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Looking for Alternative BPH treatments

Posted , 7 users are following.

chris1967us
chris1967us

I'm a 47 year old made who was diagnosed with BPH 3 years ago.  The side effects of prescription medication don't appeal to me, so I'm looking for natural remedies.  Thus far I've tried saw palmetto, pygeum, vitamin d3, selenium, stinging nettle and several "blends."

None seem to work well, so I'm looking for alternatives.  I don't have trouble initiating urination, and I don't experience frequent urination during the day.  My primary sympton is having to get up after about 4 hours of sleep to urinate.  This wouldn't be so bad but it sometimes takes me several hours to fall back asleep...and if I have something to do I'm often exhausted the next day.

Also, I don't know if it's related but I've had erectile dysfunction for about the same length of time.  For this I've tried viagra, cialis (both regular and daily), staxyn and levitra.  They all had minor effects but since I haven't been dating I don't know their "full" effect."  Again, it may be unrelated.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

0 likes, 81 replies

81 Replies

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  • bob120
    bob120 chris1967us

    Posted

    I have a suggestion that is inexpensive (about 50 cents a day) and has no side effects. I've been using it for several years. If you look at Allegro Medical online medical supplies you will see that they sell disposable 1 liter urinals in boxes of 50 for $25. I buy 3 or boxes at a time and keep them in the garage. Every night before I go to sleep I rinse out a disposable urinal with dish washing soap and water to check for leaks (I've only found 3 in the last two years) and make sure the urinal is clean inside and out. (They don't pack them in sterile bags so I don't want to take any chances.) I line a basket with a 4 gallon plastic garbage bag (the smallest size), place a paper towel at the bottom of the bag inside the basket, and put the urinal in it. I place the basket with the urinal in it on the floor next to the head of the bad. When I have to get up at night, I reach down in the dark, grab the urinal and stand next to my bed and use the urinal. When I'm done, I sna; the lid closed on the urinal, put it back in the lined basket and go back to sleep. This way there's no lights, (I don't even open my eyes), no walking, no aiming at the bowl. In the morning, I empty the urinal, tie up the end of the plastic bag with a knot and dispose of it. 
    • chris1967us
      chris1967us bob120

      Posted

      Thanks, Bob.  This is a good idea.  I do feel that the brightness of leaving my bedroom to urinate tends to make it hard to sleep as it gives the message to my body that daylight has arrived.
    • bob120
      bob120 derek76

      Posted

      Hi Derek,

      When I started out I used the same urinal every night and washed it out with dish washing detergent in the bath tub every morning. I found the morning ritual of washing out my urinal sitting on the edge of the bath tub was not the way I wanted to start the day. The disposable ones are emptied and thrown out first thig each morning. For me the convenience was worth the cost of 50 cents a day.

    • bob120
      bob120 derek76

      Posted

      After I empty the plastic urinal in the toilet when I get up in the morning, I fill it about half way with water from the sink and empty it in the bowl to get rid of the urine residue in the urinal. Then I put the urinal back in the 4 gal trash bag and tie a knot in the bag. So I have a relatively clean urinal sealed in a small garbage bag. I just put it in the pail in the kitchen with the rest of the household garbage.

      Bob

  • derek76
    derek76 chris1967us

    Posted

    Have you been to your doctor about it?

    Have you cut down your liquid intake in the evening to see if it makes any difference? Although to many with BPH four hours sleep would be good.

    Erectile dysfunction as you are probably aware is often am early symptom of T2 diabetes or heart disease 

    • bob120
      bob120 derek76

      Posted

      Hi Derek,

      I think there's probably a connection between ED, low Testosterone, and BPH.  I have all three. Luckily I don't have diabetes or heart disease. If you research BPH there's lots of info but very few answers.

    • chris1967us
      chris1967us derek76

      Posted

      Derek,

      Yes, I've been to a doctor, and cut down liquids.  Yes, waking only once wouldn't be that bad if I could fall back asleep easily.  I've ordered some melatonin and am hopeful that will help.

      Fortuantely I don't have T2 diabetes or heart disease.  As part of the connection between ED and BPH I tried daily cialis as it treats both (in theory) but I didn't like the side effects (achey-ness throughout the day)...and it didn't really do much to help me with ED or sleeping through the night.

