BPH

[majed1965]

Hi. I am 43 years old.

I have been experiencing Prostate issues for the last 18 months.
I was diagnosed with Prostate enlargement (BPH). Thankfully so far not cancerous.

My symptons is that i have to frequently go to the toilet to urinate. (upto 15 times a day, including sometimes twice at night). My urinal flow is fair but not very strong. Towards the end it trickles for a while, then stops then trickles again. After i finish it doesn't quite feel that i have completely emptied the bladder.
I also expreience pain when i am sitting down just below the pelvis. I have to unbuckle the belt completely even though it is not tight. The pain feels like it is pushing on something in the vicinity of the bladder / prostate.

These symtpons are uncomfortable and annoying, especially that i have to go to the toilet at least every 2 hours.

My Urologist tells me that my prostate is moderately large at (62ml) This is what is causing the issues. He put me on Flomaxtra tablets (alpha blockers) to relax the muscles of the prostate. It makes the urinal flow better, but is still need to go around 10 times a day now. I also had the procedure called Urodynamics, which came up apprently ok.

Since i have stopped the tablets i am back to all the old symptons again. So now my family doctor has put me back onto the Flomaxtra tablets again. I have just had blood tests again for PSA (waiting on results) and will be having another Renal ultrasound next Tuesday.

I asked the doctor to maybe have the TURP surgery done, but he says he would like to stay away from that as i am still too young. My feeing is that my prostate is not going to get any smaller, in fact it will grow as i get older, so i am pretty worried that i will experience more issues as i get older. For now, the pain is annoying along with the constant trips to the toilet.

If the medical results next week confirm that it is not getting any better, then i am thinking of seeing another Urologist

Just had another ultrasound today with the following results. Had to go to toilet twice before ultrasound as i couldn't hold it off. During the ultrasound, prior to Micturition the bladder held 460ml, with a 179ml remaining after voiding. The volume of the prostate since last year (62ml) is now 98cc.
I am now thinking of the TURP procedure as medication hasn't helped.

Has anyone had any symptons or experience like this to share here please? Considering my symptoms, is a surgical procedure recommended?

Regards,
Majed.

[mrcoyote]

My story is almost exactly the same as yours. The frequency and volume was really bad. I had to plan every trip around a bathroom and long car rides and vacations were a thing of the past. It was no doubt helped by Flomax 0.4mg daily, but over time, it stopped being so effective. I must have taken that for about ten years or more. Believe me, I know what you are going through. It caused a nasty urinary tract infection just recently and my doctor said we were out of options medically at this stage, and that the Flomax "bought us a lot of time". I knew he was going to lean towards surgery, so I was prepared. I decided to go for it and had it done three days ago. He used a laser and I have posted about that and will continue to do so to share my experience in case somebody out there is concerned for themselves.
I might add that before the surgery, he bumped up the Flomax to TWO 0.4 mg per day to see if that made a difference. It did. It helped somewhat, but not a cure-all. Also, there is Avodart that can be taken along with the Flomax, but the doc says it can take 6-8 months to shrink the prostate to the point of helping urination. I couldn't wait any longer. If you are thinking about the laser TURP, DO NOT TAKE the Avodart. It might prevent you from being able to have a laser TURP and you might not want the traditional "roto-rooter", non-laser treatment. This is what he told me about the effect of Avodart on the laser treatment. Be sure to avoid all caffeine and don't drink anything after 7pm or so. I know it's hard but that's another tip he gave me. I hope I can be of some help.