Has anyone out there had a "Prostate Artery Embolization??

Hi joe,

You may want to stick w/ Dr. Isaacson - as he's done the second most of any doc in US.  He did mine on September 28th.  No significant improvement yet.  I'm beginning to panic but he says give it 2 more months before pursuing other options.  It doesn't work for everyone.  I'm just hoping I'm not one of those cases. 

Thanks for the info, and I  really hate to hear its not working yet.

Dis you hav any luck getting insurance to pay? i just spent an hour on the phone again with BCBS and the surgery center and Dr Isaacson are in network, but they still will not say absoulutlely yes or no.

Thanks

Hi Arlington,

My retention and PVR were taken care of by two greenight lasers (including a bladder neck resection during the second greenligt procedure), and a standard turp, all in the last 3-1/2 years. I'm interested in the PAE to reduce my prostate size (presently 203g.) and stop it from growing in the future.

I would appreciate hearing from you or others who had the PAE if your prostate has shrunk. Studies I have read indicated an average reduction of 25% in 6 months. Also would be interested in knowing if the reduction is permanent or does the prostate regrow as it does with all the other procedures. Thanks.

Bob

 

No luck with insurance - Aetna.  They have denied it twice.  We're trying again and noting that i have hematuria (blood in urine), which, amazingly they do cover PAE for.  I'm not hopeful as my urologist tells me that proving the hematuria is significant enough to get PAE covered is difficult.

I think it will be covered in the future - just a matter of time.  Hopefully sooner rather than later.

I should note that my case is a bit extreme and probably harder to predict success for PAE, as i went in to acute urinary retention 14 months prior to PAE and have been catheterizing ever since.  So don't let my experience so far dissuade you. (I'm still hopeful as I'm only 10 weeks out and things could still improve for a few more months).

I don't know whether mine has shrunk.  No follow-up imaging.  My understanding is that, as far as they know, it doesn't grow back; however, I would take this lightly - as it is still "early days".  They've only followed this for about 5 or 6 years.

Joe,

I agree with Arlington.. Stick with Dr Isaacson. He is top notch. He performed my PAE 7 months ago. You can read my many comments thru out this forum on the success I have had and how great Dr Isaacson is. According to my last MRI my prostate has shrunk 40%, but more importantly it has totally cured all my BPH symptoms. I am a new man!!!

Hi Joe,

   I have written on here a bunch of times. My PAE was done June 2nd of this year. I had some improvement in about 10 days which is very unusual. I'm over 6 months out and my urination is much better. Huge improvement infact. I'm very happy with my choice to have it done. I had a TURP 3 years ago and it was a terrible experience and was not succesfull. And thank goodness it did not result in the retrogarde ejaculation. That was a miracle! They didn't even inform me about that possibility until the day of the procedure. So nice of them! But I was spared the trauma.

My suggestion is to spend the 6500.00 if you can scrape it up. 

Good luck.

Thank you Arlington and William79680 for the info. I'm having my prostate imaged again in another 5 months after 6 months of Avoodart (dutasteride). At that point I'll see if PAE is a possible longer term solution for me.

Maybe by then insurance and or medicare will pay for the procedure.

Also I don't think that the drugs work forever and for some not at all. They did nothing for me. Neither did pumkin seeds or saw palmetto. I took them for years and also the other over the counter suppliments. The only thing that I got from the prescription drugs was the retrograde ejaculation which I hated so stopped them.

Again, Thank goodness for the PAE. I can pee almost like when I was a kid.

Bill

Hi Bill, like you I'm six months out from my PAE. Like you I had very rapid improvement from day 5 or 6. 

I pee like a horse now and I'm lucky enough to be in the 30% of PAE patients who report improved sexual function. 

Couldnt be happier with my PAE...it's the gold standard in my opinion.

Bill,

Were you taking Avodart (dutasteride)? That's what I am on now and it is supposed to shrink the prostate for as long as you are taking it. I got retro from my turp in April but it doesn't bother me. The thought of needing another turp every couple of years does.

Bob

I agree with the others. I had Dr. Isaacson do a PAE a week ago and am already seeing improvement. I'm getting up 3-4 times a night instead of 8-9, and peeing in one stream instead of a spray, and peeing in one long shot instead of starting and stopping several times to get the job done. Dr. Isaacson, and the hospital at UNC are absolutely top notch. If at all possible, bite the bullet and get him to do it there. If you can, wait a while and FDA will finish the approval process, and insurance will cover it, but get it there. I skimped a bit once on a surgery, and had a complication that caused me a year and a half of grief. Believe me, you want the best possible person for any surgery.

Neal

Great news Neal. It'll just get better and better for you. 

Congratulations Neal!!

as Caringbah said, it will only get better. The fact that you are showing early improvement is encouraging. Hopefully you will get like me and not have to get up at night at all.

Thanks Arlington. I am gonna go ahead and schedule after Jan 1 so the 6500 might at least go toward my deductible. Dr Isaacson says the insurance will usually cover the MRIs etc

Joe,

I haven't gotten my bill yet, but my expectation is that the $6,500.00 will cover all except food and lodging for the procedure. Mine may be more, since I have some very small blood vessels, and it took twice as long to do my PAE as it would normally take. I'll post here when I get the bill.

