What Are The Symptoms Of Enlarged Prostate
When the prostate becomes enlarged, it can block the urethra and impair bladder function. Symptoms that may indicate this is happening include:
- Urinating many times a day and being unable to hold off urination
- Problems starting a urine stream or a weak or interrupted stream, followed by dribbling at the end
- Waking at night to urinate and accidental loss of urine
Key Points To Remember
- Surgery can help if your enlarged prostate is causing serious problemssuch as kidney problems or repeated urinary tract infectionsor if medicines haven’t helped.
- The most important thing in deciding whether to have surgery is how much the symptoms bother you.
- Surgery works well for most men. But it can cause side effects, including ejaculation problems and erection problems.
How Is Enlarged Prostate Diagnosed
The first step is a standard physical exam which often involves a urine analysis and a digital rectal exam, which involves a doctor inserting a finger into the rectum. The physician will assess the size and contour of the prostate and determine if any nodules are present, which may suggest the presence of prostate cancer.
The physician may also assess for tenderness, which can be found when the prostate is inflamed. Tests may be done in the office to assess strength of urine flow or to check for residual urine in the bladder.
Next, doctors may run one or several tests to make an accurate diagnosis. These can include a PSA blood test, urodynamic tests , cystoscopy and transrectal ultrasound .
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What Are Additional Tests For Detecting Prostate Problems
If the DRE or the PSA blood test indicates a problem may exist, the health care provider may order additional tests, including urinalysis, urodynamic tests, cystoscopy, abdominal ultrasound, transrectal ultrasound with prostate biopsy, and imaging studies such as magnetic resonance imaging or computerized tomography scan.
How Is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Diagnosed
Your doctor will look at your medical history and give you a complete physical examination.
Your doctor will perform a digital rectal examination by inserting a gloved, lubricated finger into your rectum to feel the prostate, estimate its size and detect any hard areas that could be cancer.
Several studies may be performed to help diagnose your condition:
- A survey to evaluate how severe your symptoms are.
- A flow study may be conducted to measure how slow the urinary stream is compared with normal urine flow.
- A study to detect how much urine is left in the bladder after you finish urinating.
- A cystoscopy to look into the bladder.
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Touching Your Prostate With Your Finger
How Is Bph Diagnosed And Evaluated
Early diagnosis of BPH is important because if left untreated it can lead to urinary;tract infections, bladder or kidney;damage, bladder stones and incontinence. Distinguishing BPH from more serious diseases like prostate cancer is important.
Tests vary from patient to patient, but the following are the most common:
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Lets Come To The Signs & Symptoms Of Prostate Enlargement
Some of the most common symptoms of BPH are:
- Hesitancy and straining in the urine stream
- Weak flow or decreased strength of the urine stream
- Feeling that the bladder is not completely empty
- Dribbling after urination
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What Else Do You Need To Make Your Decision
Check the facts
- Sorry, that’s wrong. Most men can treat their symptoms at home or take medicines for their symptoms. Surgery can be helpful if an enlarged prostate is causing serious problems or if medicines aren’t working.
- That’s correct. Most men can treat their symptoms at home or take medicines for their symptoms. Surgery can be helpful if an enlarged prostate is causing serious problems or if medicines aren’t working.
- It may help to go back and read “Get the Facts.” Most men can treat their symptoms at home or take medicines for their symptoms.
- That’s right. Retrograde ejaculation, which means semen is ejaculated into the bladder instead of out through the penis, is a common side effect of surgery. That can make it difficult to father children.
- Sorry, you’re wrong. Retrograde ejaculation, which means semen is ejaculated into the bladder instead of out through the penis, is a common side effect of surgery. That can make it difficult to father children.
- It may help to go back and read “Get the Facts.” Retrograde ejaculation is a common side effect that can make it difficult to father children.
1.How sure do you feel right now about your decision?
3.Use the following space to list questions, concerns, and next steps.
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Latest Men’s Health News
At the start, prostate cancer does not cause symptoms. As the cancer grows, you may have trouble urinating. Some men need to urinate often, especially at night. Others have pain or burning during urination, blood in the urine or semen, pain in the back, hips, or pelvis, and painful ejaculation.
To find out if these symptoms are caused by prostate cancer, your doctor will ask about your past medical problems and your family’s medical history. He or she will perform a physical exam. During the exam, your doctor will put a gloved finger into your rectum to feel your prostate for hard or lumpy areas.
Your doctor may also do a blood test to check the prostate-specific antigen level. PSA levels can be high in men with an enlarged prostate gland or with prostate cancer. You may also need an ultrasound exam that takes computer pictures of the prostate.
