Green Light Laser Blood In Urine
Posted , 7 users are following.
I am posting for my father and I am just trying to find any relatable stories to help abate any worries I might have and certainly his as well.
So starting from the beginning my father was diagnosed with BPH several years ago. He had a high pc but nothing that was truly concerning yet. In August of last year he was diagnosed with sever hernieted disc in his back and required surgery. This will get on topic I promise. He had the surgery and an unfourtunte sid effect was post operative BPH and Urinary Retention. Several days after the surgery he required a catheter. Sever weeks after seeing a urologist is was recommended that he get the Green Light Laser surgery to relieve his BPH.
In November he got the Green Light Laser Surgery and my father came home with the catheter. Numerous complication arose from the surgery including several weeks of urninary retnetion. Two hospital stays for severe urinary retention and catheter almost all the way through December. Following that was severe inflamation in his knees to the point where he couldnt stand. Another hospital stay with no official diagnosis but the consensus being pseduo gout brings us to february. Early february my father told me he began seeing blood in his urine along with rather large clots. This has been happening sporadically over the last few weeks and after constant urging from me he has set up appointments with GP and Urologist. I don't know why he has waited this long but this is where we are. This is not a little urine its is Gross Hematuria with sporadic blood clots. I suppse quite a while of being poked, sliced, and prodded made father weary of going to to the doctor however he is taking care now.
My questions are essentially has anyone expericend long term symptoms like this? Is blood in urine typical or even a side effect of green light laser this long after the procedure? Over the last sever months he has had numerous cystoscopes which should have revealed things like cancer as well as blood and urine analyis. So cancer is still weighing heavily on all of us a concern but is it more likely to be something else?
Thank You all in advanced.
0 likes, 24 replies
kenneth1955 SP1989
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SP1989 kenneth1955
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We were very concerned about having two surgeries within 6 weeks of each other but my fathers urologist and the urologist in the hospital both agreed that the surgery was necessary. So you're are saying though that 4-5 months after the GLL surgery it is fairly normal to still have blood in urine. I must emphasize that the blood in the Urine is very red and clots seem to occur on average twice a week.
kenneth1955 SP1989
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SP1989 kenneth1955
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Thank you so much Ken and I will pass this on to my dad. Hopefully it will bring him some relief psychlogically until we can get a confirmation from a doctor. Just fyi my dad is urintating fine. He has a good flow and no real urgency to go often. Its just the blood. Also could you if you dont mind give me some background on your experiences and background? My father being the premminent skeptic will just say "what does that guy know" no offense to you thats just what he is going to say lol. Thank you again.
kenneth1955 SP1989
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No Problem. I have been on here for about 3 years. I have a stricture just before the prostate. I have it checked ever 2 to 3 month's to make sure it still open. In Febuary of 2015 I had a scope done the stricture was fine the prostate was a little inlarged and pushed together. I have to force myself to go. It was also after I was on some of the pills that was to help me but they didn't. My urologist is a great guy he's only 38 and he know alot. If I had a different doctor I know they would have told me that i needed a TURP. There would be no way I would have it. Instead he told me about the Urolift. They go in and open the prostate and put implant on it to keep it open. I had that done 4 weeks later. It has been 2 years and I'm doing great. There are so many new procedure out there that do not carry any side effects. GL does. Tell your father that he is no young guy know that he can't do what he did years ago. GL is a major surgery anytime they cut tissue away you cannot do hard work for a while. Maybe if he does take it easy he will not have the bleeding. But I don't want to scare you but there have been many men on here that have had the GL procedure that had a problem with it and they ended up having a Turp to clean up the mess from the GL. Tell him to relax and stay out of the snow and no stress. I hope he get better and if you need anything e-mail me or any of the other men on here. Were here to help . Ken
SP1989 kenneth1955
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SP1989 kenneth1955
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I also really hope he doesn't need to have a TURP because he really wont like that but obviously he will do what he has to do. That being said my father tells me he has great flow. So it doesn't seem like the surgery was a complete failure it seems that (hopefully!) it hasn't healed properly.
kenneth1955 SP1989
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I still said he did not need it at that time but being that it's done he need to take care of him self and relax and heal I will say a prayer for him. How old is your Father
oldbuzzard SP1989
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Without knowing what tests were run its hard to comment but I'll share what I know.
