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albedo
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Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 664

Posted 6/19/2009 3:54 PM (GMT -5)

Great link kpo. Thank you. Your beta sitosterol dose is massive compared to the dose (180mg) in LEF's Natural Prostate. Pls keep posting if you see a benefit. Good luck and wish you the best.

Post Edited (albedo) : 6/19/2009 4:40:45 PM (GMT-4)

albedo
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Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 664

Posted 6/22/2009 1:07 PM (GMT -5)

kpo, interesting Cochrane report apparently supporting your testing high doses of beta sitosterol (but did not buy the full report):

Beta-sitosterols for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aimed to assess the effects of beta-sitosterols (B-sitosterol) on urinary symptoms and flow measures in men with of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). SEARCH STRATEGY: Trials were searched in computerized general and specialized databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Phytodok), by checking bibliographies, and by contacting manufacturers and researchers. SELECTION CRITERIA: Trials were eligible for inclusion provided they (1) randomized men with BPH to receive B-sitosterol preparations in comparison to placebo or other BPH medications, and (2) included clinical outcomes such as urologic symptom scales, symptoms, or urodynamic measurements. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Information on patients, interventions, and outcomes was extracted by at least two independent reviewers using a standard form. Main outcome measure for comparing the effectiveness of B-sitosterols with placebo and standard BPH medications was the change in urologic symptom scale scores. Secondary outcomes included changes in nocturia as well as urodynamic measures (peak and mean urine flow, residual volume, prostate size). Main outcome measure for side effects was the number of men reporting side effects. MAIN RESULTS: 519 men from 4 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials, (lasting 4 to 26 weeks) were assessed. 3 trials used non-glucosidic B-sitosterols and one utilized a preparation that contained 100% B-sitosteryl-B-D-glucoside. B-Sitosterols improved urinary symptom scores and flow measures. The weighted mean difference (WMD) for the IPSS was -4.9 IPSS points (95%CI = -6.3 to -3.5, n = 2 studies). The WMD for peak urine flow was 3.91 ml/sec (95%CI = 0.91 to 6.90, n = 4 studies) and the WMD for residual volume was -28.62 ml (95%CI = -41. 42 to -15.83, n = 4 studies). The trial using 100% B-sitosteryl-B-D-glucoside (WA184) show improvement in urinary flow measures. B-sitosterols did not reduce prostate size. Withdrawal rates for men assigned to B-sitosterol and placebo were 7.8% and 8. 0%, respectively. REVIEWER’S CONCLUSIONS: The evidence suggests non-glucosidic B-sitosterols improve urinary symptoms and flow measures. Their long term effectiveness, safety and ability to prevent BPH complications are not known.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000;(2):CD001043

albedo
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Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 664

Posted 6/22/2009 6:28 PM (GMT -5)

Just an idea …. would fish oil be beneficial to high postvoid residual?

Fighting inflammation is clearly beneficial to BPH in general, but what about PVR? Tamsulosin is a alpha-blocker relaxing the prostate smooth muscle around the urethra by targeting very specific receptors down there and it can add to the effect of drugs lowering BP. As there was an anecdotic report of fish oil lowering BP (http://forum.lef.org/default.aspx?f=39&m=61900&p=4) I just wonder if I might have some beneficial effect with fish oil … just an idea, very likely naive and without a sound ground but … who knows? I am really resisting going on medication. I am taking 2 grams per day already and think have silent inflammation well under control.

ghg2
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Date Joined Jan 2009
Total Posts : 60

Posted 6/22/2009 8:05 PM (GMT -5)

albedo,

Find out your AA/EPA ratio (hard to find blood test), or a 2nd order approximation
is the Triglyceride/HDL ratio... if your AA/EPA is over 1.5-3 or the
Trig/HDL is over 1, then more fish oil would not hurt (drsears.com). Best is
IFOS 5 star FO. Even better is to have some sesame lignans added to prevent
conversion to AA. LEF product 00982 one of the best. IFOS 5 star oils have
60% EPA+DHA. Dr Sears calls them 'weapons grade' fish oil. 6 LEF fish oils/day
did not change my blood pressure, but 10 did, on the 2nd day. I also added
2-3 TBSP/day Perilla oil (equiv to flax seed oil), about 60% ALA omega3,
so maybe it took that much omega3 to counteract the omega6 and the
inflammatory the 6's cause to be produced??/

--ghg

albedo
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Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 664

Posted 6/23/2009 10:31 AM (GMT -5)

ghg2, thank you! i posted on exactly what you mention in the Zone thread.

albedo
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Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 664

Posted 7/4/2009 6:11 PM (GMT -5)

interesting .... there might be some positive effect of caffeine on bladder disfunction I am studying for my post-void residual:

"...Coffee or caffeine treatment significantly reduced the bladder weight, bladder capacity and PVR in the diabetic rats..."

