“An Elegant Solution” to a Nagging Problem: Enlarged Prostate Treatment with the iTind
Unlike many other men his age, Bob Taschler is a strong self-advocate of his own healthcare. Because Bob’s father had had issues for many years with an enlarged prostate, Bob was familiar with the telltale symptoms – the urgent need to pee, frequent trips to the toilet yielding not much relief, and occasional incontinence – and he consulted his doctor after he first recognized the symptoms, which were becoming progressively worse and having a real impact on his quality of life. Bob mentions that it’s difficult to sleep when you’re getting up every hour to pee.
With a diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia (also called BPH) from his physician, Bob set about researching the treatment options available to him. The treatment side effect that worried him most was incontinence, and the treatment experience that most scared him was tissue trauma. So, ruling out procedures that involved cutting and removing tissue left him with only drugs or permanent implants, both of which came with side effects he had hoped to avoid.
Because Bob had been doing a lot of online research on BPH, a new treatment found him. While online one day, Bob happened upon an ad in one of his social media channels for a new BPH treatment then in clinical trials. Bob found out more about the treatment, which he now describes as “an elegant solution,” and says he found no downsides to it. The temporarily implanted device stays in place for only one week and works by expanding in place and gently exerting pressure on the tissue to open a channel through which urine can flow. Bob contacted his doctor and enrolled in the clinical trial, and he says the difference in his quality of life following the treatment was like going from being suicidal from a lack of sleep to sweet relief. The key to his participation in the trial and a good outcome was being treated early.
