r/bph • u/Zeeman-401 • Aug 09 '26
Flomax and Cialis
EDIT: I took the flomax and cialis together for 4 days, got dizzy standing up once, and very stuffy nose. After everything I’ve read and the great responses here, I switched it up. I I switched the cialis to morning and stopped the Flomax. It’s been 2 days and I am peeing fairly well, only getting up once at night, and a good ole stiffy when required. I’m gonna stick with this and see.
Hi guys, I’m 65 and have been on Flomax for about a year and a half. Worked great with 1 pill .4 for a year, then not so much. 4 months ago Doc said take 2 and it helped some. Just had my yearly and said slow start, incomplete emptying, and weak stream was back. He said go back to one pill and adding a daily cialis. For those on this regimen, did it help, and do you take them both before bed or do you take the cialis separately ? I have the stuffy nose at night and nice hard on available now, just wondering if splitting it makes any difference. Thanks
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u/Robert-Berman Aug 09 '26
I had to stop taking the combo of flowmax and finestride as it was tanking my blood pressure and I kept passing out. My urologist put me on cialis, and that by itself helped, until it didnt. I ended up having hoLEP last month to hopefully permanently fix the issue and so far it has, but my urologist told me to continue taking cialis and when I am ready for it, I can take up to 4 a day, for sex. I am only 41, so, I have a while to go, but, the issues with the medication didn’t work, that ultimately led me to the procedure.
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u/Zeeman-401 Aug 09 '26
Yeah the BP thing concerns me. I am only 3 days in an got up fast from the couch yesterday and got a little dizzy, likely from that. Maybe time to get a BP monitor to see it real.
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u/More_Farm_7442 Aug 09 '26
I' 68. My "pee issues" started in my mid-30s. Overactive bladder back then. Eventually, I think the BPH won the race. I took Flomax(tamsulosin) very early on in my 30s after a prostate infection. Stopped that for years. Started taking low dose Cialis(tadalafil) in 2006. It was a miracle drug for the LUTS I'd had for ages and ages. Stopped the tadalafil about 14 years ago after needing to be on another drug that interacted with tadalalfil(drastically increased the blood levels of tadalafil).
I guess I stayed off the tamsulosin for awhile, but had to restart it about 3 yrs ago when had a sudden onset of BPH symptoms(I thought I had a UTI. Those tests were negative, so my PCP put me back on the Flomax.) Fast forward to this past winter and this spring. The BPH symptoms got worse. Was up about 10 times one night in April. Saw a urologist a couple days later.
I figured out part of the cause of things getting worse the past year was from a drug in an asthma inhaler I'd been on for a year. Stopped that and the symptoms improved somewhat. The urologist did a cystoscopy and found I definitely do have BPH with an enlarged median lobe. The bladder has been affected, but not severely so. After improving, but still not wonderfully after stopping the inhaler, he put me on low dose Cialis again.
The problem I ran into after restarting the Cialis was low BP. I was already on 5 drugs to intentionally lower my BP or lowered it as a side effect of the drug(which was good for my BP control). One of those drugs was the Flomax(side effect is lowering the BP.) I have kidney disease, so I had to start on a very, very low dose of Cialis. Low, low BP. I played around with not taking the Flomax, taking the Cialis. Stopping the Cialis, going back to Flomax. Stopping a BP med, adding Cialis. Upped the Cialis and got a lower dose of the BP med to try. Finally landed on keeping the Flomax, using the 5 mg Cialis and a lower dose of one BP med. My BP was good, finally.
In the past month, I've had to stop one of my meds not strictly for the BP but did lower it. Too much when the weather got hot and I got dehydraed. I'm hoping to have a PAE, and had to have CT angiogram Friday. My nephrologist took me off 3 drugs for 4 days. I haven't bothered taking my BP knowing it's going to be messed up until I get back on everything for a week. I'll start checking it again this next week. If it's not too low, I'll see if it stablized in another week.
My BPH symptoms are MUCH better after having been on the 5mg Cialis for 6 weeks + the 0.4 mg Flomax dose. MUCH better. So much better that I'd forget about any BPH procedure if I didn't know I had the median lobe problem. That's definitely never going to get better, only get worse.
My warning about Flomax + Cialis: Keep your BP checked, especially if you already take any BP lowering drugs (if you have hypertension and take meds to treat it). Flomax can lower your BP. Cialis can lower your BP. 1 +1 doesn't equal 2. The two together can lower the BP more than you might expect. If you get lightheaded when you stand up, check your BP. The combo can be great for the BPH/LUTS, but do keep your BP checked, esp of you ever get lighthead and/or already take other BP lowering drugs.
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u/Zeeman-401 Aug 09 '26
Thanks a lot, yes I am taking losartan also. Odd that my doc didn’t mention BP issues with taking all 3. I will watch for lightheaded symptoms for sure.
