Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum, and it appears there is a wealth of information on here:-)
I am 69, retired and living on Gold Coast Australia, and I have suffered from BPH for many years , getting up 3-5 times a night to pee. My prostate is 50g, and residual urine is around 120cc I've been told. I am taking Flomaxtra which helps a bit, and have just started on 5mg Cialis, which helps also, but gives me back and neck pain.
I'm considering Urolift to see if it helps , but before I do I'm looking at natural therapies, and have read positive reviews with Flaxseed. It apparently lowers testosterone, and in turn assists with BPH.
I haven't heard about Flaxseed, but could be worth a shot. I generally don't think that the herbal type approaches do much, but probably can't hurt to supplement the meds with some additional fire power. I've heard Swedish Flower Pollen helps, as well as Saw Palmetto (or the stronger version of it - something like Beta Sisterol). If flaxseed is supposed to help, I wonder if Chia Seeds might be worth looking at -- many of the same general benefits as flaxseed, but stronger.
I did UroLift on Tuesday, and I'm suffering through the initial recovery period (as are a few others on these forums). I'm optimistic it'll be a good thing, but the doctors (and UroLift brochures) under-estimate what the recovery is really like. It seems like the longest history is in Austraila, and sounds like the long term results have been positive down under.
Hi Mal, I live in Brisbane. I know where you're coming from . I did the supplement thing, the Cialis thing and the Flomax thing....all helped a little and I mean a little. I was getting worried about retention and the potential for kidney infection.
I did lots of research and settled on PAE (Prostate Artery Embolisation) . I had it done in Sydney three months ago and I couldn't be happier. All my BPH symptoms are no more and I don't even think about it anymore .
There is a very good thread on PAE on this forum ...check it out.
I was the third guy in Oz to have it done but the word is out now and guys are queuing up like crazy to have it done.
Dont ask a urologist about it ......they are very defensive about PAE as it has the potential to smash their incomes. I looked at Urolift but my prostate was too large.
I now pee like a horse and only get up once a night. No incotince or impotence and no retrograde ejaculation. I'm also one of the lucky PAE patients who report improved sexual performance.
Mate don't muck around with supplements ....they only offer very marginal improvement. The PAE actually FIXED my BPH issues and I got it for FREE.
gee thx for that great info caringbah. Why did you have it done in Sydney rather than Brisbane? And can you say on here who did it in Sydney, or should I pm you?
If it lowers testosterone, that may help with BPH, but the other side effects of the lowered testosterone will be worse than the BPH. Follow these forums and search the Web for Urolift and PAE (prostate artery embolism ) to see better alternatives.
Hello Mel and welcome. Flaxseed may work just try it and see you never know. Please look up any procedure your thinking about pro and cons. I had a urolift 4 months ago and it's great. Healing time is about a month. The first week is the worst. Happy testing Ken
Mal, there's only one guy in Oz that does it. Dr Glen Schlapoff of Liverpool Hospital Radiology department. Very competent guy and nice fellow to boot.
Just call the radiology department and ask to speak to Alda his assistant and make an appointment.
I agree with that Neal. At our age (I'm 70) we need all the testosterone we can get. It helps maintain muscle and has anti aging properties. Ive never understood the argument that higher testosterone causes BPH ....BPH is associated with ageing in men and as men age their testosterone drops.
Seens to me like the correlation is between LOW testosterone and BPH.
I actually take natural testosterone boosting supplements. I'm very active, still work full time in my business and took up skiing for the first time two years ago.
Corelation is not causation. Our prostates grow as we get older. It has no more do with lowered testosterone than it has to with running slower. Research has shown, however, that increased testosterone makes it worse.
Unfortunate, but true. Ask your doctor.
Caringbah is right. Aside from that, testosterone has many positive effects.
I had immediate relief from Stinging Nettle Root Extract (250mg) and have continued with it successfully. I also take Saw Palmetto Oil (320mg) daily.
It is holding off the need for a PAE as the ultimate remedy for BPH. All I can say is don't believe the doubting Thomases concerning so-called natural remedies.
