My urologist prescribed FloMax, any thoughts, experiences?

[MikeBiDude]

No, FloMax is not the latest RM provider posting fake pics 🤣

Rather it’s a prescription drug for helping urination. Prostate cancer is not an issue right now with a recent PSA test and finger probing tests. Slightly enlarged, but soft. But my balder isn’t voiding 100% of its urine, ultrasound revealed about 15-20% urine remains for a later attempt. This morning the doc prescribed it for me, I have not started it.

Just curious if anyone is on it, has tried it? I have one close friend say “once you start it you can never stop it“? I’ve also heard one side effect is stronger erections 😈 , even priapism?

Chime in!

[HoseMaster]

I have had a couple kidney stones in the past, and was prescribed tamsulosin (FloMax) after the stones came out to help with urine flow, as the stones were sharp and caused bleeding within the ureter and urethra for a few days.  I felt no side effects from taking it.

[+ LIguy]

I've been taking this for a few years as i have an enlarged prostate.  One side effect is little to no semen when having an orgasm. And yes it's hard to get off of.  Talk to your urologist about using 5mg daily cialis.  Worked great for me but however I was hospitalized for 7 months and they will not give you cialis therefore I'm back on Flomax.

[+ glutes]

20 minutes ago, LIguy said:

 One side effect is little to no semen when having an orgasm. And yes it's hard to get off of.  

An older good friend told me one side affect is 'reverse orgasm', sort of what you describe.

[big-n-tall]

I had a similar experience as @HoseMaster stated. I had kidney stone and was prescribed flomax (temporarily) to help pass the stones. Once i was given the all clear I no longer took the flomax. I haven't used it since that kidney stone issue was resolved.

[+ Lucky]

19 minutes ago, big-n-tall said:

I had a similar experience as @HoseMaster stated. I had kidney stone and was prescribed flomax (temporarily) to help pass the stones. Once i was given the all clear I no longer took the flomax. I haven't used it since that kidney stone issue was resolved.

@big-n-tallDid you have any problems when you stopped taking it?

[big-n-tall]

Just now, Lucky said:

@big-n-tallDid you have any problems when you stopped taking it?

I did not. I wasn't on it long. Maybe about a week and a half.

[+ Charlie]

I can't even remember now why it was prescribed for me at one time, but I do remember that I didn't like it, because I felt like I had the beginning of an erection quite often when all I wanted to do was pee.

[Epigonos]

I have had an enlarged prostrate for years.  My urologists proscribed flomax which I took for some time with little or no positive results.  Eventually I developed bladder stones (not kidney stones).  The stone were too large to pass so a couple of months ago I had an out patient procedure to blast then into smaller pieces so I could pass them.  Outstanding results.  I am now taking Finasteride 5MG (a generic for Proscar 5MG) once daily to shrink the prostrate.  The only side effect is that it greatly decreases the amount of precum and cum I produce.  Everything else works just fine. 

[Guest]

Tamsulosin works by relaxing the sphincter muscle at the exit to your bladder. The sphincter holds in your urine when you don't want to pee, or when you're orgasming/ejaculating. Therefore, on this medication you will usually cum backwards into your bladder rather than out the penis (called retrograde ejaculation). Some SSRI's and other antidepressants will do this also. Other medications, dutasteride and finasteride, work by gradually reducing the size of the prostate by blocking the effect of testosterone on the prostate. Since the prostate produces most of the ejaculate (cum), the effect will be a markedly reduced volume of ejaculate (cum). Often people think of semen as sperm from the testicles, but the testicles actually make only about 10% of the volume of cum, the prostate makes up 80 to 85% (the rest comes from the seminal vesicles). Dutasteride and finasteride take months to work (usually 2-3 but up to 6), but once the prostate is shrunk, men are often able to be off of all medications for up to years at a time. Other advantages of dutasteride and finasteride are that, by blocking testosterone, any prostate cancer will also shrink, and some balding men get some of their hair come back.

