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.