Having Rezum in a few days. What should I expect?
Posted , 8 users are following.
Starting to get nervous. It's just a few days away.
Recently I have had a cytoscopy as well as a urodynamics test to 'see if I am a candadate' for Rezum. Because of back pressure while peeing, I was told that there was significant back pressure and that I was indeed a candicate for Rezum. Doc told me that I would have to have a catheter for a week or so. That does not bother me as I am taking a week off of work.
I thought I did my homework and Rezum seemed to have the least side effects with the most degree of success. The Cytoscopy and Urodynamics wasn't fun but was tolerable with local anastesia being inserted into my urethra 20 minutes prior to insertion. All this talk of retrograde ejac and immense pain is making me think twice. What bothers me is the thought of the large diameter of the device being inserted. (Basically a dog trying to fit into a birdhouse??) Grrrrr??
How does this procedure compare to the cytoscopy and/or the urodynamics? What else should I expect?
How does the doc know where and how many blasts of steam are needed?
0 likes, 13 replies
TKM greg79427
Posted
Greg,
It is important to find a doctor with experience doing Rezums, at least 50 procedures. There are too many stories of guys having problems after having the procedure by an inexperienced doctor.
Some on this forum recommend learning to self catheterize before the procedure so you don't have to rely completely on Foley catheters.
Some have recommended using the Foley for the first week or two and intermittent catheters after that.
One person recommends taking Finisteride for several weeks before the procedure saying it reduces bleeding.
Don't expect results too soon. Boston Scientific is notorious for advertising too short and easy recovery. Many guys on this site have taken 4 to 6 weeks too hit the break even point, where they can urinate as good as they did before Rezum. Getting better than you were before the procedure happens after 2 to 3 months, improvement may continue out to 9 months.
Thomas
Badbolr greg79427
Posted
search for and read my posts is all i can offer I documented from day 1 to present.
I'm 3 months out and fir me it was s total waste of time, looked promising weeks 4-6 but then out of nowhere returned to 85% of pre Rezum. Not worth the agony i endured.
And it hurts WAY worse than cysto if you arent getting twilight sedation.
I wish you well
Argyle greg79427
Posted
As you're reading, each person is unique, as was their Rezum experience.I had the procedure done last Nov and I didn't find the procedure any more uncomfortable than the cyto procedure. I had the the Foley in place for 5 days.That bothered me more than the procedure. Follow your doctor's advice post procedure and things should go well. As stated, a doctor with experience is very important. My urologist has done more than 400 procedures. He and his staff had the process down pat...bada-bing, bada-boom. My appt was at 8:30 AM and he had done 3 guys before me. I'm being open minded about what the end results will be for me. I'd say my urinary retention & flow rate are better than pre-Rezum.I'm hoping it will get even better. Good luck.
greg79427
Posted
Well, I had the procedure yesterday morning. Now dealing with the catheter. I had 7 blasts of 9 seconds each. Some of them hurt much more than others. The thing I hated is that the doc didnt seem to wait between the blasts so that i could 'recover'. I remember some of them hurt so bad that i was shaking. Now a week with the catheter. Grrrrrrrr!!! Lets hope that this thing works. At first their was a lot of blood when i urinated. Seems to be less as i am recovering. Slept a lot when i got home.
russ_777 greg79427
Posted
Sorry to hear that didn't go well for you Greg. Did you have any anesthetics administered beyond the licocaine gel?
greg79427 russ_777
Posted
They had me swallow a valium 1 hour before procedure and 1 percocet. Still hurt like crazy!! What bothered me was no break between the seven 'treatments'. A few seconds between the blasts to 'recover' would have been nice. Just when I was getting my composure back, after the 9 second blast, then came another treatment. I was trembling and shaking at the end. It felt like I was being electrocuted. Having the catheter was NO fun and no dealing with the pain and misery now after 13 days is no fun either. Grrrr!!!!
Badbolr greg79427
Posted
i was just like you at the end with 5
horrible
steven05114 greg79427
Posted
Greg,
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In November 2018, I also had 1 Percocet and 1 Valium at 1 hour before my Rezum which involved 10 shots (4 per lateral lobe and 2 median lobe). The Rezum was painful but easily tolerated. After the Rezum, I went out to lunch with my driver.
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I had a Foley for 2 weeks and then self-cathed for another 2 weeks after that. I started to open up at 4 weeks. My Rezum followed the standard recovery schedule. My IPSS went from a 29 to a 9 and I have no RE. My Rezum was very successful.
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Knowing how to self-cath is important for anyone who has a Rezum. There may be times when tissue that is shed after the Rezum will clog your catheter. There may be episodes of swelling after the Rezum that will make self-cathing more difficult.
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Where did you have your Rezum and who did it?
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Steve
russ_777 greg79427
Posted
Wow that sounds like medieval torture chamber! I guess everyone has a different tolerance for pain but if he was doing them without a break that's over a minute of near constant steam injection.
