Pee In Morse Code - My Enlarged Prostate & Me

NOTE: THESE POSTINGS ABOUT MY GREENLIGHT TREATMENT ARE IN REVERSE ORDER. TO START AT THE BEGINNING, PLEASE CLICK ON 2005 IN THE LEFT COLUMN. BPH (Benign Prostate Hyperplasia, enlarged prostate gland, or 'prostrate' gland) is a vexing medical condition that affects most men in their 50s and beyond. For me, it started when I was about 47. It causes a reduction in urine flow and retention of urine in the bladder, which can lead to bladder infections, urinary tract infections and prostatitis.

Saturday, January 02, 2010

3 Years Since GreenLight for BPH, No Regrets

It's been 3 years since I had the GreenLight treatment for BPH (benign prostate hypertrophy). Everything is fine.

There are two minor issues, which are closer to non-issues:
1. Sometimes I can't tell if I really need to urinate or not.
2. If I don't need to urinate, but choose to (say, before a car trip), it may take up to 20 seconds for the flow to begin.

I don't know if either of these is related to the GreenLight BPH therapy. When the flow does start, it's firehose-esque, not a tiny stream.

My PSA before the treatment was 2.4 to 2.6. Sixteen months after Greenlight (April 2007) the PSA had dropped to 0.90, in April 2008 it was 0.90, in April 2009 it was 1.10.