I knew I was having problems related to aging but didn‘t want to go to the doctor about it. First, we didn’t have insurance and the talk about medical expenses scared me away. Second, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the real problem. Third, I was afraid the cure might be worse than the problem. Fourth, I dreaded this kind of checkup in the first place.
Frankly, the problems related to urinating. I found out later it is called BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia). The prostate surrounds the urethra and contains muscles, that, among with other functions, control the flow of urine. Half of the men over fifty experience the consequences of these muscles swelling. Typical symptoms include weak stream, inability to delay urination, more frequent urination (day & night), painful or bloody urination, not emptying the bladder completely, difficulty stopping and starting, and incontinence (no control).
I didn’t experience all these symptoms but enough to cause concern. Several younger men advised me to get a prostate exam. “If you have cancer, and they discover it early, it can be treated and all is well. If not, then you may find out too late.”
Still I put it off. I had had this checkup once before and it didn’t leave a good memory. However, that had been 8 to 10 years earlier and I was now over 60. So finally I broke down and went for a checkup. The test was as expected (inserting his finger up my rectum) but not as unpleasant as I had anticipated. The good news was that he didn’t think I had prostate cancer. The bad news was that I needed to see a specialist, just to be sure.
The specialist did the same unpleasant test and confirmed the first diagnosis. He described three treatments, increasingly invasive. I choose the first, to take Flomax. Flomax is in a group of drugs called alpha-adrenergic blockers. “Flomax relaxes the veins and arteries so that blood can more easily pass through them. It also relaxes the muscles in the prostate and bladder neck, making it easier to urinate.”
Taking this pill once a day is easy and I have experienced no side effects. Best of all, it has greatly reduced the symptoms of BPH I had been experiencing. It won’t work forever. If the prostate continues to enlarge as the specialist predicted, then Flomax will become increasing ineffective. He described two other steps I could then take. I will wait with them as long as possible.
In the meantime, I am also taking an herbal supplement that I am hoping will treat the problem naturally. The particular capsule I take twice a day contains saw palmetto extract (clinically proven to inhibit benign prostate enlargement), Pygeum Africanum Bark extract, Stinging Nettle Root extract, Pumpkin Seed Oil, Lycopene, along with a balanced base of gelatin, glycerine, carob extract, beeswax and purified water. The bottle says it may take a couple of months or more to work its magic so I need to be patient.
In summary, I am now enjoying relief from the symptoms I faced and overall, it wasn’t as bad as I anticipated. It would be good for every man over fifty to have a prostate checkup, especially if he is beginning to experience the problems related to BPH.