Long Urolift recap - 8 days in
Posted , 15 users are following.
I'm not sure if this should be a new post or part of the 80 page Urolift thread. That one seems to have gone so long, with so many very old posts, that I think this is better as a new thread. If the moderators disagree, I'm fine with it being merged into the other thread.
I had a Urolift done 8 days ago. I wish I had found this board before I had it done, as there is so much more info in the various threads here than all the reading I did before the procedure. Sadly, this site never popped up during routine searches, but was near the top of the search results when I search for specific side effects I was now having. Like some others have said, I feel like my doc undersold the negatives and the recovery pain. I'll hold off on deciding whether he oversold the positives until I have given it some more time. So, I will add my story to assist anyone else who comes here looking for info. I'm going to give more detail than I see in some other posts because I want this to be something I would have wanted to read before I went forward.
I recently turned 60 and have steadily developed issues fully emptying my bladder. Start/stop, split stream, and having to pee 15 minutes after I already peed. I figured I could live like that for a while longer but a friend a bit older than me apparently had similar issues and his doc told him his bladder had suffered some damage from the condition. So, I made it a priority to see a uro for the first time in my life. I am otherwise generally healthy and in otherwise very good shape, exercising daily, so I normally only see a primary for an annual exam.
The doc calculated my AUA score to be 24, which is in the severe category. My number comes out a little less when I answer the questions online, so I must have answered more aggressively when filling out the paper at the office. The doc gave me the urolift brochure and told me how it was a great answer for someone my age, since it didn't have any of the nasty side effects of the other options, including RE and that most men do not need to leave with a catheter. I knew the basics from prior research but the doc's additional explanation of how it's done was helpful in deciding to go forward and get the follow up tests to see if I was a candidate for the procedure.
My prostate measured to 40 and cystoscopy showed a closed channel, with a median lobe also present. The doc explained that the median bar lowered the positive outlook for a Urolift from 90% to 85%, as it complicates things but they put in the clips in such a way to pull it away from the bladder neck. I went home and researched it and came across the Medlift studies, which showed that Urolift was still a good procedure with this condition. So I went ahead and scheduled it.
I had it done in a surgery center, which is the only way my doc does it. The check in nurse told me there was a 50% chance of having a catheter when I woke up, which I told her was not what the doctor had said. He happened to be nearby so he came over to explain that if there is a lot of blood oozing, he uses the cath. He had already done 3 that morning with only one needing a cath so he hoped I wouldn’t need one but it all depended on the results. Sadly, I awoke after the procedure with a cath inserted. I didn’t even have time to register the disappointment as it was incredibly painful, with intense levels of pressure and burning. The pain literally caused me to shake and they put a shot into my IV to help. The shot took the edge off the pain but the pain was still very bad and I told the nurse that there was no way I could leave the facility while in that pain. The doc eventually came out from a surgery and advised it was there to avoid a blockage due to blood clots. He said it wasn’t absolutely necessary to keep it in but that I risked having to go to the emergency room if I did develop a blockage. The nurse took it out and I felt a world better. I asked for a something to pee in and I peed about 6 ounces with a fair number of clots. We discussed the emergency room again and they let me go home.
Once home about 1:00, I had to pee every half hour to an hour for a while. I passed my last clot at 3:00 and had very light pink to clear urine the rest of the day. I woke up 6 times during the night to pee. I am 3 to 4 times now. Oddly, I peed out one more clot on day 5 and now start most pees with a little bit of pink before it runs yellow or clear.
The first few days, my pelvic area was sore, and it felt like someone was squeezing something inside with pliers. I guess that is the result of the procedure compressing the prostate tissue. That makes perfect sense but I was not warned that the prostate could feel like that.
It hurt like hell to pee for several days, and still hurts today. Whenever I pee, the front part of my penis feels like I am passing broken glass or having needles shoved in there. And my prostate burns as the urine goes through. It takes a good 5 minutes for each of those feelings to subside. I took some AZO but it didn’t help. By the end of the week, I was able to go anywhere from 2 to 3 hours between pees, which is where I am now. I sometimes have a good flow and sometimes it is a very weak stream or even almost a dribble, which is worse than before the procedure. The doc said I won’t see the benefits of Urolift for 2 weeks, but I did not expect to have times with such a weak stream now.
There are a couple of things I am dealing with that I had not seen mentioned in some of the other threads, and I want to add them here to see if other people deal with the same thing. First, the burning in the prostate after peeing triggers a need to have a bowel movement, even if I don’t really have much there to get out. So, I go more than I normally would and sometimes just pass some gas but that eases the feeling that was triggered.