Cialis (tadalafil) can also work, and is worth a try, especially since it doesn't have the orgasm-related side-effects. I believe it may still be under patent for now, which means insurance companies might balk at paying for it unless you're tried and failed the others (or had intolerable side-effects). As for the role of tamsulosin in passing kidney stones, the data have been mixed. Some show it helps, some show no difference. A stone which is 5 mm or less will (almost) always pass on its own. The ureters are not lined with smooth muscle, so I'm dubious about tamsulosin's effect of stone stuck in the ureter. If the stone makes it to the bladder and gets stuck there, the use of tamsulosin makes more sense. 

In the OP's case, I'm not sure if being unable to empty the bladder beyond 80% is worth the side-effects. I guess he can tell us. It also depends on the size of the bladder to begin with. In most cases, if the post-void residual, which is usually measured in mL, is 50 mL or less, I would just keep an eye on it. At most, tamsulosin might help you wake up at night one time less. I love ejaculating myself, so tamsulosin wouldn't be worth it for me. Maybe 3 months of dutasteride would do the trick. You might not cum for 3 months, but after that, you'd probably be back to normal. Dutasteride will probably work best if your PSA is over 2.5 to start out (it will go down if you take it for 3 months, and I could always tell if a patient wasn't taking his dutasteride, because the PSA wouldn't drop). 

Edited September 11, 2021 by Unicorn

[TJnDB]

I was on Alfuzosin (similar to FloMax) and did not have many of the side effects as FloMax.  My problem didn't get much better on these medications. I then had Urolift and it was a temporary fix and didn't work well for me either. Another procedure is Rezum.  I read horror stories regarding the pain during the procedure, so it was a pass for me. I had the PAE procedure in Nov 2020. It's performed by an Interventional Radiologist and I'm happy with the results.  Do your homework on any medications or procedures

Edited September 11, 2021 by TJnDB
spelling error

[arnie]

I have some problems and  I was prescribed Tamsulosin.  However I have had a life long problem with occasional dizziness on standing rapidly and it made it worse.  Dizziness/lightheadedness is a side effect.  I don't think I took more that 2 or 3 pills and stopped.  My problem is usually able to be managed without medications.  

[drintor]

Flomax and it's ilk has an effect on the iris of your eye which is a potential problem when you have your cataracts removed. This is not insurmountable but your ophthalmologist should be made aware that you are/have taken the medication. Discontinuing the medication before surgery does not eliminate the potential risk during surgery.

[Danny-Darko]

On 9/10/2021 at 7:35 PM, MikeBiDude said:

No, FloMax is not the latest RM provider posting fake pics 🤣

Rather it’s a prescription drug for helping urination. Prostate cancer is not an issue right now with a recent PSA test and finger probing tests. Slightly enlarged, but soft. But my balder isn’t voiding 100% of its urine, ultrasound revealed about 15-20% urine remains for a later attempt. This morning the doc prescribed it for me, I have not started it.

Just curious if anyone is on it, has tried it? I have one close friend say “once you start it you can never stop it“? I’ve also heard one side effect is stronger erections 😈 , even priapism?

Chime in!

FloMax is a very common drug prescribed for prostate problems. If I remember correctly if the patient does get off it, it's gradually under the guidance and advice from his doctor. Some meds shouldn't be stopped suddenly and I think FloMax is one of them if I remember correctly. Your urologist should be able to tell you if and when you need to stop. 

I personally take Cardura instead but it's usually recommended if the patient also has high blood pressure. It will lower it so if high blood pressure is not and issue it probably shouldn't be taken. 

Finally both my internist and urologist suggest I take the supplement Saw Palmetto daily. You can find a good quality one at your local Health Food Store or Vitamin Shop. 

Hoped this helps some.   

[+ Italiano]

Prostate, prostate!....🙄 

Been on Flomax every night for 8 years for BPH, and the side effects for me have been a little nasal congestion and dizziness in the morning, and a slight decrease of semen during ejaculation. Not having had the best results, 3/4 years ago I added Oxybutynin and Cialis every morning, but after all this time the symptoms (frequency of urinating, little flow, feeling of not being able to empty the bladder totally at times) have not REALLY improved, so after a Cystoscopy and a Urodynamics tests my Urologist suggested a Laser Green Light procedure which I have scheduled for December.

