What Is an Enlarged Prostate?
Your prostate is a small gland located just under the bladder that helps produce semen. As you age, it often grows bigger. “Benign prostatic hyperplasia,” or “BPH is the medical term for an enlarged prostate.” When your prostate becomes enlarged, it could cause several symptoms that will bother you or could cause problems with your urinary tract, bladder, and/or kidneys.
In this post, we will explore the symptoms of BPH and potential treatment options.
Enlarged Prostate Symptoms
The symptoms of an enlarged prostate include:
- Urinating more at night
- Feeling as though you need to urinate frequently
- Having an urgent need to urinate
- Difficulty urinating
- Having a weak urine stream or a stream that stops and starts
- Not being able to empty your bladder fully
- Dribbling at the end of urination
An enlarged prostate could also cause some less common symptoms, including not being able to urinate at all, urinary tract infections, and blood in the urine.
Treatment Options for an Enlarged Prostate
Treatments for an enlarged prostate may include medication or surgery. If you have an enlarged prostate, your doctor will recommend a personalized treatment plan to address any symptoms you have, as well as other health conditions caused by the size of your prostate.
Other health problems can have the same symptoms as an enlarged prostate, so your doctor will need to see you to make a proper diagnosis.
Conditions that can mimic symptoms of an enlarged prostate include urinary tract infections, scarring in the bladder neck, a narrowing of the urethra, bladder stones, kidney stones, and bladder nerve issues.
Does an Enlarged Prostate Go Away on Its Own?
While some patients with mild BPH may find symptoms resolve on their own, the majority of cases require medical treatment to improve. Your provider may first discuss some lifestyle changes to see if they resolve your symptoms, but if they are ineffective, you can discuss medication.
Consult With a Men’s Health Expert
Dr. Anand Shridharani is a board-certified, fellowship-trained urologist and a specialist in men’s reproductive health. He believes that the patient’s role in treatment is invaluable, so he always takes a collaborative approach to diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management of conditions.