Also, I have a lot more difficulty peeing while sitting down. I feel it more in the prostate and it doesn’t seem like it wants to open up in that position. I guess it is either the angle of the various parts or something like that that is making it difficult.
So, that is the long story of where I am, 8 days into the process. I am hoping for dramatic improvement from here. As of right now, I am sorry I did this, but I will keep an open mind and post updates as the time goes on. I am hoping I am even half as happy as Ken is with his procedure once the recovery is complete.
FWIW, my friend that I referred to above had a HOLAP and he has not had a bit of discomfort since they took out his catheter after 2 days. He said he pees like 30 years ago. He does have RE, which he has decided is acceptable in light of his results. So, my view on Urolift will be colored by how happy he is with his procedure.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have about any of this. I appreciate what I have learned from reading other posts and I’m happy to contribute.
1 like, 30 replies
B_Ware
Posted
10 weeks out now and I believe I have reached or am close to maximum medical improvement from the Urolift. I had my final post procedure doctor visit this week. As described in a prior post, there has been some slight improvement over my pre procedure status, having to get up one less time at night than before and not having any times where it took more than a few seconds to start peeing. My retention before the procedure was over 100 cc. Retention at the last two appointments were 23 and 42, which the doctor says is good. I still have to pee more often than I'd like, and I sometimes feel more urgency to do so than I think I should based on the volume. The flow rate is sometimes decent and sometimes slow, pretty much like before.
So, the good of the procedure is that I don't fear having a situation of being unable to pee and needing to cath. And, the doc says that I shouldn't have a problem with damage to the bladder that can be caused by excessive retention.
As the doctor worded it, "some improvement but not a home run". I agree with this analysis. So, it has been better than a strikeout no huge success. If things improve over time, I will update this. Otherwise, it can be assumed that my current status is the best it is going to be.
Good luck to everyone else. We are all unique and will have varying degrees of success or failure.
andrew23481 B_Ware
Edited
Like you I had tremendous pain after urolift; I was shaking with it. It was off to the right side and I couldn't sit due to it. To cut a long story brief, I am still in pain from Urolift three years later and everyday wish I had never had it done. The procedure was only effective for 3 months and I have had to have a TURP anyway which, compared to Urolift, was a walk in the park.
I have had an MRI scan for the pain but apparently the far clip ends don't show up so no conclusion. One clip end in the Urethra (out of 5) has been removed but no change. As I am on the NHS, the wheels turn very slowly but I have another appointment later this month. I would say the pain now is mostly a 1 out of 10 sometimes rising to 2 or 3. My conclusion is that the body cannot properly heal with metal clips and wires in soft tissue.
carl53 B_Ware
Edited
I had the Urolift procedure 10 days ago and I am suffering similar effects, the main one being that post pee burning sensation for about 7 minutes in the prostate area.
I am 54 years old and had been suffering from the same kinds of urinary symptoms, a thin stream, getting up 5 times a night, frequent urination about once an hour, having to wait and push hard, etc.
They did the procedure in a hospital under general anesthesia. I had been worried about the anesthesia but that part was a breeze, they injected some orange thing into my IV line that made all my worries go away, then they told me to breathe in some gas which smelled weird and after the second breath I woke up in recovery. They put in 4 clips.
After the procedure, I was immediately able to pee better but not like when I was younger, just a better thin stream. The first day I peed pink tinged by blood and clots but those went away by the second day. The worst part was the burning! And not so much the urethra like the normal discomfort I have felt before after every cystoscopy for about 3 days, but the post-urination burning by the prostate area like someone is inserting a needle into it, or pressing it with pliers. Like you, even my rectum hurt and caused me to have the feeling of having to defecate, without much coming out.
This is somewhat better now 10 days post-op, but I am stil getting up 4 times a night, having to pee every hour during the day, and feeling the need to be near a bathroom all the time. The cycle is that after I pee, the burning is very bad for 5 minutes, then slowly dissipates for 15 minutes, then as my bladder fills, I already feel the need to go but I hold it. The most I've been able to hold it is about 1 hour then I pee about 150 ml only.
After 6 days I saw my doctor and he said that my prostate was still inflamed and gave me a dexamethasone injection. I've been taking 400 mg ibuprofen every 8 hours. I am hoping I will improve.
carl53
Posted
Update: Today is 4 weeks after my Urolift. I feel better but it's not a home run.
The pain after peeing has almost gone away, it is now a slight burning in the prostate that remains for a minute or two.
Following the doctor's instructions, I stopped taking Tamsulosin yesterday. The immediate result is that it is a little harder to pee than before but it is still better than before the operation. It is a relatively thin stream, stops and starts near the end and I have to push a bit. I have been drinking more water so going about 14 times a day. I'm also trying to hold it longer and I've been able to average about 200 ml, one time I reached 275 ml (yes I am measuring it and logging it each time).
