Free lead magnet v1
Free BPH visit question checklist.
Use this before a non-urgent visit about enlarged prostate or urinary symptoms. Pick what fits; you do not need to ask everything.
When not to wait: inability to urinate, fever/chills with urinary symptoms, severe pain, blood clots or heavy blood in urine, new back/flank pain, confusion/weakness, or anything that may be an emergency should be handled by urgent/emergency care or your clinician now.
Start with the decision
Anchor the visit around symptoms, goals, and what information is still missing.
What problem are we trying to solve first: night waking, urgency, frequency, weak stream, incomplete emptying, retention risk, side effects, recovery time, quality of life, or something else?
Which options should we compare today: tracking, lifestyle/fluid timing, medicines, minimally invasive urology procedures, surgery, PAE, or another clinician-directed option?
What information is still needed before deciding: symptom score, urinalysis, post-void residual, urine flow, prostate size, kidney function, PSA context, cystoscopy, ultrasound, MRI, or specialist input?
Questions about urinary symptoms
Separate storage symptoms from voiding symptoms and ask what else could contribute.
What should I ask about frequency, urgency, waking at night to urinate, leakage, or bladder-pressure symptoms?
What should I ask about weak stream, hesitancy, straining, dribbling, incomplete emptying, or stopping-and-starting?
Could medicines, infection, bladder overactivity, fluid timing, caffeine/alcohol, diabetes, sleep apnea, or another issue be contributing?
Questions about medicines
Medication can be symptom control, a bridge, or part of longer-term management.
What should I ask about alpha blockers, 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, bladder medicines, combination therapy, side effects, and expected timing?
Which side effects should I watch for: dizziness, blood pressure changes, ejaculation changes, erectile/sexual side effects, mood changes, or breast tenderness?
Are any of my current medicines or supplements likely to worsen urinary symptoms or interact with BPH medicines?
Questions before procedures or surgery
Use neutral language to compare workup, recovery, catheter time, side effects, and follow-up.
What should I ask about minimally invasive options such as UroLift, Rezum/water vapor therapy, iTind, Aquablation, or other clinician-directed options?
What should I ask about TURP, HoLEP, laser procedures, simple prostatectomy, or another surgical approach if those are being discussed?
How do prostate size, median lobe anatomy, bleeding risk, anesthesia, catheter time, recovery, sexual side effects, and repeat-treatment chance affect the discussion?
Questions before prostate artery embolization
Ask both interventional radiology and urology questions. Do not assume PAE is the answer.
What should I ask about PAE workup, imaging, artery anatomy, contrast exposure, recovery, symptom goals, limits, and follow-up?
How should I compare PAE with medicines, urology procedures, and surgery without assuming one option fits my goals?
What side effects, post-procedure symptoms, catheter expectations, reintervention possibility, or follow-up timeline should I understand?
PSA and cancer-screening context
BPH symptom management is not the same thing as prostate cancer evaluation.
What should I ask about PSA, digital rectal exam, family history, prior biopsy/MRI, and whether prostate cancer screening needs a separate discussion?
Could infection, urinary retention, recent instrumentation, medicines, or prostate size affect how PSA is interpreted?
What should I ask if I am unsure whether my visit is about BPH symptoms, cancer screening, or both?
Logistics and what to bring
Practical details often determine whether a plan is realistic.
What should I ask about insurance authorization, medication cost, facility fees, anesthesia, time off work, catheter planning, follow-up, and who to call after treatment?
What should I bring: medication list, symptom diary, PSA history if available, prior prostate/BPH procedure notes, imaging reports, and personal goals?
Boundary: this checklist creates questions, not answers. It does not diagnose BPH, interpret PSA/imaging, recommend medicines or procedures, give cancer screening advice, or determine urgency.