BPH: If you don't already know what it stands for, your time will come. Wait.

[Clark]

The years are adding up for me, and despite my excellent physical condition otherwise, especially since my radical loss of 20% of my body weight through diet and exercise, I've run into one of the rewards for living so long: BPH.  Not necessarily of particular interest to living donors, and generally not to women, or donors of organs other than the kidney, but possibly of interest to male kidney donors, candidates, and those who love them.

Prostate Enlargement: Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse
http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/prostateenlargement/ProstateEnlargement_508.pdf

  The intersection with our special interest in all that is abdominal seems to me to be focussed primarily on the risks associated with kidney and bladder infection associated with urinary retention, and secondarily on the potential for complicating damage to our sole remaining kidney during surgery, if indicated, or by infection during recovery from surgery.  Should anyone want a Donor Buddy -like give and take as I experiment with treatment, send me a private message.  I guess I have limits about what I'll say on line.  Best wishes, any of you who've read this far to receive them!

[WilliamLFreeman]

Bifocals, wrinkles, gray &/or less hair, BPH [men], sagging boobs [women], I forget what else, ....   

[elephant]

Dear Clark,

It's a surprise after thinking you are one of the healthiest people to deal with a disease.  I'll never have what you do, but do sympathize.

Love, elephant

[Clark]

Bill and Julia, thanks.  Bill, the other items on your list seem to have even less to do with our club, but I understand that BPH is just one more of those things that happen to us as we age.  As your list implies, though, aging isn't just getting older, pieces, parts, interactions and systems all start going pear shaped, each on their own idiosyncratic schedules.  Every day's an adventure.  At least I can still have salt.

  Julia, don't be too complacent.  Just as some men get breast cancer, some women get prostate troubles, the whole spectrum of options I'm still in the process of eliminating as alternative, more dire, diagnoses.  The odds are better for you, true, but nothing's certain. Best wishes, and thanks for your kindness.

[Rob_h]

Hi John,

Hope your medical treatment goes well.  best wishes, Rob

[Clark]

Just keeping it lively, I recently had a CT scan to, I hope, rule out the possibility of hydronephrosis.  This is explicitly and exclusively an indicated test because I have only one kidney.  This should have been on the list of things to disclose, as BPH or other conditions with similar symptoms are virtually certain to occur in every male if we live long enough.  I'll let you know if this leads to anything more to add to our list of concerns.

[johnelli]

Unfortunately, this condition can't be prevented. I understand it must be tough getting diagnosed with a condition when you have spent a healthy lifestyle. I'm nearing 40, and have read a lot about prostate health in the last few days. I also plan to try Super Beta Prostate, because I came across a Super Beta Prostate review which says that the product contains an ingredient, Beta Sitosterol, an ester that fosters prostate health and has been used by several men successfully. We can't decide what happens to us as we age, but the least we can do is stay healthy and fit! All the very best to you!

[Clark]

So, John, what have you experienced from this unlikely sounding product?  I hope you haven't been ripped off by the company, getting what you ordered, containing what you believe, and acting as you hope.  Any of these true?  If it's for real, I'm interested.

[Clark]

  I recently came down witha systemic infection. Early on, my pre-existing BPH and kidney donor status put me on the fast track for sophisticated medical intervention. Unfortunately, it turned out to be medication resistant, and the battle extended to more than three weeks. Though the infection seems finally dealt with, there's been some damage, and depending on my recovery over the next few weeks, I most likely will need corrective surgery.

  I post this update mostly to be reassuring. My actual illness, suffering, and the damage it has done did not affect and were not intensified by my having been a donor. Instead, my treatment was very rapid and aggressive, explicitly in defense of my remaining kidney. Similarly the corrective surgery that I almost certainly will undergo next month is to prevent systems compromised and damaged by the infection from further damaging my kidney.

  Anyone can get an infection at any time, from so many different sources. Too many are medication resistant these days. If you have a fever of 100 degrees F or higher, call your primary care physician! Don't delay! I was going to ride it out as a summer flu, but my spouse insisted I call. She was right, I was wrong, and this thing could have killed me that night if left untreated. Instead, chemical warfare started early on, likely reducing the overall damage.

  Best wishes, all.

[Snoopy]

Ouch! Sorry to hear about the setback (and thanks for the warning).  Have a speedy, full recovery, and keep on being kind to your kidney.
   Feel good, Snoopy

[Clark]

Thanks! One week out from surgery, and things are starting to finally look promising.

[nameless]

Sorry to hear about your complications Clark.  How have things been going for you over the past year?  How is your remaining kidney functioning?  I hope you're doing better. 

[Clark]

Thanks, Byron! Yes, I'm well recovered from the infection and the surgery. No more meds, no more lifting restrictions, kidney function unaffected throughout, and still excellent. May all be as fortunate!