Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Anybody taking Flomax (Tamsulosin)?

Ive been urinating 5X nightly since I was 5 years old. That was 56 years ago. Still do.

After not being able to pee for a day and a half, got a catheter in for a week...no fun at all...and after it came out was put on Flomax and finesteride(?).....dealing with a lot of other cancer related isssues right now including not sleeping so getting up to pee is not a problem....I'm up anyway. NO side effects from either as far as I know.

For me, Flomax has been great. Several years ago I had a TURP for a very enlarged prostate, post-operation it felt like I needed to constantly urinate. Flomax help a lot, no side effects. Before I started with I Flomax I was miserable.

My doctor put me Tamsulosin. Unfortunately, I am among the one percent who react with intense constipation. Took a month off the stuff to get back to normal.

Exactly. That damned questionnaire asks if you get up to pee. They never ask if you have always had to. At 72 everything doesnt work quite like it did but whatever the urologist put me on was worse. I am overdue to see one now to keep the primary happy. She is trying to send me to the same practice I said i would never go back to.

It's a ball saver if you have allergies and sometimes have an unexpected allergic reaction and have to take benadryl to keep breathing and then your thingamajig swells up and blocks your pee pee up to your heart and you're camping out in the high country and start having to contemplate running a foot long cut off arrowshaft up your dong to drain your bladder.

No side effects here other than it let's you pee, which really no small thing to me.

1. Just about ANY medication can cause "swelling of face, tongue, or throat, difficulty breathing, and blistering of the skin." That includes commonly prescribed drugs like amoxicillin.
2. Yea, you should seek medical attention for a prolonged erection (called priapism) but that isn't a common side effect of tamsulosin.
3. The "floppy iris syndrome" can happen but it's mainly a problem if you need cataract surgery.
4. I took the stuff for several years and never got loss of strength, aches or pain, swallowing difficulties, etc. I just detest taking pills of any kind.

In some men, artificial sweetners such as Splenda can cause extreme bladder irritation and difficulty urinating even when taken in small quantities.

After losing sleep for several years with my problem that wasn't completely relieved by tamsulosin I had the HOLEP procedure and have no regrets. Everything works just fine without medication and I pee like a race horse.

I've been taking it for several years. I've had what my urologist called "mild BPH" for several years, and it got to the point where I was peeing several times a night. It works for me...............no side affects whatsoever, back to my normal peeing once a night, sometimes not at all. I can miss a dose and it doesn't bother me at all. Pecker still works like it should, maybe even better.............lol. So, if anyone is concerned about that, don't be.

There is another drug that is an alternative to Flomax, can't recall the name, and my urologist said it was better, according to what some patients had told him. I did some research on it, and one of the side affect could possibly call heart problems, and I dismissed it right there.

Nah...

I could have been a bit more diplomatic in how I wrote that.

DF

Yes, you're just too mean, doc.

My urologist mentioned it to me when I told him I was having to take a leak 2-3 times a night, but he hasn't pressed the issue. I'd rather not take any more pharmaceuticals than I already am. I just make sure I don't look at the clock when I go to the bathroom, otherwise I'll just start thinking about stuff, and not go back to sleep. By the third pee, I figure it's time to wake up anyway. I look at it as my "bio-clock".

My urologist didn't press the issue either. He just said could try Flomax if I wanted to. The week before my first appointment with him about a week ago I was peeing up to 4 times a night sometimes and I mentioned it to him. I figured for only $4.94 for 30 capsules it was worth a try but I haven't taken any yet because I'd rather not take any prescription drugs if I don't really have to.

I've been working on changing my habits to cut down on the night time peeing. I found out if I don't eat or drink anything after 7:00 pm I only have to pee twice that night like I have for most of my life. I figure your kidneys keep working while you sleeping, just slower. These days I only drink alcohol on special occasions but if I drink 2 beers I'll piss out 4. What's funny is that I have a lot of dreams about needing to pee and not being able to find a place to pee. It wakes me and I go pee then fall back to sleep. I have my clock turned around so I never know what time it is.

Thanks for your comment.

Some of you old, fat guys might simply have sleep apnea. It can be a cause. Mild BPH doesnt necessarily dictate the need for a medication intervention.



https://www.sleepapnea.org/learn/sleep-apnea/nighttime-urination-and-sleep-apnea/

How does apnea cause nocturia? Umlauf explains that during episodes of sleep apnea, the soft structures in the throat relax and close off the airway, setting into motion a chain of physiological events. “Oxygen decreases, carbon dioxide increases, the blood become more acidic, the heart rate drops and blood vessels in the lung constrict,” says Umlauf. “The body is alerted that something is very wrong. The sleeper must wake enough to reopen the airway. By this time, the heart is racing and experiences a false signal of fluid overload. The heart excretes a hormone-like protein that tells the body to get rid of sodium and water, resulting in nocturia.”

Been taking it for a while. Some days it works great, some days not at all and most days/nights just mediocre.

