with a 36.

Reading up on these tests there are false positives anywhere from 40 to 70% of the time. Other things can affect the reading like alcohol usage and urinary tract infection.

Gonna speak to my Doctor about it tomorrow but wondered if anybody had come across a number that the Doctor said was a totally false positive. Supposedly there are better tests that you can get from a urologist

6 replies

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PSA test false positive (Original Post) Garion_55 Jan 21 OP

I'm only a lay person but I've entered the age of my life where I've started PSA testing. OrlandoDem2 Jan 21 #1

I didn't XanaDUer2 Jan 21 #2

I had a reading of 28 one time louis-t Jan 21 #3

Probably prescribe antibiotics and retest unc70 Jan 21 #4

Having sex prior to, as even the night before, can affect the results CentralMass Jan 21 #5

Does Your doctor know about this reading? Do you have a history of readings above 4? state of stupid Jan 21 #6

OrlandoDem2

(2,401 posts)

1. I'm only a lay person but I've entered the age of my life where I've started PSA testing.

Reply to Garion_55 (Original post)

Tue Jan 21, 2025, 03:17 PM

Jan 21

My guess is your doctor will call for a new test and await the results.

I cannot speak to the reliability of one test over another. I also cannot speak to “false positives”. As you’ve noted, results above 4 need further testing and observation. 36 is obviously very high and your doctor needs to follow up.

Do you have any recent tests in the past year?

Based on my own experience you’ll get another test and the doctor either refers you to a urologist or waits and watches. But I could be wrong.

XanaDUer2

(14,958 posts)

2. I didn't

Reply to Garion_55 (Original post)

Tue Jan 21, 2025, 03:23 PM

Jan 21

But I'm wishing you good health and that your true values are within normal ranges.

louis-t

(23,901 posts)

3. I had a reading of 28 one time

Reply to Garion_55 (Original post)

Tue Jan 21, 2025, 03:36 PM

Jan 21

but I was really sick. Some kind of blood infection. It was Oct. of 2001. They treated it with Ciperol, which is the antibiotic used to treat anthrax. So, right in the middle of 9/11, terrorists mailing anthrax etc, my office jokingly suggests I should be the one getting the mail for a while.

unc70

(6,344 posts)

4. Probably prescribe antibiotics and retest

Reply to Garion_55 (Original post)

Tue Jan 21, 2025, 04:17 PM

Jan 21

Cipro or such. If retest is still elevated, see a specialist quickly. Prostate cancer is a significant risk; don't get lulled by articles about false positives or about watchful waiting. (The underlying research in support of WW is primarily from several large but flawed Scandinavian studies.)

CentralMass

(15,806 posts)

5. Having sex prior to, as even the night before, can affect the results

Reply to Garion_55 (Original post)

Tue Jan 21, 2025, 04:18 PM

Jan 21

Or so says my urologist, who I trust.

state of stupid

(116 posts)

6. Does Your doctor know about this reading? Do you have a history of readings above 4?

Reply to Garion_55 (Original post)

Tue Jan 21, 2025, 07:41 PM

Jan 21

If not, he needs to reorder the test. Prostate cancer is not something to fool around with.
Be sure to ask what you need to do before the test. Do not be afraid to ask questions.

Here is a link that give the basics of how to prepare for the test. Be sure to ask if there are
any others your doctor would recommend.

https://www.roboticoncology.com/post/how-to-prepare-for-an-accurate-psa-test#:~:text=How%20to%20Prepare%20for%20an%20Accurate%20PSA%20Test,levels,%20leading%20to%20false-positive%20results.%20...%20More%20items

Good Luck

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