What Medications Are Used To In The Treatment Of Bph
Several types of medications have been approved for treatment of urinary symptoms secondary to prostate enlargement. Men with severe symptoms may require treatment with a combination of these medications. Your doctor will determine the optimal combination for your condition:
Alpha-blockers, such as terazosin , prazosin , or doxazosin , relax the muscles in the prostate and thus may relieve symptoms. Newer alpha-blockers, such as tamsulosin , alfuzosin , and silodosin, are more commonly prescribed because they may have fewer side effects.
Finasteride or dutasteride can cause the prostate to shrink. As a result, the urinary symptoms may improve. These drugs are most helpful in men who have at least moderate enlargement of the prostate.
Tadalafil has recently been approved for the treatment of BPH.
Bladder calming medications that help with the symptoms related to bladder irritability from prostate blockage: oxybutynin , solifenacin , darifenacin , trospium , and mirabegron .
Once your doctor has given you a medical plan, you should stick to it and follow up as recommended. Sometimes men need follow-up with a urologist.
Does Finasteride Shrink And Heal The Prostate
Finasteride does shrink the prostate and therefore appears to have some benefit. The benefits are most visible for men with prostates larger than 40g, and it offers some symptomatic relief by reducing the size of the prostate.
Studies have shown that the reduction in prostate size is sustained for five years following a course of Finasteride treatment.
They also note that the majority of the benefits and effects of Finasteride on prostate size will be achieved within six months.
For information on natural remedies for an enlarged prostate click here.
Connection Between Ejaculation And Prostate Cancer
The amount of ejaculations included those from sexual intercourse, masturbation and nocturnal emissions . The one study found that men who ejaculated 21 or more time a month had a 33% decreased chance of developing prostate cancer compared to those who ejaculated 4-7 times a month. The second study showed that men who averaged 4-7 ejaculations a week showed a 36% decreased chance of developing prostate cancer, before the age of 70, as compared to men who ejaculated less than 2-3 times a week.
It’s not known how this increased rate of ejaculation leads to a decreased risk of prostate cancer. The theory behind it is that ejaculation expels potentially harmful or irritating substances from the prostate, thereby decreasing the chances of the occurrence of a malignancy.
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Tests Used To Check The Prostate
This first step lets your doctor hear and understand the story of your prostate concerns. Youll be asked whether you have symptoms, how long youve had them, and how much they affect your lifestyle. Your personal medical history also includes any risk factors, pain, fever, or trouble passing urine. You may be asked to give a urine sample for testing.
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Bph Medications And Sexual Side Effects
Some drugs used to treat BPH can cause difficulty in maintaining an erection. Men who take alpha-blockers such as doxazosin and terazosin may experience decreased ejaculation. This is because alpha-blockers relax the bladder and prostate muscle cells.
Alpha reductase inhibitors can also cause ED. Additionally, reduced sex drive is a possible side effect of the alpha reductase inhibitors dutasteride and finasteride.
Approximately 3 percent of men taking dutasteride reported experiencing a decreased libido in the first six months. About 6.4 percent of those taking finasteride experienced this within the first year. Roughly 4.5 percent of men taking dutasteride-tamsulosin reported decreased libido in the first six months.
Men who take these medications may also experience lower sperm count, decreased sperm volume, and lower sperm movement. Adverse events typically decrease with continued use.
Medications that treat erectile dysfunction may help improve BPH. The ED drugs below have all been shown to reduce BPH symptoms:
- sildenafil
- tadalafil
However, they arent currently approved to treat BPH.
These medications inhibit a protein that breaks down a chemical called cyclic guanosine monophosphate , which increases blood flow to the penis. By inhibiting the protein that breaks down cGMP, blood flow to the penis can be increased.
One comparing tadalafil and a placebo showed that men who took 5 milligrams of tadalafil daily had significant improvement in both BPH and ED symptoms.
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Symptoms Of Enlarged Prostate
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, or BPH, is the enlargement of the prostate gland. About half of men over age 75 will experience symptoms of BPH. BPH is a very minor condition and is not related to prostate cancer. However, symptoms can cause discomfort and be inconvenient.
Ejaculation: What To Expect As You Age
There is little written on ejaculatory issues aside from timing problems and hematospermia . However, not a day goes by in my urology practice where I do not see at least several patients who complain about declining ejaculation function.
What does the word ejaculation mean?
Ejaculation derives from ex, meaning out + jaculari, meaning to throw, shoot, hurl, cast.
Trivia: You do not need an erection to ejaculate and achieve an orgasm. A limp penis cannot penetrate, but is very capable of ejaculation and orgasm.
What happens to ejaculations as we age?
