1. Community
  2. Men's health
  3. Prostate Problems

Fla 2nd time

Posted , 20 users are following.

jim81578
jim81578

Just wanted to let everyone know that I will being going back for another Fla procedure. Had my 2nd 3tmri. Looks like not much has changed. Prostate is smaller than before. Talk with Dr K several times now. He has never done a redo only on cancer never on bph. I am apprehensive about doing another Fla, but dr says he can be a little more aggressive and that he wished he had been the first time. I am hoping for just a little touch up and that my bph symptoms will be gone. I am keeping faith that Dr K is truthful in his ability to remove more and have better results. As of now the only thing that is better for me since the first Fla is the meds seem to be working better as before they had stop working and had no choice but to have some sort of surgery. I go in January 25 for fla. This time I have stopped the finasteride for about 3 days now so my prostate should be normal size when i go in a month for Fla. He does think this will help and says he will have anyone on finasteride stop before Fla from now on. I am sort of a ginny pig.  Dr K will be doing procedure for half the cost. $ 11,000.00 I may have to self catheterize once the finasteride gets completely out of my system. That scares me the most at this time. Wish me luck guys I will need it. If it works i hope it may give other guys hope if they choose to try again. Hope I don't get retro grade or any other problems. The pills i take do that already so I am used to retro. Best case is that i have not sexual side effects and i pee good and will be able to get off all meds finasteride and flomax. I will only be in Houston for 3 days a quick in and out. One of my concerns is that he may get to aggressive, which he said he will be more aggressive but not to aggressive. If that makes sense. I will keep you folks informed. I am nervous, but considering the alternative surgerys i feel this is the best. This will mean i have about $35,000 invested in my prostate.  I guess this means im crazy, but its only money. 

Merry Christmas

2 likes, 54 replies

54 Replies

Next
  • JerseyUrology
    JerseyUrology jim81578

    Posted

    Have you had urodynamics and a cystoscopy to rule out other causes of your voiding symptoms?

    $35,000 is a LOT of money.

    You may want to consider a second, third, fourth (etc...) opinion before jumping into this.

    • jim81578
      jim81578 JerseyUrology

      Posted

      Hey Jersey,

      Never had urodynamics. Don't have a problem emptying bladder usually. Just had a cystoscope shows occlusion. This stuff has been going on for years. I have apprension, but just going to go for it. Its hard to trust a doctor, but Dr K. Has been the only doc in my life that will talk to you as long as you want. Never had a doc in cal that would talk with you with out paying. That has too say something about dr k. Usaully its all about money and time. So for that fact i have to trust him money or not.

    • JerseyUrology
      JerseyUrology jim81578

      Posted

      You may want to get a second (or third, etc...) opinion; there are plenty of  wonderful doctors out there, and plenty of options that don't break the bank.

    • jim81578
      jim81578 JerseyUrology

      Posted

      Jersey,

      Had 3 uros. First one was great guy and I'm sure would of told me to do what I feel is the best for me. He retired. Second one not so great. Did a cystoscope very painful and just wanted to sell me what he had and was mad that I wasn't going with him. Third uro did a cystoscope and was a breeze no pain. Told me his options and seemed to be optimistic about what I did. But he did feel like it was snake oil and maybe wasn't legal. Doctors now a days don't want to give you much time and will never talk with you on the phone as they want that copay. I'm sure there are some good ones out there but are extremely hard to find.

  • j12080
    j12080 jim81578

    Posted

    GOOD LUCK JIM. IF IT MAKE ANY difference, i would do the same if I was in your situation.

    This is not a good situation but I do trust Dr. K. He would not want to do the second treatment if he felt it would not have good chances. I will be pulling for you and I do wish you very good luck. 

    • jim81578
      jim81578 j12080

      Posted

      Thankk j,

      I need all the support I can get. Big decision and hoping my instincts are good. Hoping for the best. Either Dr K is a con or he is out for my best interest. From my talks with him I think he will do his best..

    • Vibes
      Vibes jim81578

      Posted

      Since FloMax doesn't shrink the prostate and leaves the system soon after you quit taking it, could you take that up to operation date rather than self cathing? 