Neal

Thanks William and Caringbah for the encouragement. I'm looking forward to the continued improvement.

Neal

My insurance did cover the CT scans taken at UNC the day before the procedure.

From what I have been able to gather online, Aetna will not cover PAE because it has not been approved by the FDA, so it is deemed experimental.  PAE has only recently been submitted for FDA review, and will take anywhere from 3 to 7 years.  Three years is an eternity if your symptoms are severe, so I would just pay out of pocket if money is not a big issue.

Thanks for the advice and encouragement, I will definitely go with Dr Isaacson. And sooner rather than later. Really glad to hear you are doing so good, thats amazing.

Thanks neal, thats all i need to hear, Im gonna go ahead and just pay for it out of pocket.

thanks gor the info.

Thanks, thats at least some good news.

Hi Bob,

  Can't remember which meds I took. I think that over the years that there were two different meds. One of them caused the retrograde ejaculation. I did not like that at all.

I take no meds now. 

Best of luck, Joe!

Thanks Neal, that would be great if you could do that.  How long did your procedure actually take? Did you drive back home the following day?

thanks Joe

I will, but it will be a couple of weeks or so. We did not drive home the following day. I had the PAE on Thursday, and drove home the following Monday and Tuesday. We probably could have done it earlier, but took a conservative approach. The trip was great okay, but I did need to stop and pee every rest area or so, which was LESS than on the way up there. Keep a bottle in the car for peace of mind.

Neal

This is another update.

Ari Isaacson is absolutely outstanding, as are the hospital and the people there. I have trouble in that my normally well controlled high blood pressure goes up when I have surgery, and that happened here. It is just beginning to return to normal. Dr Isaacson suggested that I might have a relapse of symptoms, and that happened. I had a couple of weeks of slight pain in my prostate as I urinated. That seems to be clearing up now. Since the surgery, most nights I have gotten up to pee 3 to 5 times, when I used to get up 8-9 times a night. I expect that to get even better over time. The pain, which was never bad seems to have gone away. And while I am not peeing like a horse, it is better than before the procedure, and getting better all the time. All in all, it's not as bad as getting a tooth filled. I am already better than before the procedure, and expecting much more. I can't say enough about how great it is to work with Dr. Isaacson. He is always available to answer messages, or talk on the phone within a few hours. Don't sweat it.

Neal

Nealpros,

Glad to hear you are improving. Hopefully soon you will have the improvement I have. I believe I could help the fire department put out fires

As you said, Dr Isaacson is wonderful. I would definitely recommend him for anyone considering the PAE procedure. 

How long after the PAE was it before you were you peeing like that?

Neal

Neal,

I saw pretty good improvement in flow after about 10 days, but it continued to slowly improve for about 3-4 months. Flow rate now after 8 months is excellent. 

i absolutely loved dr isaackson! He is amazing!   I think that maybe if you have this done earlier when the symptoms are not quite as bad the outcomes might be better. This would be something for them to study and look at.  My side efffects pain were 0.   The results so far are fantastic but it is still a bit early as I am in the Honeymoon phase having had it last Tuesday, 12/22/15  .  Im 55 yrs old but had all the symptoms but only getting up maybe 2 times per night to pee, My issue was brown semen, and not able to hold urine and my stream was super slow and took forever to pee.   Each case is so different and indiviual.   Tom in Chicago

Tomcat,

Glad you are doing well. It will only get better. You are right about Dr Isaacson. He is awesome!!!

William,

I had my PAE 4 December, so I am past that time. I am getting up 3-5 times a night instead of 8-9, so that is better, and flow,while not great, is better in the daytime, but at night when I get up, I still have to bear down a bit to urinate, so I am looking for better things. I guess I'll have to be patient for a few months. Thanks for the information,

Neal

Hey Tom, just curious, what caused the brown semen. And gow long after the procdeure were you ok to ejaculate?

i am scheduled for my CT scan next week, and then the procedure the 3rd week of jan. 

It sounds like we have very similar situations I am 52 get up 2-3 times per night. Very weak stream. And lots of dribbling afterwards. Was evaluated for the urolift, but did not qualify due to a median lobe.

Did you have to pay for everything out of pocket? If so what was the cost? How long did you need to stay in NC?

i am having my CT scans next week, and thenhopefully schedule with Dr Isaacson the 3rd week of Jan.

thanks for any info.

joe

Hi Joe,

Read my earlier posts. I had my PAE from Dr. ISAACSON 4 December. You may be able to qualify for a study of PAE he is running. Ask him about it. If you do qualify, it will be free, but you will have to go back several times for follow up testing for the study. If you don't qualify for the study, it will cost $6,500-$6,800 out of pocket, plus room and board for 5-7 days.

Neal

William,

How much, if any improvement did you have after 4 months?  I'm at the 13 week mark and have had very little improvement.

Thanks 

Best of luck on significant improvement.  I've also had a few times when I had a brownish discharge.  i think it was dried blood or semen or dead tissue that had to work it's way out.  It was very temporary.

Arlington,

I was lucky. I had almost immediate improvement. It continued to get better for four months then leveled off at a VERY happy level. A lot depends on what were the factors causing symptoms. For me it was obviously primarily prostate size and the PAE cured that for now. I am at 8 months and enjoying life.

 

Thanks a lot.