Saw Palmetto

[Paul Whybrow]

Some time ago, I contributed to a thread about alcohol, mentioning the problems caused by a hardening prostate.

https://colony.litopia.com/threads/writers-drink-of-choice.4074/#post-48335

I’m now 66, so my prostate gland is probably as hard as a marble! As senior members of the Colony will attest, the enlargement of the prostate exerts pressure on the urethra, which goads one into wanting to pee—even if only an egg cup full quantity emerges. It happens more at night, disturbing sleep of the afflicted and their partner. One night I had to get up nine times, practically meeting myself coming back from the last visit to the loo!

Prostate problems

Not drinking anything diuretic twelve hours before bedtime helps, but we writers need to keep our brains hydrated if we want to think properly:

Dehydration causes your brain SWELL, making it harder for you to complete everyday tasks

I tend to drink water and juice in the evening, but I was still being roused from my slumbers four times a night. Fortunately, I’ve long had the ability to self-hypnotise myself into sleep, but it was still annoying.

Looking around for natural remedies, Saw Palmetto is highly praised. I bought 90 capsules for £7.00 on eBay. I noticed little difference from taking them an hour before sleeping for about a week, but then I found I was only getting up once or twice nightly. Hurray! And the quality of my dreams improved.

Saw Palmetto numbs the urgency of needing to urinate. It doesn’t work for every man and there can be side-effects, but if you’re plagued by the need to frequently get up in the night, it could be worth trying.

Saw Palmetto for Prostate Health?

 

[Steve C]

Hey this might be good news for me. Never knew that about the prostate. Despite drinking 2-3 pints of beer most evenings I rarely get up in the night and if I do it's because there's plenty to get rid of. I also self medicate with the diabetes drug Metformin. It has been around for ages and there is a ton of data to show it inhibits cancers particularly of the prostate. It is also derived from a plant - Galega officinalis (French lilac). It is worth a google for its value in prolonging life.

 

[KateESal]

Good call, @Paul Whybrow My poor father-in-law has suffered with this problem for years and it's miserable. I'll suggest he tries saw palmetto, if he hasn't already done so.

Your ability to self-hypnotise yourself back to sleep sounds interesting. What method do you use? A while back I discovered the random visualisation approach* and it's pretty effective.

Out of interest, have you tried taking CBD oil? My neighbour manufactures it, so he gave me some to try. It seems to make me sleep better and calms anxious thoughts...and recent research suggest it might be an anti-inflammatory, so could have a soothing effect on an embattled urethra, I suppose.

*You pick a letter of the alphabet, then visualise things beginning with that letter, one after the other. The result should be a disconnected succession of images which, after a little while, fools your brain into thinking it's entered Stage 1 sleep. Your brain then automatically takes you into Stage 2 sleep, and you're away.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Good call, @Paul Whybrow My poor father-in-law has suffered with this problem for years and it's miserable. I'll suggest he tries saw palmetto, if he hasn't already done so.

Your ability to self-hypnotise yourself back to sleep sounds interesting. What method do you use? A while back I discovered the random visualisation approach* and it's pretty effective.

Out of interest, have you tried taking CBD oil? My neighbour manufactures it, so he gave me some to try. It seems to make me sleep better and calms anxious thoughts...and recent research suggest it might be an anti-inflammatory, so could have a soothing effect on an embattled urethra, I suppose.

*You pick a letter of the alphabet, then visualise things beginning with that letter, one after the other. The result should be a disconnected succession of images which, after a little while, fools your brain into thinking it's entered Stage 1 sleep. Your brain then automatically takes you into Stage 2 sleep, and you're away.

I haven't tried CBD oil yet, though I have been researching it. I use two methods of self-hypnosis. One is what you described whereby I choose a subject, such as breeds of dogs, and I try to think of examples for each letter of the alphabet. The other method stems from one of my favourite books, which I've re-read many times, Tom Neale's An Island to Oneself. I regularly cast myself away on an island I've come to know well through the years, exploring further, which sends me to sleep in a couple of minutes. I like it there so much that I hide from rescuers!

 

[KateESal]

I love the idea of your dream island, extended during years of self-soothing...!

PS Have you ever made it through the whole alphabet of dog breeds? Some feat, if so!!

