Hello. I was fortunate today to actually catch Dr. Feigenbaum real time on his Instagram live “Breakfast hour” (which I find entertaining and informative). I asked a question about supplementing Tamsulosin with Saw palmetto (serenoa); however I neglected to ask the question with enough context, and received an answer dealing with steroid use. So, if I may, I’d like to try again. I’m a 54yr male, diagnosed with BPH, currently prescribed Tamsulosin, non steroid user.
I’ve found several references to studies that seem to have conflicting conclusions:
a 2002 [Tamsulosin with or without Serenoa repens in benign prostatic hyperplasia: the OCOS trial] - PubMed - CONCLUSION: The addition of Serenoa repens to tamsulosin did not provide any significant benefit to the patients: the OCOS trial does not cast doubt on the guideline applicable to the treatment of BPH.
a 2012 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23235581 - CONCLUSION: Serenoa repens (alone), at double and triple doses, did not improve urinary flow measures or prostate size in men with lower urinary tract symptoms consistent with BPH.
a 2015 Comparison of tamsulosin plus serenoa repens with tamsulosin in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia in Korean men: 1-year randomized open label study - PubMed - CONCLUSION: The combination treatment of Serenoa repens and tamsulosin was shown to be more effective than tamsulosin monotherapy in reducing storage symptoms in BPH patients after 6 months and up to 12 months of treatment.
I freely admit my ability to interpret these studies is limited, but I read these to say that supplementing with Serenoa doesn’t improve urinary flow, but might improve storage symptoms (which I interpret to mean urgency issues). I can see that the addition of Saw palmetto won’t help with my slow stream, but am I correct to assume that it might help with the urgency and bladder emptying issues?
I applaud the evidence based information you bring to exercise and strength training, and thanks for your time.
Aric Akins