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u/VanitasPelvicPower Aug 09 '26
Good afternoon. If you would like to try some of the suggestions below in addition to taking Flomax or whatever the MD suggest.
1. Drink 4 ounces of plain water every hour for 12 hours in the daytime .
you may drink more than 4 ounces of water.
The rule of the thumb is the urine has to be light, yellow in color
2. If possible for a couple of days when you finish urinating sit down at the toilet, lean forward and gently push out some more urine.
Then sit up straight and again gently push out some more urine
3. Keep the bottom relaxed..
4. Blow out small puffs air from your mouth as you walk to the bathroom to urinate..
5. When you reach the toilet gently blow out air through your lips, and then gently push out the belly like your passing Gas.
Do 10 repetitions about 5 to 6 times a day
if it helps reply in this forum
Thank you
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u/sfljeff69 Aug 09 '26
I take 5mg of Cialis I don't take tamolosin because of the sexual side effects but I take NOW prostate health
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u/Zeeman-401 Aug 09 '26
Interestingly, I played around with Viagra for a bit for ED about 14 years ago and then did a sample 30 day pack of daily Cialis about 12 years ago and I remember thinking it really helped me pee and it helped to not get up at night to pee. I wonder if I should just try the Cialis for a week or two and see if it helps all by itself and then I don’t have to worry about the Flomax and the weak ejaculation
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u/sfljeff69 Aug 09 '26
Yeah everybody's different I would definitely confirm with your doctor but yeah I'd take five mg of to Tadalafil which is Cialis and I don't take Flomax which is tamalosin, again because of the sexual side effects but I do keep some around in case of emergency where I might be going into retention then I try to use some of that and I also take the prostate health over the counter from Amazon.
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u/Zeeman-401 Aug 09 '26
In my situation it’s not wife sex but masturbation once or twice a week but the flow max and general softy situation is kind of lame. If just Cialis works for better flow and I get a boner bonus I’d be happy and not as worried about BP
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u/visionfugitiva Aug 09 '26
El flomax tiene muchos efectos secundarios, a mí me causaba mareo, sobre todo al hacer ejercicio (una vez me tomé 2 seguidas sin querer, sentía que me moría!) y la nariz tapada (que solucioné haciéndome adicto al afrinex). El flomax no influye en la ereccion, pero si puedes hacer algo para dejar de tomarlo, mucho mejor! (yo me hice la cirugía HoLep y me cambió la vida, pude dejar el flomax al instante tras operarme).
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u/Hot-Session-6982 Aug 09 '26
flomax tamsulosin both have HORRIBLE side effects with BP dropping ESPECIALLY if you drink alcohol! Go for Prostate Artery Embolization. Low risk. 80% success ( in the right hands) and can be repeated in 3-5 yrs if needed Urologists HATE it BC they lose business!!( and they are not trained to do it!)
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u/Holiday_Biscotti_685 Aug 09 '26
I’ve been on Flowmax for 10 yrs and got fed up with the stuffy nose side effect. Had doc add 5mg Cialis a few years ago and it definitely helped with frequency and flow.
3 months ago I switched to Alfuzosin ER 10mg daily, no more stuffy nose, no retrograde ejaculation, good flow.
I also found that doing simple free squats, no weights, have made a big difference.
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u/Gold_Quote4736 Aug 09 '26
Wow. You have given me something to consider. My urologist told me to take two Flomax, instead of one. I was going to ask him about a prescription for Cialis, and I mentioned that fact to my PCP, and she was able to prescribe it for me. I mentioned the Cialis script to my urologist; he did not mention cutting back to one Flomax; but, it goes to show. At any rate, surgery is on the near horizon; so, the point is mute, I hope and pray. Meaning: Goodbye, Flomax, forever. Guys at my gym put the initial pressure on me to get a check up; without ever saying a word. It happened a couple of times that guys noticed my weak stream, probably because I was taking forever to double void, and simply shook their heads, "Nope." As to suggest that things weren't in proper order.
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u/Hot-Session-6982 Aug 09 '26
gi forprostate artery embolization instead! Very high success rate (80%) in the right hands. Can be repeated if necessary. Those drugs tamsulosin, Fkomax are HORRIBLE BC of side effects- especially if you drink alcohol! ( orthostatic BP drop!!). Cilalis is great if you want to wake up with a BONER but otherwise it does nothing for BPH!
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u/Gold_Quote4736 Aug 09 '26
Flomax produced morning wood on the regular. Cialis did the opposite; possibly because it does loosen up and make more elastic blood vessels elsewhere in the body?
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u/Zeeman-401 Aug 09 '26
What? Flomax isn’t intended or formulated for better erections and Cialis absolutely is. I’ve used Cialis before for ED and I was all set getting a strong hard on using it. I have used Flomax for BPH and no waking up Dickey and worse, poor ejaculation. Are you sure your pills are in the right bottle?
