Posted , 19 users are following.
Hello all,
My husband had a crisis on Saturday night with acute urinary retention, absolutely nothing coming out and left at the mercy of Aand E for several hours in agony. Now home with a catheter, awaiting test results ( PSa etc) and an appt. with a urologist. I am terrified it is cancer but trying not to think about that to much so now throwing myself into researching BPH and our options so we are well informed at our appt. I don't want to accept surgery or strong drugs forever if there are other options.
I would bery very much appreciate any advice from you lovely gents on supporting my husband and any success with alternatives to avoid surgery ( saw palmetto, pumpkin oil etc) .
Maybe be I should mention he is 54 ,in very good health generally but has a ' slow' flow in the mornings for a few years . I am 4 months pregnant with our first long awaited child and need someone to give me a kick up the bum to start thinking positive!!
many thanks in advance for any advice
Ali
0 likes, 134 replies
greg35632 aliL
Posted
My profile is much like your husbands...I am 63 and was peeing slowly the last few years, but never a problem with complete retention. Then one day in Feb. all of a sudden, I could not pee! I am very healthy, never had health issues before. Went to ER, got catheterized and tested and told I had a 136cm enlarged prostate. No signs overtly of cancer, but high PSA of 7. So after some research , I elected for gettting a PAE surgery at UNC by Dr. Issacson. I am three months out from that I feel great, no side effects, peeing stronger than before surgery! Only slight issue is that when I have orgasm, not very much semen comes out, but orgasm still is great. So, hope that helps. Definietly PAE is worth considering if its an enlarged prostate. especially if it is very large, this works great on it!
Greg
stewarta aliL
Posted
Don't let him be subjected to a biopsy unless it is guided by having a MRI first, finances permitting. I am sure that at 54 years of age, he will be fine.
cartoonman aliL
Posted
The gentlest of kicks in your bum here: your husband's situation (statistically) does NOT likely have anything to do with the dreaded C word! It much more likely has to do with a simple physical phenomenon: that damned little bugger (the prostate) just keeps on growing, puts the squeeze on the urethra until it is unable to pass urine at all.
Your husband is likely experiencing the shock of his situation; we have all been where he is now, and we have adjusted to the "new normal," as can he (and can you!)
No, I'm not a doctor (I'm an artist!). That said, overactive prostates can be dealt with many ways these days, from the "standard" TURP that his doctor will likely push him to accept, to the "green light surgery," the Urolift, PAE and a few other options that others will hopefully describe to you. We all have our favorite remedies to recommend. I favor the Urolift, which is the only reversible procedure, but not all men can have it. I STRONGLY urge your husband to NOT accept TURP without researching his options, as it can severely affect and limit his personal and your joint quality-of-life.
Also, wearing that bag is a hideous experience, and for me was very disorienting. I went from that to CIC (intermittant cathetertizing) after one week, refused the TURP my urologist wanted to do to me, and cathed every time I needed to pee. This went on for 15 months until I had the Urolift surgery. It became second nature and my wife was quite supportive. I highly recommend this approach, as will others who refused the TURP. Best brand in my experience: SpeediCath. Second best: Magic 3, based on ease of use/simplicity.
We are happy to offer support and answer your husband's questions, down to the most delicate ones! :-)
If he's not too shy about it, get him on-line; we've all been where he is now!
jimjames aliL
Posted
Sorry about the scare you are going through.
First, none of us are doctors here so please keep that in mind with the answers you will be getting.
It's understandable that you are thinking cancer, but in all probability, given your husband's age and history, it's probably bph.
You are on the right track being looking for different options as opposed to simply surgery. That said, it it is bph, be prepared for the urologist to recommend surgery. Here in the States the most common recommendation is TURP or GreenLight. In both cases your husband would end up with something called retrograde ejaculation also known as a dry orgasm. This doesn't bother some men, but it does bother others. Having children in the future could also be a concern.
As for alternatives, there are some newer less invasive options now available that will not result in retrograde ejaculation. Even better ones hopefully on the horizon.
Meanwhile, there are some drugs such as Tamsulosin (Flomax) and Daily Cialias that help some men with BPH. These are often tried before surgery is offered. Also, there's self catherization (CIC) that can manage BPH symptons quite well as a temporary solution or even as a long term one. I personally have been self catherizing for almost three years now because I did not like any of the surgical alternatives being offered.
As to saw palmetto, pumpkin oil, etc, some people take them, some don't, but I don't think you should expect the kind of results being advertised online if he truly has an obstruction causing bph.
