Discover Treatment Options
Notice something off about your bathroom habits lately?
Navigating issues that concern your bladder, prostate, or general urinary tract health can be just as concerning as they are irritating. Dealing with symptoms like a more frequent need to urinate, a weak or slow urinary stream, or urinary incontinence can interrupt your daily activities, negatively impact your quality of life, and send your mind reeling as you try to figure out what the underlying cause might be. But before you go down another keyword search rabbit hole, read on. The answer might be more common – and more simple – than you think.
If you identify with the issues above, you may be among the millions of men worldwide with a non-cancerous, treatable condition called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), also known as an enlarged prostate. Here’s how that happens: for some men, their prostate gland will continue to grow as they age. If this is the case, the benign enlarged prostate may eventually grow so much that it begins to press up against their urethra. This can cause a series of mild to severe lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), including:
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Frequent urination
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Nocturia, or frequent urination at night
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Difficulty urinating
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A slow urinary stream
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A weak urinary stream
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An inability to urinate
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Urinary incontinence
For most men, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is something that occurs naturally with age and cannot necessarily be prevented. In fact, BPH affects approximately 50% of all men over the age of 50 and nearly 80% of men over the age of 70. Still, your risk of developing BPH may be heightened by certain factors like your family’s medical history, lifestyle choices like diet and exercise, and underlying conditions like diabetes or heart disease. Excessive consumption of substances that irritate your bladder, like alcohol and caffeine, may also exacerbate your chances of developing BPH.
It is important to seek medical treatment if you suspect you have Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, even if your condition currently manifests as mild, manageable symptoms. Not only is it possible to develop new symptoms or for your current symptoms to worsen over time, but untreated BPH can also lead to additional complications like urinary tract infections (UTIs) or bladder damage.
No matter how serious your condition is, there is no need to suffer or live with the discomfort BPH causes. AtlantiCare offers a variety of BPH treatment options, ranging from medications to minimally invasive surgical procedures. To assess the severity of your symptoms and determine the best course of treatment for you, doctors will use a questionnaire called the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS).
Once your doctor gauges the scope of your BPH symptoms, you can begin exploring treatment options. Your BPH may be mild or moderate enough to simply be treated with medication. Alpha blockers, for example, may be prescribed to relax the prostate muscles and improve urine flow, while 5-alpha reductase inhibitors may be used to shrink the prostate over time. Like all medications, this treatment route may result in temporary side effects like dizziness or nausea. Be sure to keep your doctor informed of any side effects you may encounter over the course of your treatment.
If your Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia symptoms are more on the moderate to severe side, or if you do not respond well to medication, you may want to consider surgical treatment. Along with traditional surgery and laser therapy, which are primarily used for the most serious cases of BPH, AtlantiCare offers several popular minimally invasive surgical options, including UroLift, or prostatic urethral lift (PUL), which uses implants to lift the prostate out of the way of your urethra. AtlantiCare is also the first healthcare system in southern New Jersey to offer a revolutionary treatment called Aquablation ,which uses a state-of-the-art robotic waterjet to precisely target and remove excess prostate tissue.
Highly advanced and FDA-approved, Aquablation is considered one of the safest and most effective treatments available for those dealing with the effects of an enlarged prostate. Since waterjet technology is used in lieu of an incision, the procedure boasts fewer side effects and a shorter recovery time than other minimally invasive procedures. Clinical trials reported some short-term side effects, including temporary urinary incontinence, catheter use, and mild bleeding immediately following the procedure, but its long-term outcomes have proven to be highly favorable: many patients reported a recovery time of less than a week and their IPSS scores improved significantly following treatment. Those who opt for Aquablation are also less likely to experience sexual dysfunction following treatment, a side effect commonly associated with other BPH procedures.
Aquablation may not yet be as widely available as other BPH treatments. If you are considering this option, it is important to research and find out which hospitals and doctors near you specialize in it. At AtlantiCare, Aquablation procedures are led by urologist Dr. Abraham M. Spence. Click here to learn more about Dr. Spence or to inquire about scheduling an appointment with him.
Ready to find the best BPH treatment for you? To find out more about Aquablation, UroLift, or any other BPH treatment that AtlantiCare offers, click here online, any time to see if you qualify for a priority appointment with one of AtlantiCare’s expert urology specialists. If you do, someone from the AtlantiCare team will reach out to you with more information and next steps.
Prioritizing your health is a great place to start if you are concerned about slowing, reducing the severity of, or even preventing the onset of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Staying active, eating a balanced diet, keeping any underlying health conditions in check, and staying hydrated – but not too hydrated – are all great ways to keep your urinary tract health in check. Still, nearly half of all men will experience the effects of BPH at some point in their lives. If you are ready to stop dealing with excessive bathroom breaks, interrupted sleep, and general discomfort and are ready to start feeling like yourself again, do not hesitate. Reach out to your healthcare provider about BPH today.
