I said, "Are you having difficulties?" I had been nagging him about checking with the urologist because I would go to the restroom, sometimes even stand in a long line, then come out and wait and wait.
My husband always shrugged my questions off. Men get really sensitive about the idea that someone might find cancer or want to remove their prostrate, so they don't go find out. Sometimes, they wait until they stop going at all or like my husband, find out their kidneys might have a real problem. Kidney dialysis is right up there with the big cancer scare and the idea of no more sex.
Lucky for us, Dr. Klaiman, his urologist, diagnosed him as having a prostrate that completely blocked his ability to empty his bladder. The problem with waiting to find out this until so late, is that bladders stretch and don't always return to their normal size. He had almost a quart of urine left after he finished going. The cure was to use a catheter to remove the fluid.
Catheters aren't the most pleasant fixtures to wear--they interfere with your golf game, pull and tug, sometimes (like with my husband) they get inflamed making it hurt to urinate.
So, Dr. Klaiman offered him two potential cures, one, laser surgery to remove some of the build up, or two, cutting the build up out with a knife. After they did additional test, my husband was told only option two was available to him. They scheduled the surgery quickly.
Post-surgery, after about two months, he returned to being able to have sex, play golf, and urinate like a young boy. He's also on Flomax, which has helped remove the excess urine build up. He's still seeing a guy that is watching his kidney function. The main benefit is that he was able to go off his blood pressure medicine and he's found that his need for Viagara has diminished.
The reason that I am writing this is that most men don't ask questions or find out there are cures. Symptoms that they should pay attention to include:
- high blood pressure
- tendency to get angry and yell
- flushed face
- slowing of the ability to urinate
- waking up in the middle of the night to urinate
- leaking urine
I can't say that they'll have any better experience if their doctor makes them pay attention to their prostrate function than my husband had, but chances are that the earlier these problems are paid attention to and treated by a physician, the less likely they will suffer adverse effects, including the need to install a catheter on themselves. Not fun.