As the prostate gets bigger, it presses against and narrows the urethra. The bladder wall also becomes thicker, and over time, the bladder may weaken and lose the ability to fully void.[1] With that said, the correlation between prostate size and symptom severity is inconsistent; some men with substantially enlarged prostates experience few symptoms. The symptoms of BPH largely overlap with the early symptoms of prostate cancer and include:[2]
- A frequent and urgent need to urinate, especially at night
- Trouble starting a urine stream
- A weak or interrupted (i.e., stops and starts several times) urine stream
- Dribbling at the end of urination
- Incomplete urination