Taking the details of your condition into account, you and your doctor can work together on a treatment plan. It’s important that you understand all the options available, and that you share your thoughts and concerns with your doctor.

Watchful Waiting

If symptoms are mild, doctors may recommend a “watch and wait” approach, asking patients to track their symptoms, before pursuing other courses of treatment. The doctor may also recommend lifestyle modifications, such as adjusting diet, evening fluid intake, medication use, and exercise patterns.⁷

Medication

Alpha blockers make it easier to urinate by relaxing the muscles around the neck of the bladder, while alpha reductase inhibitors are intended to shrink the prostate gland. In some cases, significant side effects and prescription drug costs make this a less desirable option.

Minimally Invasive Therapy

Three options fall into this category: the first, microwave and heat therapies (TUMT), use microwave or heat energy to reduce symptoms. Laser therapy removes excess prostate tissue with high-energy lasers. Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) uses a superheated thin metal band to cut and remove the tissue.

Invasive Surgery

Open prostatectomy removes the inner portion of the prostate via a suprapubic or retropubic incision in the lower abdominal area.