"... In conclusion, these results indicate that the consumption of coffee or caffeine may have a beneficial effect on urinary bladder dysfunction in 7-week STZ-induced diabetic rats by increasing cAMP content in the bladder, recovery of the micturition reflex and improvement of the detrusor contractility..."

http://www.chinaphar.com/1671-4083/27/1037.htm

warhorse
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Date Joined Jan 2009
Total Posts : 9

Posted 7/30/2009 7:16 PM (GMT -5)

Hi, I'm new here, but I'd thought I'd chime in with my situation and ask for some guidance.

I'm a 39 year old male, but for the past several years I've had problems with a weak urine stream and dribbling at the end. At first I thought perhaps I had BPH, because I had taken quite a bit of DHEA and andro supplements over the years for bodybuilding. I went to the doctor and he did the digital exam to check my prostate and some bloodwork as well. According to these tests, I don't have a prostate issue.

And yet I still a weak urine stream and dribbling, which I feel has gotten worse over the past year. I went to a urologist, and he said it is possible that I may have a stricture and that I need to go through an cytoscopy to know for sure.

Of course my reaction was "HELL NO!" It looks painful.

I've tried LEF's saw palmetto and fish oil for several years, but it doesn't seem to help. Even though it doesn't seem to work for urine flow, I've continued taking it to prevent hair loss.

I have not, however, taken beta-sitosterol. After reading the posts, I'll take it to see if it helps.

albedo
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Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 664

Posted 7/31/2009 12:33 PM (GMT -5)

yes warhorse, also in my case 2nd opinion urologist recommended cystoscopy and urodynamic analysis. See cystoscopy here:

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/cystoscopy-16692

I am looking for LE members who did it and can comment please !

kaypeeoh
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Date Joined Feb 2009
Total Posts : 252

Posted 7/31/2009 12:34 PM (GMT -5)

I had a cystoscopy. It was done awake and was painless. The next day I had some discomfort when passing a blood clot. Unfortunately it's the best way of diagnosing a stricture.

kevin

warhorse
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Date Joined Jan 2009
Total Posts : 9

Posted 8/11/2009 5:59 PM (GMT -5)

Kevin,

Did you have any issues since the cytoscopy? What did it reveal, if you don't mind me asking?

I've heard that performing a cytoscopy may actually cause a stricture. Does anybody know if there's any truth to this?

kaypeeoh
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Date Joined Feb 2009
Total Posts : 252

Posted 8/12/2009 12:48 PM (GMT -5)

It mainly ruled out anything other than BPH. No traumatic strictures, no tumors, no infection. I could see the tube fighting its way through the prostate. In front of the prostate the urethra was wide but narrowed considerably as it entered the prostate. In the bladder, it showed the irritation to the bladder walls caused by retained urine. Then the scope turned back to see the prostate bulging into the bladder. The tube was coated with something that lubricated and numbed. The prostate wasn't so tight that serious resistance was seen, just a narrowing. There must have been some irritation caused by the tube because the next day I passed a blood clot. For a couple days there was irritation while urinating and a vague irritation to the urethra/penis.

If a doctor wanted to do it again I wouldn't have any problems with that.

albedo
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Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 664

Posted 8/14/2009 1:18 PM (GMT -5)

Kevin, thank you for your interesting post/comment on cystoscopy. I confess I am a bit scared of it ! I was also just wondering how beta sistosterol is doing for you if you do not mind me asking.

albedo
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Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 664

Posted 10/31/2009 7:11 PM (GMT -5)

As I have an extremely low level of blood DHEA-S (38.5, ref range 142.3-465 mcg/dL, I am 54) I have been taking low doses of LEF DHEA for the last 3 months (25/2=12.5 mg) and stop now. I am cycling it over 3 months from time to time. I am always concerned by BPH and prostate problems. DHEA seems not an ideal supplement when having BPH even if mild as in my case.

I wonder if you have any comment on this. My urologist said my body might be protecting me from prostate problems with a very low level of DHEA-S and of course he was against me supplementing, while my GP agreed on me taking a low dose for balancing; who is right?

