When You Visit Your Doctor - Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), or Enlarged Prostate

Questions to Discuss With Your Doctor:

• Over the past month, how often have you had a sensation of not emptying your bladder completely after you finished urinating?
• Over the past month, how often have you had to urinate again less than two hours after you finished urinating?
• Over the past month, how often have you found you stopped and started again several times when you urinated?
• Over the past month, how often have you found it difficult to postpone urination?
• Over the past month, how often have you had a weak urinary stream?
• Over the past month, how often have you had to push or strain to begin urination?
• Over the past month, how many times did you most typically get up to urinate from the time you went to bed at night until the time you got up in the morning?
• If you were to spend the rest of your life with your urinary condition just the way it is now, how would you feel about that?
• Have you had blood in your urine, or urinary tract infections?
• Have you ever had surgery on your prostate, bladder, or kidneys?
• Do you have gastrointestinal problems such as diverticulitis or constipation?
• Do you have diabetes?
• Does anyone in your family have diabetes?
• Have you been unusually thirsty or had unintentional weight loss?
• Have you ever had a stroke or nervous system disease?
• Have you ever had a back injury or back surgery?
• What medications are you taking (prescription and over-the-counter)?
• What do you know about medical and surgical treatment options used in the treatment of benign prostatic enlargement?
• Do you know the side effects that can occur with medications?
• Do you know the complications associated with surgery?
• Do you know how much benefit you can expect from each type of treatment?
• Do you know the risks of waiting, and doing nothing at all?

Your Doctor Might Examine the Following Body Structures or Functions:

• Abdominal examination
• Neurological examination
• Digital rectal examination
• Genital examination

Your Doctor Might Order the Following Lab Test or Studies:

• Urinalysis (for glucose, red blood cells, white blood cells, and bacteria)
• Blood tests (for kidney function and prostate-specific antigen or PSA)
• Cystoscopy
• Ultrasound of the bladder after you urinate (post void residual)
• Ultrasound of the kidneys
• Pelvic CT scan