 

[Steve C]

I rarely have trouble sleeping but when I do I use a very simple method which works everytime for me. I focus on my breathing. What the air feels like in my nostrils (it comes out slightly warmer than going in) + what it sounds like. I feel my whole body relaxing and sinking as I exhale.
Doing this blanks my mind from any thoughts keeping me awake.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Sorry nodded off for a second there just talking about it.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

I love the idea of your dream island, extended during years of self-soothing...!

PS Have you ever made it through the whole alphabet of dog breeds? Some feat, if so!!

There isn't a dog breed beginning with 'Z'. If sleeping with a partner take it in turns to trawl through the alphabet for such things as favourite names, hated names, body parts, authors and book and film titles.

 

[CageSage]

There isn't a dog breed beginning with 'Z'. If sleeping with a partner take it in turns to trawl through the alphabet for such things as favourite names, hated names, body parts, authors and book and film titles.

There is now:

Dog Breeds beginning with Z - Zuchon: The small sized, lively, affectionate, sociable Zuchon belongs to the Hybrid / Mix group (Bichon Frise / Shih Tzu) and used as a Companion and Pet dog.

 

[Hannah F]

There is now:

Dog Breeds beginning with Z - Zuchon: The small sized, lively, affectionate, sociable Zuchon belongs to the Hybrid / Mix group (Bichon Frise / Shih Tzu) and used as a Companion and Pet dog.

And German mini breeds: zwergspitz = pomeranian; zwergpinscher = miniature pinscher; zwegschnauzer = mini schnauzer.

 

[Alan P]

Some time ago, I contributed to a thread about alcohol, mentioning the problems caused by a hardening prostate.

https://colony.litopia.com/threads/writers-drink-of-choice.4074/#post-48335

I’m now 66, so my prostate gland is probably as hard as a marble! As senior members of the Colony will attest, the enlargement of the prostate exerts pressure on the urethra, which goads one into wanting to pee—even if only an egg cup full quantity emerges. It happens more at night, disturbing sleep of the afflicted and their partner. One night I had to get up nine times, practically meeting myself coming back from the last visit to the loo!

Prostate problems

Not drinking anything diuretic twelve hours before bedtime helps, but we writers need to keep our brains hydrated if we want to think properly:

Dehydration causes your brain SWELL, making it harder for you to complete everyday tasks

I tend to drink water and juice in the evening, but I was still being roused from my slumbers four times a night. Fortunately, I’ve long had the ability to self-hypnotise myself into sleep, but it was still annoying.

Looking around for natural remedies, Saw Palmetto is highly praised. I bought 90 capsules for £7.00 on eBay. I noticed little difference from taking them an hour before sleeping for about a week, but then I found I was only getting up once or twice nightly. Hurray! And the quality of my dreams improved.

Saw Palmetto numbs the urgency of needing to urinate. It doesn’t work for every man and there can be side-effects, but if you’re plagued by the need to frequently get up in the night, it could be worth trying.

Saw Palmetto for Prostate Health?

Hi Paul,
Only a newbie - but long in the tooth, and spent a lot of time in the real world of healthcare in the NHS.
Part of that was managing assorted Urologists, and meat and drink to your typical urology department is the nightly trips to the loo of men of a certain age!
Homeopathic medicines are all fine, but in case the bullet hasn't been bitten, a trip to your GP and a visit to the Urologist is actually a pretty good call. They are usually very nice (well to patients, not always to managers!) and not every need to pee is a definite dodgy prostate! There are lots of other exciting issues you could have! (Irritiable bladder is probably less to worry about than irritable partner!)
They have amazing gadgetry to explore the issues (added benefit, urodynamics machines will do much to give food for thought on any sci-fi story you might be ruminating on).
So, just in case it is something that any of you guys out there are tuning out as you draft the next bestseller, don't! Whatever is going wrong, it is likely to be infinitely easier to treat if you catch it early!
Sorry for the public information advert, but even in a pandemic, people still get all the usual health issues, and I'd hate to think all the nice Urologists are getting bored!

 

[AliG]

The Uros are not bored; they're all in ITU boning up on above-the-waist-anatomy. Forgotten territory.
But I agree re trip/phone to GP.