Living with BPH: A toolbox for managing urinary symptomsīPH progresses slowly, so most men can decide for themselves if and when they would like to consider medication or surgery. Two men can have the same symptom score, and one can tolerate it just fine but the other can't.īoth tests cut through the subjectivity with this additional question: 'If you were to spend the rest of your life with your urinary condition just the way it is now, how would you feel about that?' If the answer is, 'I could live with it,' then holding off on drug therapy or surgery might be best for you.īut not taking medication or having surgery doesn't mean 'do nothing.' It should include strategies to lessen symptoms or make them easier to cope with. Above a score of 8 there is actually a spectrum of bother. Typically, men who score 8 and above are more likely to think their condition needs treatment, but it varies from man to man. It's a seven-item questionnaire about typical BPH symptoms that provides a score from 0 to 35. How bothersome is it?ĭoctors use the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) or the American Urological Association symptom score to measure how frequent a man's symptoms are. The question that should drive treatment decisions is this: how much do your symptoms bother you? Whether it is getting in the way of doing the things you want to do should be the primary driver of treatment. This approach is broadly available to men who have lower urinary tract symptoms that have been attributed to BPH, but who are not bothered enough to take on the small but finite risks of treatment, such as drugs or surgery. But for men with milder symptoms that don't interfere much with their daily lives, simple changes in behavior can help to take the edge off urinary symptoms. Treatment options for BPHĭrug therapy relieves symptoms, and for severe problems surgery may be considered.

This can cause problems like the need for more frequent visits to the bathroom and difficulty fully emptying the bladder. As the bladder works against the blockage, its muscular walls thicken. The urethra - the tube that conveys urine from the bladder to outside the body - passes right through the prostate, so it doesn't take much prostate growth to make urination difficult. It's also believed certain male hormones such as dihydrotestosterone tend to act more strongly on the prostate gland later in life. It usually occurs after age 50, likely due in part to a change in the balance of hormones as men get older.

Prostate problems are generally associated with three conditions: prostatitis, cancer, and BPH.īPH, or 'enlarged prostate,' refers to the excessive growth of the prostate gland. Unfortunately, most men will experience some kind of prostate problem during their lifetime. Weak, slow, or intermittent urine stream.

Strong and sudden urge to urinate, sometimes with involuntary leaking of urine.Frequent urination during the day or night.Urinary problems caused by BPHīPH can cause bothersome problems like frequent urination at night, slow urine flow, difficulty urinating or completely emptying the bladder, and the urgent need to urinate at inconvenient times. In fact, by age 60, half of all men will have an enlarged prostate, a condition also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH. If you are a man over age 50, chances are you know - or will soon - someone taking a medication for an enlarged prostate gland.

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