Jim
Denknee aliL
Posted
those procedures are to new to have an established track record. So on the 24th of May I'm scheduled to have a turip. Hope this was of some help? Denis
jimjames Denknee
Posted
Do you mean "Turip" or "Tulip"? I couldn't find anything about "Turip" after a quick search. "Tulip" on the other hand is a treatment for BPH, but an older one that I believe has fallen out of favor for various reasons. So, if that's the case, maybe getting a second or third opinion might be in order.
Jim
Denknee jimjames
Posted
jimjames aliL
Posted
Jim
gbhall aliL
Posted
As others have already said, it is best not to allow him to be bumped into any operation until more is known, but my advice would be to get him taught how to self-catheterise with a supply of catheters. Sudden acute retention is a horribly agonising experience. In parts of the world where prostate operations are a source of lots of revenue, you will get strong resistance from urinary consultants to learning catheterisation, because catherisation allows an almost indefinte delay in making a operation decision, which is great for a patient, terrible for a surgeon !!
In the UK this is well recognised, and doing CIC as it is called (clean intermittent catheterisation) is often looked on perfectly sympathetically.
At 54, he needs to be very wary of procedures virtually guaranteed to cause fairly major sexual changes (and that includes the two medicines I mentioned sadly).
In summary, after the absolute trauma he has just been through (retention), it is difficult to accept that in reality, provided he has the means to empty his bladder easily at any time, there is rarely any need for 'instant action' so to speak. Hope this helps.
alan86734 aliL
Posted
Alan
Pepasan aliL
Posted
Don't panic!
I had acute urine retention in my 50s following general anaesthetic. Peed OK at first and was allowed home, but during the journey, my bladder got more and more full and overnight kept trying to pee but only managed a few dribbles. A & E (UK) sorted me out with in-dwelling foley catheter, leg bag and prescription for Tamsulosin, which the doc said I'd have to be on for life. In fact both catheter and Medication were not required after a few weeks, and all was normal for a couple of years. Even now, at nearly 66, although I have had catheters both in-dwelling and intermittent, I only had trouble voiding last year because of infections, which have finally cleared with 3 months on Nitrofurantoin. One urologist scheduled me for TURP, but on the day the consultant decided to wait, as the infections had cleared and my prostate is not greatly enlarged. Instead, I'm back on the Tamsulosin and I've been asked to try cutting out all tea and coffee, for up to a year. Others have mentioned that drugs like Tamsulosin cause semen to go back into the bladder rather than out at orgasm, so if you want more children, your husbands choices might nedd to be taken with extra care. Best of luck to both of you, and remember, even Prostate Cancer is not as scary as it used to be. I've had minimal cancer diagnosed and results of psa scores around 8 for many years without treatment needed.
oldbuzzard aliL
Posted
DO NOT let him consent to a TURP at 54 with only one child. It's last century's surgery, often causes real problems and will ensure that you'll never have another child. There are many that are less invasive - PAE is one (Urologists don't recommend it because its performed by Internevtional radiologists) and Rezum is another. Both use different methods to kill part of the prostate and the dead tissue is absorbed over time by the body - leaving a smaller functioning prostate and no real side effects. Both are performed without anesthesia. Urolift sort of staples down the prostate, opening up the flow - also non invasive with no side effects.
Its unlikely that your husband has cancer, as it grows progressivley and typically doesn't cause you to wake up one day unable to pee wihtout porgressive warning. From your vervbiage, it sounds like you're from the UK. Not sure what's avaiable there, how long it takes to be approved, etc. But I would avoid TURP at all costs, lokk into the less invasive options - if none are available, I wouldrecommend considering self cathing til they are, or if you can afford it, pay out of pocket for Urolift, PAE or Rezum, before opting for any surgery.
Jezzaman oldbuzzard
Posted
I had PAE at Oxford Churchill Hospital under Dr Tapping.
All is well now, and am still improving.
Mine was done under a Uk trial (UK-ROPE trial)
However it is available privately at Southampton under Dr Nigel HAcker, I would consider this before agreeing to any TURp operation.
arlington aliL
Posted
From my experience he should learn CIC ASAP and use speedicath or speedicath compact male catheters (maybe mix depending on whether at home or not). Also, Alfuzosin has the best side effect profile of the alpha-blocker drugs. Might be best to try it first.
If he opts for a procedure, PAE might be the best way to go w/ minimal side effects (esp. sexual). The 2 docs who have done the most in the US are Dr. Ari Isaacson at UNC Healthcare and Dr. Bagla in VA. Good luck!
vandalo aliL
Posted
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