Prostate Problems, Can An Enlarged Or Diseased Prostate Be The Root Cause Of Urinary Incontinence

As men grow older especially around retirement age and

shortly afterward; life can be very good as they begin to

enjoy the fruits of their labor and the opportunity to do

what they want to do for a change. No longer punching time

clocks or holding their heads to the grinding stone; life

can prove to be quite sweet after all.

For many men, reaching retirement and just kicking back and

enjoying life is what it's all about. After working for

twenty, thirty, and forty plus years, I think you deserve to

relax and take it easy for a while. It's time to exist off

crowded free-ways and Super highways of life and take the

scenic route and just slowly cruise on down the line and

celebrate life...and let your hair blow in the wind. Man,

life is good, and living is great.Good food. Good times. Good

fun. Who can blame you? You guys have earned it, so celebrate

your life!

Unfortunately, for men around the age of forty and up there

could be a skeleton in the closet in the form of a problem

prostate. Generally, the prostate doesn't even become an

issue for most men until around forty years of age, and even

then it's usually just prostatitis or inflammation of the

prostate which is usually a very benign condition. But as men

continue to age the prostate gland can become increasingly

larger and here lies the problem.

Prostate problems can range from benign to malignant. Men in

their sixties and seventies are at a much greater risk than

any other time in their lives to be diagnosed with an

enlarged prostate. The key to warding off possible disaster

with the prostate gland is seeking medical care from their

primary care giver as early as possible. An enlarged prostate

or benign prostactic hyperplasis (BPH) detected early enough

can be successfully treated with practically no complications

whatsoever.

However, the reality of the problem with the prostate gland

is that most men do not follow through on annual check ups

and in between visits to their doctor(s). When a prostate

problem is detected early enough it does not pose a lethal

threat at all, but when it is left to grow unchecked it can

and will in most cases become a real problem. That's why men

should submit to regular examinations so that the growth or

lack of it can be closely monitored and treated.

The prostate gland is about the size of a chestnut or walnut

and it is situated at the base of the bladder's neck where

the urethra connects to the bladder. The prostate is part

glandular and part muscle. It is actually a part of the

reproductive system in men. It secretes a viscid like fluid

that is ejected into the urethra to help the motility of the

sperm at the time of ejaculation. The fluid that it secretes

is anti-acidic and therefore it helps the spermatozoa to

remain alive in the female sexual organ where it can remain alive for

hours in a highly acidic environ; without the viscid

substance that the prostate emits at ejaculation the

spermatozoa would not survive long enough to fertilize the

eggs.

It also acts as some type of guard or another that seals off

the bladder's neck to prevent urine from mixing with the

semen and the spermatozoa. Once the ejaculatory process is

completed the prostate will then automatically allow the

urine to pass through the urethra. It is simply amazing how

all of this take place time and time again throughout the

life of the prostate.

Within the prostate glands there are cells, and cells and

more cells.When cells mass or join together they form tissue;

all animals and plants are composed of one or more cells, but

some times rogue cells break away from normal operations and

group together to form a tumor. Tumors can be benign or they

can be malignant. If a tumor creates no immediate threat it

can be allowed to exist as it is, however it must be closely

watched by a physician or urologist to see if it is spreading

and/or if it has become cancerous. If the tumor does become

cancerous it must be removed at once to keep it from

spreading throughout the body.

When a prostate gland becomes cancerous and removal of it

from the body is the only alternative;this type of surgery is

called a prostatectomy.The prostate gland is not essential to

life, therefore it is expendable; left in place the cancerous

tumor would spread and spread until it has covered every

organ in the body, or as long as the person remained alive.

A cancerous prostate usually is excised from the body as

quickly as possible because it is literally a life and death

operation. Surgeons will do everything within their power to

remove every bit of cancerous tissue in the body because they

are all too well aware of the fact that any cancerous tissue

left in the body will begin to spread immediately. That is

the reason some men have to undergo a second surgery because

the first one felled short of removing all of the cancerous

growth.