    • Jwb43
      Jwb43 chris1967us

      Posted

      Chris you can get lots of great sleep aids like Melatonin or  valarian and other things at any local high health or Walgreens drugstore.
    • derek76
      derek76 bob120

      Posted

      Don't tell me:-) I first had BPH in 2004, The drugs had side effects but I found that Saw Palmetto helped in many ways. I would not have a TURP and waited for PVP to come along. By the time I had that in 2005 my prostate was 75 grms. It grew again and was 125 grms by the time I had Thulium laser procedure last year.

      Have you tried testosterone injections? It helped a friend but thickened his blood to the extent that he was liaqble to hve a stroke.  

    • derek76
      derek76 chris1967us

      Posted

      I found that the days when I took a 20mg cialis my flow improved for the next two days.
    • bob120
      bob120 derek76

      Posted

      It's a two edged sword so no testosterone injections or supplements. Taking testosterone is supposed to enlarge the prostate and there's some possible links to increased risk for PC. With more than 50g. of prostate remaining after my GL, a mostly untouched large median lobe, and a PSA of 6.5, I wasn't willing to risk making anything worse.  ED doesn't stop us from enjoying sex.  As Woody Allen said in a movie once, "Every orgasm I ever had has been spot on".
    • RonTexan
      RonTexan bob120

      Posted

      Bob, i don't believe testosterone enlarges the prostate nor does it cause cancer but if one has prostate cancer it may very well make it grow faster. For this reason testosterone use must be supervised by your Doctor. My PSA is usually 2.5 to 3.0 and if it were more than that I wouldn't take testosterone at all.  
    • derek76
      derek76 bob120

      Posted

      They say that ED can be a five year early warning of heart disease. If you Google you will fnd references like this:

      TUESDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors should look more closely at the overall health of impotent men, a large new study suggests.

      Men with even mild erectile dysfunction -- but no known heart problems -- face a major extra risk of developing cardiovascular conditions in the future. And as erectile dysfunction becomes more pronounced, signs of hidden heart disease and earlier death risk grow.

      Not surprisingly, men already known to have a heart condition along with severe erectile dysfunction fare worst of all, the Australian researchers found.

      Among men aged 45 and up without diagnosed heart disease, those with moderate or severe erectile dysfunction were up to 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized for heart problems, according to an adjusted analysis. Erectile dysfunction boosted the risk for hospitalization even more when men had a history of cardiovascular disease.

      Erectile problems, which become more likely as men grow older, aren't a guarantee of heart problems. Still, men with erectile dysfunction should "take action by seeing a health professional and asking for a heart check," said study lead author Dr. Emily Banks. "Men with erectile dysfunction need to be assessed for their future risk of cardiovascular disease, and any identified risk must be managed appropriately." 

    • bob120
      bob120 derek76

      Posted

      If you are old enough to have bph and ed you probably should be getting an ekg as part of an annual physical anyway.  I read a statistic that 70% of people over 60 have some sort of heart problem. I guess it depends on how you define it. I think most of it is genetics. My father was in perfect health, trim and had a job where he walked miles every day. Had his first heart attack at 45, watched his weight, diet and exercised religiously and died from his second heart attack at 64. My father in law was sedentary, overweight and ate and drank whatever he wanted. He died at 92, only because he was hospitalized for a broken leg and after a few weeks in hospital, the infection killed him.
    • derek76
      derek76 bob120

      Posted

      This is the  U.K. Annual physicals are not in the NHS vocabulary:-)

      Once many years ago my then GP stopped me in the street. He said I'm having a Well Man clinic next week, make an appointment.

      I was in and out in about five minutes. He took my BP, weighed me and asked a few questions. I asked him what's the reason for this. He laughed and said the NHS are giving twenty five pounds for each one we do.

      Another time I went to see him he asked when I last had a tetanus jab.

      It had been years so he gave me one. He was getting ten Pounds for every one he did. 

      Over 75's are are supposed to have an annual health check. I've never had one and I'll be 80 next month. 

      I waited 54 weeks to get my aortic valve replaced. My friend in Baltimore had his done in three weeks.

       

    • bob120
      bob120 derek76

      Posted

      in 2000, the world Health Organization ranked 191 countries of the world for the efficiency and outcomes of their health systems. France ranked number 1, the UK ranked 18, and the US ranked 37. I'm not sure what it means. I guess the only rank that means anything is how it treated you and people you know. There's an enormous difference in the treatments provided by different hospitals here. And it has nothing to do with cost or location. Some hospitals just adapt a patient orientation and others adapt a staff orientation, and the patient be damned. Same with doctors. Some get away with murder their whole careers and others do the right thing and go unnoticed. In the world at large political skill is the key to advancement. Job knowledge actually is a deterrent. I guess medicine is no difference.
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