Prostate and bladder symptoms
 

I've had plenty of doctor checkups and so far the only diagnosis is "overactive bladder".

I believe I have had this since I was very little. I was the only one in a family of 6 who had to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I remember because I was too little to get up and go by myself, even though I could walk. I would call-out for my father to come and get me.

Well, you can imagine he wasn't to thrilled about that. So my father and mother decided they were going to teach me not to drink water after a certain hour at night. Did it help? No, because I would get really thirsty and had to have a least a sip of water.

To be continued in a few minutes:

Frequent urination may or not be a symptom.
 

Fast forward to middle age: From around age thirty I lived in some situations of extreme cold, heat and dehydration. The extreme cold caused me to have to urinate more often. It seems to have triggered something in my system. So I tried to stop it by drinking less water and as a consequence I became dehydrated. Dehydration, in turn, caused me to have occasional spells of dizziness. These were bad dizzy spells where everything would be spinning around.

It took me several years to figure out that drinking less water was causing my dizzy spells and sometimes lower back issues. So I learned it was better to drink plenty of water, even if I had to get up 2, 3 or 4 times during the night. This is the way it was going in my 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond. So it wasn't the result of an enlarged prostate to begin with, it was an overactive bladder and the cold made it worse.

So why am concerned about prostate issues? To be continued:

Extreme cold can cause the prostate to become temporarily enlarged, at least for me it did.

I bought an old "plank" house in Florida that was built around 1900. It had no central heat and air conditioning and no insulation. To make a long story short, I took a shower in a cold bathroom, not to mention I was working in cold conditions at work. So what effect did it have? In middle age my prostate became enlarged to the point where I couldn't pass any water. I suspect I may have ruptured my bladder trying to force myself to go.

Did I go to a doctor? No. Not that I'm recommending not to go to a doctor, I'm just stating that I didn't. I found that if I kept myself warm I could at least get some relief. And very gradually I was able to get back to where I could pass water normally.

To be continued:

Having an overactive bladder means that I have to drink water every time I get up during the night. Because if I don't I'll wake up dehydrated and risk getting dizzy.

Lately I have noticed that sometimes I can pass water easily and sometimes it's difficult. It can vary each day depending on the time of day etc..

It seems to depend on various things like how much water I drink and what foods I eat. Oranges, depending on the type, certain lemons, regular grapefruit, etc. can cause a feeling of restricted urine flow.

Now if you hated listening to this long story, can you imagine any urologist or primary care doctor wanting to listen to it? No, they won't want to listen to it. They will want to do tests and I have already had all the tests.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had symptoms like mine or any similar issues you would like to share. Or perhaps you might have some helpful advice.

Thanks for your patience.

Ask Dr. For a sample of Flomax or Uroxatrol.

First, thank you for opening up and putting yourself out there. It's scary when we don't know what to do or where to turn. I have no answers or suggestions.

To all those wonderful people on the forum that may have guidance for the poster, please share your experiences. Those that live in The Villages may have first hand knowledge about an MD that will listen. If this isn't the place you want to open up about personal issue, a PM to Villages PL I'm very certain would be appreciated.

Jalyn, a combo of Avodart & Flomax, worked quite well to eliminate my BPH symptoms.
STEPS: Dutasteride/Tamsulosin (Jalyn) for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia - American Family Physician

I know you don't think so, VPL, but medicine such as this CAN prolong your good health.

It says it promotes muscular relaxation and one of the possible side effects is dizziness. I already have low blood pressure (100/50) and if it goes any lower I'll get dizzy. I can't even take aspirin for that reason.

I don't seem to respond very well to medication. Once a doctor recommended that I take Antivert . I took it for a short period of time but had a bad reaction to it, so I stopped taking it.

Thanks, a sample sounds like an interesting possibility.

You can try sleeping with your socks on, or when it really gets cold, wear leg warmers on your calves.

Be aware that alpha-blockers, such as Flomax (Tamsulosin), Terazosin (Hytrin), & Alfuzosin (Uroxatral) have been shown to increase the risk of IFIS during cataract surgery. They relax the smooth muscles of the bladder neck, and also relax the iris dilator, which can make the conventional dilator drops used in cataract surgery ineffective.
It didn't cause any problems in my cataract surgeries....but it is a risk.

Very good suggestion; already do that. And I set the thermostat for heating at 76 during the night, now that I live in The Villages and have a good heating system.

Thanks, that's good to know. In other words, it's systemic. To treat one part of the body, the whole body gets the same treatment. That's why I have second thoughts about taking medication.

Please keep an open mind. Medicine can prolong our lives. It isn't all bad. It was thought up to HELP people as well as make money.

Alpha-blockers affect 2 VERY small muscle groups. Hardly the whole body.
Google "Prostate Surgery" if you want second thoughts.

Is there still a Round Table that meets to discuss prostate issues? Is there a meeting coming up in the near future that could be posted on this site for anyone that may be interested in the topic? I pulled up an old thread and it may not be current.

The dizziness and other symptoms could be from dietary deficiencies--lack of carbs, fats, salt in moderate amounts. The body knows how to process them and does need them to an extent.