During a prostatectomy it is possible to incur some

collateral damage, meaning; something can get damaged that

shouldn't have. For instance, the sphincter muscle sometimes

become damaged when the prostate is being removed. The

sphincter muscle is located on the pelvic floor at the base

of the bladder or bladder neck. The sphincter is a muscle

that encloses the bladder neck to prevent urine from escaping

when it is not suppose to. When the sphincter muscle is

working properly it is capable of maintaining a firm grip

around the bladder's neck to prevent urine leakage.

During a prostatectomy the sphincter muscle can become

damaged and made useless to put it mildly. No longer able to

prevent the bladder from voiding or leakage the person who is

undergoing a prostatectomy has one more problem to add to the

list. He now suffer from urinary incontinence because without

the sphincter muscle in place and functioning properly urine

will continue to leak from the bladder. The only solution is

to schedule another operation to install a new artificial

sphincter muscle. This new artificial sphincter muscle has the

capacity to do the work that the original sphincter muscle

once did---preventing any type of urinary leakage.

Usually after a prostatectomy most men suffer from a

temporary condition called stress incontinence. Normally

stress incontinence would occur in women who were pregnant,

and after childbirth. Stress incontinence is the leaking of

urine during laughing, sneezing, coughing, or practically any

and all physical activities. Men who have undergone a

prostatectomy suffer with stress incontinence too, but in

most cases it's just a temporary condition that doesn't last

permanently unlike with some women.

After prostate surgery many men also suffer from urge or

urgency incontinence. Urgency incontinence is the sudden urge

to urinate, but in most instances the urine voids or passes

before the man can reach the bathroom. This is the source of

a lot of embarrassing scenes for men and women. Having this

kind of accident in public or other social settings can be

devastating to say the least. Many men and women both have

chosen to avoid public and social settings in fear of having

yet another accident that only brings more humiliation and

degradation.

With some men who have had their prostate removed their lives

undergo a total change when they realize that they suffer

with a type of incontinence called mixed incontinence.

Mixed incontinence is a combination of stress incontinence

and urgency incontinence. It's enough to leave any man

totally bewildered and unamused; but the good news is that both

forms or types of urinary incontinence is treatable, and in a

growing number of cases completely curable.

Overflow and Continuous incontinence can occur during post

prostate surgery for some men; however, both conditions are

treatable and in a growing number of cases they are also

curable as well. Overflow incontinence occurs when the

bladder becomes filled and for some reason or another, the

brain does not send a nerve signal to the bladder to activate

the detrusor muscle that is located within the bladder's

walls to remove its content.

When this exchange is working properly the brain will send a

nerve signal to the detrusor muscle which in turn would

commence to squeeze spastically to force the urine out of the

bladder and down through the urethra and out through the male

organ, but when there is a problem at any point between the

brain, nerve signal, bladder, detrusor muscle, sphincter and

urethra; voiding or passing or urine will not work correctly.

Continuous incontinence happens when there is a continual

dripping or dribbling of urine. This type of urinary

incontinence can occur due to a number of causes and

circumstances, but like the other forms or types of urinary

incontinence; continuous incontinence is highly treatable and

often curable too. The key is getting to your primary care

giver and/or your urologist as quickly as possible. From

there you will be examined and given the proper care and

medication(s) to help you overcome these unnatural

conditions.

In conclusion, I feel that the most important point throughout

this article is the need to have a close and working

relationship with your primary care giver and your urologist

as well. A problem prostate can be successfully taken care of

if it is caught before the damaged is done---cancerous cells

spreading throughout the body. And by scheduling an

appointment with your doctor(s) when you first begin to

experience the symptoms of a problem prostate and/or urinary

incontinence, you will have a greater chance of survival and

enjoying life after all. So here's to you great guy, enjoy

your retirement as you cruise down the scenic route of life.

by: D. 'Raye Samoth

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