What Does It Feel Like When Your Prostate Is Enlarged

What Other Problems Might An Enlarged Prostate Cause

Real Question: Symptoms of an Enlarged Prostate?

A small number of men may find it difficult to empty their bladder properly this is called urine retention. If youve been diagnosed with an enlarged prostate, your doctor will look at your test results to see if youre at risk of urine retention. You may be more likely to get urine retention if:

youre aged 70 or over
your prostate is very large
you have a raised prostate specific antigen level
you have severe urinary symptoms and a very slow flow.

Chronic urine retention

This is where you cant empty your bladder fully, but can still urinate a little. It usually develops slowly over time. Chronic means long-lasting. The first signs often include a weak flow when you urinate, or leaking urine at night. You may feel that your abdomen is swollen, or that youre not emptying your bladder fully.

Chronic urine retention is usually painless. But the pressure of the urine can slowly stretch your bladder muscle and make it weaker. This can cause urine to be left behind in the bladder when you urinate. If you dont empty your bladder fully, you might get a urine infection, need to urinate more often, leak urine at night, or get painful bladder stones. You might also see some blood in your urine. Chronic urine retention can damage your bladder and kidneys if it isnt treated.

There are treatments for chronic urine retention, including:

passing a thin, flexible tube called a catheter to drain urine from your bladder
surgery to widen the urethra.

Acute urine retention

Frequency Of Prostate Massage

Now that we covered how and why, lets talk about frequency. For a healthy prostate, one massage once per month is enough to reduce the risk of prostate cancer. On the other hand, people that have a swollen prostate can do it once a week. Fortunately, if you are into this, you can do it as many times as you like.

For some, this is an integral part of intercourse. Indeed, some can freely massage their prostate every time they have sex. That way, they can increase the sensation that comes with orgasm and improve it.

However, if you practice this often, you should be extra careful when massaging yourself or your partner. Since the whole area that you massage can be rather sensitive, and there are a lot of nerve endings, the last thing you need is to cause injury. Make sure you use lube, and if you are gentle enough, you can do it as much as you desire.

When To Seek Medical Advice

See a GP if you have any of the symptoms of an enlarged prostate .

Even if the symptoms are mild, they could be caused by a condition that needs to be investigated.

Any blood in your urine must be investigated by a GP to rule out other more serious conditions.

Page last reviewed: 10 February 2020 Next review due: 10 February 2023

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How Is Bph Diagnosed

After evaluating your medical history and giving you a complete physical, your doctor will perform a digital rectal examination.

Because the prostate gland is in front of the rectum, the doctor can feel if the back of the gland has any abnormalities during this examination. This enables the doctor to estimate the size of the prostate and to detect any hard areas that could be cancer.

Several studies may be done to help diagnose your condition:

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Foods To Avoid: Caffeine

Avoiding or limiting your caffeine intake, including coffee, tea, energy drinks and fizzy drinks, is another thing that can make a big difference to your urinary health.

Caffeine has a diuretic effect which means it can increase the urge to go to the toilet. On top of this, drinking these beverages, especially late at night, can irritate the bladder and so will make it more likely that youll need to use the loo. As it is difficult for men with an enlarged prostate to empty their bladder completely anyway, consuming caffeinated drinks will only add to the problem.

There are now so many caffeine-free drinks available that it shouldnt be too much of a challenge to swap your usual brew for something a little kinder to your bladder.

Chamomile tea is particularly beneficial as it has anti-inflammatory properties. If you favour coffee, though, then Bambu, our caffeine-free coffee, is a great alternative.

On top of this, another important drink for your prostate is water. Its vital you stay well hydrated if you suffer from the condition but remember not to drink anything at least 2 hours before bedtime.

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Can An Enlarged Prostate Cause Testicle Pain

4.1/5causetesticular paincancausedenlarged prostatetesticleread here

Prostatitis is pain and swelling, inflammation, or both of the prostate gland. The cause is sometimes a bacterial infection. Pain can occur in the area between the scrotum and anus or in the lower back, penis, or testes.

