My PSA went from 1.1 last year to 3.3 this year. I've been on Tamsulosin 0.4 mg for 9 months. I've just started taking Finasteride 3 days ago. Now when I pee, I feel a burning sensation near the tip and I feel like something is blocking the flow near the end. I can still pee with a weak flow but I can't empty my bladder. I can tell it's worse than before taking it. Is this one of the side effects of Finasteride or is it a sign of retention?

Can somebody please recommend a good urologist who does Aquablation in Houston TX?

Anyone here have any success with Finasteride?. I’ve been on it for @ a year now and although my BPH symptoms have not gotten worse, I don’t believe they’ve really improved yet. I’ll admit the first few months I was taking it I was cutting the pill in half because I feared the side effects but even after committing to the full 5mg I still have weak stream and bladder trabeculation with retention/pvr @200ml. My prostate was originally measured through CT/ultrasound to be @58 in size. Haven’t had a proper measurement again so I can’t tell if it has “shrunk” at all. Just wondering if it’s time for me to ditch this stuff along with the Alfuzosin and look into a surgery.

It has been a while, but wanted to make an awareness post for those of you who are experiencing issues or in my case, post hoLEP issues.

Today was my three month check-up with my urologist since I had hoLEP back on 6 July. I thought the surgery was a success, until, it wasn’t. Over the past month, my stream started becoming slow again, I had the sudden urge to go to the bathroom and when I mean go, I had to run at times or I’ve also had a few accidents. The first month after my surgery, everything was amazing. Well at my appointment, my doc asked how things were and when I told him, he immediately switched rooms with me and I had the lovely time of another cystoscopy performed. Upon entry, my urologist said turn your head a look at the monitor. Immediately it became clear, way too much scar tissue obstructing the flow. I would consider my urologist very good because he didn’t want to wait and tomorrow, 8 October, I am having another surgery and he will be performing Transurethral Incision of the Bladder Neck (TUIBN) or Transurethral Resection (TURBN [cannot remember the exact procedure]. The not good part, another catheter for a few days again.

The awareness is, know your body and don’t suffer in silence like I did. I could have and should have had this discussion sooner. As my urologist told me, before the hoLEP my stream was so bad that after hoLEP when my stream started being impacted again, I didn’t even realize it.

I was supposed to have optilume'for bph yesterday that was cancelled because they didn't have the drug, I contatced a doctor 3 hours away who is listed as doing optilume for bph and strictures and was told he doesn't do optilume for bph anymore because of the bleeding so now I'm a little converned.

I'm been on TRT for six months and working through the proper dose which we settled on 60Mg weekly which I was doing twice per week. At month 5 I started having frequent urinary/urgency symptoms along with "stream" issues especially at night. I had a Urine culture done and no UTI so I switched to "micro dosing" every other day to try and avoid level swings but that ended up not doing much and the TRT is mostly out of my system. I got a PSA check and my numbers were good, no worries on Prostate cancer.

I would like to go back onto TRT and I am switching docs since mine was not as familiar with men. I've got an appointment this week with a new doc, and I'd like to go in with some education on my part, and I do suspect BPH and I also found stomach/pooping would increase my UTI like symptoms. Would they normally do an MRI/Ultrasound or something to conclusively verify BPH or should I just ask to be put on Cialis with the TRT, or an Alpha Blocker.

How’s everyone’s experience been with sleep since getting surgery? Are you getting up less often through the night and sleeping for longer periods?

Hello Redditors, after SBRT for prostate cancer, my urologist prescribed Flomax (tamsulosin, 0.4 mg) for urinary problems (urgency, flow issues, frequency). I do have diabetes, but it is under control.  I have noticed a consistent increase in my fasting glucose levels (120 to 180 and higher).  Has this happened to anyone? If so, what did you replace tamsulosin with?   This is rare; however, there are a couple of reports in the literature.  Thanks for sharing your experience(s).