Post Edited (albedo) : 11/1/2009 1:14:12 PM (GMT-5)

kaypeeoh
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Date Joined Feb 2009
Total Posts : 252

Posted 11/5/2009 12:24 AM (GMT -5)

albedo said...

Kevin, thank you for your interesting post/comment on cystoscopy. I confess I am a bit scared of it ! I was also just wondering how beta sistosterol is doing for you if you do not mind me asking.

This post goes back to August but I'm still taking beta-sitosterol. I don't know whether it's helping or not. I still get up at 2AM to use the toilet. At best it's preventing the problem from getting worse, I imagine. I need to see a second opinion urologist before the end of the year. Hopefully that will tell me whether there's been any change in prostate size. Along with the beta-sitosterol I'm on a mainly vegetarian diet. I've lost 5 pounds since August. I think I was doing better during the summer because of jogging a lot. It wore me out enough that I slept deeper. But I haven't exercised for the past 6 weeks. Also with colder weather I'm drinking a lot of coffee, another thing I wasn't doing during the Summer.

kevin

albedo
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Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 664

Posted 11/5/2009 4:13 AM (GMT -5)

kevin

thank you and good luck. I will also see again my urologist by year end. I find some benefit with brisk walking several times per week (i am most seated all day at work) and I also try to empty my bladder just before bed as much as I can despite I take supplements with at least 8 oz water that time.

Post Edited (albedo) : 11/5/2009 5:22:24 AM (GMT-5)

kaypeeoh
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Date Joined Feb 2009
Total Posts : 252

Posted 11/5/2009 12:19 PM (GMT -5)

Just another experiment...

I'd read that the prostate is affected by melatonin. Melatonin is secreted by the pineal gland beginning at sunset. It's what makes us sleepy. There are dozens of abstracts showing a connection between melatonin and the prostate. LEF magazine has articles on melatonin. So last night one hour before bedtime I took a 3mg tablet. I understand in Europe it requires a prescription but in the U.S. it's available OTC. One test doesn't prove anything but last night I didn't have my usual 2AM trip to the toilet. I slept from 11PM til 6AM. The LEF article says it can cause residual tiredness the next day. But with coffee I feel normal. The article mentions that melatonin is a potent antioxident.

kevin

albedo
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Date Joined Jan 2008
Total Posts : 664

Posted 11/10/2009 10:49 AM (GMT -5)

From time to time and also when traveling, when jet lag, i use 1-2mg melatonin. Even at that low dose I feel sleeping deeper and almost never stand up during night. Yes it is a powerful antioxidant. Always use the synthetic version (LEF, Natural Sources, etc..) and go slow with coffee

kaypeeoh
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Date Joined Feb 2009
Total Posts : 252

Posted 11/10/2009 10:49 AM (GMT -5)

Day two of the experiment. Last night I took a 3mg melatonin at 10PM and went to bed at 11PM. For the second time no 2AM trip to the toilet but instead had to get up at 5:15. After emptying the bladder I went back to bed and slept til 7:15.

kevin

Gregory Lee
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Date Joined Nov 2009
Total Posts : 5

Posted 11/18/2009 8:20 PM (GMT -5)

I tried Flomax for a few months about 3 years ago and didn't notice any improvement in having to get up at night to urinate. So I stopped. Then around 2 years ago I went to a urologist who prescribed Avodart, which is supposed to shrink the prostate. Well, according to my urologist it did shrink it, though I didn't notice much difference in getting up at night. Maybe a little. At least it's no worse. I'm still taking Avodart. As an alternative to medication, my urologist mentioned an office procedure which cooks the prostate with some sort of probe. I chose the medication.

--Greg

kaypeeoh
Registered Member

Date Joined Feb 2009
Total Posts : 252

Posted 11/19/2009 1:08 PM (GMT -5)

For me it's been a week of taking 3mg melatonin one hour before bedtime. At least four nights I slept with no 2AM drips to the bathroom. Instead I'm forced to get up around 5:30AM but that's close enough to my normal wake-up time.

kevin

kaypeeoh
Registered Member

Date Joined Feb 2009
Total Posts : 252

Posted Yesterday 1:43 PM (GMT -5)

14 days--actually nights--taking 3mg Melatonin. I haven't had 2AM trips to the bathroom in several days. I'd rather not be up at 5:30 but at least it's because of a full bladder. The 2AM trips were usuallly accompanied by depressingly small volumes of fluid.

kevin

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