    • jim81578
      jim81578 Vibes

      Posted

      I am going too stay on Flomax. It's the fenisteride I'm worried about as I have g uit that one before and had trouble going

  • joe74831
    joe74831 jim81578

    Posted

    Good luck Jim, and I agree, NO other Doc I have ever been to for anything has taken the time and the patience that DR K has. He is always there when you need him. And yes it is a lot of money, but what price can you put on your health?

    I think you are doing the right thing, I wouldnt say that about many Docs, but I trust Dr K to what he honestly thinks is in your best interest.

    Please keep us updated, and Merry Christmas buddy.

  • mike03369
    mike03369 jim81578

    Posted

    I feel your pain.  I had 2 PAE’s last year. Hope your second FLA goes better than my 2nd PAE. They did shrink my prostate but did not really diminish the symptoms. Not sure what’s next, but not a third PAE!  Good luck!👍 

  • brian34488
    brian34488 jim81578

    Posted

    Hi, well I had my FLA on 7th dec and now back in New Zealand, I found Dr K to be outstanding and so far right about everything when every one else was wrong, also both he and his excellent assistant Donnie were there for me all the way and came to visit me if I asked for assistance and without additional cost, Dr K loves the concept of being the trusted reliable good old fashioned Dr who places his patients health as of far more importance than income and that is what he has done for me, I was told not to expect immediate results as it takes time to heal however I am already seeing improvements with being able to hold more fluids and sleep longer with less wake ups to pee, I have followed his instructions to the letter and hope to see continued improvements as I heal, so I hope you too will see improvements soon if you follow his instructions carefully , all the best kind regards Brian.
  • pete31426
    pete31426 jim81578

    Posted

    Jim81578- Again, sorry to hear of the re-do. Better for the good Dr to have initially been too conservative than the alternative, you know? Of course the flip side is for you another expense, and hardship in your life, and I sympathize with that! The good news hopefully are the results you sought initially, soon to come, only delayed. You are, and I am , and we are the Guinea Pigs in the quest for side-effect free, efficacious treatment. 

    I have a very well refined BS and scam detector sense and it never even twitched in all my contact with Dr. K so I feel confident in saying that you are making a good decision to go to Dr K for the re-do. Some of us present more of a challenge to conventional treatment, and we are so damn lucky to have a skilled, innovative, caregiver amongst us willing to try and help.

    Brian- congrats and best wishes on your recent treatment! Just relax, take it slow and easy and don't expect anything great until beginning 6-8 weeks. The magic will happen, let it unfold in due time. The odds are in your favor, that you'll have the rest of your life to savor the benefits. I'm now approx 4 months post-op, still mid-single digits on IPSS vs mid-20's pre-op. My life is changed. 

    $xxxxx was a lot of money, and worth every single penny to get the results I sought with no negative side effects, an intact gland, no strings and metal pieces embedded in situ for the rest of my life.  What is the dollar value of being fully functional sexually, not lightheaded and tired from drugs, no frequent urgency, being able to walk up to an airport urinal, letting urine fly in 15 seconds and zipping up with no dribble soaking your underwear, for the first time in 40 years? It's f*****g priceless. 

    • brian34488
      brian34488 pete31426

      Posted

      Hi Pete,

                   Thanks for your encouragement to both Jim and myself, I agree with all your thinking and comments, really there is nothing that comes close to FLA especially in the hands of Dr Karamanian, well I'm looking forward to the next 3-6 weeks from now and will let everyone know the outcome in the mean time I'm already enjoying a much better nights sleep, no drugs, easier peeing, no pain, able to hold more fluid and longer and NO side affects! thanks Pete and all the best Jim, kind regards Brian .

    • jim81578
      jim81578 pete31426

      Posted

      Hey Pete,

         Thanks for the confidence. I am off of finasteride and still p--ing. Its been a little challenging but my stuff seems to be working with some ups and downs. I have been talking with dr k and i am ready to go this January 25. I am hoping with a little touch up I will be good to go.

      So far I've had to self catheter twice and that was an experience for me. Not sure how some of these guys do it every day my hats off to them. I'm not in here much but will keep you guys posted on my progress. 

      I do believe if anyone can do this Dr. K is the man.

    • jim81578
      jim81578 brian34488

      Posted

      Hey Brian,

          Good to here your doing well. Give it some time and you should be going like a race horse.

      Jim

Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.