Needing to pee and then can't - prostate?
Needing to pee and then can't - prostate?
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Flooble

Original Poster:

5,648 posts

119 months

This morning was fun. Took the car in for some new tyres. Usually they tell me they can't be sure when they'll get around to it and to leave the keys then come back when the phone, but today they asked me to wait while they did them.

So with the half hour drive there, then an hour and a bit wait I was already getting close to an older man's capacity by the time I would be home. Not helped by roadworks that had appeared on the route home from the garage which kept me waiting for 10 minutes. I diverted to a Waitrose, only to find the customer toilets were now closed due to abuse (!?). So left the car and tried the nearest shopping centre. Toilets there locked up too. Starting to go a bit cross eyed by this point, after trying a couple of other places (closed!) I drove home and caught every single red light, including yet another set of &%*"&%*&" roadworks. By now I had pins and needles in my hands and had undone my belt. Then just when relief was in sight, two roads from home, I got stuck waiting for the dustbin lorry to work its way up the hill (people parking on the road mean it's only wide enough for one vehicle at a time; the dustbin cart got their first and wasn't giving way to anyone. Just the 30 houses to collect from, at walking pace). And then I found they'd left the bin across the drive so more delay to throw it out the way.

All in all it was about 3 hours by the time I got in and it was like daggers stabbing me down there. But as I unzipped ... nothing. Eventually a trickle, but it was not the relief I would have expected.

Normal service now resumed, but I'm wondering what the medical reason might be for the struggle to get anything out when I finally got home. More curiousity than concern (no chance of seeing a GP and I wouldn't bother them unless my knob actually fell off anyway.)

mcelliott

9,771 posts

200 months

Could be anything, odd you don’t want to go to the quack, graveyards are full of people who didn’t want to to bother their gp.

Bluevanman

8,923 posts

212 months

I have an enlarged prostate and if I try and hold it in when I need to go I get symptoms like you describe, terrible stomach pain and the inability to go, I've learnt not to try and stop nature smile

trails

5,917 posts

168 months

Go to your GP, my dad had an early diagnosis for Prostate Cancer, nearly 14 years on he is still alive because they caught it early enough. His best friend was caught to late, dead in three months.

Don't fk about OP...even if not for your own sake, you must have people that care for you.

Riley Blue

22,739 posts

245 months

Go to your GP!

I did because I was peeing very frequently e.g. four or more time a night and the same throughout the day. He did the finger check, reckoned I was OK but referred me for tests at the local oncology unit.

It turned out to be prostate cancer which after a year of regular checking suddenly turned nasty and I decided on surgery but during the pre-op a heart irregularity was discovered - deep joy....

A course of radiotherapy followed and once that was finished I became the owner of three stents to keep my arteries open.

That was 14 years ago. My PSA is now very, very low and my heart is ticking away nicely.

So don't go to your GP if you prefer but IMHO it would be fking stupid not to.

Edited by Riley Blue on Monday 24th November 20:17

Flooble

Original Poster:

5,648 posts

119 months

Thanks for the replies, really appreciate heating that ... it's not that I don't want to see a GP, there just isn't any way to do so.

Might have to spring for a private one then ...

croyde

25,135 posts

249 months

Yeah, trying to get past the receptionists at the GPs is virtually impossible. I think they depend on blokes to just give up and not be bothered.

I had to plead for just the finger test at my doctor's. He seemed very reluctant. Made me look like some pervy fetishist.

Riley Blue

22,739 posts

245 months

Flooble said:
Thanks for the replies, really appreciate heating that ... it's not that I don't want to see a GP, there just isn't any way to do so. {/quote]

Every GP sees patients by appointment.

Might have to spring for a private one then ...
Completely unnecessary.

Armitage.Shanks

2,850 posts

104 months

If you're registered with a GP then it should not be a faff ring them up. A few years back we usually had a 10-14 day wait when trying to book the service online but now they seem to have got smarter with an appointment within 2 days of asking! The receptionist will do a bit of a triage and then look for an appointment. If you can't get through on the phone call in and make one. A lot is also done through the NHS App.

Re the circs it sound like an enlarged prostate. If I hold it too long then like you hardly anything happens and this is where the 'double venting' comes in. Sit on the toilet and after the first weak attempt, usually after a few minutes there will be another urge to release which this time it should empty the bladder. I get a better discharge sat down than standing up taking a piss. This method I can usually last all night without needing to go.

Whilst some GPs will request a PSA test (because of the risk of false positives) you can use the Graham Fulford Foundation Charity to book a PSA blood test (as low as a fiver) either visit one of their testing events or do it by post. I go to one every year just to keep in check, but with other symptoms the GP would be my first point of entry.

