Tamsulosin side effects symptoms

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User

Posted 20 Sep 2022 at 17:45

I started Tamsulosin in late 2019, diagnosed with mild BPH.

Since had a couple of scares with raised PSA, 2 MRIs (last one was PIRADS 4, but biopsy was clear).

Having 6 monthly PSA reviews.

I have always had a tendency towards hay fever, rhinitis, sinus problems, but since starting on Tamsulosin these seem to have become worse. This year I feel as if I have a perpetual cold. Loratadine helps, but taking too much causes blocked and painful sinus.

I've just paused Tamsulosin to see if it is this that is causing it (it is mentioned as a side effect).

Only other medication is Lansoprazole for gastritis which I have been taking for several years with no side effects.

Anyone else experienced this?

TIA, Mick

User

Posted 20 Sep 2022 at 18:06

I was only using it for a few weeks, but my GP said it is a drug with very few side effects. The only one mentioned was a slight lowering of blood pressure, which is good for most people anyway.

Dave

User

Posted 20 Sep 2022 at 23:53

Been on Tamsulosin for well over 20 years and long before PCa. It was for flow and voiding issues in relation to a narrowed sphincter. I don't think it has caused any general issues. However, interesting that in these years I have had severe Rhinitis for 3 of them and for several months continuously on each occasion. (One of the problems is that when you blow your nose you force the excretions up into the sinuses.). I have tried various ways of overcoming this but none worked quickly. I wonder whether others had a similar problem and whether Tamsulosin could have had a bearing on this, but if so why it happened in only three of my years on it.

Barry

User

Posted 21 Sep 2022 at 03:42

Yes I was on this drug for about 2 months. Felt like I had a permanent very mild cold. Mentioned this to uro-oncology clinitions and it's a know side affect.

I dropped it in favour of getting up three times a night while I waiting for my RALP. While on the drug it did work really well.

User

Posted 21 Sep 2022 at 08:40

Thanks,

I thought it was just me!

(I seem to always get the weird side-effects, about 15 years ago I was prescribed Citalopram for anxiety, started BPH symptoms, started Tamsulosin, no improvement, eventually advised to have HOLEP. Did a load more research, found that Citalopram can cause urinary retention. Paused HOLEP, phased out Citalopram, BPH symptoms disappeared.....)

User

Posted 21 Sep 2022 at 09:31

I was on it for a while (3 months) felt generally awful blocked nose, cough, light headed etc and it did not improve my condition. So stopped it on advise of consultant, but experiment with it (whatever that was meant to mean). Prepared to get up a couple of times a night. Tried again for a few months still the same symptoms and no real effect. So stopped altogether. However saw palmetto helped a great deal on advise from a friend in a similar situation. It does however take a while to kick in. Of course be guided by your medical team.

User

Posted 28 Oct 2022 at 09:20

I have e been on tamsulosin for over 10 years for what I hoped was benign hyperplasia. Psa climbing slowly over years until November 2022. A sudden increase prompted mri ct biopsy bone scan and cystoscopy diagnosis of T3b n0m0 gleason 9. Treatment t with HT and RT. Still on tamsulosin with no side effects. It does help with having a pee.

User

Posted 28 Oct 2022 at 09:43

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member

However saw palmetto helped a great deal on advise from a friend in a similar situation. It does however take a while to kick in. Of course be guided by your medical team.

Do beware that Saw Palmetto (the main ingredient in many herbal prostate supplements) will interfere with PSA readings. It contains a 5𝞪-reductase inhibitor (5ARI), which is a partial hormone therapy medication, reducing or disabling the creation of Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) which the prostate prefers to use, but it falls back on Testosterone in the absence of DHT. 5ARIs reduce the amount of PSA produced by prostate cells, but it doesn't reduce the risk or growth of prostate cancer, which can then hide unknown/unrecognised behind the reduced PSA readings. There are a couple of prescription 5ARIs, Finasteride and Dutasteride. If you are on these, your PSA readings must be doubled to assess risk of prostate cancer, but no one will know how to correct your PSA readings on a herbal supplement with unknown amounts of 5ARI (doubling would probably be the safest bet).

Finasteride and Dutasteride take 6 months to have maximum shrinking effect on the prostate and are used to treat enlarged prostate. On the face of it, they look like good candidates to treat (slow) prostate cancer, but that's been tried and it doesn't work. There is a trial ongoing to see it Dutasteride might increase the length of time patients stay on Active Surveillance before switching to active treatments.

Tamsulosin is a fast acting drug for relaxing the smooth muscle of the prostate and internal urinary sphincter, and typically increases flow rates by around 20% for mild cases of enlarged prostate. It also has a slow long term effect of shrinking the prostate a little, but not to the same extent as Finasteride and Dutasteride.

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