Prostate Symptoms and What They May Mean

(This information is from Dr. Patrick Walsh's Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer)

Symptoms of urinary obstruction . . .

Weak flow
Hesitancy in starting urination; a need to push or strain to get urine to flow
Intermittent urinary stream (starts and stops several times)
Difficulty in stopping urination
Dribbling after urination
A sense of not being able to empty the bladder completely
Not being able to urinate at all

. . . could be caused by

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
Urethral stricture
Prostate cancer
Medication
Neurogenic bladder (bladder trouble caused by a neurological problem, such as Parkinson’s disease)

Symptoms of irritation . . .

Pain or burning during urination
Frequent urination, especially at night
A strong sense of urgency in urination; inability to postpone urination
Sleep disrupted by the need to urinate
Urgency incontinence

. . . could be caused by

Thickened bladder, caused by obstruction from BPH
Infection in the bladder or prostate
Bladder tumor
Bladder stone
Neurogenic bladder