The last two nights I only got up twice a night to pee, which is an improvement because right after the operation it was 8 times. I am hoping now than my bladder doesn't have to exert so much effort, it will lose the thick muscle and become more elastic and able to hold more. I was told that would slowly happen if I'm lucky.
Also, yesterday I had sex for the first time since the operation and it was good, although the ejaculation was a little painful, it was very pleasurable. I don't know if it's because it was such a long time without sex that I was about to burst, or maybe the Urolift clips enhance it, like some people that pierce their private parts for added pleasure?
I will post another update when I have something to report or I stabilize at some level of improvement. Good luck to all.
B_Ware carl53
Posted
Carl,
Good luck with the ongoing recovery.
carl53
Posted
Update: 4 months and a week after my Urolift.
Unfortunately, I continue to have urinary symptoms. My stream is thin, I have to push to pee, and I have to go every 30 minutes. I still feel pain immediately after ejaculation, although a bit less so than before.
My urologist wants to schedule me for a new procedure, TUIP, where he makes two cuts to the bladder neck. At the same time, he will check the Urolift clips and maybe add a couple of more if needed.
He can't explain why my ejaculations are still painful. He had given me some prednisone thinking my prostate was inflamed but that didn't fix it.
I may go get a second opinion.
carl53
Posted
I went to see another urologist who is a friend of my family for a second opinion. My urinary symptoms did not resolve with the Urolift and now I have painful ejaculations.
He said that on a score of 1 to 10, Urolift is only a 2 in terms of effective. He recommended I don't do the TUIP so I cancelled it. He said my prostate was inflamed as opposed to simply enlarged and prescribed dutasteride. I have been taking dutasteride and alfazulin daily for 3 weeks since then. My urinary symptoms are a bit better but I feel my libido is getting affected, my erections are more difficult to achieve, and orgasms are less strong. He told me to be patient and continue taking these pills for 3 months and then we'll re-evaluate.
carl53
Posted
It's been 10 months since my Urolift procedure on 10/27/2021.
I stopped the dutasteride after 2.5 months because it was killing my libido, and I couldn't take that.
My urinary symptoms have not improved much since the Urolift. I still get up 2 times a night and also have to urinate frequently throughout the day, each time the maximum I can put out is 200 ML. I still have a weak stream and it takes a long time to get it all out.
The painful ejaculations have gotten less painful but I still feel a little bit of pain, the pleasure comes first, then the pain.
I am considering doing another procedure, maybe a TURP or Holep or aquablation. I will go see another urologist next month and we'll see what I will do then.
Colin2021 B_Ware
Edited
I posted in another thread, but I'll do so here as well, since it's a bit more recent.
I'm 3 days post-op from a urolift that was performed with ZERO anesthesia. I'm envious of everyone here who was put under and/or had local anesthesia. I had a valium and a vicodin, which did nothing. It was beyond the worst pain I could have imagined. I screamed, hyperventilated, shook uncontrollably and, I found out later, actually went into shock. I quickly developed non-stop a-fib in my heart, which lasted all weekend. Had to go to the ER yesterday. Good thing I did, as I was on my way to either heart failure or a stroke. They managed to get me heart back under control and I'm doing much better today, albeit now taking a baby aspirin daily, along with a HR lowering med, if needed. Seeing a cardiologist tomorrow.
As for post-procedure results, it hasn't been too bad. I peed blood & clots for only about a day. Like everyone, I still have the bad burning as the pee is on the way, while I'm going, and for a couple of minutes after I finish (which is the worst of the burning). I tried Azo for a couple of days, but it didn't help much.
Like someone else mentioned here, I also discovered that it's easier to go standing up than sitting.
My stream is unbroken and pretty consistent so far, but not terribly strong. Ends in a dribble, and a couple of pushes to finish. But it's certainly better than having a catheter!
I feel an occasional jabbing sensation near my prostate, but haven't felt it today. It's hard to tell, but I don't believe I'm retaining much urine currently.
The night after the surgery, I got up 20 times to pee (not an exaggeration). Night two was 6 times. Night three was 4 times. I'm hoping tonight continues the downward trend.
A little back story about how I got to this point. I'm 54. Back in 2017, I was diagnosed with BPH. Didn't seem to be too bad at the time, just had to get up a couple of times a night to pee, and had a weaker stream. Fast forward to a month ago. I started feeling horrible and could tell I was retaining urine. Went to the clinic and learned that after voiding once, I still had 400ml in me. Went twice more and still had 250. That required a foley catheter (hurt like hell to get in, due to a very constricted urethra), which I wore for 4 weeks. Got a nasty UTI during that time and had a horrible reaction to Levaquin, so switched to Amoxicillin, which worked fine. My urolift was actually scheduled for Nov. 19, but due to my condition, and a cancellation, I got in earlier.
