BPH - currently CIC STILL GET NATURAL URGE
Posted , 7 users are following.
Hi to you all! I came accross the site by accident, but I am SO glad that I did. My husband has BPH and recently went in to acute bladder retention. In the last 2 months he has gone from being permenantly catheterised to self catheterising. But my question to you is that he maintains that he still gets the 'urge' to go, but that it passes within a few minutes. When this happens should he immediately go and empty his bladder with the catheter, or should he just ignore it - as it soon passes and go when his next CIC clock based is due. Any replies would be most appreciated!
0 likes, 19 replies
stebrunner deb2792
Posted
Hi, Deb,
Nine months ago I had acute urinary retention and ended up in hospital where they drained 7 liters out. Then I was on Foley inplace catheters for 3 months. Finally I got started with CIC. While on Foley's and while starting CIC I frequently had urges to urinate that passed in a few minutes. In my case these were bladder spasms. I've now been doing CIC for about 4 months, and it rarely happens.
I learned to CIC while waiting to have a prostate artery embolization (PAE). CIC allowed me time to research the best treatment option for my BPH. I CIC 5 or 6 times a day. Had my PAE June 23, 2016. At the time I couldn't urinate at all. Now I frequently pee weak streams. It takes 4 to 6 months to see most of the results from a PAE so I'm hopeful things will get even better.
There is excellent informaion about CIC on a thread on this site. Here's the link:
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/self-catherization-an-alternative-to-turp-greenlight-holep--336874?page=2#2274877
Hope some of this helps.
Stebrunner
deb2792 stebrunner
Posted
Hi Ste. Thank you for replying to me. Please can I ask you a couple of things? My husband aged 65 also has BPH and like you we have tried to look at different treatment options, and at the moment seem really impressed with urolift possiblity. Unfortunately we do not yet know the size of my husbands prostate, so we are not sure if this procedure would be the right one for him. But was also looked at HoLEP as opposed to PAE - really because we live a long way from Southampton which is where I think this is currently carried out in UK. Ste did you consider HoLEP and if not why? Also what is the difference between an 'urge to go' and a bladder spasm? I have told my husband that if he gets the urge to go - just pee wherever he is, to hell with the consequences, because by the time he gets to a bathroom the urge has gone totally. He did say this evening - about 10 minutes ago that for the first time since eraly July, he did pee a small amount naturally - not drops but a small very weak stream for a few (2-3 ) seconds - is that good ?, then it stopped and he had to self cath again. Ste are you pleased with your reslut from PAE and where did you have the procedure done? Uk, States or somewhere else. I have tried to follow your thread re CIC but the thing just keeps turning and doesn't take me there, but I will keep trying. But well done you! It sounds like you have made it through the maze of EBH! I hope that you continue to do well!And I hope that eventually you have a brilliant outcome!
?Thanks Ste... Deb x
nealpros deb2792
Posted
Neal
stebrunner deb2792
Posted
Hi, Deb,
Thank you for your encouragement! I live in the States, and yes, I did consider HoLEP, which I learned about on one of the forums on this site. Of the traditional BPH surgeries it seems the best in my opinion. My prostate was large--90 g--with a large mis-shapened median lobe pressing into my bladder. HoLEP was a good fit for that situation. The urologist said he would remove 80% of my prostate. He could not guarantee I would be able to urinate on my own afterward. He also said I'd definitely have retrograde ejaculation.
Compated to PAE, HoLEP has a longer recovery time and greater risk of complications. Four of 5 urologists told me I would never regain function of my bladder due to my extreme urine retention. I went with PAE because it had the quickest recovery time, and appears to have few chances of side effects. If the PAE doesn't work, it's still possible to have other procedures done, such as HoLEP.
My understanding of the difference between bladder spasms and the urge to go is that a spasm is the bladder sensing a foreign object, like an indwelling Foley catheter, and wanting to push it out. This occured, too, when I started CIC. A few times I had a spasm in the middle of CIC, and the spasm pushed urine out around the outside of the catheter. My spasms were very painful, and they felt like I had to urinate really, really bad. Usually nothing would come out.
The urge to go sensation is my bladder telling me it's full and needs to be drained. I always void naturally before CIC. In the beginning whenever I had the urge, I'd head to the toilet, and sometimes nothing came out. In the beginning, my natural voids were 1 or 2 drops. Gradually that became several drops, then dribbles--on occassion a weak stream for 2 or 3 seconds.
After my PAE, my natural void volumes were 20 to 30 ml. The weak streams were more frequent. Now my natural voids are 70 ml, and I've had several at 100+ ml. My best has been 175 ml. I'm hoping to eventually get to a point where I only have to CIC once or twice a day.
Hopefully you can get to that link to the thread about CIC. You might want to shorten it to see if that helps. There is also a good thread about "PAE has anyone had one". PAE was pioneered by a doctor in Portugal. I had mine done in Denver, Colorado in the States and had to travel 1,000 miles for it. My insurance denied coverage so I paid out of pocket. I'm planning to appeal their decision.
When looking at treatment options it's important to know the size of the prostate, and if it has a median lobe. Some options don't work well if the prostate is too large. Others don't work if there is a median lobe--of if the median lobe is large.
I consulted with 5 urologists, and none were supportive of the PAE option. I believe that's because PAE is done buy interventional radiologists. I think I made the right decision for my situation. Fortunately, my primary care doctor was very supportive.
Along the way, several of the urologists tried to pressure me into making a decision for their procedure. I'm very thankful for the forums on this web site. I learned a lot about how to CIC, and I learned a lot about treatment options available. Keep researching. I know you and your husband will find the best treatment option for your situation.
Stebrunner