Ejaculation and orgasm often become less intense, with diminished force, trajectory and volume. What was once an intense climax with a substantial volume of semen that could be forcefully ejaculated gives way to a lackluster experience with a small volume of semen weakly dribbled out the penis.
So whats the big deal?
Men dont like meager, lackadaisical-quality ejaculations and orgasms. Sex is important to many of us and getting a good quality rigid erection is foremost, but the culminationejaculation and orgasmis equally vital. We may be 40 or 50 years old, but we still want to point and shoot like we did when we were 20. As the word origin indicates, we want to be able to shoot out, hurl or cast like an Olympian and we want that intensely pleasurable feeling of yesteryear.
The science of ejaculation
Big head versus little head
What makes up the love juices?
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How Does Your Penis Change As You Age
Like everything in nature, your penis goes through a series of changes over your lifetime. Each phase is controlled mostly by your testosterone levels.
Somewhere between the ages of 9 and 15, your pituitary gland releases hormones that tell your body to start making testosterone. Puberty begins and brings changes. Your testes , scrotum, penis, and pubic hair all begin to grow. Testosterone levels peak in your late teens to early 20s.
The amount of testosterone in your body may drop slightly in your late 20s through your 40s, but the change is minimal.
After 40, your total levels may drop only a small amount. But your body slowly begins to make more of a protein called sex hormone binding globulin . This sticks to the testosterone in your blood and lowers the amount your body has available to use.
As testosterone levels fall, youâll notice other changes to your:
Pubic hair: Like the hair on the rest of your body, it will thin and may turn gray.
Penis size: You may notice that it doesnât seem as large as it used to. The actual size probably hasnât changed at all. But if you have more fat on the pubic bone just above your penis, that area can sag and make it look smaller.
Testicles: The small organs inside your scrotum mostly exist to make sperm. As your testosterone levels fall, sperm production slows and they shrink.
If you get hormone replacement therapy, your pituitary gland will stop sending signals to your testes to make testosterone, and they will shrink more.
Common Myths And Misconceptions About Enlarged Prostate That You Should Know
Teleflex Interventional UrologyInsider two recent mens health surveys
Over 40 million men in the U.S. suffer from enlarged prostate, also referred to as BPH .1 Many spouses are also affected by their partners symptoms, which include frequent urination, the inability to urinate, and the inability to empty the bladder. As men get older, the prostate continues to grow and symptoms often worsen. However, enlarged prostate is not just part of the aging process it is a condition that can indeed be treated.
There are many treatment options to relieve the symptoms of enlarged prostate, including medications, surgery, and minimally-invasive office procedures.
Survey results demonstrate that almost half of the men with BPH are currently using medication to treat their condition. Medication for enlarged prostate often comes with risks and negative side effects, which is why a majority of the men surveyed would like a solution that allows them to stop taking their BPH medication.
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After Prostate Surgery Will The Prostate Continue To Grow Or Will It Stop After The Surgery
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Medications For Enlarged Prostate
There are two main classes of pharmaceuticals that work to alleviate enlarged prostate symptoms: alpha blockers and alpha reductase inhibitors
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Alpha Blockers. Alpha blockers relax the smooth muscle around the bladder neck and within the urethra.
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Inhibitors. Inhibitors stop the conversion of the male hormone testosterone to DHT to reduce the prostate’s size, eliminating blockage.
Dont be surprised if your physician prescribes a combination of the two medications, as they have been shown to work more effectively together than alone. The downside is that combination therapy may increase the likelihood of experiencing side effects from the medications. Be sure to work with your doctor to assess the benefits and costs before starting on combination therapy.
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What Is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasiaalso called BPHis a condition in men in which the prostate gland is enlarged and not cancerous. Benign prostatic hyperplasia is also called benign prostatic hypertrophy or benign prostatic obstruction.
The prostate goes through two main growth periods as a man ages. The first occurs early in puberty, when the prostate doubles in size. The second phase of growth begins around age 25 and continues during most of a mans life. Benign prostatic hyperplasia often occurs with the second growth phase.
As the prostate enlarges, the gland presses against and pinches the urethra. The bladder wall becomes thicker. Eventually, the bladder may weaken and lose the ability to empty completely, leaving some urine in the bladder. The narrowing of the urethra and urinary retentionthe inability to empty the bladder completelycause many of the problems associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Does Sexual Activity Improve Prostate Health
Regular ejaculation enhances the immune systems response to the presence of cancer cells.
According to a report published in JAMA, men who reported having more than 20 ejaculations per month were 33% less likely to develop prostate cancer.
These measured ejaculations included sexual intercourse, nocturnal emissions, and masturbation. Researchers evaluated nearly 30,000 patients, of whom 1,449 developed prostate cancer.