Additionally, where do you feel prostate pain? It can cause pain in the lower back, in the groin area, or at the tip of the penis. Men with this problem often have painful ejaculation. They may feel the need to urinate frequently, but pass only a small amount of urine.

Besides, can an enlarged prostate cause pain in the groin?

Prostatitis is swelling and inflammation of the prostate gland, a walnut-sized gland situated directly below the bladder in men. Prostatitis often causes painful or difficult urination. Other symptoms include pain in the groin, pelvic area or genitals and sometimes flu-like symptoms.

Can enlarged prostate cause burning sensation?

Some symptoms of BPH are not as common, and they could signal that your condition is more complicated or advanced. Those signs include: Burning or pain when you pee. Blood in your urine.

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 .

Home Remedies For Swollen Prostate

Home remedies are also available for swelling of the prostate. These include:

Saw palmetto extract This is an herbal preparation used to reduce the size of the prostate and prevent swelling for normal individuals. Saw palmetto also reduces symptoms associated with swollen prostate.
Pygeum This is also an herbal preparation extracted from Prunus Africana bark.
Others Other herbal preparations for swollen prostate include hypoxis rooperi, pumpkin seed, rye grass and stinging nettle. These herbal medications may control symptoms and do not have potential side-effects.

Key Points To Remember

How To Treat An Enlarged Prostate! THE PROSTATE HEALTH KIT!

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.

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Personal Stories About Using Surgery For Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

These stories are based on information gathered from health professionals and consumers. They may be helpful as you make important health decisions.

Over the past year, I’ve started to feel like my life revolves around the bathroom. I have to go every 2 or 3 hours, and in my line of work, that’s a real inconvenience. And then sometimes it takes me 5 or 10 minutes to finish. It’s become a real annoyance to me. I tried medicines to relax and shrink my prostate. But I didn’t like the side effects, and I don’t want to be on medicine for the rest of my life. This surgery sounds like a good option for me. I think I can manage the possible side effects of the surgery a lot better than the symptoms I have now. It makes sense to me to take care of the problem and not just treat the symptoms.

John, age 56

I’ve adapted pretty well to the changes in my urination. Instead of standing there waiting for something to happen, I just have a seat, pick up a magazine, and let nature take its course. Some men might have a problem with that, but I’m retired and I don’t find it a bother at all. I don’t feel any need to have surgery, because I think I’m managing just fine. Who knows whether the risks of surgery might not be worse than what I’m dealing with now?

Geraldo, age 67

Tom, age 70

Dave, age 65

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.

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Prostate Cancer Diagnoses And Treatment

All cancer is complex, but prostate cancer testing and treatment is particularly complicated.

In some men with prostate cancer, the cancer will grow very slowly, and wont significantly affect them during their lifetime. Other mens prostate cancer can grow and spread very quickly. At the moment, there is no test that can tell what type of prostate cancer a man has when he is diagnosed.

Because some treatments for prostate cancer can cause side effects which might impact on quality of life, its important for men to discuss with their doctor all their options for testing and treatment, and to discuss these with their partners and families. These might include watchful waiting, which means waiting to see what the cancer does over time, radiation, surgery or taking medications.

You can read more about what kinds of questions to ask your doctors about prostate cancer testing and treatment on the Cancer Council website.

What Matters Most To You

Your personal feelings are just as important as the medical facts. Think about what matters most to you in this decision, and show how you feel about the following statements.

Reasons to have surgery for an enlarged prostate

Reasons not to have surgery

I don’t want to keep taking medicine every day for my symptoms.

I don’t mind taking daily medicine.

I’m willing to try surgery because my symptoms bother me so much.

I don’t like the idea of having surgery.

I don’t think medicines are helping my symptoms.

Medicines are helping my symptoms.

I don’t think the side effects of surgery will be as bad as my symptoms.

I think the side effects of surgery would bother me more than my symptoms do.

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Enlarged Prostate Doesnt Just Affect Your Bladder

According to research, as many as half of the men aged 51 to 60 will develop BPH or benign prostatic hyperplasia. An enlarged prostate. The good news about BPH lies in that one little, yet the uber-important word benign. To have an enlarged prostate doesnt indicate that you have prostate cancer, or that your risk for cancer is substantially higher. It can mean that you have to face a few unpleasant symptoms, though.

