Tag: Prostate

IPSS App. Compare symptoms over time

Posted on by in Uncategorised

iUFlow is a bladder diary and IPSS app. Add Benign Prostate Enlargement (BPH) tracking ability to your best bladder diary app.

Find Your BPH Symptom Score
How Severe Are My Symptoms?

IPSS Questionnaire doctor reading results

Urology IPSS Prostate Score: BPH Symptoms Score. Calculate International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) in patients with prostate enlargement. Especially benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). IPSS is based on the answers of seven questions. Mainly focusing on urinary symptoms severity and quality of life.

Easily share the results with your doctor

Enlarged Prostate? Prostate cancer or BPH ? What can help your doctor to decide? Urine flow test and symptoms.

After completing a short questionnaire in the app. The score is added to the bladder diary and charts. Voiding diary and IPSS app make it easy for the healthcare provider to track the symptoms, in the app or portal.

Urine diary app

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Physicians can use the information in the IPSS questionnaire to help increase quality of life for patients by providing customized treatment. Easily get a full picture of your bladder. Get iUFlow to track and monitor urological symptoms, as weak urinary stream, incomplete emptying, prostate enlargment, volume and other urinary tract symptoms. The recommended practice is to complete IPSS questionnaire once a month. Like that, your doctor can track and compare the results. Using the records as snapshots of your symptoms.

IPSS app quality of life questionnaire on Android
IPSS app on iPhone

Download iUFlow app to your phone or tablet
iUFlow is available for free in the App Store and Google Play.

Enlarged Prostate?? Prostate Cancer? BPH? IPSS App

What happens in case that the prostate enlarges? Self-Assessment

Do I need to undergo a prostate removal or radiation therapy?

The prostate commonly gets larger after the age of 45 to 50. Because the prostate is very close to the urethra, an enlarged prostate usually presses and affect the normal flow of urine. In other words, it can lead to obstruction. 

What else you need to know on BPH 

Incomplete Emptying. Over the last month, how often have you had a sensation of not emptying your bladder completely after you finished urinating?
Frequency. During the last month, how often have you had to urinate again less than 2 hours after you finished urinating?
Intermittency. During the last month, how often have you found you stopped and started again several times when you urinated?
Urgency. During the last month, how often have you found it difficult to postpone urination?
Weak Stream. During the last month, how often have you had a weak urinary stream?
Straining. During the last month, how often have you had to push or strain to begin urination?
Sleeping. During the last month, how many times did you most typically get up to urinate from the time you went to bed at night until the time you got up in the morning?

Install iUFlow app on your iPhone or Android for free. no ads. Apple app Store and Play Store.

What you should know about Prostate Cancer?

Posted on by in Uncategorised

Enlarged Prostate? Prostate cancer or BPH ? What can help your doctor to decide? Urine flow test and symptoms.

What is the most common cancer in men? Prostate Cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australian men. There are more than 20,000 diagnoses and almost 3,300 deaths each year.

What is the prostate? Where is the prostate?

Your prostate is a small walnut-sized gland inside your body, just below your bladder. It has a big impact on your urinary system. The prostate surrounds the urethra (- the tube carries urine to your bladder). This is the reason that changes to the prostate often lead to changes in bladder and bowel health.

Enlarged Prostate? Prostate Cancer?

What occurs when the prostate enlarges?

The prostate commonly gets bigger after the age of 45 to 50. While the prostate is so close to the urethra, an enlarged prostate usually presses and affect the normal flow of urine. In other words, it can lead to obstruction. 

Some men notice a trouble urinating or necessitate to urinate more frequently. While others won’t feel any changes. In case you observe any alterations to your bladder and bowel habits, you should check in with a physician to rule out other things. 
Prostate enlargement on its own is oftentimes diagnosed as BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia). It isn’t cancer and won’t turn into cancer. Your Urologist can work with you and may recommend lifestyle changes such as reducing caffeine or alcohol, or eating less spicy and acidic food.

Prostate Cancer – the most commonly diagnosed cancer for men

Prostate cancer is cancer that occurs in the prostate. It is the most common cancer for men. It has a close link to incontinence and many men find incontinence one of the hardest parts to handle after prostate cancer treatment. 

