8 days to aquablation (this time for real)

Thank you John. Very encouraging. I am up for the same procedure on 12/7 and your experience is very comforting to hear! I hope to share my experience as well. And may I ask your age? I am 75 and wondering if I might expect the same level of result as you experienced.

I notice you have a new thread but I'll comment here. I'm 69 years old in a few days. This procedure for me has been a complete game changer. Like you the gradual creep of BPH since my 40's, when I just assumed the frequency was due to the English habit of stopping every hour for a cup of tea, progressed slowly and became annoying. At 66 year of age I went into complete retention (on a long-haul flight back from Brunei to Heathrow.. non-stop!) That was frightening. Nothing had worked and I just cruised from loo to loo for about 10 years, accepting my lot and getting up 3 to 4 times at night even with a restricted fluid intake. I researched the surgical options and with a prostate size 110 grams, PSA slowly creeping up from 6 to 9 over 7 years, MRI scan clear, Aquablation seemed a no-brainer.

As mentioned earlier the surgery itself was a bit more traumatic than I thought and the first night post-op I had visions of exsanguination, coupled with some early incontinence on removal of the triway catheter, which gave me a bit of a fright. Now however, 3 weeks down the road... absolute bliss. I sleep through the night like a baby and no longer pee like one... more like a horse. I certainly hope your outcome is as favourable and should be, as this procedure does not rely heavily on the surgeon's skill. You don't really need good luck, as it is almost a guaranteed result. In my case 50% of the prostate tissue was ablated. Hope this provides some encouragement.

Very happy for you John. You will be my role model for "getting through" this. And I take your considerate thoughts as an early Christmas present. I had extended-term Foley catheter experience a year ago for an unrelated matter and I know the feeling of sensing "exsanguination". I survived that and so this next round should be bearable, Or at least I hope so. And we also have Brunei in common. I lived in that part of the world for a time many years ago -- in Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo. As you may know, that would be due south of the sultanate. Thank you again for your thoughts and info and I will let you know how it all turns out. Just 9 days to go.

John -- I have another question along the lines of an "update" 4 days out (for me) from aquab surgery. The question: My surprise at a stream that is just a trickle (again, 4 days out) has me wondering -- from your experience --- whether that is to be expected and that the stream improves over the first and second week and beyond. Was that your experience? Slow start but then an evolution to an every bigger stream? Very very happy for you and I am overall satisfied with the decision I made. I just want my age 40 stream back and am impatient. Thanks!

guess i replied to older post. first key is to urinate on your own. as things heal flow will pick up. i was slow for the 1st 7 days and things got much better out to 14 days. total healing and symptom relief mostly be 3 months but still noticed improvement out to 8 months. @ 65 now, doing fine. Catheter ? after procedure?

Ray --

Thanks very VERY much. Reassuring. I did have a catheter for the day after. It was taken out on day 2 just before I was discharged. I am now 5 days out from the actual procedure and still experiencing the burn and a VERY reluctant stream. What you say makes sense. Tissue needs to heal before it can do the former rigorous work of urination. I am still enthusiastic but obviously weary of the wait. I intend to give my bladder and tube structure a workout by drinking more water than I have been drinking. (I find water boring unless it's a very hot day.) I will keep you posted here and I appreciate your sharing your experience as you have.

even with the procedure slight discomfort is normal, burning indicates to me uti. uti and minor swelling at this point after procedure correlates with slow stream. in comparison, while I urinated slowly after removal of catheter, i felt no burning sensation at all, daily improvement followed. i like the water flush, make sure you are taking antibiodics. looking for better results from you in 3 to 7 days.

Burning may have been the wrong word. A stinging though, defiinitely. I am on Bactrim as a precaution for UTI.Thanks again.

Owen,

Keep us posted on your progress. I had Rezum in August and it didn't do anything for the BPH. I still have to use a catheter( I have been using one since May 2020). I will have to have another procedure, so this is one that I have to consider.

Ted

Thank you and good timing, Ted. I was just about to post this update.

First off, sorry to hear of your challenge and disappointment. I guess I've had a better experience with aquablation.

My update:

I am now 2 days away from a two-week anniversary since surgery. The bloodish tinge in my urine is largely gone. There remains some urethral and rectal burning., which I assume is from the urinary function contacting still raw tissue. (I read that the prostate is up against the rectum and has to be peeled away during the surgery. Hence, I guess, the rawness.)

The big news for today for the first time: I finally have a stream plentiful enough to make that familiar and glorious long-ago blub-blub sound of urine hitting water! I was thrilled 😃 It's a marker, I hope, that the healing is on schedule. Wife and I also jumped the gun today (by two days) on a two-weeks-no-sex rule of my doc. We can report all systems working with lift-off! Only noticeable side aspect: very watery semen. But all else is like it was before I had the problem -- and that's been years. I am very glad I sidestepped the retrograde ejaculation issue of the laser approach to this ailment.

I don't mean to generalize and my experience may or may not be typical. But I am now glad I chose aquablation and hope I can say the same a month from now and beyond. I next see my doc on January 4.75 years old and feeling 50 again. I will continue to update here as needed.

As you probably know, no RE with aquablation either. I am glad I avoided that. In retrospect, can't agree with the concept of "no big deal. Retro will be OK." My result is nowhere near retro . Why sacrifice anything if there is no need.