Age 97. Had eurolioft three weeks ago. Stll painful to pee and stream has degenerated. Now what??
Posted , 3 users are following.
Due to age I requested local instead of general. So, before beginning the eurolift procedure, the dr put two drops of lidocaine on the tip of my penis. Then he did his thing for about 12 minutes. Painful. That word is insufficient to describe my feelings., Just say I did not think I would live through it. But the nice nurse stood by my shoulder and put her hands on my chest. I squeezed them. Squeeze like I wanted to break her fingers. I did not but it helped me. After the procedure she inserted a catheter. It hurt every millimeter. Went back for checkup several times and had to use catheter for two weeks. Still painful when urine went from bladder to catheter bag. Am quite familiar with catheter but is always a huge inconvenience. At last checkup with dr, I told them I thought the pain was slowly reducing in intensity and the stream was also improving. But I was wrong on both. Pain is still there when I begin peeing and then, after a while pain slowly subsides. Am taking tylenol six times a day. Not much help at all. And the stream takes much squeezing of the bladder to initiate, somehow producing pain the whole while. Finally after about half a minute or more it slowly dribbles out and eventually produces a tiny stream, almost only drops. And the pain also slowly diminishes until it does not hurt.
So that is where I am. Looking forward to weeks (months?) of this. Do I have any options? I need helpful advice at this point badly. What could the dr do at this time to help me???
Thanks in advance for any help you could provide.
0 likes, 5 replies
TKM GrampsAok
Posted
Seems like the Doc should have given more local anesthetic than that. Age 97 is getting up there for a surgery like that, but there are other types of prostate surgery that are worse. There was a person around 86 years old on this website, who tried PAE, prostate artery embolization, and it worked out well for him. That was two years ago, so I don't know how he is doing now.
GrampsAok TKM
Posted
Thanks TKM. Never heard of that and it sounds like I could do that, Why the heck didn't that urologist present me with that option. Reminds me, he did not tell me one word about the eurolift procedure. Not one. I am gullible and apparently not too bright. Thanks again.
TKM GrampsAok
Posted
PAE, Prostate artery embolization is done by Interventional Radiologists, a different group of doctors, so Urologists will almost never recommend the procedure.
You could also try intermittent catheterization. I have been doing it for 5 years now, and I am 75 now. I don't know how it would work for someone your age, but if it does you could avoid surgery and drugs. There are discussions on this web site about it, started by a person named Jim James. You could ask your Urologist about it, but you may not get a straight answer from him, because he will not make money from it.
GrampsAok TKM
Edited
Thanks a lot for your reply
PAE kills some blood vessels so part of the prostate dies when no blood available. What happens when all these dead cells accumulate? Who picks them up? They simply remain there? Blood vessels and part of the prostate is dead while the rest of it sits there? Ah dunno.
A study of PAE patients found that the procedure was still effective in 76 percent of patients between three and six years after treatment. Bottom line: for one out of four killing those cells are ineffective. The group I would end up in.
Intermittent catheterization? You insert it? Painful or you found a procedure that is not too bad? Me? 97? Ignore that. Physically ok. Can sit on floor and stand up without assistance. Ambition is to be oldest living WWII vet. Can't make it with these Urologists and heart doctors with their Rx side effects.
I had the Eurolift procedure done by a urologist. I am his patient for 90 days a knowledgeable nurse told me and the insurance company will not pay any other urologist during that period of time. They are shrewd and political.
Long msg but pertinent data.
TKM GrampsAok
Posted
With PAE I believe some of the prostate cells die and the are absorbed by the body, similar to Resume and some other heating procedures. I had PAE done in 2013. It didn't help me much presumably because I had a large median lobe, which is difficult to treat with PAE. I had no adverse symptoms after the procedure, no retrograde ejaculation or incontinence. I think about 76 % of people still having improvement from PAE after 3 to 6 years is actually a high number. The problem with PAE is that the body will grow new blood vessels back after the procedure, making it ineffective after 8 to 10 years. The best thing about PAE is that it is a relatively easy procedure to undergo, although you get a large dose of X-rays.
I insert the catheters myself and find it not painful at all. The first several times doing it can be a little painful and can cause bleeding after which you might develop a UTI, and need antibiotics. After a week of doing it you will hardly feel it, and there will be no bleeding. My Urologist started me on the red rubber/latex catheters with external lube which were very soft and non irritating. After a few weeks I switched to Coloplast Speedicath witch are pre-lubricated and much easier to use, However they are made from a stiffer plastic material and are more irritating, but good to use once you get used to it. My Urologist put in a prescription for them to a catheter supply company. I think he was accommodating because he used to do it himself.
Urolift was actually a reasonable procedure to try, although it has a track record of not working for some and not lasting more than 5 years for most. The problem is that the body grows tissue around the clips and the channel narrows, over time. You might have a problem using intermittent catheters while the clips are still in there, I don't know, never heard anyone mention it on this forum. I have heard the clips can be removed if they are a problem. Try searching for some of the discussions about intermittent catheterization and Jim James, on this forum, there is much information there.