Why is my BPH intermittent?

I can't answer your question about Lisinopril, BUT, there are some simple/seemingly innocuous things that can significantly impact the day to day severity of symptoms with BPH.

For me, if I have more than 2 cups of coffee within ~8 hours, I'm going to be close to full retention, and will have a VERY difficult time emptying. I'm not sure if it's specific to my enlarged median lobe or not, but maybe some others can chime in with their "triggers" as well.

I believe that alcohol is also frequently a trigger, but wouldn't really know personally, as I rarely partake.

Hoping that you might find out some simple things for you to avoid setting off your more severe symptoms.

Okay. I've been meaning to pass this on for the good of the group, and now I've found a group. It doesn't seem well attended, but it's a start.

I've had BPH for some five years now, and have experimented on my condition ( full disclosure: I'm not a doctor or even a med tech; just a guy who hates to go to doctors and believes the body has untapped powers of self-healing. So, don't take my word on this without due diligence.)

Anyway, over the years I've experimented with various kinds of common food and drink to see which inflamed my prostate and which didn't. it's all about inflammation, IMHO.

I cut out most dairy and now drink only almond or coconut milk, and that seemed to help. Saw palmetto also seemed to help in high doses. Beta Sitosterol didn't, but saw p did, but that's supplements. Back to foods. I gave up alcohol because I found that within a half hour of imbibing wine or hard liquor--and ESPECIALLY BEER--I was in the ER getting catheterized. No fun. Too bad, as I'm Irish and I like an occasional drink.

well, I continued my experiments with wine, and here's what I found and now have replicated the finding several times.

It's seems not to be the alcohol that inflamed the prostate, it's the SULFITEs they put in wine as preservative (especially white wine), the dark liquors, and beer--and also some canned foods, like broth. Sulfite is the culprit IMHO,

Since I discovered that and began neutralizing it in a shot or a glass of wine (with 3 or 4 drops of hydrogen peroxide), I'm able to drink again. Really.

Again, however, I'm constrained to say. this is not medical advice; just the anecdotal experience of one person. consult your doctor before following this example Best, may not check this forum out t[o frequently. but you can reach me at raindog4@comcast.net. best, gmc

Try keeping track of how much you drink (water, everything) and how quickly. You may see a connection between increased fluid intake and worsening of your symptoms.

For your 2nd question, when you say the urge is diminished sometimes, does that mean you can pee just fine with no issues? And, some days you cannot drain your bladder easily thus you assume it's BPH? I ask since I have been noticing that when I'm constipated, the full bowel presses on the prostate and pinches off the prosatic channel. I've noticed when I eat a good diet with veggies and fiber, I pee better. Does diet play into your situation?

Also: welcome to this website! When I was faced with all the incomplete information from my urologist about TURP, Urolift, etc, I couldn't get any information from anyone other than the Urolift or catheter salespeople. 😦 I stumbled onto this website and it has been great for my sharing and learning as I navigated the journey of prostate issues.

Same here. I am pretty sure there is an emotional component at work here which can aggravate the symptoms, such as anxiety. I had a nice streak of 1-2 nightly visits to the toilet. Lately, it's 4. I am a high anxiety person-back pain; sciatica, frequent BPH urination. All aggravated by my personality, I'm sure.