Aquablation of Prostate in the books
Posted , 7 users are following.
After a failed rezum - pretty sure that was due to a poor physician and a Urolift that worked well for a while - pretty sure an MRI was an issue, I had Aquablation on February 9th
9 days I'm doing better than I expected. Only used Tylenol for 4 days Slept the whole night without having to go. Barely any blood in the urine. I've been wearing pads to spare my underwear and do see faint amounts of blood. I am in the phase where the swelling has increased and its reflective in the flow But that's expected
Some particulars and tips:
Prostate size pre - procedure 58
Surgeon has been doing these for 13 months
Stayed one night in the hospital
They flushed my bladder a whole lot on the hospital - I mean a lot - the nurses were non-stop changing bags and emptying my bag I think this contributed a lot to my recovery They really cleared me out
They removed two of the four urolift clips
If you've a Urolft go to their website to download a card to take when you get imaging It is still only provisionally approved
I had a catheter from Friday to Monday morning I took out the catheter in the morning then five hours later had a Ultrasound ( only 48 ml's!)
Uti prevention - outside of whatever antibiotics they give you. Get sterile gloves and use them whenever you empty your bag Wash your hands, put on the gloves, open the drain, watch for splashback, clean the tip of the drain with alcohol When you shower use antibacterial soap to clean the tube and your penis When you have a bowel movement clean yourself up with wipes or jump in the shower If you switch from a leg bag to a
night bag clean the bag with a mixture of vinegar and water completely. Or if you can, have enough extra bags so you can just replace them. Finally clean any tube before you attach it to a new bag
Constipation is a big issue - this is the first time it wasn't for me. Senna helped me Everyone is different , if you aren't going, keep hammering your physician Also suggest you have them listen to your bowels before you are discharged Antibiotics can shut down your GI If there is an issue, better to know in the hospital
Erection - had them in the hospital Nothing like having one with a tube in it. Unnerving and gratifying at the same time
No sex permitted for a few more weeks otherwise
Recovery in general - wow I was very tired for a solid 5-6 days. If you work from home like me take a week if you can. I'm 62 and in very good health otherwise. I exercise a lot and it kicked by butt. Plan on two weeks otherwise. More if its a physical job.
So far so good
Had it done at Penn in Philly I felt well cared for during my stay
3 likes, 10 replies
jonathan00596 bob00486
Edited
Hi Bob,
Thanks for sharing the above, and hoping that you continue to heal well.
I've been on either Tamsulosin or Alfuzosin for 11 years now, am just turning 63, have a 71 ml prostate, an enlarged median lobe, a PSA of 1.3, and am also very active and in very good general health (other than my BPH).
I've been getting closer & closer to a retention episode, just had my cystoscopy, and am scheduled for an Aquablation next month (also at Penn in Philadelphia).
It will be my first BPH related procedure other than ultrasounds, flows, and last week's cystoscopy (and a prior cystoscopy, 11 years ago).
Your post is helping to turn my apprehension into excitement of hope for a significantly better quality of life on the other side of the healing.
Thanks again for having posted, and hoping that this continues to work out well for you.
bcb1 jonathan00596
Edited
I had mine done Thursday at Sentara in Woodbridge, VA. One night in hospital. Very positive experience so far. The garden hose size catheter they insert during surgery is quite uncomfortable, but necessary so they can constantly irrigate the bladder. They flushed my bladder for 15 hours. Taking the catheter out was the most painful part of the whole thing. And dont panic if you cant pee for a couple hours after the catheter is out. Even when you do, it will be short, bloody spurts at first, but it will get better over the next few hours. Keep drinking lots of water.
So far, my experience has been better than I expected over the first couple days. Good luck with your surgery. It really isn't bad at all.
bob00486 jonathan00596
Edited
Let us know how are making out
compiler jonathan00596
Posted
Your prostate is large, 71 cc. Are you sure your PSA level is only 1.3? Have you not taken finasteride or dutasteride drug?
jonathan00596 compiler
Posted
Hi compiler, thanks for your reply/concern.
I have not taken either finasteride nor dutasteride, as all of my docs have felt that the potential side effects & risks of doing so would not outweigh the potential benefits for my case (especially being only in my early 60's).
Yes, I'm sure that despite my significantly enlarged prostate volume (71cc), my PSA is still (thankfully) only 1.3, and is average for my age. Over the past 10 years, it has slowly and linearly increased from 0.6 to the current 1.3 ng/mL.
Thanks again
jonathan00596
Posted
Hi again, compiler, I just notice a "typo" in my reply, just above....
I intended to state that "side effects & risks of doing so would outweigh".
macindian jonathan00596
Posted
I am also in a similar situation. Have been on Flomax/Alfuzosin for around 4 years now. My prostate volume is around 37cc. So my urodoc is hesitant to do an Aquablation. He suggested Urolift. But I haven't got that done.
Did you find any difference between Flomax and Alfuzosin in terms of your PVR volumes? Flomax is terrible because of retrograde ejaculation.
Thanks!
jonathan00596 macindian
Posted
Hi macindian,
I didn't notice much difference in flow rate nor in PVR between the two meds, but also chose to switch from Tamsulosin to Alfuzosin due to "dissatisfaction" with the RE caused by the Tamsulosin. Neither one worked particularly well for me, due to my enlarged median lobe (which is believed to be the greatest cause of my issues).
One of my prior docs had repeatedly suggested to have him perform a Urolift on me, but I'm glad that I didn't, as it doesn't typically work so well with those that have an enlarged median lobe.
bob00486
Edited
15 days out still improving Feel the urge to go maybe once or twice a night A few nights not at all. Still no real pain. I'm expecting like most report that six weeks out is when you really feel the benefits Haven't had sex yet so no idea if I'll have retrograde ejaculations or not No shortage of erections I'm back up to walking around 10,000 steps per day Still no lifting of anything over 10 pounds So far I'm feeling good about this procedure
bob00486
Edited
Just stopped Alfuzosin a few days ago, which was a month out from my procedure. I see a little drop off in flow but not too much. That should improve over the coming weeks. I have the slightest discomfort when I pee, but really only when its a strong stream. Also, sexual function is intact. So far so good.