Prostate infection and raised psa

Hi,

I have just got back from having a prostate biopsy and wondered if any one out there could comment on the course of events which have led me to this
point. (I am 54 years old)

Approx 6th March I began to feel unwell. Had a high fever and chills and thought I was coming down with flu. Rather than going to the GP I thought I would try to sweat it out. Then I noticed that it was hurting me badly when I
tried to urinate. I had difficulty starting to pee. Stream was weak and I was getting up about 4/5 times a night to relieve myself as best as I could. My urine also smelt foul. I was sweating buckets nearly all day and night.
I finally got my self down to the Docs but couldn't get an appointment. I explained the symptoms to the receptionist who said it sounds like a UTI so a sample was sent off for analysis. It came back positive for e.coli, the reading was above 1000 (I believe this is a measurement of the amount of
bacteria per ml in the sample). I was prescribed a 7 day course of Trimethoprim. After only a couple of days things in the urinary dept started to get a lot better and the fever/chills disappeared. However during this
time I noticed that ejaculation was uncomfortable and my semen was of a watery consistency and looked off colour. When I reached the end of the course things were better but still not right. I took myself back to the Docs (I actually got an appointment this time) and explained the situation.
Another urine sample was taken. This came back negative. I began drinking about 3 litres of water a day at this point which definitely helped.
I went and explained the problems again and I was sent for a full set of blood tests and another urine test. The urine sample was negative but the blood test came back showing a raised PSA of 10.5. (Last year a routine test resulted in a PSA of 1.9). I asked for another course of antibiotics and was given a 3 day supply of Trimethoprim.
I was referred to a urologist (this took 3 weeks) who performed the DRE. He found that the prostate was enlarged and irregular.
He explained that although he felt that his findings and my symptoms all appeared to be related to the UTI he wanted to do a biopsy on the prostate to ensure that there was nothing 'hiding' in there. He did give me the option of
going on a long course of antibiotics while monitoring my symptoms and the psa but I felt that if he thought it necessary to do a biopsy then that should be the best course of action. He gave me a 7 day course of Ciprofloxacin and I had another blood test two days before the biopsy was due.

The blood test showed that the psa had fallen to 9.5. The biopsy has been
done and I now have to wait approx 2 weeks for the results. I have been given another 3 day course of Cipro to fight any infection due to the biopsy.

*. What is the likelihood that the raised psa is due to cancer rather than the infection?
*. If the answer to the above is 'its not likely' - As the psa has only dropped slightly could this be due to infection still present in the prostate or does psa take time to return to normal levels?.
*. I have night sweats - mainly my head and upper chest - could this be due to a lingering infection?

My urinary symptoms have almost disappeared. There is just the odd occasion when I get a slight burning in or at the end of my penis, it feels as though there is some urine (or a foreign body) that wont come out.
I would be most grateful if anyone out there could shed further light on what has been going on.

Many thanks,
Alan.