First, BPH isn't side effect of surgery or anesthesia as neither makes the prostate grow. If your Dad didn't have BPH prior to that operation, he doesn't have it now (and if he did, he shouldn't be any worse after 2 or 3 weeks after surgery than he was prior). Anesthesia is known for negatively impacting bladder function however, which is probably what happened to him. When I was 40, I had a 3 hour sinus surgery and I couldn't pee normally (had to sit down and be patient) for two weeks and had no hint of any bladder or BPH issues. Probably, if your Dad had waited it out, his bladder would have slowly started functioning again. Much better for that than a foley catheter (that I assume he came home with) is a regimen of self cathing (CIC) which will both allow the bladder to recover, but also prevent retention and make it possible to start peeing a little at a time. But that's water under the bridge now.
Unless a scope prior to the BPH revelaed a constricted urethra, BPH was a guess and not a diagnosis. Either way, your father's experience is not typical and this sounds like a greenlight gone wrong. Typically, you only need a catheter for a day or so after greenlight and the issue is usually urgency, not retention. There is some blood post procedure, but nothing like you describe, especially not 4 months later.
I don't know where your Dad lives, what kind of insurance he has or how mobile he is - but I suggest seeing another urologist - a specialist associated with a major hospital who can run the full battery of tests, figure out why he is the way he is and what can ge done about it. If you need a name, I can PM you with an awesome Doc at the Cleveland clinic.
This probably isn't cancer and I'm guessing that if there was any hint of that they would have done a biopsy by now, but from what you write I'm not impressed with your dad's urologist, so you never know - but this sounds much more like a bad greenlight than cancer. I would have someone with really good credentials take a look as soon as you can get into one.
kenneth1955 oldbuzzard
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SP1989 oldbuzzard
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Thank you for your advice and I will certainly pass it onto my dad because he certainly is stubborn and I have been telling him to get a second opinion every step of the way. Obviously I will be avoding any hint of I told you so because that wont go over well but I hope your post might help him finally move onto a different Urologist. That being said I do believe that his urethra was being consrtricted. I'd like to think that his urologist wouldn't be guessing but you're right maybe someone might have jumped the gun with the GLL.
That being said bladder cancer is very hard to avoid because if you google blood in urine bladder cancer is the first result and since what my father is experinceing right now is blood in urine with no pain needless to say he pretty riddled with anxiety. I am not going to lie I am too and until we have definite answers that anxiety wont go away. Google does indeed suck.
My father is very mobile and has been pretty active because he was feeling good....until he saw blood in his urine. Now I did neglect to post this earlier but my father did say that he does have blood in his urine mostly if he has to strain to pass a stool or does an overly strenuous activity. Just as an example we had a bad snow storm he in NY yesterday. After shovelling (against my demands for him not to) he has had a large amount of blood in his urine last night and today. However from what has told me it has begun to clear up again. Idk if tis significant but I want to make sure all the details are out there. Thank you again.
kenneth1955 SP1989
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He should not be doing that. Remember all men heal at different rates I don't know how much they cut out but he still have to heal. Tell your father not to be so stubborn Some men take up to a year to heal. Take care and that you for being there for him. I had one of them to . You could not tell my father anything he knew better. Ken
oldbuzzard SP1989
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Good luck with all of this. Yes - blood in the urine is a sign of bladder cancer, but given his greenlight surgery its much more likely to be caused by it. Something doesn't appear to ber fully healed and seems to get worse everytime any kind of strain pokes the bear.
If you can convince your Dad to see another doc with established credentials, obviously that would be ideal and will probably be the only way to feel comfortable that cancer is off the table.
lester90053 SP1989
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Your dad's experience with GL is one of the worst I have seen on this forum in a long time including my own bad experience with it. I would say that at this time you should consult with a good attorney.
Bayliner SP1989
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Generally, blood in urine does NOT mean that cancer is the problem. I had blood in my urine with large clots for years with NO sign of cancer. Your Dad needs to get a urine culture to see what kind of infection he has picked up. This is done from the top of the cath in a Hospital Outpatient setting..I think you find that the Green Light probably caused an infection...but seeing a urologist to scope the prostate area will reveal if a stricture (tissue regrowth) is evident. If you have urinary blockage an infection will cause blood clots and blood because it will also expands the prostate. So get that scope & urine culture done so you can eliminate at least this cause. The better sure (not perfect) way today to determine if cancer exsists is the old prostate biopsy.
Good luck to you & your Dad