Cialis and benign prostatic hyperplasia

What is benign prostatic hyperplasia?

The good news lies in the word "benign". That means the growth is not cancerous and, in most cases, it never becomes malignant. The bad news is that this is a growth that slowly disrupts the flow of urine. Without treatment, the flow can become intermittent. As more urine is stored in the bladder, more bacteria grow and there's an increased risk of infection.

What are the main symptoms?

As men age, there's a change to the way the bladder operates. Put simply, things either slow down or speed up, i.e. you may have to urinate more frequently, which can be inconvenient during the night, or you may find it more difficult to pass urine. There's an internationally agreed scale to measure the extent of the problem. Once you pass a threshold, there's an investigation to find out whether you have a growth.The tests rely on a mixture of physical examination, the use of ultrasound and blood samples to confirm whether any detected growth is cancerous.

What does the growth look like?

The growth usually takes the form of nodules. Individually, they have little effect but, as their number increases, it disrupts the flow.

What is the treatment?

The hope is always to catch the growth early and control it with a drug regime. There are two main types of drug to use but both affect sexual performance. This can, to some extent, be controlled through the use of Cialis, but all the erectile dysfunction drugs struggle to give effective relief over the long term. This often means men delay beginning the use of the drugs, stop using the drugs because of the loss of sexual performance and, more importantly, refuse surgery.

Why delay treatment of the benign growth?

Men in a steady, long-term relationship often prefer to maintain sexual performance even if it becomes difficult or painful to urinate. This is a lifestyle choice. Once the drug regime begins to control the growth, sexual desire is reduced and erectile dysfunction is common. Although Cialis can maintain a reasonable level of hardness in the erections, the slow loss of libido can lead to depression and a downward cycle in sexual performance. Hence, many men delay the use of drugs or stop taking the drugs to restore sexual function (with the help of Cialis). No-one want to risk surgery because, once the scalpel cuts through the muscles, it can seriously interfere with the ability to form a hard erection. So even when the growth is diagnosed as cancerous, many men refuse surgery. There's a halfway house of treatment using microwaves or radio frequency energy to break up the growths, but this is not always a success. However, it's growing in popularity because it does not have the side effects of the drug regime and allows men to continue sexual activity, with the help of Cialis if needed.