Aquablation: Done!

Yes, I am wondering if my current issue (continued frequency) isn't more bladder than prostate, although I do sense my prostate was the issue for a weak stream now resolved. Perhaps a big step and expense, aquablation, for "just" a weak stream, but it's welcomed regardless.

Also, as I am in the U.S. where there is no "waiting list" short of scheduling doc time a week or two away. Always debatable in America whether our system is not as acceptable as yours though I can't imagine having to "get in line" for a needed and covered procedure of any type.

Forgot to mention, our "NHS" is Medicare for those over 65. I am in that category.

Did you ask your doctor about your bladder such as the bladder wall thickening or not during the cystoscopy or by the CT scan before the procedure?

As far as I am aware, I had neither procedure the day of the surgery.

I did have a cystoscopy -- two in fact -- years before the procedure and (for me anyway) both were EXCRUCIATINGLY painful. Never again without anesthesia/sedation.

As for sizes and bladder walls, I must plead ignorance. I didn't even know enough to ask. I will ask at my next checkup in December.

My experience.

I had the Aqua ablation procedure 8 months ago and am extremely. Happy with the results. I had Blue cross insurance and was denied the procedure the first time it was requested but by time the second request was submitted Blue cross was approving the procedure. I was 58 y/o and had been suffering from BPH for a long time. My PSA always came back sky high( as high as 35 at one point). Had an MRI and biopsy done. No cancer ( good news). Uro suggested uro lift years ago but I did not like the idea of having a permanent object in my prostate, so I lived with my very frequent peeing with very little coming out and constant full bladder. I ended up in the ER on a holiday weekend and the gave me a cath and had immediate relief and realized what it was like to have and empty bladder. Unfortunately with the catheter in for a week I got an infection that was resolved in about 10 days. I decided I could no longer live this way. By this time my prostate was so large that I could not do most of the available procedures. Only options given by my Uro was Turp(was told not to expect a great outcome) or a simple Prostatectomy( not so simple. You can google it). I was watching you tube videos of the robotic simple prostatectomy and recognized the surgeon doing the procedure. I made an appointment to consult with the surgeon( he is probably one of the best in the states with lots of experience). We discussed my options and he agreed with the the other Uro about the best option for me at this point was a simple prostatectomy. We continued the conversation and he shared with me about a new technology that he felt would be in the future taking over all the other procedures for BPH. He said he has not used it but saw lots of promising data on it. He said the reason he has not used it yet is due to bleeding issues because they do not use heat in the procedure but all other metrics are excellent. Well I decided to check out aqua ablation info on their website. There were not a lot of surgeons listed in Florida and not many near me. I consulted with a Uro in Orlando who had lots of experience. He told me that he has converted almost all his BPH procedures to aqua ablation. His office came back and said my insurance would not cover it . Procept ( the company the makes the system) has a department that will organize your records that will assist in getting the proper info. to insurance company. I had not heard back from them so I got back on aqua ablation Dr search and found some DRs that did not looks like they had much experience as the other Doc but a had a consult and found he actually had a lot of experience doing this procedure. They submitted the request to insure and went right thru. Had the procedure and was similar experience as others on this board. Procedure was quick. No pain. Probably because the meds they had me on . They did have this flushing system set up wher they would hang large bags of saline to the catheter to flush the bladder for the duration I was in hospital. I was released the day after the procedure but had to keep cath in for 4 days. This was the worst part for me out of the whole procedure. The catheter was huge in my opinion and made it very uncomfortable to walk around or even sit. Spent the next 4 days in bed. Best advise they gave me was take stool softeners. My urine bag was quite bloody while catheter was in. I felt like I lost plenty of blood. Dr said it was normal and I was OK. Went to DR office to remove cath. They filled my bladder and remove the cath and measured my flow. I have never peed so fast in my life. It was a gusher. My bladder had been in such a state of spasms for years that it made me pee so hard. The years of my bladder being under constant stress had made my bladder smaller and still liked to spasm. in about 2 weeks my bladder calmed down a bit. My flow is great to this day but the other issue that comes with BPH is what bit does to your bladder. After being under stress for that long the bladder still want to react like it was before. I still pee more frequently than I probably should but I sleep thru the night without peeing. I do drink alcohol and soda so that might be a contributor. Back to the bladder issue. I ended up having another procedure 2 months after I had the aqua ablation. I had a robotic hernia operation for an umbilical hernia. Anesthesiologist came in before the procedure and said he would like to like to give me an abdominal block where the give several needles into abdominal muscles he said it will last a day or so . He said is should help with post op pain. I agreed to it. The procedure went great I was released the same day. I had almost no pain from that procedure. Only 400 mg of OTC advil. I never took the meds they sent me home with and only took advil for 2 days. I could not believe I had such little pain. What I really noticed was after the procedure, my bladder spasms were gone and my frequency of having to urinate put me back to and average person. My bladder can now hold twice what I could hold just after the aqua ablation procedure. I am guessing the reason for the bladder change was due to that abdominal block that was given. I did some research and found that botox can be used to relax the bladder which could help with frequency Issues and maybe get your bladder back to normal.

Sorry about the long post and any misspelled words. Hopefully this will help anyone looking at this procedure. There is not a whole lot of info. on it. I am super glad I had this procedure. There is pros and cons to this procedure. My big thing was preserving sexual function and it worked out great for me. I liked that it is robotically controlled. Surgeon sets up system parameters and machine does the rest so not too much worrying about how much experience the surgeon has( short learning curve) My Uro was doing 8 the day I had mine.

How large was your prostate before the Aquablation therapy? Why do you say "I can't say the experience up to now has been perfect"? Are there any ongoing symptoms after the procedure?