so seen the dr today as I’ve been having a bit of trouble peeing standing up. They’ve advised tamsolosin over alfuzosin. I read alfuzosin has a better record at stopping erectile dysfunction- she said both are pretty much the same….
Can anyone give me advice/experiences with this. I also have glaucoma- I’m hoping it won’t be impacted.
many thanks
rob
Sorry...not much help here however I used Alfuzosin for about 2 years as we were trying to figure out what was going on with my prostate/urine retention. I never had any issues with it concerning ED or retrograde ejaculation. It seems that the differences between toleration of a lot of meds is user-based. Try Tamsulosin and see what happens...you can always stop/go back. Good luck.
Hi Rob,
I suffered with pretty serious urinary symptoms from about 2008 - 2018. I had a huge prostate, 78cc back in 2012 and 150cc in 2018. My Uro put me on two different alpha-blockers and the side effects were intolerable. I don't remember which ones. The third one we tried was alfuzosin and it was great for me. No problems with erections or orgasms and my urinary symptoms improved 80% or so. I probably took it daily for about ten years. In 2018 my prostate was removed so problem solved. Alfuzosin was really good for me.
Thank you. Can I ask how old you were when you first got urinary/prostate issues. I’ve just turned 41.
Sorry for the late reply. I think I was in my early 50's when I had real problems with frequency and urgency. Thankfully, I was always able to pee. I tried two alpha-blockers prior to Alfuzosin and was unhappy with each. Flomax was not one of them. I am confident that you can use one of those two and get some good relief.
I am currently 53 and have been using Flomax (Tamsulosin) since I was 49. I have not have any erection problems with it, and it made all of the difference in the world for me for making it way easier to pee. I had developed thickened bladder walls from my straining which have since returned closer to normal. I did experience some erectile issues months after my radiation treatment for my prostate, but I attribute that to treatment more than the drug, as I was taking it for 2 1/2 year prior to treatment without issues. As Don717 said, if you don't like it, you can switch. It has a pretty short half-life, and I know the days that I missed a dose or have taken it later in the day.
As a side note, if you are taking any hypertension drugs, tamsulosin may increase their effectiveness and lower your blood pressure too much. I have to take it at night, as I take my blood pressure meds in the morning. Taking them together made me very light-headed and reduced my blood pressure to lower than target.
LLAP, what kind of radiation did you have?......I'm in the same boat, using Tamulosin or Alfusosin or nothing at times. I needed to make a decision on treatment soon, looking to get MRI guided Linac radiation 5 Treatment SBRT at MSK, just afraid my urinary issues will get worse, bu the margins are so much smaller with MRI guided Electra.
I had MRI guided SBRT with 5 treatments as well. I did have to pause the drugs while I was going through treatment. But once I completed treatment, I returned to the drugs without any issue.
Gotcha, I haven’t pulled the trigger yet on treatment, I’m just nervous about everything with the load decipher score. I bought myself some no ADT needed. Did they use catheters for each of the 5 sessions……I just read some posters say they use that…..I think I read at some of the old cyber knife centers they did?
did they use rectal spacer like spaceOR? Any side effects ED…….Or bowel?
Thanks
My sessions were quick, like 10 minutes. I just had to have a full bladder and empty bowels with a self-administered over the counter enema. When I arrived, I just undressed my lower half to my underwear and laid on the table while the machine did its thing and then I was done. I did have SpaceOar placement and had no side effects come from that. No rectal issue at all. The day of placement was really the only day of any discomfort, but it was tolerable and went away in a couple of days. I have a few posts detailing my experiences.
Overall, I've had very few issues one year post treatment, erection issues came and went and now not a problem (I followed recommendations here for low dose Cialis for a few months and now don't need it), still occasional urine dribble that I had prior to treatment. This last month, I did have a situation that seems to be unique to me, but even that is clearing up.
Everyone is different, so your situation may vary. Since getting my diagnosis at 51, and now I'm 53, I look back at what I've documented and my concerns, fears, questions about this journey. It's been very helpful both emotionally and physically for me. I've come a long way emotionally since that initial diagnosis. What I'm getting at is that I would recommend writing a list of questions for your docs and nurses that you bring up here. If you don't have an appointment to discuss these things, definitely consider making one. My providers explained everything cleary for me, and I brought many of the things I found here to them, asking if those were appropriate for me. We have choices and your care team is there to help guide you for your situation.
As to some other things you mentioned, I've never heard of catheters with SBRT, but that's only with my limited experience. Two of my uncles also did RT (one had 5 sessions, the other 30+), and neither of them had catheters. Your Rad Onc doctor would be able to tell you if you need that. With radical prostatectomy (RP) you definitely get catheters...
Sorry to ramble!
Thank you for your comprehensive posts in our Malecare community. Your "real world" experience is truthful and anxiety reducing for many.
LLAP,
Thank you for the detailed post. You did not ramble at all. We’re all here to help each other. I just recently read about catheters which I didn’t believe my oncologist never mentioned it.
I think with MSK precise CT guided radiation their version of cyberknife, I remember reading something about using catheters during treatment.
Anyway thank you so much. I’ll look up your history.
thank you for your response, much appreciated
I have been taking Tamsulosin for several years, with no side effects. I doubt that it would have any effect on your glaucoma.
Thank you for your response, much appreciated!
Used both. On alfuzosin had partial retrograde ejaculation but continued to have Antegrade (normal but smaller in amount) and on FLOMAX had total retrograde ejaculation. There is one very old article suggesting that FLOMAX could lower PSA in benign conditions which seemed to me to say it had some antiandrogen effect. On Flomax they commonly increase the dose to two a day if needed but won't do that on alfuzosin for fear of more risk of blood pressure drop. I couldn't tell much difference in blood pressure effects as both may lower it. I preferred the alfuzosin but the differences weren't huge. Love the fact every time I typed FLOMAX without capitalizing it autocorrect changed it to climax!
Rising PSA - Scan or Biopsy
Waiting for the test results - excrutiating
New to the group
Preparing for my Urologist Appointment re Increased PSA -- Including possible biopsy questions
My decision on Radiotherapy -v- Prostatectomy
