On the Friday 16th Dec I drove down to Stansted airport (UK) to collect my elder daughter. Due to heavy traffic, roadworks and accidents causing traffic jams, the 1hr 45m journey took 3.5 hours. During the outward journey I started with what my wife and daughter both told me were the symptoms of cystitis!
Extreme urgency to go, worse than I had experienced so far, pain upon urination, slow and hesitant dribbling, took ages to pass a relatively small volume. All of this was on the hard shoulder of the motorway the M11. It was freezing cold, raining, and the passing traffic was spraying me with mucky water. Three times on the M11. When I got home late on Fri pm, I phoned 111 (out of hours emergency) and after 54 mins on hold got the 111 nurse who "triaged" me. I was deemed an emergency and suitable to talk to a doctor. Hours later, the doctor rang back and eventually diagnosed a urine infection. She prescribed a 7-day course of antibiotics which I started on Fri night. Five days later, I was still unable to leave the house and had a less than 20 seconds from first urge to
having to let go, ready or not! I absolutely could not stop once started and had to just sit there and dribble out. I sat and read a book to pass the time!! During the day I was peeing every half an hour or less. I was still peeing three times per night, each time the "sit down and read a book" thing, so I was fully awake. I could not face going through Xmas like this.
I phoned the GP on Thu and she rang back in the afternoon. She told me that I may need a catheter!!!!! This was to avoid complete inability to urinate (very serious), a trip to Accident & Emergency and a catheter with a bag strapped to my leg for Xmas! YIKES.
It was a very heavy heart that went to see my GP at 8am on Fri 23rd Dec. After a urine test, she declared no infection present and she doubted that I had ever had one! She took a blood sample for a PSA check. She told me that she suspected that my enlarged prostate had taken a spurt on and was on the point of closing off my urethra! But not just yet!
She told me that there were two drugs she could give that would shrink the prostate, the cheap one that took six months and an expensive one that took 4 weeks. She likes me so I got the expensive one (Avodart, which is the brand name of Dutasteride), which someone else on here is taking. I couldn't trust myself to go to the pharmacy, and I took the first capsule (1/day) as soon as my wife got home. By Sunday 25th Dec, after having taken the 3rd tablet, pain upon urination had gone, flow was improving and urgency was declining! I was down to peeing once at night. After the 4th capsule, Boxing Day, urgency was normal (I could have taken a walk around the garden first!) In addition, flow was better than normal, in fact I was pissing like a racehorse! Taps open, hose-like flow, taps off! No hesitation, no dribbles, no second and third installments. I could not believe it, it was though I had gone years back in time!
I was expecting (hoping) to get to this stage after 4 weeks, not 4 days.
Today 29th Dec'22 I have taken my 7th capsule. I am expecting to sleep through the night, which I haven't been able to do without ceasing drinking anything 3 hours before bed. All the other inconvenient/unpleasant symptoms have not returned. I am still cautious about leaving the house, but I will be driving my wife to the shops tomorrow. I still can't believe it and I don't want to jinx it, but I feel cured! Wish me luck.
was not my favorite.
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