Inflammation and BPH
Posted , 6 users are following.
I was diagnosed with an enlarged and inflamed prostate in 2020. An MRI found cancer was unlikely, and after that saw several urologists with a view to deciding on next steps. A common theme was that inflammation was likely to be a consequence of BPH rather than an issue in its own right, and was assured that dealing with the BPH was likely to fix the inflammation as well. Two failed procedures - Urolift and PVP laser - didn't fully deal with the BPH (or at all with the Urolift) and left me with pain, in the second case severe. A third procedure a few weeks ago found dystrophic calcification of part of my prostate, and a large number of stones in my bladder. The surgeon removed the calcified prostate and as well as some prostate tissue that was continuing to obstruct the uretha. A month and a half out some modest improvement in symptoms but nothing dramatic as regards flow and continued discomfort/pain.
I'm hoping that things improve but at the moment it is pretty far removed from the testimonials from delighted patients on urologists' websites, and I'm wondering whether I've just been unlucky or the inflammation is responsible for continuing issues.
0 likes, 13 replies
bill24813 Richard14755
Posted
It took almost 2 years of experimenting to get my inflammation under some descent control after my urolift. For me, intermittent fasting helped, Iost 14 pounds in 3 months, I'm on month 8. Recently, I discovered, sugar/sweets, processed food and nuts are my inflammation triggers. I recently indulge all of my triggers at the same time which inflamed me to the point, that it took, almost 2 hours to empty. After that instance, I tried one thing at a time to see how I reacted to each. Indulging one at a time not to bad. Nuts are the worst so far.
Basically, I did a halfa** Elimination diet, which has helped me tremendously.
Richard14755 bill24813
Posted
Thanks - very interesting. Have had more than my share of sweet stuff over the Christmas period but seems like reducing sugar a good place to start.
farmerste Richard14755
Edited
is the PVP procedure the same as green light ?, hope you continue to improve and feel good soon !
Richard14755 farmerste
Posted
Thank you. It is the same. Not a success at at for me.
Richard14755 farmerste
Edited
Thank you very much. Yes - PVP and Greenlight are the same thing.
not_too_shabby Richard14755
Posted
Hi Richard - I had Aquablation about 4 months ago, and during that procedure my doctor found that some of my prostate tissue was calcified and was not removed by the Aquablation jet. He scraped some of it out with a monopolar loop, but was not able to remove it all. On your third procedure, what did they use to remove the calcium? What kind of pain do you experience? I have this ache on the lower left side of my abdomen, near my bladder that is sometimes constant, and sometimes goes away for a while after emptying my bladder. What kind of pain do you experience and does the doctor think it has to do with the calcified tissue?
Richard14755 not_too_shabby
Posted
Part of the prostate was calcified - which he removed/resected as part of the TURP procedure, i.e simply removing the calcified prostate tissue. The same procedure also involved removing part of a lateral lobe that was continuing to impeded my urine flow but which was not calcified. At the same time he found that my bladder was full of calcium stones (which he thought had come from the prostate) which he removed, although some of them had to be crushed first as they would otherwise have been too large to extract.
The pain was fairly intense - not on emptying my bladder but increasingly persistent and hard to live with, to the point where I had stopped doing a lot of normal activities. And it was so strong a few days before the third procedure that I sent to the emergency department and was prescribed strong painkillers. Since the third procedure recovery has been slow but I haven't experienced the same level of pain since. I haven't had the chance to discuss properly with the doctor but my understanding is that he thought that the calcification was responsible for the pain.
Richard14755
Posted
I would add that the pain was in the area of my penis/also a strong itching feeling around my back passage which seems to have gone since the operation.
Richard14755
Posted
The latest update from my appointment with the consultant yesterday: he explained that some of the prostate removed as part of the TURP procedure was sent to the lab for analysis: this showed both chronic and acute prostate inflammation. There was no sign of cancer.
Interestingly he no longer does either Urolift or PVP laser, on the grounds that both can lead to inflammation/other side effects. His view is that the calcification was likely to have been the result of the prostate not healing properly after the PVP operation (which he had seen before in one other case). Given that inflammation was clearly an issue for me from the start, which I had raised with previous consultants without getting much engagement other than that dealing with BPH would also reduce inflammation, it seems that I have had the two least suitable procedures given an inflamed prostate. I have read a couple of articles about calcification can come back after TURP - I am very much hoping that this doesn't happen in my case and that it has now been dealt with permanently.
not_too_shabby Richard14755
Posted
Interesting. Thanks for the update. Has your urine flow improved since the procedure?
Richard14755
Posted
Yes although for the first few weeks there wasn't much of a change. More recently there has been a definite improvement although still some variation - ranging from ok to very good. My assumption is that the improvement is connected to a decrease in inflammation (since the obstructions from residual prostate and calcification had been removed). Also I still normally need more than one go to void although there has been a small amount of progress on this.
Is there any progress on your issue with calcification?
not_too_shabby Richard14755
Posted
I'm trying pelvic floor PT to see if I some of my issues are due to a tight pelvic floor that prevents me from really relaxing when I void. I just had one appointment so far, so it will be a few weeks before I know whether it helps. I figure I should try it before going for procedure number 3.
Glad you hear you are seeing some improvement.
Richard14755 not_too_shabby
Posted
Thanks for the update. I hope the pelvic floor exercises help. I should also consider doing more systematically than I have until now.