Saw Palmetto a "Gift From God"

When Fred was in his late fifties, he began to awaken at night to relieve himself. Over the next few years, these visits to the bathroom gradually increased until he was getting up five times a night. Yet despite this sense of urgency, he had trouble going and his urinary flow was more of a dribble than a steady stream. He tried cutting back on liquids and concentrating on emptying his bladder (which he felt he never quite achieved), but nothing worked.

When Fred finally consulted his doctor about his problem, he was given a prescription drug. The drug he was offered, Proscar (finasteride), does reduce symptoms of BPH in about half of the men who try it, but it has a host of side effects, including decreased libido and erectile dysfunction.

Instead, Fred tried saw palmetto and pygeum, herbal extracts I have been using to treat my patients with BPH for over 15 years. Within two weeks, he began noticing improvements. Over the next three months his nighttime trips to the bathroom dwindled from five down to one. He reports that the return of normal urination and a good night's sleep after all these years is a "gift from God."

— from Health & Healing by Julian Whitaker, MD