 

Has anybody gone through this? I heard that is more effective than TURP (the most common heated wire procedure which cuts parts of the enlarged prostate instead of "vaporizing" it as the Laser does), less recovery and catheter (OUCH! 😟) time.  Both procedures I heard have a 50% chance of developing a retrograde ejaculation, which definitely would not make me happy, as I am still proud of my shower-like orgasms at 61.

Fuk BPH! 😡

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Italiano said:

Prostate, prostate!....🙄 

Been on Flomax every night for 8 years for BPH, and the side effects for me have been a little nasal congestion and dizziness in the morning, and a slight decrease of semen during ejaculation. Not having had the best results, 3/4 years ago I added Oxybutynin and Cialis every morning, but after all this time the symptoms (frequency of urinating, little flow, feeling of not being able to empty the bladder totally at times) have not REALLY improved, so after a Cystoscopy and a Urodynamics tests my Urologist suggested a Laser Green Light procedure which I have scheduled for December.

 

Has anybody gone through this? I heard that is more effective than TURP (the most common heated wire procedure which cuts parts of the enlarged prostate instead of "vaporizing" it as the Laser does), less recovery and catheter (OUCH! 😟) time.  Both procedures I heard have a 50% chance of developing a retrograde ejaculation, which definitely would not make me happy, as I am still proud of my shower-like orgasms at 61.

Fuk BPH! 😡

Flomax (tamsulosin) and oxybutynin should almost never be prescribed for the same patient, because they have opposite effects on the bladder sphincter, and are used to treat entirely different and opposite conditions. Oxybutynin is used to treat an overactive bladder, and that medication works by strengthening the sphincter. In BPH, there is one similar symptom to overactive bladder (OAB/urge incontinence) in that one pees more often, but it's for an opposite reason. In the case of BPH, the reason one is peeing more often is that the bladder isn't emptying after one finishes peeing, so one has to go again sooner. In most cases, the patient can describe, by history, which problem he's having (also the prostate exam helps). In BPH, the patient can usually describe having to strain to get the urine out, the flow is weak as it comes out, and the bladder doesn't feel empty after peeing. In OAB, the flow is strong, and the bladder empties well, but there is simply little warning before the first urge is felt, and the ability to get to the bathroom in time. 

To help differentiate between the two, one can either get a full ultrasound with a radiologist, or simply apply a bladder scan over the bladder (very easy to use). If the post-void residual (PVR) isn't over 50 mL, BPH is probably not responsible for the symptoms. Any surgery on the prostate has a very high likelihood of either eliminating or seriously reducing the amount of cum, and once the surgery is done, the result is probably fairly permanent. The bladder scan is super-simple to use. I could teach a 7 year-old to use it. It won't give you a result if you don't position it correctly, and will even direct the user to move the transponder to the right location if you aren't right over the bladder. 

[TJnDB]

5 hours ago, Italiano said:

Prostate, prostate!....🙄 

Been on Flomax every night for 8 years for BPH, and the side effects for me have been a little nasal congestion and dizziness in the morning, and a slight decrease of semen during ejaculation. Not having had the best results, 3/4 years ago I added Oxybutynin and Cialis every morning, but after all this time the symptoms (frequency of urinating, little flow, feeling of not being able to empty the bladder totally at times) have not REALLY improved, so after a Cystoscopy and a Urodynamics tests my Urologist suggested a Laser Green Light procedure which I have scheduled for December.

 

Has anybody gone through this? I heard that is more effective than TURP (the most common heated wire procedure which cuts parts of the enlarged prostate instead of "vaporizing" it as the Laser does), less recovery and catheter (OUCH! 😟) time.  Both procedures I heard have a 50% chance of developing a retrograde ejaculation, which definitely would not make me happy, as I am still proud of my shower-like orgasms at 61.