If tests show that you might have cancer, your doctor will want to confirm this with a biopsy. He or she will take out tiny pieces of the prostate to look for cancer cells. Your doctor may want to do a biopsy again to re-check the results.
Treatment for prostate cancer depends on whether cancer is in part or all of the prostate or if it has spread to other parts of the body. It also depends on your age and overall health. Talk with your doctor about the best treatment choice for you. You may want to ask another doctor for a second opinion.
What Are Some Common Prostate Problems
The most common prostate problem in men younger than age 50 is inflammation, called prostatitis. Prostate enlargement, or benign prostatic hyperplasia , is another common problem. Because the prostate continues to grow as a man ages, BPH is the most common prostate problem for men older than age 50. Older men are at risk for prostate cancer as well, but it is much less common than BPH.
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What Is Your Prostate And What Does It Do
Your prostate is a small gland that lives inside your body, just below your bladder. It sits around the urethra, which is the tube that carries pee from your bladder through your penis. Only men have a prostate.
Your prostate produces some of the fluids contained in your semen, the liquid that transports sperm. This liquid contains special enzymes and hormones that help your sperm cells function properly, which means the prostate plays a key part in your fertility. The muscles in your prostate also help push semen through your urethra when you ejaculate.
Gp Examination And Tests
A GP will ask about your symptoms and concerns, and their impact on your quality of life.
You may be asked to complete a chart that records how much liquid you usually drink, how much urine you pass, how often you have to pee on a daily basis and whether you have any leakage.
The GP may do a physical examination. They may examine your stomach and genital area.
They may also feel your prostate gland through the wall of your bottom . This is called a;rectal examination.
The GP;may order;a blood test to check that your kidneys are working properly.
They may;advise you to have a;prostate-specific antigen blood test to rule out prostate cancer.
You may be offered a urine;test,;for example to check for sugar or blood in your pee. This is to see if you have diabetes or an infection.
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Transrectal Ultrasound With Prostate Biopsy
Transrectal ultrasound is most often used to examine the prostate. In a transrectal ultrasound, the health care provider inserts a transducer slightly larger than a pen into the mans rectum next to the prostate. The ultrasound image shows the size of the prostate and any abnormal-looking areas, such as tumors. Transrectal ultrasound cannot definitively identify prostate cancer.
To determine whether a tumor is cancerous, the health care provider uses the transducer and ultrasound images to guide a needle to the tumor. The needle is then used to remove a few pieces of prostate tissue for examination with a microscope. This process, called biopsy, can reveal whether prostate cancer is present. A transrectal ultrasound with prostate biopsy is usually performed by a doctor in a health care providers office, outpatient center, or hospital with light sedation and local anesthesia. The biopsied prostate tissue is examined in a laboratory by a pathologista doctor who specializes in diagnosing diseases.
Medication For Urinary Problems
Your doctor may suggest various medications to help ease your urinary problems, including:
- medications to reduce the tone of the muscles of the urethra and prostate to minimise any constriction to urine flow caused when these muscles contract
- medication to reduce the size of the prostate gland. These medications work by blocking the action of male hormones produced by the prostate gland
- medications to relax the bladder, making unwanted contractions less likely and reducing the symptoms of urgency and frequency of urination
- the over-the-counter preparation âsaw palmettoâ is sometimes used. This may help some men, especially if frequent urination at night is a problem.
However, recent reviews of the evidence for using saw palmetto as a treatment for mild or moderate urinary symptoms did not show any improvement, compared to no treatment, in men with BPH.;
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What Clinical Trials Are Open
Clinical trials that are currently open and are recruiting can be viewed at www.ClinicalTrials.gov.
This content is provided as a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. The NIDDK translates and disseminates research findings to increase knowledge and understanding about health and disease among patients, health professionals, and the public. Content produced by the NIDDK is carefully reviewed by NIDDK scientists and other experts.
The NIDDK would like to thank:Steven A. Kaplan, M.D., Weill Cornell Medical College; Michel A. Pontari, M.D., Temple University School of Medicine
How To Prevent Enlarged Prostate In Dogs
Your dogs immune system is the key to good health. You need to support his immune system with a whole food, raw meat diet to prevent infections from prostate disease. When you remove processed food, you give your dogs other organs more opportunity to detox and fight bacteria instead of the chemicals and toxins from their food.
Antioxidants can assist the prostate in preventing infections along with improving the health of mucous membranes. Vitamin C is a natural anti-inflammatory and can help shrink the prostate to its original size.
Adding probiotics to your dogs diet increases the beneficial bacteria in your dogs gut, which is the foundation of 90% of his immune system.;
If you notice your dog has difficulty in peeing or pooping, you can gather a urine or stool sample and have it tested for possible infection. Then you can use natural antibiotics to eliminate the infection before it becomes serious.
