Medical Tests for Prostate Problems
- Understanding Prostate Medical Testing
- Speaking with the Doctor
- Preparing for the Prostate Exam
- Prostate Procedures
- After the Test
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Questions to your Health Care Professional
Talking With Your Doctor or Nurse
Letting your doctor or nurse know you have a problem is the first step. Try to give as many details about the problem as you can, including when it began and how often it occurs. Tell the doctor or nurse whether you have had recurrent urinary tract infections or symptoms such as pain after ejaculation or during urination, sudden strong urges to urinate, or hesitancy and a weak urine stream. You should talk about the medicines you take, both prescription medicines and those you can buy over the counter, because they might be part of the problem. You should also talk about how much fluid you typically drink each day, whether you use caffeine or alcohol, and whether your urine has an unusual color or odor. In turn, the doctor or nurse will ask you about your general medical history, including any major illnesses or surgeries.
Other typical questions are as follows:
- Over the past month or so, how often have you had to urinate again in less than 2 hours?
- Over the past month, from the time you went to bed at night until the time you got up in the morning, how many times a night did you typically get up to urinate?
- Over the past month or so, how often have you had a sensation of not emptying your bladder completely after you finished urinating?
- Over the past month or so, how often have you had a weak urinary stream?
- Over the past month or so, how often have you had to push or strain to begin urinating?
Your answers to these questions may help your doctor or nurse identify the problem or determine what tests are needed. You may also receive a symptom score evaluation that can be used as a baseline to see how effective later treatments are at relieving those symptoms.