I have found reducing coffee and chocolate intake helps, sometimes.

Without using it, a day is 24 hours of peeing a half a coffee cup quite regularly.
with an occasional leak thrown in.

I used to drink hot Tang or apple cider on cold nights, and it had the same effect beer has on you. As the saying goes, you don't buy coffee, beer, tang, etc., you rent it!

i need to see a urologist my psa shot up 3 points in 6 weeks after getting the testosterone pellets.

I've been taking Flomax and finestride for at least 10 years. It was after my 3rd biopsy. I haven't been to a urologist in almost as long. I've got a friend right now whose prostate cancer moved into his bladder, and another whose cancer has gone into his pelvis. Read these threads and you wonder if the doctors are passing on taking care of people who are trying to avoid prostate cancer, so they can make more money treating for cancer. It all has me concerned.

I think that's a good idea. I went to a urologist because my new Doc refused to order a PSA test when I got a physical exam in January. He told me quote: "After age 70 you don't need to worry about prostate cancer because you'll only get the slow growing kind." My Grandfather (who lived in Corpus) died of fast growing prostate cancer when he was 89. It had already spread before he had any symptoms. He was very healthy and active (still driving) before he got prostate cancer. I found a good young urologist in Austin that worked at MD Anderson for several years so I'll be in good hands when I get prostate cancer. I'm pretty sure I'll get it if I long enough since my Dad and Grandfather both had it. Dad died of a stroke (brain bleed) when he was 70.

My reason for taking it is to not have to pee all the damn time. I was constantly having to pee, day and night. Don't have to now.

guys, I am a pharmacist and also have BPH for almost 20 years. (i am 57)...
not a complete list of drugs or side effects.

1. The 2 Main types of Medicines.
A. Alpha Blockers
Uraxotrol- alfuzosin- very potent. likely most effective.
Flomax- tamsulsin- most popular. works well.
* Both work to relax the muscles in the bladder neck/prostate.
* Both work quickly.
* Both can cause some impotence, usually not the ability to have an erection, but the ability to orgasm, or delay orgasm.
* Both can cause ejaculatory issues ranging from retrograde to anejaculation.
Retrograde ejaculation is when the semen goes backward into the bladder, which is unusual, but usually doesn't effect the feeling of the orgasm.
Anejaculation is when no semen leaves the prostate at all to enter the urethra. This very much impacts pleasure. It can either take all the pleasure away, have a painful orgasm, or no orgasm at all.
Actually, anejaculation might be more common than retrograde.
* The side effects are many, though, most find them manageable.
Including- low blood pressure, dizziness, tiredness, fainting, along with the sexual side effects.

B. Testosterone Inhibitors
Proscar- finasteride. This works in the body to inhibit the production of testosterone to shrink the prostate which is testosterone dependant.
It takes longer to start working because it takes time to shrink the prostate enough to make a difference. as the prostate shrinks, your psa may actually go down.
Side effects....
* Decrease in sex drive. less testosterone less desire. high incidence of this.
* Less semen produced.
* impotence due to decreased drive.
* you might grow boobs. those boobs might have a discharge.
* hair growth...... with a full head of hair you might be more attractive, but with no sex drive it might not matter anymore.


2. Other Treatments- (procedure)
TURP- avoid it at all costs unless there is no other choice. Do not just take your doctor's word for it. get a 2nd opinion.
* Very high incidence of impotence.
* loss of bladder control is a possibility.
* Retrograde ejaculation is very likely
* Results usually don't lost all that long, making repeat procedures likely.

PVP Laser- less side effects than TURP.
* Impotence less likely than TURP, actually very unlikely.
* Retrograde ejaculation is almost a sure thing though.
* It pretty much destroys the prostate leaving only the shell. \

Prostate Artery Embolism
* non-invasive
* no sexual side effects at all.
* effectively reduces the volume of the prostate
* Doesn't always fix the problem if there is a large median lobe growth.

Urolift
* Not a true surgery. It is a device inserted that pulls the interior walls of the prostate outward allowing the urethra to open up.
* No sexual side effects at all.
* Might actually increase ejaculatory function.
* Results almost immediately.

Other procedures.
TUNA- not used much anymore due to ineffectiveness and some problems. Uses a needle that heats up very hot to kill prostate tissue.
TUMT-uses microwave heat to kill prostate tissue. I know little about this, except I believe it's not as effective.
TUIP- makes little slices in the interior prostate that causes it to spring outward rather than squeezing inward. I don't know anyone having had this. Not always effective, but without likelihood of bad side effects. Not helpful for very large prostates,
Rezum- uses steam to heat up and kill tissue.

Any of these that use heat kinda scares me. I've heard of inexperienced docs really destroying some men's this way.


I hope this helps, guys. Whatever you do, do not just take your doctor's word for it. always study the procedure on the internet to find out what's truly going on. Many doctors are not very forthcoming about permanent side effects with the treatments they are proposing. the internet is your friend here. And, 2nd opinions also.
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