More than 80 percent of men over the age of 50 wake up at least once per night to urinate.1 If you’re no stranger to late-night nature calls, then you may be suffering from an enlarged prostate. Let’s talk about the causes and symptoms of an enlarged prostate and how you can find the prostate relief you need to get a better night’s sleep.
As you age, your prostate naturally starts to grow in size. This typically begins to occur between the ages of 40-50 and is a normal part of the aging process.
But if the prostate grows too large, it can constrict the urethra and block the flow of urine from the bladder, a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
Many men may feel embarrassed when they start to experience the symptoms of an enlarged prostate, but it’s a common condition. In fact, the majority of men in their 60s, 70s, and 80s have an enlarged prostate.2
Although having an enlarged prostate is common, the urinary symptoms that accompany it may keep you and your partner up at night. These include:
As you can imagine, the frequent and urgent need to urinate leads to sleep disruptions throughout the night. You may find yourself getting up multiple times just to pee.
Getting up in the middle of the night repeatedly to use the bathroom doesn’t just keep you from getting a good night’s rest; it can also disrupt your partner’s sleep quality. Although only 8 percent of men reported bothering their partner when they wake up to pee at night, 64 percent of women who were impacted by their partner’s enlarged prostate say it has disrupted their sleep.1
It may seem like a minor inconvenience, but all those hours of missed sleep can add up and impact your health and your partner’s. In the short term, poor sleep quality interferes with your memory, your decision-making, your problem-solving, and your ability to control your emotions.3 In the long term, it can increase your risk for chronic diseases like diabetes and depression.4
Your doctor may prescribe medications to relieve some of the symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate. This is a popular choice—more than 60 percent of men diagnosed with an enlarged prostate are on medication to treat their symptoms.5
Unfortunately, no medication can cure an enlarged prostate, and patients must continue taking them to relieve their symptoms. Medications may also cause symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, and sexual dysfunction.6
If your symptoms are moderate to severe, transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) surgery is another treatment option. TURP surgery involves cutting away part of the prostate tissue to unblock the flow of urine through the urethra. Surgery is an effective albeit invasive treatment for an enlarged prostate, but symptom relief may take some time.
TURP surgery has traditionally been considered the most effective long-term treatment for an enlarged prostate. Patients will require a catheter that is inserted into their bladder for several days after surgery and may experience bleeding, infection, erectile dysfunction, and urinary incontinence.6 And with surgery comes the risk of long-term side effects like retrograde ejaculation or leaking urine.6
Minimally invasive procedures are now considered to be earlier treatment options that can get men off BPH medications and avoid major surgery. The UroLift® System, for example, does not require ongoing medication, heating, cutting or removal of prostate tissue. It also offers a quick return to normal activity7 and has the lowest catheter rate of the leading BPH procedures.8 The UroLift System is the only BPH procedure shown to not cause new and lasting sexual dysfunction. *6, 9-11
*No instances of new, sustained erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction
If getting up during the night to pee is disturbing your sleep, you may suffer from an enlarged prostate. Start your path to recovery by finding your BPH Symptom Score and scheduling an appointment with your urologist to find the prostate relief solution that’s right for you.
References:
MAC01177-02 Rev A