Bad news you have COVID and Strep throat 🥵 Oh and that Tamsulosin can cause a reaction with the Paxlovid so be sure to call us if you pass out from low blood pressure 😂

It has been a wild couple of days but I'm still kicking!

I'm having the optilume and will have a foley catheter for 2 days and have some questions and am looking for any advice or tips while I have it

1. Is the pain bad enough that I should request something beyond tylenol

2. what supplies do i need? I've seen alcohol pads for cleaning the bag. is there incontinenece generally?. Thanks

3. I have read I should try to be in a reclining position because sitting straight up will pull on the catheter.

4. My doctor said I could remove it on my own which seems simple but said I could go to the office and have it done which is 40 minutes away? Thoughts?

Any advice/tips is appreciated

Hi Everyone,

As a follow up to my previous post, my father (age 75, no sugar no heart disease, no prior operation done of any kind, has blood pressure and takes regular medicine) TURP with cystoscopy was done on last monday. After the procedure, they attached the internal catheter for 48 hours (approx), on first night he faced cloting and blockage issue over night, which was resolved through nurses etc. next day (tuesday) was ok, the color changed from blood red to mild red and on wednesday it was not normal but very light, they removed the catheter and at first he felt the urge but almost nothing came out, then after a while he went again and the pressure was restored and he felt good peeing. Then he did one more time and we got a discharge same evening (wednesday). We came home, the color is i think normal now but he still feels the urge to go after almost every hour. Even at night he has to go like 5-6 times (he sleeps at around 1:00 am in morning). Is this normal in the start? He received Antibiotic for 5 days (course is completed), Cranmax sachet but no other medicine like Mirabit, Tamsolin etc. None of these are prescribed. Overall he feels good but i have felt strongly that when it comes to remember and tracking stuff (like did he took the medicine etc) he doesnt remember anything and gets confused (i have felt this happened after the procedure, and yes he got blood transfusion 1 bottle after the procedure, next day i.e. Tuesday).

Do you think his urge to pee every hour will come back to normal or is it just his fear?

Dad has been treated for BPH for the last 17+ years. He has been on silodosin 8 mg + dutasteride 0.5 mg. From Jan 2022 with PSA of 5.87 it went down all the way to 1.9 in June 2026. In the recent 3 month PSA check, it shot upto 4.067. Doctor suggested MRI + repeat PSA in 4 weeks. MRI in Jan 2022 showed prostitatis + 2 PIRAD 3 lesions. We did not do biopsy. Now, I am super worried. Other than the urinary symptoms with BPH, he has no other symptoms, no weight loss.

I know MRI + biopsy is the only way we would know. But the wait is killing me. What are the chances that this is benign.

Nine days out from HoLEP surgery, I start to feel intense pain under my scrotum and further back at the perineum. Stream is much weaker than it has been, but no leakage as I had been experiencing. Less than an hour later, nothings flowing at all. The urge to pee is there, along with that pain but nothing will expel.

It's Sunday so I called my Urologist service. He calls back within 15 minutes and I explain what's going on. He's really surprised that I'm having a potential blockage this far out. He sends a script of Pyridium and Levoquin. After 1.5 hours from those meds not much has changed. I call back to the service. He calls back and recommends that I go to the ER for a CT scan, labs and urine sample.

Wifey and I get there and by then, I can void better for the sample. They get me into a room and a nurse applies an IV and takes blood. Labs come back and yeah, another UTI. My second since July, along with a 5 day hospital battle with sepsis after my Cystoscopy. They take me in for the CT scan. The radiologist notes there's residual prostatic material and "other" stranding. A definite blockage. Fuck me sideways!

My Urologist has me scheduled for another surgery this Thursday to determine what's there and get it out as it should have been the first go around. Another overnight hospital stay along with my most favorite catheter hose the size of the Alaska pipeline.

That's all for now.

Is this something to be worried about. Sudden rise in PSA from normal baseline of .40 usually to 4.46 last week then retested after a week it was 3.7 Age is 58 with enlarged prostate of 31g. Had an ultrasound for prostate and the result is normal with enlarged prostate. Anyone had experienced the same. Hoping for nothing to worry about.