Daggle74

102 posts

139 months

I had the same issue many years ago, turns out I had a scar tissue in the urethra that was causing a blockage. I needed a small procedure to put in a stent and had a catheter for a little while. I think the damage was caused from when I was a kid and had an accident with my crossbar on the BMX, just old age and the pre-existing damage made everything slow down, bloody worrying at the time. As others have said GO. VISIT. THE. GP.

ettore

4,701 posts

271 months

Yesterday (00:41)
quotequote all
Daggle74 said:
I had the same issue many years ago, turns out I had a scar tissue in the urethra that was causing a blockage. I needed a small procedure to put in a stent and had a catheter for a little while. I think the damage was caused from when I was a kid and had an accident with my crossbar on the BMX, just old age and the pre-existing damage made everything slow down, bloody worrying at the time. As others have said GO. VISIT. THE. GP.
I had the same - completely stopped peeing and had an emergency procedure in A&E (they couldn’t put a catheter in). Much drama but was diagnosed as a urethral stricture through scar tissue. My Surgeon was less kind than the above and suggested it was most likely down to an unfortunate ‘coupling’ in my earlier years. It recurs periodically but the symptoms are now know so a quick op’ followed by a week or two mincing gingerly and all is good.

Get yourself to the quack.

BlackTails

2,155 posts

74 months

Yesterday (01:14)
quotequote all
Flooble said:
All in all it was about 3 hours by the time I got in and it was like daggers stabbing me down there. But as I unzipped ... nothing. Eventually a trickle, but it was not the relief I would have expected.

Normal service now resumed, but I'm wondering what the medical reason might be for the struggle to get anything out when I finally got home.
Take notice of the health warnings.

Given that normal service has resumed it’s possible you stretched the muscles that cause your bladder to contract for a sufficiently long period that they temporarily lost their power to contract forcibly.

But other causes for delayed then low flow could be prostate, or a urethra issue either from scarring or a UTI. Worth getting it checked.

Flooble

Original Poster:

5,648 posts

119 months

Yesterday (07:50)
quotequote all
Thanks for the advice, and especially the link to the PSA test. Will get one ordered.

Luckily I've found that we can book a health check thing through work - costs £100 but worth it to get a proper going over.

Genuinely can't book a GP here - they've built a new estate that has doubled the size of the village, but with no provision for healthcare. As I understand it thanks to weird boundaries, also no more funding for the GP practice. The poor old GPs are buried.

I do appreciate the advice massively, at least I have an idea now. It really hurt yesterday!

mcelliott

9,771 posts

200 months

Yesterday (08:20)
quotequote all
Just to make you aware a PSA test whilst sensible is not a full guarantee that something’s amiss.

otolith

63,727 posts

223 months

Yesterday (09:04)
quotequote all
PSA testing is useful in isolation, but most useful in the context of time series data.

omniflow

3,473 posts

170 months

Yesterday (12:45)
quotequote all
Flooble said:
Thanks for the advice, and especially the link to the PSA test. Will get one ordered.

Luckily I've found that we can book a health check thing through work - costs £100 but worth it to get a proper going over.

Genuinely can't book a GP here - they've built a new estate that has doubled the size of the village, but with no provision for healthcare. As I understand it thanks to weird boundaries, also no more funding for the GP practice. The poor old GPs are buried.

I do appreciate the advice massively, at least I have an idea now. It really hurt yesterday!
Have you tried calling 111.

I did this when I had similarish symptoms to you. I called 111 about 4pm on the Friday before Xmas. Xmas day was the following Monday, so for the GP this was the last working day before Xmas. I went through the script with 111 and they told me to see my GP immediately. I suggested this would be challenging to schedule. They made an appointment for me at 5pm that day and then I had a follow up appointment on the 27th (but that one was more to do with my GP - once I'd actually got to see him)

BoloH4wes

100 posts

109 months

Yesterday (12:52)
quotequote all
I wouldn't mess about.

I had similar symptoms and ended up diagnosed with bladder cancer and a high bladder neck. After multiple operations i'm pretty much sorted (with ongoing monitoring) but it's really not worth putting it off no matter how hard it is to get an appointment - the longer you leave this stuff the less treatment options you might have in the future.

OIC

248 posts

12 months

Yesterday (13:04)
quotequote all
otolith said:
PSA testing is useful in isolation, but most useful in the context of time series data.
Lol.

What he's trying to say is the PSA number isn't particularly helpful, but the trend over time is.

Even if it's very high, there are many causes, so how it changes over time is more useful as an indicator of prostate health.

But, depending on your age, family history and symptoms, a high PSA on its own can lead directly to further tests.

You would need to be seen and examined by a urologist if symptoms persist.

I'd skip the GP finger up the arse bit and he / she probably won't be that keen anyway.

So - GP, PSA and review.

Bluevanman

8,923 posts

212 months

Yesterday (13:13)
quotequote all
OIC said:
Lol.

What he's trying to say is the PSA number isn't particularly helpful, but the trend over time is.

Even if it's very high, there are many causes, so how it changes over time is more useful as an indicator of prostate health.

But, depending on your age, family history and symptoms, a high PSA on its own can lead directly to further tests.

You would need to be seen and examined by a urologist if symptoms persist.

I'd skip the GP finger up the arse bit and he / she probably won't be that keen anyway.

So - GP, PSA and review.
Finger up the bum is more reliable for diagnosis of an enlarged prostate than a PSA test,which isn't really a reliable test for anything

mcelliott

9,771 posts

200 months

Yesterday (13:17)
quotequote all
I opted for both, my psa came back bang on where it should be, however I have family history, so I also had a prostate specific MRI