Posted , 13 users are following.
After my cystoscopy yesterday, I met with my urologist-surgeon to talk over options.
I'd told him I was seeking out the Green Light laser treatment and he said that was fine, he could send me to someone for that, but that the surgery he performs, the bipolar vaporization was going to give me the same results with the boon that there is way less post-bleeding complications related to bipolar vaporization.
I told him I'd heard such rave reviews about Green Light and he said a lot of that is heavy promotional efforts on the part of the Green Light manufacturer. But, again, he'd send me to someone for that if I felt it was a big difference.
In the end I decided to go let him perform the surgery as I didn't have a sense that he was BS-ing me or trying to sell me something I didn't want.
He said I could do either spinal or general anesthesia and I think I want to just be knocked out rather than partially awake and observing things.
The only bad news for me was that he said I would have RE due to the major obstruction in my prostate involving the bladder neck in my bladder. I'm not thrilled about that, but if that is the trade off for constant cath-ing, well, so be it.
Any thoughts from you guys here about my decision?
0 likes, 44 replies
john98818 DavidKMentor
Posted
bipolar bipolar turp is not a bad way to go. You will have incredible q-max and much lower PVR after the procedure. my rezum was not that effective and I'm thinking about doing the bipolar turp. Please let us know how your experience is after you have the procedure.
DavidKMentor john98818
Posted
What is q-max and PVR?
john98818 DavidKMentor
Posted
Qmax is max flow rate and pvr is post void residual. It's the pvr that makes you go frequently and at night
DavidKMentor john98818
Posted
So, PVR is like left over tissue and stuff like that?
Wow, I'll be celebrating q-max for sure. And the throwing out of leftover catheters. 😃
john98818 DavidKMentor
Posted
PVR PVR is leftover urine in the bladder after you finish going
john98818 DavidKMentor
Posted
retrograde ejaculation shouldn't be much of a problem. The thing I'm worried about is a small but real risk of impotence. What do you guys think about erectile dysfunction after bipolar vaporization?
kenneth1955 john98818
Posted
Hey John
If you end up with being impotent from any of the procedures, retro ejaculation is the least of your problems. There is all ways that chance when they cut away at your prostate they may hit the nerve bundle and that will be it.
Men do not take in account that some doctors do not care about your sex life. There main concern is to get you to pee better. But I am sorry no men should have to give up his sex life just to pee better. That is why you have to do research and get a second opinion. Find a doctor that will listen to your concerns. And just because you are not having any more kids. Why is the doctor telling you that you don't need it. He is treating you like a old horse that they put out to pasture.
Don't listen to them when they tell you all will be the same because 9 times out of 10 it's not. If you want to feel what retro is like have the doctor give you either Flomax or Rapaflo. And see how you like it.
Life is to short to not live it to it's full potential. I guess holding hands will be the best. Ken
john98818 kenneth1955
Posted
good points. thanks
rick84449 DavidKMentor
Posted
I'm just under two weeks post-op GLEP. from what I've gathered my doc only removed the median lobe, and probably not all of it. So far I'm very happy with the procedure and yes I am having sex already, and do not seem to have RE, the volume may be less (not sure) but sex is possibly even more enjoyable now than ir was which is hard to believe.
My doc does several procedures but is a pioneer with GLEP, he felt it was the best for my situation and i trust his judgement. He did mention that when he gets referrals for guys that have had prostrate surgery and have symptoms again that unless they have RE he knows the job was probably not done well enough and he will have to go back in.
I may just be lucky with GLEP, do your research.
kenneth1955 rick84449
Posted
Hey Rick
Glad to hear that all is going well. You may see a little less but you still have it. That is a sign of a caring doctor. What he did is removed the blockage. Why remove the whole prostate if you don't need it. I praise your doctor for being a good man and a good doctor.
Heal well And be safe...........Ken
DavidKMentor rick84449
Posted
Rick
How was post-op for you with GLEP. Regarding bleeding and clots or issues like that. And how long were you cathed after?
