Follow up on my "What if Urolift does not work?" topic
Posted , 11 users are following.
If you read my "What if Urolift does not work?" topic you will see I had a Urolift on March 25 and it caused my flow to be worse and I have a slight burning sensation in that area of the Urethra. It has been getting worse so I changed my appointment with my Urologist for today, July 30, 2019.
I did find out my prostate is not large and that I did not have a Median Lobe??
I left there feeling disappointed with the visit for these reasons. He wants to do another FLOW Test that I am sure will show I am worse than before the Urolift. He suggested I take the BPH drugs like Flomax (Tamulosin) or Rapaflo, that cause RE, to help with the flow, but I feel that is only covering up the problem with the Urolift that should have made my flow better. I will try the drugs again after my FLOW Test on 7/13 so they won't affect the test .
I asked him if he could remove the clips in the Urethra and he said I might have a worse problem if he did that. He said they only usually remove the clips if the anchor is in the bladder. He suggested a "Bipolar TURP" over the Urolift clips and I said no and that if I did anything like that it would be a lazer type TURP. He also said that I might want a second opinion and I feel that would be a good idea before I end up damaged for good.
I am presently looking for a good Urologist that uses a lazer like procedure in case I need a TURP. Hopefully, I can find one that will remove the clips before a TURP if needed, and maybe do it withour causing RE. I will wait until after the FLOW Test and then start taking some of the BPH drugs to see if will help until I can find a better doctor.
Does anyone know how you can find a good Urologist????
0 likes, 8 replies
oldbuzzard jim94474
Posted
Where are you located?
ken19524 jim94474
Posted
Sorry to hear that the Urolift didn't work for you. I think that you're doing the right thing: getting a second, and if necessary, a third or even fourth opinion. There are many very good urologists out there, so if you can let us know where you live, I'm sure that we collectively can point to a good one close to you.
My urologist was one of the early ones to pioneer the Urolift procedure, but since then he has gone to Rezum and is pretty firm in his conviction that Rezum offers (in most cases, but not all) the best first surgical procedure for BPH. Of course the appropriate procedure for your situation depends on a lot of things, but mostly on your specific anatomy (size and shape of prostate, as well as bladder function).
Hang in there; you'll find a good solution for your particular problem. As I said, there are some very good and caring urologists out there. You just have to find the right one.
jim94474 ken19524
Posted
Thanks for the reply. I am in NE Georgia next to South Carolina and have plenty Urologists to pick from. I will be searching for a Urologist that at least does no use the older invasive TURP procedures like my present Urologist uses. Rezum sounds little like the Greenlight Lazer but I guess is better. I guess the best thing is getting a good Urologist that will know when the bladder is the problem and if a BPH procedure is needed that he looks out for the patient.
ramblin jim94474
Posted
The urolift did not work for me, either. I had 5 clips put in last October. I started experiencing serious pain within 5 days. It did help the flow, although not as much as I hoped, but the pain was excruciating. It felt like I had a cockleburr stuck in my urethra. I had several visits back to the urologist, who mostly just told me every time to be patient, and he prescribed flowmax. The pain did diminish, some, over about 4 months, but was still there. It finally ended when I had a PAE at the end of May. The pain simply went away during the procedure, and has not returned. The clips were not removed.
jim94474 ramblin
Posted
Thanks, at first it sounds like you might have my Urologist. I have 5 clips and I have some pain that seems to be getting worse after 4 months. I am glad PAE worked for you but it sounds scary to me; however, I will be asking about it. I would like to know that I can get rid of this pain if the clips are not removed. I am hoping to find someone to remove the clips before preforming a TURP which I have been trying to avoid . For some reason I feel if I could start urinating like a teenager that this old 77 year old bladder will never get much better at holding urine.
TKM jim94474
Posted
Jim,
A Urologist can perform a urodynamics test to determine the condition of your bladder. I am not a Urologist but it seems like a cystoscopy should be able to see the condition of the clips in the urethra. A cyctosopy can also see inside your bladder and give some information about the condition of you bladder. You may need to discuss the things to look for before the cystoscopy so the urologist will be alerted to look for those things and also ask for a video CD of the procedure, so you and other urologists can look at it later.
It sounds like your Urologist may not be very experienced in Urolift. You can go on Urolift's website, to find a more experienced Urolift doctor in your area to access the condition of the Urolift already installed.
If you ask your Urologist about PAE he will probably not recommend it because Urologists don't do it. PAE is done by a different group of doctors, Interventional Radiologists (IR). Some of the best Interventional Radiologists for PAE are close by you. Dr Bagla in Woodbridge, Virginia and Dr Issaacson in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, have both performed many PAE. I did a PAE in 2013, which did not help me, probably because of my enlarged median lobe. But it caused no side effects, and was not a difficult procedure to go through.
Good luck
Thomas
markiebaba jim94474
Posted
Have sent you a PM
lee56659 jim94474
Posted
Do you realize that the laser procedures (Greenlight, HoLEP, et al.) are very similar to the standard TURP? They all remove prostate tissue, it's just the tool that's different. And most of them will result in RE. You should also know that not all alpha blockers cause RE. Flowmax (tamulosin) did for me but doxazosin in a 2mg dose did not. When I upped the dose to 4mg, then RE occurred but it's not a big deal for many of us.