prostatic stones removal - surgery, nanobacteria?

[londoner]

I have an instinctive feeling that a largish cluster of stones that showed on my ultrasound is at least partly responsible for my current symptoms.

I'm being referred to a uro who my do some minimally invasive surgery to remove them. In parallel, I'm also intending to try to find a PT in London but currently this is not an option due to the lack of people who specialise in this area.

Has anyone else on the forum had the surgical intervention or is there any evidence that it works or doesn't?

Would be grateful to know if anyone has any information.

thanks..

[Ralph]

I also have calcifications in my prostate, but I'm not sure I want any invasive procedure to remove them. There are days when I flare that I feel very differently. I wish I could give my prostate away, but nobody would want it.

I don't know what minimally invasive proceedure if available to remove calcifications. These "stones" (and they're not really stones) become part of the gland so the tissue itself needs to be removed such as with a TURP. Get all the information you can about the procedure before you subject yourself to surgery.

[londoner]

thanks for your reply. I didn't realise they became so enmeshed by the gland itself. Very interesting. I will certainly get plenty of information. I'm told this guy is the top person in the UK for this procedure, whatever it is, and has a very high success rate. I frequently get a sort of pricking sensation in what feels like my prostate and I put it down rightly or wrongly to the stones.

[james-d]

Dr. Shoskes (and others) were involved with a trial of a medication that is to reduce nanobacteria and their associated calcifications.

Now - the nanobacteria thing may/may not be bunk - but the calcification thing is real.

This same medication has been shown by reputible researchers to reduce CORONARY calcifications - and they are thus investigating if it will help prostatic calcifications as well.

I just spoke to the company and they informed me that the results of the prostate study will be available within one month.

Now - I do not know if the medications are good or bad for our condition - but the concepts seems plausible - and I do not think Shoskes would be involved if it was bunk.....

that being said - you can order the stuff online at

http://www.nanobaclabs.com/


but you need a perscription for oral tetracycline to go along with it (NOTE: they claim doxycycline is not effective - it must be tetracycline).

So - buyer beware ...and good luck..........

Shoskes posts in the past seemed to indicate that there was some value to patients with this medicine - so - maybe some subset of people can benifit.

[Ralph]

A medical treatment for calcifications would be far preferable to surgery.

The study you refer to should be published in February's Urology journal.

[londoner]

Thank you very much for this information. It's greatly appreciated.

[gifford]

Was the results of the prostate stone/calcification study ever released?
gifford

[londoner]

There is some discussion around it in a posting below yours - on anti-nanobacterial treatment.

[gifford]

I did not find the results discussed "below" mine.
Could you tell me exactly where I might find them?
gifford

[gifford]

I never had a TRUS but had a CT looking for kidney stones. The CT also showed that I had "prostate calcifications". Other than that, no comments were made about them by there radilogist. My GP (not the radiologist) said that calcifications in the prostate are "normal " in older people (I am 59 ). I later was "diagnosed" with CPPS. Should I ask more questions about those earlier findings of prostate calcificaations? . Like how many and where these calcifications are? What symptoms can they cause and what can be done about them?
gifford

[webslave]

Prostate stones are pretty meaningless in my opinion, although some people make a big deal out of them, which I see as part of the same of prostatocentric madness that's plagued this field for years.

[londoner]

This is quite a tough question and, on balance, I'm inclined to agree with Webslave. The stones are apparently routinely found among men who report no chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome symptoms but who are having exploratory scans for other ailments. That ought pretty much to rule prostatic stones out of the scenario.

When last I looked at it, Dr. Shoskes's website reported (I'm paraphrasing from memory here) that although he isn't fully convinced of the significance of stones, patients do seem to feel better without them. He has been doing work using anti-nanobacteria therapy which hasn't convinced everybody on this site, though he is optimistic about (or open to) that treatment's ability to relieve symptoms. It didn't work on me, though elsewhere he talks about 'first attempt's, possibly implying that one shouldn't give up after one unsuccessful go at the treatment.

I did once have some email correspondence with an American GP who himself had had the treatment a few years ago and it had worked wonders. Cured him, in fact, in one go. All his symptoms gone. He wrote to me not too optimistically, though, as he'd since heard from a lot of people for whom anti-nanobacteria therapy didn't have any affect at all.

While I am less and less sold on the idea of symptoms being caused by stones, what I can't quite get my head round is the fact that these very hard, rough calcifications are embedded in a highly sensitive organ that is designed to spasm. I find it hard to believe that stones would not cause some level of discomfort. To that degree, in my opinion, it's a bit of a mystery.

[Astrotitan]

Calcification can occur in many different areas of the body. Sometimes they cause problems and sometimes they don't. During the investigative process calcification was found on the right side of my pelvis. Had it not been for found I would never have known that it was there and it gives me absolutely no problems.

Tom

[gifford]

Londoner:
Could you tell me what the "anti-nanobacteria therapy" for prostate stones is that you mentioned? Is the therapy medication, surgery, etc? A CT scan and a TRUS both showed that I have a rather large prostate calcifications (stone).
I would like to pursue this therapy as a possibility. Or at least learn about it.
Thanks
gifford

[rider fan]

I'm not Londoner obviously, but here is one link.

viewtopic.php?t=3348

I search of the forum postings will reveal more.