Fuk BPH! 😡

I had PAE (Prostate Artery Embolization), it's performed by an Interventional Radiologist (IR). Urologists don't talk about this much since it takes money out of their pocket.  Its a fairly easy outpatient procedure. Easy on the patient but you  must find an IR that has performed this procedure many times and is proficient at it.  PAE shrinks the prostate without the side effects that TURP, Green Light or other evasive procedures have.  I did my homework and selected PAE.   Read up on all procedures before making a decision. I can give more details on my PAE procedure if anyone wants it.  The joys of growing old.

[+ Italiano]

Thank you @Unicorn for your thorough explanation. In my case my urologist prescribed for me Oxybutynin in the morning to add to the nightly Tamsulosin about 3/4 years ago when I saw that Flomax by itself wasn't working properly. It was explained to me that OAB was a consequence of BPH. It helped for a while to contain the urge. Then Cialis was added to try to see to better the symptoms which restarted to appear. Now I am not in a terrible situation, it really depends and it can be quite different day by day without understanding why (diet?..), in general I could absolutely survive with minor discomfort of urging, not feeling empty, weak stream/or interrupted stream before peeing again.

What made my urologist suggest Green Light Laser, after the ultrasound (the PVR was not as it should be) and the cystoscopy, was the recent urodynamics which showed a struggling bladder, but now you are making me having second thoughts...

@TJnDB I never heard of PAE before, I heard about Urolift but my urologist said there is still no sufficient history of actual effectiveness..

Getting old sucks.

[Luvmassage]

I took both Tamsulosin and Finasteride due to an enlarged prostate and frequency of urination.  During the time I took those medications I had reverse ejaculations which was a bit unsatisfying.  The good news is that I was ultimately able to go off of both medications, the bad news was that I was able to go off of them since I had my prostate removed due to prostate cancer.  Just glad it was detected early. 

Fortunately, I am still able to produce erections after the surgery and the climaxes are amazing even though I am no longer able to ejaculate semen.  They credit the Kegel exercises for more powerful climaxes.  I would highly recommend doing Kegel exercises even if you still have your prostate.  Your ejaculations/climaxes will be even more powerful. 

[lonely_john]

No more kidney stones after I started taking Chanca Piedra capsules 8 years ago. It's not snake oil, it's scientifically proven, in my case empirically with ultrasounds of my kidneys before and after. I got it recommended by a Doctor but not every Doctor will recommended it because it's not a medicine, it's a plant based natural supplement. Mother nature provides everything the human body needs. You can find it available under many brand names, on Amazon and other online stores.

 

Edited September 16, 2021 by lonely_john

[Guest]

1 hour ago, lonely_john said:

No more kidney stones after I started taking Chanca Piedra capsules 8 years ago....

 

https://www.urologytimes.com/view/most-supplements-stones-not-backed-science

"“Even when studies were available, they were often studies done in animals or humans where the outcomes were biochemical changes in the serum or urine-not specifically changes in stone formation or stone recurrence,” Dr. Koo said. “So even with studies that concluded that there might be useful or effective biochemical changes that would potentially lead to decreased stone formation, we don’t know for sure in the vast majority of cases whether consuming that particular ingredient actually results in meaningful changes for our patients.”...

One possible explanation for the positive product reviews is that many supplement labels instruct people to take the products three times per day with 12 ounces of water each time. That’s almost 40 ounces of water, which is about half of what urologists would typically recommend for stone patients to be drinking for fluid intake."

[Guest]

On 9/13/2021 at 4:38 AM, Italiano said:

...

What made my urologist suggest Green Light Laser, after the ultrasound (the PVR was not as it should be) and the cystoscopy, was the recent urodynamics which showed a struggling bladder...

Were the urodynamic studies done while on tamsulosin, oxybutynin, both, or neither? Big difference! Or were the studies done while on neither, then one at a time, then both? That might give more interesting information. Also, the PVR tells you a lot. If by "struggling bladder," you mean struggling to get all of the urine out, then you should NOT take oxybutynin. It may make you feel a bit better for a while, but ultimately make it harder for you. I must confess to never having heard of PAE before. According to Wikipedia, this procedure is still considered fairly experimental...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostatic_artery_embolization

"Prostatic artery embolization (PAE, or prostate artery embolisation) is a developing non-surgical technique for treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Although there is increasing research on PAE, use of the technique remains at an incipient stage... 

