Prostex Prostate Health Blog

Acute Urinary Retention

Most of my blogs have been dealing with BPH or benign prostatic hyperplasia.  A serious complication to BPH is urinary retention, which is the inability to urinate.  This complication requires immediate medical treatment.

The onset of urinary retention is characterized by a poor urinary stream with intermittent flow, straining, incomplete voiding and hesitancy (a delay between trying to urinate and the actual flow starting).  The aforementioned symptoms could worsen to a point where the condition is considered a medical emergency.  This worsening condition is known as acute urinary retention whereby one cannot urinate at all. 

As the bladder remains full, it may distend or stretch to an abnormally large size associated with pain and the possibility of it tearing.  When the bladder distends enough, one will begin to experience pain due to the excessive pressure exerted on the bladder wall.  The increased pressure in the bladder can also prevent urine from entering the bladder from the ureters.  In the worst of cases, the back pressure exerted could even cause urine to pass back up the ureters and into the kidneys, causing hydronephrosis (dilation or stretching of the kidney with urine).

Men should see their doctor immediately if they are unable to urinate when having a painfully full bladder.  In summary, men suffering from BPH should be knowledgeable about serious medical conditions that can arise as complications of BPH (see my blog; "How the Bladder Works").

How the Bladder Works

Keep in mind that my blogs do not contain sophisticated medical explanations of the topics being discussed. Instead, I much prefer to use simple, pragmatic explanations and diagrams that will not be confusing to the average lay person seeking a basic knowledge of the subjects being presented.  If, for some reason, you want a more scientific explanation of the subject matter, please contact me and I will try to accommodate your wishes.  With this in mind, let's move forward with our explanation of "How the Bladder Works".

I can best do this in steps:

1. When you drink liquids, the liquid is absorbed through your body and eventually reaches the kidneys.
2. A prime function of the kidneys is to filter out waste matter and extra water to make urine.
3. From each kidney there is a tube that is connected to the bladder.
4. These tubes are called "ureters".
5. The urine that is produced in the kidneys flows from the kidneys through the ureters into the bladder, where it is stored until the bladder becomes full.
6. The bladder is much like a balloon, and as it fills it expands like a balloon.
7. When the bladder has accumulated about a couple of cups of urine, signals are sent to one's brain to indicate that the bladder is becoming full and ready for emptying.
8. If, for some reason, you cannot get to a bathroom, the bladder continues to expand to hold more urine.
9. The signal to go to the bathroom becomes stronger and stronger as the bladder continues to expand further.
10. When you do go to the bathroom, the brain tells the bladder to release the urine from the bladder, which results in urination.
11. In men, urination is the flow of urine from the bladder, through another tube that exits the bladder known as the urethra (see my blog; "What is BPH?").
12. In the illustration below, you are able to trace the urinary tract.
13. #1 (kidneys), #2 (ureters), #3 (urethra), #4 (bladder). 
    
    In future blogs, this information about "how the bladder works" will be useful to gain a better understanding of the various problems that arise in the urinary tract.                            

 

 

 

What is BPH?

BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia) is the medical term ascribed to an "enlarged prostate".  To understand what BPH is, you must first have a fundamental knowledge of the anatomy of the male urinary tract. As you can see from the illustration, the urethra, which is attached to the bladder, passes through the prostate gland (shown in red) and exits through the penis. When it's time to empty the bladder, smooth muscles in the bladder relax allowing the urine to flow out of the bladder and through the urethra, which results in urination.

BPH occurs when the prostate gland grows or enlarges, as it does during most of a man's adult life. When the glandular tissue surrounding the exterior of the prostate gland becomes resistant to outward expansion, the continued growth of the prostate tissue grows inward closing in on that part of the urethra that passes through the prostate. This results in the gradual squeezing of the urethra within the prostate causing restriction of the flow of urine from the bladder.  Thinking of this in another way, visualize holding a flexible hose, with water running through it, between your thumb and index finger.  If you squeezed the hose closed with your fingers, the flow of liquid would slow down or even stop depending on the pressure you exert with your fingers. That's what happens in BPH.  The more inward tissue growth in the prostate gland, the more pressure exerted on the urethra and the more restriction of the flow of urine being released from the bladder. The degree of prostate enlargement can vary greatly among individuals, and this is the reason why some men suffer from more symptoms than others.

There are over 100 prostate products, both prescription and non-prescription on the market. Among the non-prescription, nutritional products used to promote the healthy function of the prostate and relieve the urinary symptoms of BPH is Prostex, a time tested product (sold for more than fifty years) and used by tens of thousands of men.  Prostex is a proprietary blend of amino acids (Glycine, Alanine, and Glutamic Acid).  In the 1950's a group of American doctors accidentally found that patients being treated for allergies, with the amino acid formula, were experiencing relief from BPH symptoms. It's called serendipity.  Other controlled scientific studies followed, which showed that this therapy was indeed effective in relieving the common urinary symptoms of BPH, such as urgency, discomfort, night frequency, and delayed urine flow. I welcome your views on this article.

Dr. Bob