Week 1: Nothing. Exactly Like He Said.
Two capsules with breakfast. He'd warned me: "Give it at least four weeks. This isn't a prescription. It won't knock you flat and it won't work by tomorrow. Give it time."
So I took them and tried not to think about it.
Still up at 1. Still up at 3. Still standing there waiting.
I almost quit. But Diane wouldn't let me.
Week 2: I Didn't Believe It Could Work This Fast
I went to bed at 10:30, fully expecting the 1 AM trip like always.
I woke up and the clock said 4:45.
I lay there confused. Checked it again to make sure I wasn't reading it wrong.
Six hours straight. Not one trip. For the first time in years.
I sat on the edge of the bed. Diane woke up and asked what was wrong.
"Nothing's wrong. I slept. Actually slept."
She didn't say anything. She just put her hand on my back. She knew.
Week 3: The Stream Came Back
This was when I knew it wasn't a fluke.
Stood at the toilet one morning at 7 AM, braced for the usual wait.
And It just... started. No pause. No stop and starts. Done in twenty seconds.
Like I was 40 again.
I actually laughed out loud. She yelled from the bedroom asking what was so funny.
Week 4: First Beer With the Guys in Two Years
Wednesday golf. First time in two years I had a beer with the guys after the round.
Then a second one.
Somewhere on the drive home I realized I hadn't even thought about a bathroom all afternoon.
My buddy Ron had already clocked it. "You didn't hit the john once out there. What gives?"
Week 6: The Moment I Knew I Had My Life Back
We drove to my daughter's house in Dayton. Two hours and fifteen minutes. Not a single rest stop.
Walked in the door and went straight to the couch instead of the bathroom.
My grandson knocked a full glass of juice off the table. Six weeks earlier I would have barked at him. I was that tired, that wound up.
Instead I grabbed a towel. "No big deal, bud."
My daughter stared at me. "Okay, who are you and what did you do with Dad?"
That's when it hit me. How far gone I'd been. How I'd turned into somebody my own family walked on eggshells around.
Not anymore.
Week 8: Others Started Noticing A Change
Two months in. I'd lost count of how many people asked what I was "doing differently."
My neighbor asked if I'd lost weight. The guys at the shop wanted to know if I'd retired.
I drink a glass of water before bed now. On purpose. Just because I can.
I can enjoy a beer or two in the evenings without worrying about the consequences later that night.
And a couple of other things came back that Diane and I are not going to discuss on this post.
Truth is, most of It was just sleep. Getting real sleep. For the first time in years.
I honestly forgot what that felt like.
9 Months: My Own Urologist Ran the Numbers
I had my yearly checkup in April. Same urologist who'd told me to "try saw palmetto first" two years ago.
He did the ultrasound Then the flow test, the one where you pee into the machine to measure how strong your stream is.
He looked at the screen for a while before he said anything. "James, these are numbers I'd expect from a 40 year old."
Then: "Your prostate also hasn't grown since last year, which is unusual. If anything it's slightly smaller. I don't see any reason to put you on medication. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."