How Does an Enlarged Prostate Affect Your Life?

An enlarged prostate is a common condition affecting men as they age. The prostate is a gland that surrounds the urethra and produces the fluid that contains sperm during an ejaculation. Another term for this condition is benign prostate hyperplasia, or BPH. Having an enlarged prostate is not a sign of cancer, nor does it raise the risk of prostate cancer. 

So, while this condition isn’t fatal, it can be uncomfortable and inconvenient. Here at Urology Specialist Group, our doctors are skilled in providing you with the best treatment options for your enlarged prostate and any other urological concerns that you may be experiencing. 

Enlarged prostate causes

While the exact cause of an enlarged prostate is still undetermined, it’s thought that aging, raising testosterone levels, and changes in testicular cells may all factor in. This is partly due to the fact that men who’ve had their testicles removed at a young age don’t develop enlarged prostates. In terms of age, an enlarged prostate is present in a minority of men over the age of 40, and more than 90% of men over the age of 80.  

Symptoms of an enlarged prostate

There are some common symptoms that men with enlarged prostates experience. While symptoms do tend to worsen over time, they’re still not linked to how much a prostate is enlarged. So having a larger prostate doesn’t correlate to a higher severity in symptoms, which include:

• Frequent or urgent urination
• Trouble emptying bladder completely
• Nocturia, or increased urination at night 
• Inability or difficulty with starting urination
• Weak urine stream, or a stream that frequently stops and starts 
• Dribbling after urination
• UTIs or urinary tract infections
• Blood in urine

Because there are other conditions that can mimic those of an enlarged prostate, like kidney stones or even cancer of the reproductive system, it’s important to seek medical intervention as soon as you begin to notice abnormal symptoms like the ones above. 

Treatment for enlarged prostates 

We’ll need to run a couple of tests to determine whether the symptoms you are experiencing are from an enlarged prostate or another urological issue. Depending on your age and a number of other physical factors, we’ll recommend a treatment course from there.

You may need more conservative intervention like medication that helps to shrink the prostate, enable control over urination, and ease symptoms and discomfort. Or, if your enlarged prostate is more severe, you may need surgical intervention, which ranges from minimally invasive outpatient procedures, like laser therapy, to surgical procedures that require some recovery time. 

Treat your enlarged prostate today 

At Urology Specialist Group, we take your urological health very seriously. That’s why we believe that early intervention and detection is important. Though an enlarged prostate is a benign issue, its symptoms can become an uncomfortable nuisance in your life. 

What’s more, because the symptoms of an enlarged prostate can mimic more severe illnesses, like prostate cancer or an obstruction in your urethra, it’s important to make an appointment as soon as you start experiencing irregularities in your urological health. 

We’ve made scheduling convenient for you, as you can call or schedule an appointment with any of our doctors, locations, and available dates and times right on our website.