Assuming the men answered the survey questions honestly, the results indicated that active sex life is not associated with higher cancer risk in most men.
An Australian study of 2,338 men also came to a similar conclusion. This study found that men who averaged 4.6 to seven ejaculations a week were 36% less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer before the age of 70 compared to men who ejaculated less than 2.3 times a week on average.
The study found no connection between prostate cancer and the number of sex partners.
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How Do I Know If My Prostate Is Enlarged
If your prostate is enlarged, it may not be a sign of cancer, but it is something that you should discuss with your doctor. Many of the symptoms of an enlarged prostate tend to relate to urination. If you are concerned about an enlarged prostate, here are 7 symptoms to look for:
Is Further Treatment Needed
In the years after your surgery, it is important to continue having a rectal examination once a year and to have any symptoms checked by your doctor.
Since surgery for BPH leaves behind a good part of the gland, it is still possible for prostate problems, including BPH, to develop again. However, surgery usually offers relief from BPH for at least 15 years. Only 10 percent of the men who have surgery for BPH eventually need a second operation for enlargement. Usually these are men who had the first surgery at an early age.
Sometimes, scar tissue resulting from surgery requires treatment in the year after surgery. Rarely, the opening of the bladder becomes scarred and shrinks, causing obstruction. This problem may require a surgical procedure similar to transurethral incision . More often, scar tissue may form in the urethra and cause narrowing. The doctor can solve this problem during an office visit by stretching the urethra.
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Can The Prostate Become Enlarged Again Even After The Holep Surgery
awake gopher over a year ago
Had the surgery four months ago and everything is fantastic . Just wondering if after a number of years there is the potential of the prostate growing back.
Loading…
fiercest birdbath over a year ago
The answer is yes. I know one patient had his prostate enlarged after HoLEP rather quickly. The rate of enlargement has to do with hormone production. The hormone tells the prostate to growth.
there is a class of drug 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors Such as Finasteride blocks the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, the major male sex hormone found within cells of the prostate. In some men, finasteride can relieve BPH symptoms, increase urinary flow rate, and actually shrink the size of the prostate, though it must be used indefinitely to prevent recurrence of symptoms. It may take as long as six months, however, to achieve maximum benefits from finasteride.” This class of drug may have serious side effects.
see :
urology.jhu.edu/prostate/treatment_BPH.php
> 145cc prostate is a very large prostate, u have. Good reason to be a concerned, u may want to do a yearly TRUS, transrectral ultrasound which measures the size of prostate and medium lobe enlargement. Then Compare the result year after year.
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: A Common Part Of Aging
It is common for the prostate gland to become enlarged as a man ages. Doctors call this condition benign prostatic hyperplasia , or benign prostatic hypertrophy.
As a man matures, the prostate goes through two main periods of growth. The first occurs early in puberty, when the prostate doubles in size. At around age 25, the gland begins to grow again. This second growth phase often results, years later, in BPH.
Though the prostate continues to grow during most of a mans life, the enlargement doesnt usually cause problems until late in life. BPH rarely causes symptoms before age 40, but more than half of men in their sixties and as many as 90 percent in their seventies and eighties have some symptoms of BPH.
As the prostate enlarges, the layer of tissue surrounding it stops it from expanding, causing the gland to press against the urethra like a clamp on a garden hose. The bladder wall becomes thicker and irritable. The bladder begins to contract even when it contains small amounts of urine, causing more frequent urination. Eventually, the bladder weakens and loses the ability to empty itself, so some of the urine remains in the bladder. The narrowing of the urethra and partial emptying of the bladder cause many of the problems associated with BPH.
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What Is The Prostate
The prostate is a walnut-shaped gland that is part of the male reproductive system. The main function of the prostate is to make a fluid that goes into semen. Prostate fluid is essential for a mans fertility. The gland surrounds the urethra at the neck of the bladder. The bladder neck is the area where the urethra joins the bladder. The bladder and urethra are parts of the lower urinary tract. The prostate has two or more lobes, or sections, enclosed by an outer layer of tissue, and it is in front of the rectum, just below the bladder. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. In men, the urethra also carries semen out through the penis.
What Happens When The Prostate Enlarges
As the prostate enlarges, it presses against the urethra and interferes with urination. At the same time, the bladder wall becomes thicker and irritated, and begins to contract–even when it contains only small amounts of urine–which causes more frequent urination. And, as the bladder continues to weaken, it may not empty completely and leave some urine behind, leading to a frequent sensation of having to void, having a slow urinary flow, and waking up at night to urinate.
Blocking or narrowing of the urethra by the prostate and partial emptying of the bladder cause many of the problems associated with BPH.
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