You’ve just been told that the result of your PSA blood test is back and you have a PSA level of 7. That’s pretty darn high and you were seriously worried. Then your doctor or healthcare provider had some other tests done that showed you have what’s called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH.

You have no idea what this means but you sure like the word benign because that means you don’t have prostate cancer.

What Is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia?

The nine syllables of benign prostatic hyperplasia are certainly a mouthful, but all they really mean is that you have an enlarged prostate gland.

How An Enlarged Prostate Gland Relates To Your PSA Level

As men age, their prostate gland grows bigger. When this happens, it produces more PSA or prostatic specific antigen, which gets into your bloodstream. The PSA test measures the level of this PSA and reports it as a number. An elevated PSA lever, 4 or higher, may suggest you have prostate cancer. However, a PSA blood test cannot tell the difference between PSA produced by prostate cancer and that produced by a benign condition such as BPH or prostatitis. So, the good news is that the other tests ordered by your doctor ruled out prostate cancer and all you have is an enlarged prostate gland.

What Causes An Enlarged Prostate Gland?

The simple explanation for BPH or an enlarged prostate is that as most men grow older, their prostate gets bigger. You may have seen the TV commercial where it turns out the man has “a growing problem and not a going problem.” In other words, his prostate has just grown bigger over the years and is causing problems. An enlarged prostate is a typical problem for men over the age of 50 and cannot be prevented.

What Problems Can An Enlarged Prostate Gland Cause?

The prostate is a gland that sort of straddles your urethra. As it grows larger, it squeezes or pinches off your urethra, which can cause all or some of following symptoms.

  • Urge to urinate right away, sometimes with leaking or dribbling
  • Frequent need to urinate – especially during the night
  • Feeling that the bladder is not completely empty, even after urinating
  • Delay in starting the urine stream
  • Urine stream that starts and stops
  • Frequent urination
  • Weak urine stream

You may be experiencing some or all of these symptoms but not to the point where they are really interfering with your life. In this case, your doctor will probably advise “watchful waiting,” a fancy way of saying, “we’ll just watch your symptoms and wait for a year to retest your PSA level".

What If Your Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Symptoms Are Severe?

For some men, the symptoms of BPH can become so severe, they have a really negative effect on your life. For example, you might find you are not are getting a good night’s sleep because you are waking up constantly to go to the bathroom. Or maybe golf has become less fun because you’re continually trying to “hold it” until you get to the next restroom.

Treatments For Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

The good news is that there are a number of treatments available for BPH. These range from a simple change in lifestyle to surgery. Which one you and your doctor choose will depend on the severity of your BPH and what you are willing to undergo to get relief. Benign prostatic hyperplasia treatments include:

  • Changing your lifestyle - You might some relief simply by reducing the amount of liquids you drink before bedtime, especially those that contain alcohol or caffeine.
  • Drug therapy - You doctor might prescribe an alpha-blocker or a 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor. The most commonly prescribed 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors are Propecia, Proscar and Avodart. The alpha-blockers include drugs such as Cardura, Rapaflo and Flomax.
  • Cooled Thermotherapy (TUMT) or transurethral microwave procedure - This process uses microwaves to destroy excess prostate tissue. It includes a cooling system that protects the urinary tract during the procedure.
  • TUNA or transurethral needle ablation - This process which is also called radiofrequency therapy uses radio waves to destroy the part of your prostate that's blocking urine flow.
  • Water-induced thermotherapy (the AquaTherm™ System) - This treatment uses heated water to destroy obstructive prostatic tissue and reopen the urethra. Like Cooled Thermotherapy or TUNA, it can be performed in ambulatory surgery, outpatient surgery, or a physician's office.
  • Prolieve™ Thermodilatation System - This treatment uses microwaves but with a special balloon catheter that opens up (dilates) the urethra, as well as the microwave energy to heat and destroy enlarged prostatic tissue.
  • Surgery - If you have really severe symptoms – that have not been helped by any of these other treatments - your doctor may suggest surgery. The most common of the surgical procedures is called transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). In TURP, part of the prostate is removed.

If you have benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), you don’t have to suffer from its symptoms. As you have read, there are many treatments available that can help with an enlarged prostate gland and get you back to enjoying life to its fullest.

Next >> Prostatitis