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Blood in semen after biopsy

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User
Posted 23 Feb 2019 at 09:46

Hi there had a biopsy 10 days ago and decided to ejaculate after 5 days .was totally shocked at the amount  of blood that came out ,tryed again 2 days later same result. Can and give me a guide to how long this lasts for or does it go away with the more times you ejaculate .sorry for been so crued 

User
Posted 24 Feb 2019 at 11:46

Blood in semen lasted 3 weeks for me after transrectal biopsy (was told it could last up to 6 weeks, maybe if you don't try flushing it out as often as I did). Consultant said not to hold back ejeculating (might have been a hint it's a good thing, not sure). I did wait a day fearing it might be painful, but it wasn't.

First few days, it's bright red and quite horrific if you haven't been warned. If you are having sex with a partner, it might perhaps be polite to wear a condom, although (according to consultant) the blood is not harmful to a partner.

Then it turned rust coloured as the blood becomes stale (no fresh blood and the existing blood turns to different iron oxidation states which is same as rusty iron - just like a blood stain does as it ages).
It gradually faded back to normal after 3 weeks.

After transperineal biopsy, I held back 2 days before trying for an erection, given loads of needles had been pushed though base of penis, but again consultant said no need to hold back, and there was no effect caused by the needles when I did. By this stage I was on HT which reduces semen anyway. First time there was no blood, but subsequent times there was stale blood, although not as much as for the transrectal biospy. Again, took 3 weeks to clear, and it was always totally pain free.

Edited by member 24 Feb 2019 at 15:41  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 01 Sep 2020 at 08:39

If it looks like tomato ketchup, don't be surprised.

Yes, the leaflets they give you are way off. Mine said something like "there may be some blood in your semen for up to 6 weeks". Fortunately, I'd read forums beforehand, and knew what was possible.

I do one-to-one support of patients, and I've had 2 or 3 cases of men contacting me in sheer panic having ejaculated tomato ketchup just after a biopsy. The warnings beforehand (where they exist at all) are massively inadequate.

User
Posted 23 Feb 2019 at 09:46

Hi there had a biopsy 10 days ago and decided to ejaculate after 5 days .was totally shocked at the amount  of blood that came out ,tryed again 2 days later same result. Can and give me a guide to how long this lasts for or does it go away with the more times you ejaculate .sorry for been so crued 

User
Posted 23 Feb 2019 at 12:22
This is completely normal as your prostate which produces semen has been perforated by numerous needles. The more you ejaculate, the quicker the old blood will be expelled.

It can take up to six weeks to go from strawberry back to vanilla. Enjoy!

Cheers, John.

User
Posted 23 Feb 2019 at 12:34
Yep, completely normal. You should find that the colour changes from red to brown over time (ie it's dead blood rather than fresh blood) and it will gradually diminish. It'll probably take a month or so to completely disappear, though.

Absolutely nothing to worry about.

Chris

User
Posted 23 Feb 2019 at 20:17
Yes, nothing to worry about. I'm a few weeks ahead of you, having finished a course of radiation three weeks ago. I'm not suggesting you will need rt at all, many people don't! But one of the side effects was burning urination and painful ejaculation. I finally managed the latter this morning and was pleased that it wasn't as bad as I thought. By the way, you can ask what you like on this site and no one will think you are being crude. There are some very knowledgeable and helpful people out there. Have you got the biopsy results yet?
User
Posted 01 Sep 2020 at 07:34

EdwardSprin,

Don't worry. Sounds perfectly normal after a biopsy. It seemed like I was just ejaculating blood to begin with. Gradually changes colour over time. Think It was a good 2 weeks for me before it cleared up.

User
Posted 18 Jan 2021 at 21:32

I've had a couple of support line calls from guys who waited a couple of months before daring to ejaculate, and were horrified to find it was black. It's the iron from the hemoglobin which has broken down and literally gone rusty. Not anything to worry about, but it may be better to get it out than leave it in there.

I didn't manage to get it all out from my second biopsy - I was already on hormone therapy and no longer ejaculating much. When I had a full body MRI scan a few months later, there's a bright white dot showing in my prostate. I asked the radiologist if that was the cancer because I didn't think it showed up that clearly. He said no, it's iron oxide left from blood which the body failed to reabsorb, and because iron oxide is magnetic there was enough there to show up bright white on an MRI scan.

Edited by member 18 Jan 2021 at 21:33  | Reason: Not specified

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User
Posted 23 Feb 2019 at 12:22
This is completely normal as your prostate which produces semen has been perforated by numerous needles. The more you ejaculate, the quicker the old blood will be expelled.

It can take up to six weeks to go from strawberry back to vanilla. Enjoy!

Cheers, John.

User
Posted 23 Feb 2019 at 12:34
Yep, completely normal. You should find that the colour changes from red to brown over time (ie it's dead blood rather than fresh blood) and it will gradually diminish. It'll probably take a month or so to completely disappear, though.

Absolutely nothing to worry about.

Chris

User
Posted 23 Feb 2019 at 19:31

Thank you 

User
Posted 23 Feb 2019 at 20:17
Yes, nothing to worry about. I'm a few weeks ahead of you, having finished a course of radiation three weeks ago. I'm not suggesting you will need rt at all, many people don't! But one of the side effects was burning urination and painful ejaculation. I finally managed the latter this morning and was pleased that it wasn't as bad as I thought. By the way, you can ask what you like on this site and no one will think you are being crude. There are some very knowledgeable and helpful people out there. Have you got the biopsy results yet?
User
Posted 24 Feb 2019 at 07:31

Going Tuesday absolutely bricking it at the moment 

User
Posted 24 Feb 2019 at 11:46

Blood in semen lasted 3 weeks for me after transrectal biopsy (was told it could last up to 6 weeks, maybe if you don't try flushing it out as often as I did). Consultant said not to hold back ejeculating (might have been a hint it's a good thing, not sure). I did wait a day fearing it might be painful, but it wasn't.