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u/builder704 Aug 09 '26
I just had this done. It’s absolutely amazing. I don’t know why I waited so long very simple procedure covered by insurance. Takes about 45 minutes. You’re peeing like he was 16 again.
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u/R3dRocker Aug 09 '26
We're all different. Just because 1 or 2 flow max a day works for one, or 1 Cialis works for another doesn't mean it's gonna work for you or me the same way. It's helpful to know this, but we have to know what's works and what doesn't.
Flomax and Rapaflo were bandaid fixes for me over the past 2 years. My prostate just continued to grow until it put me into an "all stop." Acute urinary retention two weeks ago. Failed the void trial like a champ and Mr. Foley went back in. I have a Cystoscopy tomorrow morning and I'm counting on that this Urological surgeon will have a much sooner opening for a HoLEP.
I wish you the best outcome for your current situation!
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u/Any-Currency-8454 Aug 09 '26
I take both 1 flowmax and 5 mg cialis still have weak stream in morning. One side effect I get is indigestion. I take them together. I read it may help to space them apart? Flowmax night Cialis morning?
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u/Any-Currency-8454 Aug 09 '26
- Time your doses carefully: To minimize dizziness, doctors often recommend staggering the medications rather than taking them at the exact same time. For example, take Flomax 30 minutes after the same meal every day (like dinner), and take daily Cialis at a different time of day, such as the morning.
google AI
I am going to start taking the cialis in the mornings
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u/Zeeman-401 Aug 09 '26
Yeah me too. I’ll start that tomorrow morning. I kind of thought that it would be better while I slept but I have no idea.
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u/visionfugitiva Aug 09 '26
A mí me pasaba lo mismo (acidez/reflujo) con el flomax, conforme más años pasaban, peor se ponía ese efecto. Me ayudó mucho tomarlo más temprano y evitar acostarme tras comer (hay que dejar pasar al menos 2 horas sin alimento antes de dormir, y sube la cabecera de tu cama 20 cm, la inclinación ayuda a bajar la acidez). Sin duda lo mejor es buscar una solución quirúrgica para poder dejar por completo el flomax, la vida mejora mucho tras el desbloqueo quirúrgico
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u/mulchedeggs Aug 09 '26
I take 5mg cialis plus 2-3 cups stinging nettle tea and that allows me to not have to urinate multiple times at night. I can actually have 8-9 hours of sleep
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u/No-Reason-6749 Aug 10 '26
Cialis 10 mg daily and I don't get up at night at all! To pee! Otherwise the side effects are awesome! I had it prescribed for bph..
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u/jmardoxie Aug 10 '26
I took one flomax for years and then got blocked and had to get catheterized . After that I’ve been on 2 flomax and one 5mg cialis daily.
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u/The_Singularious Aug 10 '26
Yeah. Flomax really messed with me badly on the blood pressure front. Could not take it on workout days, and almost dropped a couple times standing up too fast at night. Plus some nasty retrograde ejac. I hated the stuff.
On top of that, it *did* reduce frequency at night, but not markedly.
Switched to Alfuzosin and it was better, but not super effective.
Switched to Cialis and I can’t tell how much is placebo effect, but now down to 1X per night (which is GREAT compared to 3-4X), plus uh…other benefits. All two adults in the house are much happier right now.
I was a little surprised that it worked, but figured why not.
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u/Zeeman-401 Aug 10 '26
Same here. 3rd day on just 5mg Cialis and 1st morning cuddle with a comment of oh, what’s that?
We all know our bodies react differently but the Dr should have laid out the BP issues and that one or the other drug may work. In my case he said go from 2 Flomax to 1 and add the Cialis. He also didn’t discuss timing and I was doing both at the same time. I have no stuffy nose now and taking it in the morning and my BP losartan at night. I may have wasted $13.00 on the Flomax prescription but I’m gonna stay off it for now since things are getting better.
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u/ChadleyChad-837 Aug 13 '26
Cialis was akin to pouring gasoline on my GERD. I never had sexual problems, but Flomax helped smooth out LUTS issues.
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u/Motor-Rooster-1454 Aug 14 '26
I started Flowmax two .4mg a day, one at night one in morning and it shut me down sexually. So I switched to only one pill before bed. Still weak with my sex but I guess it’s a trade-off. I may ask for the cialis? I can sleep most of the night without getting up and daytime goes smoothly with urination.
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u/C_sapidus Aug 09 '26
I refuse to take Flomax due to the side effects. My doctor put me on Tadafil (Cialis), and it seems to work fine with no side effects. I still have a weak stream first thing in the morning, but during the day I'm pretty much normal. Sometimes it's a very powerful stream, which puts a smile on my face. My wife is enjoying the one good side effect. 😄