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

I'm 71, had Urolift 1/20/17

Posted , 11 users are following.

guy1224
guy1224

I am 71 and active. I have been on BPH medications (Finasteride & Terazosin) for years. Going on 2 months since Urolift, and am still getting up 3-4 times at night, which is the same as before Urolift. Dr put me on 25mg Bethanechol 3 x a day, for 90 days (started taking 2/22/17) to retrain the bladder to push to empty. Dr says this is not uncommon after prostate surgery. I previously tried the "microwave treatment) and that did not work for me. I'm getting worried about this not working either. Am I doomed to continued nightly interruptions of sleep? Has anyone else had a similar experience (including taking Bethanechol or similar medication to improve bladder function)? Thanks.

0 likes, 26 replies

26 Replies

Next
  • kenneth1955
    kenneth1955 guy1224

    Posted

    Hey buddy.  Alot of men have the same problem after doing it for so long.  It's just habit.  It will take you some time to relax and not getting up at night.  I am a little younger they you Had the urolift done 2 years ago works fine.  Just try to relax  Ken

  • tjs17151
    tjs17151 guy1224

    Posted

    Had "greenlight" procedure last July. Still get up 2 to 3 times per night. Flow has greatly improved. Daily rate is about every two hours. No post-op drugs.

  • arlington
    arlington guy1224

    Posted

    While your searching for something else, you may want to try CIC.  I'm in total retnetion and do this before I go to bed and get up once in the middle of the night to do it.  It takes 3 minites and you get used to it.  It's certainly not ideal but it is so nice to know that I'm only going to have to get up once per night.  Also, CIC, whil it seems wierd at first, is easy to learn.  I have found coloplast compact male catheters to be the best.

    Good luck!

  • oldbuzzard
    oldbuzzard guy1224

    Posted

    Is your urine stream better than before? Are things any better other than the number of times you get up at night? Has your doctor performed any tests to determine if your bladder function is sub par, or did he prescribe this new drug as a shot in the dark? Did your doctor scope you before performing Urolift to confirm that BPH the problem and Urolift the solution most likely to help you?

    Sometimes you have te retrain  yourself and your bladder to go longer periods of time - that may be the case with you if you're stream is better. If not, there are a long list of possible solutions. If BPH is your problem, there are other procedures, including redoing Urolift. Chances are very good that your BPH caused issues can be improved a lot. Bladder stuff (if indeed you have those issues too) is trickier.

  • mark02906
    mark02906 guy1224

    Posted

    Are you still on the Finasteride and Terazosin?  I had a urolift on 2/20 and stopped the tamsulosin (Flomax generic),  Was the urolift your first procedure?  I had a TUNA (needle ablation) about 10 years ago.  As my nightly trips to the bathroom increased last year, he first tried the tamsulosin.  Then, 9 months later, we decided to try the urolift.  Two weeks after the urolift, my doctor had me pee on a computer (not really - there are times when I wanted to pee on my computer), but they use a simple computer to measure flow/second).  Then they quickly use ultra sound to measure whether the bladder is retaining any fluid.  Did they do that with you?  I am sorry, but I have no experience with Bethanechol.  My trips to the bathroom are less frequent.  I am sure you will find people on this site to help.  Good luck.
  • frank74205
    frank74205 guy1224

    Posted

    Hi Guy, I have a simular problem,except i cannot pee,i have complete urine retention.I was told after my urodynamics test that if i have surgery i would have 50 0r 60 % percent of having to pee normal again. I was taking flomax ,and dutasteride ,didn't work .Now i'm thinking about Uro Lift. Did you have complete urine retention before you had Uro Lift?Now I'm doing CIC.It sure would be nice to be able to pee normal again.I have an enlarged prostate,and bladder problem

    I'm 87 .

    looking forward to your reply.

    frank,

    • oldbuzzard
      oldbuzzard frank74205

      Posted

      Hi Frank,

      ?Did  your doctor ever scope you to determine how much of your problem is due to BPH? Until they get a look at how much your prostate is blocking your flow they can't even hazard a guess as to your chances of peeing normally again. If your doctor didn't do that, please go find another who will properly diagnose you before presribing anything.

      ?There are some non invasive procedures (Urolift is one, Rezum and PAE are the other main ones) that can help with BPH quite a bit. If you have bladder issues too, theres' no telling how much unblocking you will help - but if you're blocked you have no chance of improvement. There are people on this blog who have rehabbed their bladders with docs giving them much lower odds than 50/50. 

    • arlington
      arlington frank74205

      Posted

      Hi Frank,

      If you don't have an enlarged median lobe you may want to consider the PAE procedure.

      Good luck!

    • guy1224
      guy1224 frank74205

      Posted

      Hi Frank, no I did not have complete urine retention.
    • frank74205
      frank74205 oldbuzzard

      Posted

      Hi,Where do you find these docs,  who helped people rehabilate there bladder?

      Jim got lucky ,after years of CIC, I had a cystoscopy ,an the Uro wanted to do a turp,without even doing a urodynamics test. That would been a big mistake. I failed the this test because of bladder problem.

      frank,

    • oldbuzzard
      oldbuzzard frank74205

      Posted

      You probably have both a bladder problem and a prostate problem but you need more info. What did the scope show? How big is your prostate, how blocked is your urethra and how did you assess your bladder issues?

      Where are you located? Then I can direct you to someone.

    • oldbuzzard
      oldbuzzard

      Posted

      FWIW, I'm not sure that you know enough to descern how much of your problem is bladder related and how much is prostate. You'd need some dynamics testing of the bladder to really know that. But if you do have significant prostate obstruction - enought that you would have trouble peeing without difficulty with a normally functioning bladder, there's no way to rehab your bladder without removing the obstruction. I agree, TURP isn't the way to go, but there are other, less dangerous, less invasive procedures that could help if you're urethra is significantly obstructed by your prostate.

      What was the result of the scope and have you had any testing done on your bladder to conrfirm that hunch?

  • Bayliner
    Bayliner guy1224

    Posted

    Hopefully as time goes on things will improve. The bladder usually should be emptied every 3 - 4 hours on average with the average volume of around 250-300ml. What happens If the quantity of urine left in the bladder after urinating (post-void residual volume) increases. An intermediate range of 50–100 mL is normal, but regular post-void residual volumes of 100–200 mL or higher is considered inadequate bladder emptying. Getting up once a night for some is not unusal, howerver we need to know the PVRV amount to see if maybe (if your on diruertics or other meds) how these meds might increase your nightly wakeups.

    Good Luck  guy ..take care

    • frank74205
      frank74205 Bayliner

      Posted

      Hi Bayliner, Do you check your bladder content after you void? I have  complete urine retention,i was thinking i would like to know after CiC if or how much is left in my bladder? A ultra sound is what they use.Any info on this,cost Etc?

      Thanks

      frank

    • arlington
      arlington frank74205

      Posted

      My doc told me that anywhere from 0-20 cc's are left after cc'ing.

      My insurance covers all but 10% plus the deductible.

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.