First few days, it's bright red and quite horrific if you haven't been warned. If you are having sex with a partner, it might perhaps be polite to wear a condom, although (according to consultant) the blood is not harmful to a partner.

Then it turned rust coloured as the blood becomes stale (no fresh blood and the existing blood turns to different iron oxidation states which is same as rusty iron - just like a blood stain does as it ages).
It gradually faded back to normal after 3 weeks.

After transperineal biopsy, I held back 2 days before trying for an erection, given loads of needles had been pushed though base of penis, but again consultant said no need to hold back, and there was no effect caused by the needles when I did. By this stage I was on HT which reduces semen anyway. First time there was no blood, but subsequent times there was stale blood, although not as much as for the transrectal biospy. Again, took 3 weeks to clear, and it was always totally pain free.

Edited by member 24 Feb 2019 at 15:41  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 01 Sep 2020 at 06:50

I was told to expect some blood in semen. But the urologist didn’t say how much! Am 5 days post biopsy. Decided to try sex and was horrified by the amount of blood. It was like all of it was blood! Thinking the same as others, should try to expel as much as possible and ejaculated myself later in the afternoon. Again the whole thing was blood. 

My question is.. how much blood should i expect. When i used my open palm to hold all the liquid. It was all blood. Like a pool of blood in my cupped hand. I know advice is it is expected. But can anyone provide a guide as to how much blood to expect please. Thanks. 

User
Posted 01 Sep 2020 at 07:34

EdwardSprin,

Don't worry. Sounds perfectly normal after a biopsy. It seemed like I was just ejaculating blood to begin with. Gradually changes colour over time. Think It was a good 2 weeks for me before it cleared up.

User
Posted 01 Sep 2020 at 07:39

Thanks Mike. That is reassuring. I read the descriptions and no one is describing it like this. It is exactly how mine is. Ejaculating blood! Thank you! 

User
Posted 01 Sep 2020 at 08:39

If it looks like tomato ketchup, don't be surprised.

Yes, the leaflets they give you are way off. Mine said something like "there may be some blood in your semen for up to 6 weeks". Fortunately, I'd read forums beforehand, and knew what was possible.

I do one-to-one support of patients, and I've had 2 or 3 cases of men contacting me in sheer panic having ejaculated tomato ketchup just after a biopsy. The warnings beforehand (where they exist at all) are massively inadequate.

User
Posted 25 Sep 2020 at 23:35

Just read your answer after the same thing happened to me. Thank you, very reassuring. (I got the shock of my life!) 👍

User
Posted 26 Sep 2020 at 08:51

Just a quick follow up.. mine took about 2 weeks to clear up. 

User
Posted 15 Dec 2020 at 23:02

Still having brown ejaculate. Procedure was about three weeks ago. Also seems like there’s not as much as there was pre-biopsy. Very little comes out. 

User
Posted 15 Dec 2020 at 23:10

Hi Dj,

The fact it's brown means it's old blood, so I don't think that's anything to worry about. Any fresh bleeding would be red for a few days. It took me 3 weeks of ejaculating daily to get it all out, but the leaflet I was given said it could take up to 6 weeks.

Are you on hormone therapy? This will cause a reduction in semen, and for the GnRH drugs (Zoladex, Prostap/Lupron/Eligard, Decapeptyl, Firmagon/Degrelix), a complete cessation of semen.

User
Posted 19 Dec 2020 at 22:23

Hi,

It's 18 days since my transperineal biopsy. Ejaculate is very thin brown liquid with a consistency like water, not like ketchup as someone described, or simply some blood in semen, as I was told to expect. Has anyone had similar with it returning to normal colour and thickness? I'm seeing my Urologist tomorrow for results.

Thanks,

Carey.

User
Posted 19 Dec 2020 at 22:35

It's only bright red for about 3 days after bleeding. After that, the iron from the red blood cells changes oxidation state, and it is literally rust - your blood has gone rusty, hence the colour.

There are several components making up semen. The prostate's contribution is a clear fluid (mostly PSA). The seminal vesicles' contribution is the thick white gel. What can happen after someone has attacked the prostate with needles or radiotherapy is that you might lose one or other of the components. In your case, the ejaculatory ducts which carry the contribution from the seminal vesicles through the prostate may be blocked with clots or swelling, so you're missing their contribution. It will probably recover.

Edited by member 19 Dec 2020 at 22:38  | Reason: Not specified

User
Posted 20 Dec 2020 at 01:12

Thanks Andy62!

That's what I suspected. Apart from the result, I'm interested to find out how many cores were taken. I don't recall anything like this from the first biopsy.

User
Posted 23 Dec 2020 at 16:16

Hi Andy62 and others,

I saw my urologist and sections from all cores were negative for malignancy which is great news. There is some high grade PIN. PSA will continue to be monitored. What shocked me was that 41 needle cores were taken! No wonder recovery is taking some time.

It was a transperineal biopsy using Precision Point.

Has anyone here had a similar number of cores taken?

User
Posted 23 Dec 2020 at 18:12
30 - 50 cores is the normal range for a template / transperineal biopsy
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

 
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