Can you explain more what you are saying here: "He did mention that when he gets referrals for guys that have had prostrate surgery and have symptoms again that unless they have RE he knows the job was probably not done well enough and he will have to go back in."
tgt111 DavidKMentor
Posted
Why not try PAE first.. No RE! If it doesnt work, you can try something else. Its getting very popular in the US. Uroligist want to make money doing there"things". They frequently bad mouth PAE.. They(urologists) dont do PAE.....
tgt111 DavidKMentor
Posted
Why not try PAE first.. No RE! If it doesnt work, you can try something else. Its getting very popular in the US. Uroligist want to make money doing there"things". They frequently bad mouth PAE.. They(urologists) dont do PAE.....
DavidKMentor tgt111
Posted
My insurance wont cover that.
oldbuzzard DavidKMentor
Posted
What kind of insurance do you have? Everything they cover is more expensive and carries more risk than the newer, less invasive procedures.
DavidKMentor oldbuzzard
Posted
It's Apple Health in Washington, the equivalent of Medicaid.
oldbuzzard DavidKMentor
Posted
Greenlight is an outdated procedure that generally works out OK in the right hands, can leave horrible results in the wrong hands and has a messy longish recovery almost all the time (diaper for 30 days).
I don't have the energy to read this whole thread again and see how bad off you are. My guess is that your insurance will eventually cover Rezum, as its less expensive than any of the ones that it covers, with fewer follow ups and almost no permanent side effects.
I would look into the appeals process and find a doc who has done a lot of these and knows the best way to word an appeal. If that doesn't work, I would wait (assuming you aren't miserable now, which BPH can definitely do) and see if they don't cover it soon. The company that makes the machine was sold to Boston Scientific earlier this year and my guess is that they will spend a lot of money lobbying insurance providers to cover it.
rick84449 oldbuzzard
Posted
not sure where you get this oldbuzzard i just had glep and i couldnt hope for better. I'm 11 days postop and I'm p*****g like a racehorse, rock hard erections and great normal wet orgasms.
Have you had GLEP?
oldbuzzard rick84449
Posted
Recovery time varies. My doc told me to plan for a month in a diaper and that there was a 50/50 chance of permanent RE. In the wrong hands, it can be tragic. Read Glenn's old posts about his years in a diaper.
I'm glad you've done so well - Rezum offers comperable results with much less RE (5-10%) and almost 0 chance of incontinence or impotence and doesn't require anesthesia. For those reasons I think it's the first line treatment of choice for BPH
kenneth1955 rick84449
Posted
Good morning Rick
So happy that all work out so well for you. You are one of the lucky ones. There are a lot of men that would love the results you have had. But it really come down to how good the doctor is. I hope David get a good second opinion. Don't trust the doctor saying there is nothing I can do about retro and the saying that the Green Light Manufacturer is selling there procedure. That is why there is a lot of good things said
The doctor needs to stay away from his bladder neck. I am hoping that it all works out for him and don not have the procedure that his doctor want to so.
Can you please tell us where you are at and who did your surgery. It may help some men in your area.
That careKen
kenneth1955 DavidKMentor
Posted
Good morning David
Hey David been doing some more research into Bipolar Vaporization that the doctor want you to have. You also have to remember that you will be having 2 procedure. The Turp and the Bladder Neck surgery. Heal time and side effects are different for both.
I did some looking and I found out that they are still doing trails on this procedure because they do not know if the benefits are worth it. Also it could lead to more blockages in the prostatic urethra just below the urinary bladder.
They have found out the there is less bleeding and less catheter time which is good.
But is that a reason to have a this surgery. Have you read Rick's post. He had a GLEP which has been very good for him. He is peeing very well, his sex life is great and he does not have retro. He had everything removed that was causing the problem.
I wrote a note to him hoping he will tell us where he is. And the doctor that did the surgery. Maybe he can help men he his area. And also maybe the doctors know of good doctors that can help others.
David I know you want to get this problem solved but why should you give up other parts of your life. It's not worth it. Once it gone you will never get that back. We have to fight for what we believe and do not let others talk us into things that will not effect there lives. Never give up
Be safe and thing before you do anything because there is no going back...........Ken
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