I don't know about asking my doctor Neal...I've had to educate him about a few things like PAE and suitable diets for diabetics. I agree that the conventional medical opinion is that testosterone is not good for BPH but I have read a few dissenting medical opinions on this. I like the effect that increased testosterone has on me. I seem to have more energy, more alert, more productive. I also have a better sense of well being and of course it definitely helps out in the bedroom. I can tell when I'm overdoing it when my inbuilt angry meter (yelling in traffic ) goes off the scale. :-))
Kenneth, I agree with you about the stinging nettle...it was the only thing that worked for me....for a while. It really upset my stomach very badly. Of course it's worth experimenting with. If you find something that works well that's great.
The only thing I would say however...it's only when you've had the PAE and your symptoms have disappeared that you realise the improvements that you achieved through supplements were really quite minor in comparison.
Saw Palmetto and flaxseed did nothing for me but pumpkin seeds blended with various fruits and veg smoothies did a lot of good, I also mix turmeric and cinnamon, though turmeric tastes awful (depending on what you blend it with). Regardless the mix, I also add 4 tablespoons of olive oil. I never drink milk (only soya) and the cinnamon is from Sri Lanka (the best).
Besides the herbals, I've taken Tamsulosin for years. I've found that different manufacturers provide different results. I know generically they are all the same product... but they ain't. Open the pills and you'll find different sized granules with the different brand names. The same goes for other medications too. €, $, £s are what matters to the manufacturers: not you.
I started a 2 week trial with Maxflo and I've 2 days left before coinciding with my doctors appointment when I tell him about how good/bad it is.
Initially it was great with only one awakening for the best pee I've had in years. The good performance waned after a few days so I had to squeeze and spurt to empty my bladder... but still better than all the others. Now for the sinister bit - I now have an ache in my left kidney; not all the time, but its there occassionally just for a few minutes.
When I meet my doctor I'm going to ask him to let me try Rapaflo; recommended by James on here.
At the age of 75, everything still works very well except for the age related problems like arthritis. Some years ago I was on the threshold of diabetes - I had Metabolic Syndrome and fought it with a diet change. I still have a sweet tooth but I no longer have refined sugar - I sweeten things with molasses or honey and this is when I discovered that cinnamon does me a lot of good.
You've got the best of both worlds, PAE, so no symptoms of BPH, and testosterone replacement therapy for all of the good things it does, and I agree that it does those things for me too. That is a good example of how to deal with this problem, and I'm doing it too.
Thanks for that Chris. I'm going to stop the flax....after a bit of googling it definitely appears to lower testosterone. Mine is already low so i dont want to exaberate the problem'
Will add pumpkin seeds to my diet....and maybe turmeric and cinnamon also. Also try to limit dairy.
Will be doing a lot of research into PAE over the next few days, and will study the relevant posts. At this stage it looks very promising.
I'm not so sure about testosterone patches and the like. I use tongkat Ali and DHEA cream which get your body to produce more testosterone. I haven't bothered with measuring it but I certainly notice the difference when I go off it for short periods of time.
Hi Caringbar Any reason you dont go on TRT ? Could it possibly undo the good work your PAE did for you? My testosterone readings are between 5 and 6 and I have all the typical symptoms, however the prostate treatment is a priority at the moment.
And thankyou so much for steering my attention to PAE and the Dr in Australia who does it. We are similar ages, similar prostate problems, similar part of the world etc. It is comforting to know of someone who is happy to share their knowledge. :-)
From all the reading I've done actually getting testosterone shots or wearing testosterone patches can have a lot of unwanted side effects. I've been on a lot of body building forums (not that I do that) because these guys are all about building testosterone. 99% of them use supplements to get the body to naturally produce more testosterone rather than actuallpy physically supplement the hormone. I've tried just about everything ...my wife laughs at the handfuls of pills I take but she rather likes the results. There is a very good site called Peak Testosterone. Google it and you will find an enormous amount of information on how to boost testosterone naturally.
I really experimented a lot and found Tongkat Ali and DHEA to give me the best results. I also use catuaba bark and muira puama in combination to increase penile sensitivity as that can diminish with age (and diabetes) as well.
If you want to find actual product names just pm me as the moderators will delete any product names.
I forgot to mention....I don't mind sharing because there were plenty of guys who helped and encouraged me when I first came onto this site. I sort of feel obliged to help other guys in return. Only fair right? I don't want it to sound like it's an onerous duty...it's not. I just like to help others who have been in the same situation as I was. I'll do Anything I can to prevent guys being butchered by urologists doing TURP on them.