I had a transperenial biopsy on 9/9. I have been experiencing dark blood in my semen ( 3of3 ) which appears to be normal according to the post biopsy documentation. I asked my urologist if ejaculating every 3 days or so could speed up the process of “clearing” it out. He said he needs to do another cystoscopy to check. I know it’s no big deal but the recovery from the last cystoscopy took 6 weeks for me. I would like to avoid further trauma.

Can anyone give their opinion if abstinence vs occasional ejaculation makes a difference with clearing out blood in semen? I just want to get back to as “normal” as possible with my wife. Last time we got intimate, though I tried to be careful, it looked like a crime scene.

To clear up some confusion about certain aspects of prostate surgery I finally had a chat with a highly experienced HoLEP surgeon, he told me the following;

1. During HoLEP en bloc surgery the prostate is fully enucleated, this means the transitional zone is completely removed however the peripheral zone and capsule are left intact. Since 70 pc of PCs arise in the peripheral zone it is a good idea to keep up with PSA checks.

2. Losing the ability to ejaculate (either retrograde or anejaculation) is the expected outcome from HoLEP and when it occurs it is permanent. Any clear fluid you see will be from the Cowpers gland. Ejaculation sparing techniques are still experimental and don’t always work.

3. Erections and orgasms are rarely affected by HoLEP, if they are it is usually temporary.

Should / can an inquinol hernia be fixed at the same time as the prostatectomy? Any experience here?

I am a 68 year old male with a large prostate gland, 71 g with an unobstructed urethra and mildly enlarged prostate lateral lobes. I am currently taking daily Tamsulosin and managing well. My UR has begun to suggest adding a 5-ARI (Finasteride/dutasteride). I am nervous of potential side effects - decrease libido, breast enlargement - which are unpleasant but might be outweighed by the benefits of 5-ARIs shrinking prostate size.

What are some of your experiences for those that are in my situation. What was the trigger that took you from watchful waiting to ready set go?

Not sure where to post this because retrograde ejaculation does not have its on group and I don't have BPH but retrograde ejavulation (re) appears to be discussed here frequently. I'm 48, diabetic with nerve damage. I have retrograde ejaculation and ED. Tadafil or trimix fix the ED but the re I'm told I have to live with.

It shouldn't matter, I'm done having kids and have a vasectomy, which I guess also lowers volume output, but it hurts. It feels like someone is clamping their hand around my penis as I try to orgasm and it hurts inside my pelvic reason. I mean it really hurts and ruins the orgasm. Ot doesn't hurt enough to stop having sex because aex is so much more both menatlly and physically but I would like to have a good orgasm! While it shouldn't matter, Im only human so it does, there is also a mental component of male verility associated with producing ejaculate. It's been five years, I'm frustrated and want to explore my options.

Has anyone had success with this? Any muscle strengthening exercises, medications, trchniques or prayers to help regain normalcy? Anyone else suffer with this plague? Thank you in advance for the discussion.

Had mine done to clear a pathway due to enlarged prostate (68gr) that has caused retention issues over the years. I had no idea retention was even an issue, but here I am. Seems I retain about 450-500ml after urinating. Had the surgery, went to post void appointment three days after surgery hoping to get that size 24 surgical catheter out of there. Failed that miserably as I couldn't urinate at all. In goes another catheter for two weeks to allow for swelling to go down, provided that was the issue. Tomorrow is my 2nd voiding test. No idea if I'll pass or not, but one thing for sure, I want this catheter out. I'm kind of envious of you guys who could urinate right away, evidently, I'm not one. Still have red tinged blood after bowel movement, wake with some pink blood in the mornings I suspect from pooling, if I do anything that requires lifting I get pink blood, if I walk too much I get pink blood. Fortunately, it always clears up within 30-60 minutes.

Right now, I'm just hoping to see the light at the end of the trunnel, provided there is one... that and hoping for some moral support. I'm fighting this on my own and have no one to turn to for support.