There is a Dr. in Eustis named Dr James W. Young, III MD (board certified Urologist). He does a procedure called Prostiva RF Therapy. I know nothing of him first hand, just have the ad cut out for my hubby. The ad states it is a 30minute office procedure with local anesthesia. It supposedly lets you "Regain control of your bladder and active lifestyle. Eliminates need for major surgery or medication." He also has a new office in Lady Lake. The Prostate Center 920 Rolling Acres Rd. Suit 201 Lady Lake, FL 32159 352 751 4990. Might be worth a look?

If you drink anything with caffeine in it, CUT IT OUT!! When I had prostate surgery 10 years ago, eliminating caffeine helped to regain bladder control. Plain water should help instead of causing a problem. If cold seems to affect you, try drinking water at room temperature or even warm (yuck).

I don't recall having any severe dizziness for quite some time now. The last time might have been about 25 years ago. But I have had slight positional dizziness at times, although that's not related to diet and not a problem at this time.

I am keeping an open mind. See--->:ho:......:icon_wink:

This morning things seemed to be much improved. I was able to pass water very easy. So now I'm wondering if this recent problem might have been related to the coughing cold I had. It wasn't a severe cold, the symptoms were mild, but it might have had some effect. I just don't know for sure.

What if I had started taking medication yesterday; I would likely be giving the credit to the medication.

Well, I'll just have to wait and see if this good fortune lasts.

I did call his office in Lady Lake and they sent me a DVD to explain the procedure. That may be something I would consider for the future, as a last resort. If your husband gets that procedure, lets us know how it turns out.

Yes, I sure did find that out the hard way. I had a hot coffee at McDonald's late one evening and I kept getting up all night long. And it was Decaf!!
Decaf tea is even worse. Watermelon does the same thing. If I eat a banana in the evening, that will do it too.

Now I just read that celery acts like a diuretic too. I'm going to stop eating it and see if that helps.

Water: Cold water from a drinking fountain will usually be a problem. But if I drink a large glass of ice water at Golden Corral with a big meal, it doesn't have any effect. It's just cold water on an empty stomach that bothers me.

:22yikes:

It seems like this might be the time to consider a medication to make the swelling go down or a medical procedure to do the same. One must take in fluid and secrete fluid. That is how we are wired and plumbed, and sometimes our plumbing gets clogged. That is when we call a plumber for people; a urologist.

Your diet may include a lot of natural diuretics: Pineapple, asparagus, beets, leafy green vegetables, spinach, onion family, parsley, and these are just the ones that come to mind. My concern is, from your other posts, if you eliminate all these items, your diet may be lacking.

You can see a doctor for an opinion and it doesn't mean you have to take the medication until you discuss the pros and cons with the MD. The balance between nutrition and medical knowledge can be achieved.

What swelling? As I said in a post to you (above) I don't have a problem today. Everything is flowing normally.

Why would I eliminate all healthy fruits and vegetables? I think I will just try cutting back somewhat on certain items.

I found the list of diuretic foods online. I believe it was mainly put there for people who are retaining water. But, regardless, it may be helpful for me to know. I doubt those lists were composed for people with overactive bladder.

I'll bring it up on my next scheduled check-up. But I wouldn't expect it to be of much help because he's an MD, not a nutritionist. I believe I will have to figure out the nutritional balance for myself. And medication will be a last resort if I can't find that balance.

Thanks for the input.

But, so many "experts" on TOTV, surely thay can solve this simple problem.
However, is there enough information being presented for evaluation?

You mentioned celery acted as a diuretic and were going to stop eating it to see what would happen. Many healthy foods have a diuretic effect. You can't eliminate all of them is what I was trying to say.

Bladder stones will also inhibit urine flow. Those are kidney stones that get to the bladder and don't pass because of their size.

That is yet another thing to think about. I wish the OP would go to a doctor, trust his instructions without second guessing and allow further tests, AND take prescribed medications..

but I don't think that will EVER happen.

Yes. It meets monthly I believe. Notice is in the Daily Sun.

I understand and I appreciate your concern. Thanks to your posts, I now have a plan of action that I think may help.

I won't cut anything out of my diet completely, I'll just cut back. For example, this morning I ate all the same fresh fruit that I usually have with my breakfast. But instead of 4 (1/2 cup) servings, I just had 2 servings. It was the same variety of fruit but less. Then I had my usual steel-cut oats with chopped nuts.

Here's another part of my plan: For lunch I'll make a salad that contains all the same ingredients but somewhat less of the vegetables and more of the legumes/beans.

For dinner I'll do basically the same except it will be a soup. I'll put somewhat more emphasis on beans and pasta or rice. Nothing will be left out, I'll just change the emphasis. Being that I have fruit with breakfast and lunch I'll skip having any fruit after dinner.

It's already working! I'll do an update tomorrow.

Thanks to all those who offered helpful advice:
 

Everything is much improved since I started making the necessary changes in my diet.

My doctor is aware of all the symptoms I mentioned on this thread and did not suggest looking for a tumor. And now the symptoms for restricted urine flow have abated. If I go back to the doctor with less symptoms than before, what would my complaint be?