Button Turp - 2 Week Update
Posted , 10 users are following.
I thought i would share my recent Turp surgery experience and recovery. I had the surgery 2 weeks ago. It took about an hour then I was in recovery for an hour and then left for home with a Foley. I am 59 and about a year ago had worsening symptoms of urgency/frequency and Dr. found significant blockage and retention. I failed the Urodynamics test and Dr was not confident surgery would help as had significant bladder muscle damage but offered to try or I could self cath. I went the self cath route for one year and it became second nature. I travel internationally each month for work and got used to cathing multiple times on flights to Asia. With my deductible and out of pocket max paid the surgery wasn't going to cost me anything so i did it 2 weeks ago. I took the Foley out myself after 3 days and drank a lot of water and the first time I peed was shocking. It had been 30 years since i peed like that. I have been measuring output and average around 270ml each time with a max of 475ml after I was stuck in a meeting and about to burst. I started walking right away and went for first jog at day 9 and have run about 5K each day since. I was an avid runner before so this is normal for me. I have been curious about retention and have spot checked with a self cath and so far less than 25ml so I am pretty pumped up. I go back for follow up in another week and cant wait to thank the Dr. I believe the year of self cathing helped rehabilitate my bladder. Anyway who knew peeing could be so meaningful...its definitely the smaller things in life sometimes!
2 likes, 11 replies
Light1 jeff01927
Posted
Some things we don't appreciate until they're gone. Sometimes we're fortunate enough to get them back--- this is one of those rare occasions for gratitude! Congrats and good wishes,
Fred
andrewcalgary jeff01927
Posted
have you measured your urine flow rate in ml/sec?
jeff01927 andrewcalgary
Posted
i have not measured it yet but plan to try to come up with a rough number based on stopwatch and quantity. Perhaps the Dr will order a test though im not sure i would do a complete Urodynamics again. Will see what he says and let you know.
andrewcalgary jeff01927
Posted
After FLA, 3 months ago my flow rate is currently 16.6 ml/sec, this is an average from 10 measurements I took when my bladder was about full and felt urge to pee
patrick45945 jeff01927
Posted
Jeff,
Thanks for sharing your good news with your Turp surgery results! I am in a similar situation having just started my self-cathing regimen a month ago with hopes of rehabbing the bladder after failing a urodynamics test. I too have a damaged bladder with muscle and nerve damage after 5 liters were drained after CT scans following a bike fall resulted in an ER visit during which my "massively distended bladder" was discovered.
During my most recent uro visit, I was advised that "...no use in expanding the pipe if the pump isn't working" and success rate for any surgical procedure at this point is only 20-30%. So I am hoping to have an experience like yours and will be looking at alternative surgical options while I hopefully rehab my bladder to regain bladder function.
Curious how you decided on the button turp and if this was done after a second urodynamics test that showed improvement. How did you know it was time to go for the procedure after self-cathing for a year? Were you able to void at all without a catheter prior to your surgery? Also curious if you have any side effects from the surgery (incontinence, retrograde, etc.).
Thanks again for sharing your experience and best to you going forward!
Patrick
jeff01927 patrick45945
Posted
Patrick,
No I did not have a second Urodynamics and basically chose to do it because was just getting tired of having to plan each day around cathing while traveling on business and that is quite frequently. Finding an empty stall and the extra time it took to cath was just a pain. I will say the Speedicath compacts I used are phenomenal and highly recommend them. For hotels and home used the Convatec Gentlecath that were completely handsfree and had a little packet that activated the hydrophilic coating - excellent and never any issues. I failed the original Urodynamics and was unable to void and even while cathing was never able to naturally void. Before starting I had a retention volume of 900ml. The Dr only suggested surgery because he saw one strong contraction on the study so said once things calmed down it was probably worth a shot. He has experience with several different types of Turp procedures and instruments and felt like one of the bipolar button instruments would be best and he would choose the one once he started with the goal to minimize bleeding and recovery time. He went with an instrument meant for smaller prostates and recovery has been a breeze compared to what I was prepared for. There has been no incontinence but some amount of RE though not enough samples to conclude yet. Everything still works and he fully expected RE and I knew that going in. Today will be first flight in a long time where I don't have to worry about urgent need (pre cathing) or using a cath while the plane bounces around !
patrick45945 jeff01927
Posted
Jeff,
Thanks for your most informative and helpful response. I feel your pain about "planning your day around self-cathing" and suspect that will also motivate me to a procedure if and when the time is right although I am retired and don't have the travel constraints as you, although I do plan on air travel in the future.
Yes, I agree about the SpeediCath compacts being easy to use and plan on buying a supply to travel with as Medicare does not cover the relatively high cost of about $6 each. Haven't heard of the Convatec Gentlecath "handsfree" caths...and am curious how any self-cath can be "handsfree". My current go-to cath is the SpeediCath straight FR 14 which I use the "nose dive" technique which allows me to insert the cath holding only the nozzle and do not touch any part that enters the urethra...is this what you mean by "hands free"?
Thaks again for your response and happy cath-free travels to you!
Patrick
jeff01927 patrick45945
Posted
Patrick the Gentlecath has a little sashe of sterile water i think and you just bend the package and it breaks and let it cover the cath before opening. There is a little blue sheath that slides up and down so you hold the spout with one hand and the other the blue sheath and you never have to touch the actual cath. Works great.
patrick45945 jeff01927
Posted
Thanks Jeff, I have requested some samples and will check them out!
Patrick
eric78101 jeff01927
Posted
Sounds great! Your recovery was faster than mine and many others. I have had issues with a weakening stream (my Rezum was in July of this year) and am tentatively scheduled for a cleanup/TURP tomorrow. But yesterday I passed a lot of dead material and am now peeing like a teenager. I mention this as I peed really well at first and then it got worse instead of better. Just dead tissue blocking the urine flow. So if that does happen to you, that's probably the cause. Good luck!
rob78162 jeff01927
Posted
Congrats Jeff on the positive results. I'll be going down the same road in the Spring sometime, Button/Bipolar TURP. This appears to be the best option for me and I'm looking forward to hiking again and not stopping at every bush to pee.
Rob