Micro Blog Articles by Henry Rosevear, MD

I love those commercials. Why? Because it perfectly sums up one of the most common and frustrating conditions that I treat; namely, an overactive bladder.

The Mayo Clinic has a wonderful website here that well summarizes the condition in great detail and it’s one that I often refer patients to.  Another wonderful website is the treatment algorithm here which is listed on the Society of Urodynamics and Female Urology’s website.

The good news about this condition is that the condition is very treatable.  Not only are there two types of medications available but there are minimally invasive options including neuromodulation that have very high success rates.

If you currently suffer from this debilitating and incredibly common disease and would like to learn more about the treatment options available, please call me for a visit, I look forward to talking to you.

Wonderful article about the medical history behind Werewolves, Vampires and Zombies.  Perfect for this time of year.  Enjoy your Halloween and safe Trick or Treating!

Forbes “These Disease May Have Inspired Halloween Monsters“

Ever wonder why it seems that all of the big hospitals in town are suddenly so interested in adding (ie buying) doctors to their staff instead of just working with the doctors already here in town?  It shouldn’t surprise you that it’s all about money.

It turns out the government and insurance companies allow hospitals to charge more for the same service as compared to local independent doctors.  They call it a “site of service” charge and it’s dramatically increasing the cost of medicine to the tune of billions of dollars a year.

Please join me in supporting changes to the law that will level the playing field between big corporate hospitals and local physicians like me.

If you want to read more, please visit this site to learn how “site of service” charges are driving many independent physicians out of business.

Blood in the urine (hematuria) is one of the most common reasons a patient is sent to see a urologist and, for anyone who has ever had the experience of seeing blood in their urine, one of the most traumatic.  Reassuringly, blood is a very strong pigment and it doesn’t take much blood to turn urine very red.  With that in mind, I thought it would be helpful to talk a bit about why this is a potentially serious symptom and what I, as a urologist, do to evaluate it.

Blood in the urine is classified into two types based on whether it is visible to the naked eye (called gross hematuria) or only visible on microscopic evaluation (called microscopic hematuria). The questions I ask and the investigation that I do is aimed at learning where the blood is coming from so that it can be treated.  It may be surprising that in many cases, no cause is ever found! And that is ok as the investigation that I do in this situation is designed to rule out anything serious.

Some of the causes of blood in the urine include: kidney stones (these can be otherwise completely asymptomatic), urinary tract infections, trauma, an enlarged prostate, or various urological cancers including cancers of the kidney, bladder, ureter or prostate.

The American Urological Association recommends that all patients with blood in the urine undergo two diagnostics tests.  The first is a contrasted CT scan.  The reason this is done is that the kidney and ureters (the pipe between the kidney and the bladder) is basically impossible to examine on physical exam. The second test is a brief visualization of the bladder itself. The reason this minimally invasive procedure is recommended is that because the bladder is a hollow organ, it is not well visualized on CT scan and small tumors are easily missed by CT scan.

Overall, while most people with blood in their urine are not found to have any significant urological problem, blood in the urine is the most common presenting symptom of most urological cancers so should be considered a serious medical issue and needs full and prompt investigation.

If you have any questions, please call my office at (719) 531-7007 to make an appointment!

Kidney stones are incredibly painful and incredibly common. There are also numerous myths and half-truths floating around the internet regarding stones.  With that in mind, I thought I would set the record straight on some of these:

1. Dissolving stones:  There are dozens of types of stones and only one of them, uric acid stones, can be dissolved by taking oral medications.  Unfortunately, only 5-10% of all stones are uric acid stones.  All other stones cannot be dissolved with oral medication so don’t fall for the latest greatest stone busting drug you read about on the internet; they rarely work!
2. Medicines like tamsulosin help pass stones. This is a controversial statement as there are well designed randomized studies addressing this topic which have shown divergent results.  Translation, I don’t know if the medicines work.  I prescribe these to help pass stones (even though it’s not a FDA approved indication) as they have few side effects and if they help, great, but truth be told, the data is not perfect.
3. Beer helps pass stones. I wish that were true.  Staying well hydrated has been shown to both help reduce your risk of forming stones and helping patients pass stones but I can’t quote a study that shows that beer is a good thing.  Having said that, there are lots of great breweries in Colorado to explore.
4. Most stones are calcium based so decreasing your calcium intake will help prevent stones.Not exactly.  While calcium oxalate stones are the most common type, if you decrease your calcium intake too much you are at risk of over-absorbing oxalate which can lead to more stones! How much calcium you need in your diet is a complicated discussion which is best had on an individualized patient to physician basis.
5. Eliminating oxalate will decrease your risk of stone formation. Again, while it is true that calcium oxalate stones are the most common type of stones, most high oxalate foods are also high in magnesium, fiber or potassium which are all anti-stone formers so the truth depends greatly on your diet taken as a whole.

So what diet do I recommend? Unless a person is a recurrent stone former in which case I recommend a 24hr urinalysis so I can make specific patient specific dietary recommendations, the diet I recommend for first time stone formers is an American Heart Association heart healthy diet.  Why?  Most people die of heart disease and if I can reduce someone’s risk of heart disease, I’ve done them a favor.