The uro I met with about Rezum offers both twilight sedation with an anesthesiologist administering or while you're awake but with prostate nerve block injections on both sides of your prostate in addition to medication for anxiety and lidocaine gel. I'd think you'd need an analgesic that is more specific to the prostate than just oral percocet. If I were doing Rezum I guess I'd be OK with the nerve block instead of anesthesia. While it's entertaining to get the fentanyl and versed cocktail IV it's still anesthesia with non-zero risk...and it costs more.
greg79427 steven05114
Posted
I live in Denver. I am not going to mention my URO because of complications that insued but overall happy now. Only had the foley for a week but did manage to get a urinary tract infection the 2nd week. (probably my fault). See my post 16 days out Everything is much much better.
steven05114 greg79427
Posted
Greg,
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I am in the greater Denver metro area too. My Foley had a plug too. I had blood in my pee for a month too. Most men do after a Rezum or other BPH surgery. The prostate bleeds a lot.
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I never had a UTI as after 10 months of self-cathing, I am very careful and very clean when it comes to using catheters. I suspect that we had our Rezums done at the same place. Is the practice on the south end of the greater Denver metro area?
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Sounds like the Cipro killed your UTI. I fart sometimes too when I strain to pee. Try some generic Miralax if your poop is plugged up. The prostate and rectum are competing for the same limited space.
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Steve
greg79427
Posted
I am 16 days out from my REZUM procedure. On day 14, I went back to the urologist complaining of terrible pain when urinating, blood was still in my urine, extreme urgency, poor flow and strong restriction when urinating. Because of the strong restriction when urinating I also noticed that I had to push harder. This seem to cause farting and pooping so every time I tried to urinate, I had to be sitting down on the toilet. More Grrrrrrrr!!!
The URO felt that something was wrong because I should have healed by day 14 and told me that I probably had a urinary tract infection. They sent out my urine sample (which still had blood in it) to a lab to see if my urine had bugs in it. I went home with two prescriptions, a strong antibiotic (Ciprofloxin 500mg twice daily) and a pill that is now turning my urine blue. (Urogesic Blue) (Don't ask,the blue urine is expected)
Well, I must have had an infection as by the 3rd antibiotic pill, I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER Absolutely no pain when urinating, and my flow is much better. Everthing is WAY WAY better and approching normalcy now. That Ciprofloxin is now working wonders.
So how did I get this urinary tract infection??Who knows but my guess is that damn catheter that I had to wear for the first week somehow dangled down once in the toilet and went into the toilet water. I was sitting down on the toilet at that point so you can guess what was in the toilet. Grrrrr!!!
Some of this may be my fault but anybody else considering this procedure should ask for detailed instructions on how to keep that damn catheter sterile while wearing it.
Wearing that damn catheter was the low point in my experience. Why did it have to be so long? I used it with a plug and got rid of the bag the first day. Didn't want a bag of urine attached to my lower leg. That damn catheter only needed to come out of me an inch or two NOT 6-12 inches. having the catheter extra long probably caused it do dangle down into the sewage water of the toilet. More Grrrrrrrrr!!!
Finally after 16 days post op, I can say I am feeling much better. I have no idea what would have happened if I didn't get that antibiotic. Thanks --Greg--
russ_777 greg79427
Edited
Greg, the infection could also have been caused by the procedure. I had an in-office cystoscopy in mid January which seemed very routine. Mild burning sensation the first few times I peed afterwards but back to normal the next day. Then a couple weeks later I start having trouble (more than usual) getting urine out and it hurt much more than usual. After 2-3 days of this I was standing at a urinal in the restroom where I do some volunteer work relieving myself and I suddenly feel this stabbing pain in my urethra and the sensation that something was moving through it with the urine. Of course I had no idea what it was at this point, my initial though was oh sh*te it's a stone. Then this gross looking glob of something pops out into the urinal. I knew it wasn't a blood clot since I've experienced that before. Anyway the 4-5 seconds when that first was felt and it came out startled me and caused me to groan and grimace. Fortunately there was no one else in the restroom!
Went and saw my urologist's PA the next day and after looking at my urine specimen she knew it was an infection and which bacteria it was. She prescribed 14 days of bactrim but it only took 3 doses of it for me to notice drastic improvement. I told her I hadn't had any unprotected sex recently and was baffled how it could have been caused. Then I remembered the cysto a few weeks earlier. She said anytime they "instrument you" there's that kind of risk. Also said you can get an infection like that in the prostate that doesn't have symptoms for a while, which explained the timeline in my case. I agree the catheter is a likely suspect but the Rezum instrument that was jammed up your urethra could have been the culprit, too. This condition we all have is the devil to cope with sometimes!
Moderator comment: I have edited this post due to the swearing. These are open forums so as per the T&Cs please do not use offensive language in posts otherwise they may be deleted.