The most common symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia revolve around urination. Because your prostate gland is adjacent to the bladder, its enlargement can cause the blockage. This may result in frequent urination, difficulty starting urination, a sensation of fullness after urination, dribbling, and weak urine flow. These are the symptoms that most men have been told or experienced for themselves. But theres more. BPH can also affect your sex life. Heres how:

Reduced sex drive and sexual satisfaction. This is related to the loss of sleep that stems from having to urinate frequently through the night more than it does any other aspect of BPH. Additionally, when the bladder feels uncomfortably full due to pressure from the blockage, anxiety may coincide with sex, diminishing the overall experience.

What Kinds Of Surgery Are Done For Enlarged Prostates

The most common surgery is TURP . A thin tool is inserted up the urethra to remove the section of prostate tissue that is blocking urine flow.

Other types of surgery include:

Plasma vaporization , which removes prostate tissue.
Laser therapies, which remove a portion of the prostate.
Transurethral incision of the prostate . During this procedure, incisions are made in the prostate to reduce pressure on the urethra.

There are also some other surgeries. Talk to your doctor about these options.

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When To Get Concerned About An Enlarged Prostate

Common symptoms of BPH involve difficulty beginning to urinate, straining to urinate, dribbling at the end, and a decreased force of the stream. This occurs because the prostate surrounds the urethra and its enlargement will squeeze the urethra making it difficult to urinate.

When symptoms begin to affect your quality of life, it is time to see McIver Clinic. It is time to decide on a treatment that is right for you depending on your age and the severity of your symptoms.

Do not ignore painful or burning urination, painful ejaculation, blood in the urine or semen, frequent pain in the lower back, hips, pelvic or rectal area.

Possible complications from untreated BPH include the following:

Urinary retention
Chronic prostatitis causing chronic pelvic syndrome with pain in the lower back, groin, and tip of the penis
Bacteria infections

What Is An Enlarged Prostate

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Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the official medical term used to describe an enlarged prostate. An enlarged prostate occurs when the prostate gland, a gland that produces seminal fluid located around the urethra, grows larger than its regular size, which is about the same as a walnut.

While the exact causes of BPH are unknown, medical professionals know that its linked to aging. In other words, the older you get, the more likely you are to have an enlarged prostate. Other risk factors include:

Family history of BPH
Heart disease
Diabetes

In addition to the above factors, scientists believe BPH may also be linked to rising testosterone levels and changes at the cellular level in the testicles. The condition isnt cancerous, nor does it increase your chances of getting prostate cancer, but it can cause uncomfortable symptoms.

How Do You Find It

Youll need to head south along the back road to find it in a magical place called the anal region.

Although entering through the anus is the most direct way, you can also stimulate the prostate indirectly through the perineum, or taint.

This is the skin that runs underneath the scrotum to the anus.

Signs Of Prostate Cancer Your Doctor Can Assess

Your doctor can tell a lot about your prostate by the way that it feels.

The back wall of your prostate is very close to your rectum. If your doctor inserts a finger into your rectum, he can feel the back and sides of your prostate through the thin, soft wall of the rectum. This examination of the prostate is called a digital rectal examination .

The DRE is used to detect possible signs of prostate illness:

A DRE that finds a smooth, soft prostate but that causes intense pain is commonly a sign of prostate infection, also known as prostatitis.
A DRE that finds a smooth, rubbery, and enlarged prostate is commonly a sign of prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostate hyperplasia.
A DRE that finds hard nodules, generalized firmness, or an unusual shape to the prostate is commonly a sign of prostate cancer.

DRE can be used to raise suspicion of prostate cancer. DRE can not be used to rule out prostate cancer.

Many prostate cancers produce no physical signs that can be felt by DRE. In other words, a normal DRE is not a sign that there is no prostate cancer.

It is also well known that if different doctors carry out a DRE on the same patient , they may come to different decisions about what they think they feel.

Figure 1: How the DRE is carried out.

Content on this page last reviewed and updated April 5, 2008.

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