The returning runner…
Act 32 – Oh cr**!! I think I just peed a little…
It’s a pleasant day, starting to warm up a little bit and somehow 70 degrees feels hot early in the year. I don’t know how I can handle 90 degrees later on …Hmmm… I gotta go pee! Oh wait, I guess I already did. Not a lot, but some. Thank goodness I switched to dark running shorts months ago. Seriously. Some of the other fun effects of enlarged prostate are increased frequency (my nights are typically 3-4 times but sometimes crazy 6+ times), urgency, weak stream, and bladder stones.
The ultimate catch-22, the combination of kidney stones and enlarged prostate. I have occasional kidney stones. Guess what the #1 recommendation is for treating? Drink a lot more. But what if you have enlarged prostate? You are doing all that you can in order to avoid peeing a brazilian times a day…
So, what causes enlarged prostate? The cause is unknown. You can’t always decide how your health is going to be. My mantra in this website is “You decide” and I believe that is true for a lot of our modern health issues but definitely not all.
As a runner, what can you do if you have enlarged prostate? Well, now you know why I mostly run on trails (helps to have a lot of trees) and wear dark colored running shorts…
Ok, what are medical treatments? I’ve tried Flomax (Tamsulosin) which is supposed to help with emptying and reducing the frequency but my experience was minimal benefit. I also tried Finasteride which is supposed to help with reducing the prostate size over time (several months to see benefits) and did see some benefits but also some adverse side effects. A positive side effect is that Finasteride helps with hair loss but can cause difficulty having sex. So, you might be rockin’ the hair but then… (well, you get the picture).
What if you really want to have fun? Ok, if you have struggled with this for years as I have you might decide to go the surgery route. I’ve finally just been bugged enough to go for it. Tomorrow… The standard is the TURP surgery (transurethral resection of the prostate). Basically, roto-rootering a tunnel through the constriction caused by the enlarged prostate. I’ve opted for Aquablation. Basically, a “a real-time, ultrasound-guided, robotic-assisted” high-pressure fire hose.
Oh, here’s the really great part (that’s sarcasm if you haven’t picked up on it) – you won’t notice improvement for a couple of months…
Standby – I’ll let you know how it goes…
Photo: Post-race run (2nd place overall at Lace Up For Learning 5k) with Beau in Grass Valley Pre-Aquablation