If you have male urinary organs, this guide will help you to know what to expect as you work with your healthcare team to manage and treat lower urinary tract symptoms.

You will have your own unique journey with lower urinary tract symptoms. How you move through your journey, the number of visits with your healthcare team, the steps you will take, and the order you take them in will depend on your needs. You will make decisions in partnership with your healthcare team. Always follow your healthcare team’s advice.

What are lower urinary tract symptoms?

Lower urinary tract symptoms are problems that affect how you urinate (pee). Lower urinary tract symptoms may affect how often, how easily, or how much you urinate. Symptoms can include:

• frequent urination (feeling like you have to go to the bathroom a lot, even if you haven’t had much to drink or if you’ve urinated recently)
• sudden urgency to urinate (feeling like you need to urinate all of a sudden, or finding it difficult to hold your urine even if your bladder isn’t full)
• leaking urine (also called incontinence)
• dribbling urine after you urinate
• weak urine stream (slow or weak flow of urine, which can make it harder to urinate)
• feeling that your bladder is not completely empty after you finish
• waking up during the night to urinate (also called nocturia)

• you notice blood in your urine
• you cannot urinate at all

Lower urinary tract symptoms can have a big impact on your quality of life. These symptoms might affect your life through:

• Sleep disruptions: If you wake up multiple times during the night to urinate, it can affect how well you sleep. Poor sleep may make you feel tired and less focused during the day.
• Embarrassment or stress: Problems like leaking urine or needing to rush to the bathroom can be stressful or embarrassing, especially in public or social situations. This can lead to feelings of frustration or anxiety.
• Limits on activities: Frequent bathroom trips or worrying about accidents can make it harder to enjoy activities you used to like, such as exercising, travelling, or going out with friends and family.
• Difficulty with work or daily tasks: Constantly needing to go to the bathroom can make it harder to focus at work or to finish everyday tasks, like cooking or running errands.
• Impact on relationships: Lower urinary tract symptoms can affect your relationships, as it may be difficult to talk about these issues or cause stress with your partner or loved ones.

Whole-person health

The whole-person health approach will help you and your healthcare team better manage your health condition.

Whole-person health draws from the teachings of the medicine wheel. It means thinking about all parts of your health and wellness:

• physical
• financial and social
• spiritual
• emotional

These parts are all connected and impact each other. It’s important to be aware of your personal needs in each part and to share that information with your healthcare team. Your healthcare team needs to understand who you are and what matters to you.

Support and resources

• If you need a family doctor, visit Alberta Health Services: Find a doctor.
• If you need a translator, let your healthcare provider know.
• If you need health advice any time, day or night, call Health Link at 811.
• If you need to find programs and services in your community, call or text 211 or visit 211 Alberta.