Seeing a specialist

Information for the public

Your healthcare professional may refer you to a specialist if you have any of the following:

urinary symptoms that bother you and the treatments in treating urinary symptoms do not help
a urinary infection that does not go away or comes back regularly
urinary retention (not being able to empty the bladder fully – see treating urinary retention)
kidney problems
stress incontinence (see storage symptoms).

You should also see a specialist if your healthcare professional is concerned that your symptoms could be caused by cancer, although for most men cancer is not the cause of the symptoms.

If you see a specialist, they should ask you about your general health and your symptoms. They might offer to repeat the tests you had before you came to the specialist to check if your condition has changed.

To help find out what might be causing your symptoms and decide how best to manage them, you should be offered additional tests to measure how fast your urine flows, and how much urine is left in the bladder after you have urinated. You may also be offered other tests, depending on your symptoms or the treatment you and your healthcare professional are considering.

Questions you might like to ask about tests

Can you tell me more about the tests you have offered me?
Will I have to go into hospital, and if so for how long?
What will happen during the tests?
How will the tests help?