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If your dog has prostate problems it might not be obvious, or you might start to notice these things.;
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What Kind Of Treatment Will I Need
There are many ways to treat prostate cancer. The main kinds of treatment are observation, active surveillance, surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, and chemo. Sometimes more than one kind of treatment is used.
The treatment thats best for you will depend on:
- Your age
- Any other health problems you might have
- The stage and grade of the cancer
- Your feelings about the need to treat the cancer
- The chance that treatment will cure the cancer or help in some way
- Your feelings about the side effects that might come with treatment
Drink Less In The Evenings
Its best to avoid drinking at least two hours before sleeping as otherwise youll spend the night going up and down to the toilet! It is particularly important you stay clear of alcohol and caffeine as these are stimulants and diuretics meaning not only will you need to urinate more often, youll also have more powerful urges to go to the toilet as well. So, if you feel really thirsty after 8 make sure you stick to a small glass of water!
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Craig Melvin And Al Roker Premiere Get Checked Psa
Dr. Matthew Rettig, the medical director of the Prostate Cancer Program at the Institute of Urologic Oncology at UCLA in California, said that even if screenings arenât performed right away, men should at least start talking about them with their doctors early in life.
âI think I would have that conversation fairly early on in life, maybe even in 30s or 40s, about when to initiate screening,â said Retting. âI think that would be most important for patients who are at high risk for prostate cancer and high risk for early onset of prostate cancer. Those are the types of patients that probably ought to have the discussion and make a decision about when to start screening at a relatively young age.â
Surgical Treatment For Enlarged Prostate
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Transurethral resection of the prostate . In this surgery, the inner portion of the prostate is removed. Used 90% of the time, this is the most commonly used surgical procedure for BPH.
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Open prostatectomy .The surgeon makes an incision and removes the enlarged tissue from the prostate.
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Laser surgery –Laser surgery uses laser energy to destroy prostate tissue and shrink the prostate.
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Transurethral incision of the prostate .This surgery does not involve removing prostate tissue. A few small cuts are made in the prostate gland to reduce the prostate’s pressure on the urethra, making urination easier.
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Stay Clear Of The Cold
Cold temperatures can make you feel like you need the toilet so during the winter months , make sure you wrap up warm when going outside. Also, when you are outside try not to sit on any cold benches as the chill may worsen any existing BPH symptoms – a hat, scarf, warm jacket and gloves should help to counteract this further.;;
Can I Check For Prostate Cancer At Home
It is strongly advised under any circumstances not to self-examine for prostate cancer at home either by yourself or with a partner. Not only does it take a skilled professional to assess how the prostate feels to make an accurate determination of overall prostate health, self-examinations have the potential to cause injury.
âSince the prostate is an internal gland, itâs extremely important that only licensed medical professionals conduct the exam. At-home self-exams should not be administered in order to avoid injury or self-harm. Regular screening is important for prostate cancer, as the disease often does not present symptoms until it is too late. Talk to your doctor about making sure you receive a regular DRE check-up at each visit.â
While actually screening yourself for prostate cancer at home is ill advised, you can still monitor your risk factors for prostate cancer between yearly check-ups, like practicing a healthy diet and exercising regularly.
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At What Age Should You Get Screened For Prostate Cancer
The following prostate cancer screening guidelines apply to men expected to live at least ten years.
Men ages 45 to 49 should have a baseline PSA test.
- If the PSA level is 3 ng / mL or higher, men should talk with their doctor about having a biopsy of the prostate.
- If the PSA level is between 1 and 3 ng / mL, men should see their doctor for another PSA test every two to four years.
- If the PSA level is less than 1 ng / mL, men should see their doctor for another PSA test between the ages of 51 and 55.
Men ages 50 to 59 should have their PSA level checked.
- If the PSA level is 3 ng / mL or higher, men should talk with their doctor about having a biopsy of the prostate.
- If the PSA level is between 1 and 3 ng / mL, men should see their doctor for another PSA test every two to four years.
- If the PSA level is less than 1 ng / mL, men should see their doctor for another PSA test at age 60.
Men ages 60 to 70 should have their PSA level checked.
- If the PSA level is 3 ng / mL or higher, men should talk with their doctor about having a biopsy of the prostate.
- If the PSA level is between 1 and 3 ng / mL, men should see their doctor for another PSA test every two to four years.
- If the PSA level is less than 1 ng / mL, no further screening is recommended.
Men ages 71 to 75 should talk with their doctor about whether to have a PSA test. This decision should be based on past PSA levels and the health of the man.
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