As PAE is a relatively new procedure, more data is needed to determine the incidence of adverse events. The majority of adverse events during PAE are likely due to non-target embolization, and are generally self-limited in nature. The Cochrane review from 2020 assessed the current evidence and found that there are great uncertainties whether PAE differs in terms of serious side effects or problems with erections compared with transurethral resection of the prostate. However, PAE may reduce problems with ejaculation.

The most common adverse effects include acute urinary retention, rectal bleeding, pain, blood in the urine/sperm, and urinary tract infection. Serious complications are uncommon, and include arterial dissection, bladder wall ischemia, and persistent urinary tract infection. Moreover, a post-embolization syndrome, consisting of pain, mild fever, malaise, nausea, vomiting and night sweats, is commonly observed after the procedure, and is treated with NSAIDS and other forms of analgesia.

One single-center prospective study reported an overall complication rate up to 20.6%, with mostly minor complications including hematospermia, diarrhea, and urethral trauma from foley insertion, with one major complication of UTI requiring intravenous antibiotics."

The Cochrane review is very reliable, fact-based, and unbiased. 

Edited September 16, 2021 by Unicorn

[+ nycman]

3 hours ago, lonely_john said:

No more kidney stones after I started taking Chanca Piedra capsules 8 years ago. It's not snake oil, it's scientifically proven, in my case empirically with ultrasounds of my kidneys before and after. I got it recommended by a Doctor but not every Doctor will recommended it because it's not a medicine, it's a plant based natural supplement. Mother nature provides everything the human body needs. You can find it available under many brand names, on Amazon and other online stores.

 

Getting medical advice from YouTube and trying to understand a scientific study
from some random dude with a white board is like trying to learn to raise children
by watching Peter Pan and taking advice from Willie Wonka.

Easy targets….
He doesn’t actually provide a reference to the study. 
The supposed "study" only had 56 participants….in medical research that’s tiny.
There’s no control group.
I’m willing to bet $1,000 if you drank water twice a day instead of "magic tea"….you’d get the same results.
"67% saw a decrease in number and size"…can just as easily be stated as "the tea caused 33% to have an increase in number and size"…ouch.

1) Talk to your doctor.
2) Don’t get your medical care off YouTube and Amazon.
3) Drink more water. 

[lonely_john]

10 hours ago, nycman said:

1) Talk to your doctor.
2) Don’t get your medical care off YouTube and Amazon.
3) Drink more water. 

I only posted the video by my own initiative, as support to my story. I received the advice to start taking Chanca Piedra, from my Doctor. No medicinal plant will ever receive back up from any Dr, or Pharmaceutical company, or dollars for extensive research, and they will try to discredit it 100% of times because it doesn't make them money and they actually are competition for the chemical compounds they sell. As said in the video: "It's from mother nature and it cannot be patented." I was just lucky that my Dr doesn't limit himself to the Vademecum, and it's very knowledgeable about new trends in his field. I personally don't drink 1 L of water every day, so at least in my experience I attribute the disappearance of my kidney stones in the Ultrasound test, to Chanca Piedra. And of course because it's 100% the plant, no side effects whatsoever. It's just a matter of going to any Kidney Stones Forums and then looking for the threads or topics on Chanca Piedra, to find the successful stories of many others like me.

Edited September 16, 2021 by lonely_john

[Guest]

6 hours ago, lonely_john said:

....Chanca Piedra...will ever receive back up from any Dr, or Pharmaceutical company, or dollars for extensive research...

Sorry, but the only way to show that something works is to do a randomized clinical trial. When studies are done looking a herbal products, most of the time they show the herbal product does not work, or works minimally. That fact that your condition (or those of others) got better after taking a product is not evidence the product was responsible.