Most men with early prostate cancer don’t have alterations that they notice. Signs of prostate cancer most oftentimes show up in more advanced stages, as the cancer grows.

If you’re suffering from symptoms like: painful urination, cloudy urine or blood in your urine > these are clearly a sign to call for help.

Prostate cancer diagnosis. man in blue dress shirt sitting beside man in blue dress shirt. unsplash

What Are the Five Warning Signs of Prostate Cancer?

  • A painful and/or burning sensation during urination.
  • Frequent micturition, particularly at night.
  • Trouble stopping and/or starting urination.
  • Sudden erectile dysfunction.
  • Blood in urine and/or semen.

Over the years, there was great progress for surviving cancer. In many men, it can be a slow growing cancer. As mentioned, urinary symptoms, as above, are more common in the later stages of prostate cancer.

What is the treatment?

In general, the treatments for PC are mainly removing the prostate by surgery and radiation therapy.

The pelvic floor muscles and a ring of muscles near the bladder (bladder neck sphincter) can be affected. Their role is to allow urine to flow out by opening and closing. Men suffer from urinary incontinence in case that these muscles are damaged during prostate surgery. In addition, radiation therapy can also cause incontinence, sometimes many years later.

Today, we know that it is better to prepare your pelvic floor before prostate cancer treatment. Incontinence after prostate surgery will usually get improved with time. For instance, Pelvic floor exercises (e.g. Kegel) and continence professionals are very effective in helping incontinence. Most men get back bladder control in 6 months to a year. A consistent physical therapy can make a big difference in terms of an after surgery incontinence.

iuflow report read by doctor bph diagnosis

Your doctor or PT interested in data on your bladder – in the form of a bladder diary and a flow test. This can make the process to be much shorter and more precise. In conclusion, it is important to see your doctor and conduct a flow test.

Weak urine flow ratelow Qmax
Slow urinationlow Qmax

Check out the iUFlow app and get an iUFlow PRO urine flow monitoring device

iUFlow app
  1. Track your bladder with the iUFlow app and iUFlow PRO urine flow meter
  2. Be active. Physical activity can prevent you from retaining urine.
  3. Visit your doctor

A post for the Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

Prostate Biopsy Codes for Medicare

Posted on by in Uncategorised

First, what is a Medicare procedure code? Or, CMS codes?

Medicare code Prostate Biopsy Flow rate iUFlow

Healthcare providers can bill Medicare, use codes for diagnoses and codes for care, equipment, and medications provided. “Procedure” code is a term for codes that we use to identify what was done to or offered to a patient (it could be surgeries, durable medical equipment, medications, and so on).

What are Prostate Biopsy codes for Medicare reimbursement?
76872, 76942, 55700, 64450 A4512

Urologist Dr. John C Lin explains the use of possible billing codes for Prostate biopsy (2018) for Medicare patients.

Dr. Lin has been a urologic Practice Management speaker for the AUA. Dr. John C Lin is interested in health information technology. Therefore, he served as an adviser to Google Health. Furthermore, Dr. Lin served on the American Urological Association advisory board on evaluation, adoption, and utilization of electronic health records and telemedicine. 

Dr. Lin hosts Live shows, on people who work in health and health related fields. His main practice is in Gilbert, AZ. Read some of Dr. Lin’s patients testimonials.

Check out Dr. Lin’s vlog and watch his episode on iUFlow and home flow rate.

Dr. Lin explains about iUFlow Home Uroflow meter

What is normal urinary flow rate?

Typically, uroflow ranges between 10 ml/second and 21 ml/second. For women, the range is normally between 15 ml and 18 ml per second. A slow or week flow rate may indicate that there is a blockage at the bladder neck or in the urethra, an enlarged prostate (e.g. BPH), or a weak bladder. Issues with slow urine flow rate will typically mean the bladder is not emptying properly.

Can I calculate flow rate manually at home?
The urine flow rate is calculated by dividing the total volume of the urination (in ml) by the duration of the urination in seconds. For example, 120 ml in 15 seconds will make a 120/15 = 8 ml/s flow rate. Calculating these figures manually will never be as accurate as using a designated flow meter. Above all, you miss some very important parameters such as flow chart, Qmax, TQmax etc.

Read more on why you should order your own home Uroflowmeter.
How to Generate Flow Charts at Home?