It's way to early to know if this will work for me, but I DEFINITELY would not get it re-done without anesthesia. My 82 year old dad was scheduled to have one done this week. I don't believe he would make it, without anesthesia, since it nearly caused my heart to fail. And, aside from the prostate issue, I'm healthy and fit.
I'll report back at my 1 week mark. I was hoping to attempt a little romance with the wife after a week or so (it's been too long, thanks to the stupid catheter), but after reading some comments about that, I'll be happy to wait a few more weeks.
Colin2021 B_Ware
Edited
It has been 1 week and a day since my Urolift procedure. I already recapped in my previous post how brutally painful it was for me, with only some Lidocaine serving as a local anesthesia (to poor effect), which led to shock and heart failure via 2+ days of bad a-fib.
I'm happy to report that my heart is doing just fine, even though I'm now on a daily beta blocker and baby aspirin as a precaution.
I'm also happy to report that the early results from the Urolift seem to be positive so far. While not urinating like I did in my 20's, my stream is stronger than it has been in many years, and the burning has faded quite a bit. At this rate, it will probably be gone in another day or two.
The one thing I'm hoping will improve is my overnight visits to the bathroom. I'm still getting up 3-4 times.
I still haven't tried any intimacy with the wife yet, and am content to wait another week for that.
I'm not sure just how long the Urolift will be effective for me, but if I ever get it re-done, it will be with general anesthesia.
Colin2021 B_Ware
Posted
I'm now 2 weeks post Urolift, and things are going very well. My stream is stronger than it has been in many years. I'm still getting up about 3x/night, and I don't seem to have the bladder capacity I'd like to have, but I'm assuming those things will gradually improve, as my bladder regains strength.
geepondy B_Ware
Edited
Thank you all for your experiences. I wanted to relay mine and express one concern even though it's very early after the procedure. Like others, I think the doc undersold the recovery process. In my case, the urine issues that drove me to try Urolift were not as bad as many. I had the usual symptoms of a weaker stream and urgency but could manage to a degree by not drinking much before any events. If I did not drink anything after early in the evening, I could perhaps only have to get up twice during the night. I tried the alpha blockers but they made me too dizzy. But I was sick of peeing my pants when a bathroom wasn't nearby. When I had to go, I had to go. This was particularly embarrassing on a car ride home with friends after a restaurant visit.
The cytology revealed a relatively minor blockage and the prostate itself was not that enlarged. The Urologist said he wasn't 100 percent sure a Urolift would help but at worst case, I would be no worse off then before. So I had the procedure two days ago. He used a local anesthesia and it was relatively painless and he only put in two clips. The procedure took about 10 minutes. So now in only two and a half days out. I'm having the symptoms others have expressed, weak stream, stop and start, burning and feeling like I have to go all the time but no real pelvic discomfort thus far. For the first day there was blood in the urine including lots of blood stains on the underwear. Now I think that has largely passed although difficult to tell for sure because of the urine discoloration the AZO has caused. But what is making me nervous is on day number two, the stream is actually weaker than day number one. I think I'm going more often and less is coming out with a greater effort and more stop and starting. Is this normal to have periods of regression rather a linear healing progression? Is the healing process a case of two steps forward, one step back? Yesterday I pumped the ibuprofen thru me, 2 pills, three times a day (1200mg) but only have taken two pills this morning. Should I continue the steady regiment of ibuprofen for a few days? Also, should I be drinking lots of fluids? I haven't been as I don't wish to urinate more than necessary. Is there a chance this will continue to regress and I will need to be catheterized? On another note, I'm 58 years old and although no erectile dysfunction, it's harder to orgasm and the amount of semen ejaculated is very low compared to year's past. Assuming I get thru this recovery unscathed, is there any chance the Urolift will enable improvement in this area? God forbid it makes it worse! Thanks everybody for posting their experiences.
B_Ware geepondy
Posted
I'd say your up and down recovery is common. With the inflammation of the prostate from the procedure, it's not necessarily a slow steady improvement as much as bit by bit with some days being better than others.
I hear you on the reduced drinking so as to limit the number of times you have to go, which I also thought about, but I ultimately kept drinking the normal amount for me. I figured that might help flush out whatever needed to be gotten rid of.
I can't answer what you should do about the ibuprofen, other than to tell you that my doc gave me celebrex since it is a once a day thing. It's not for long term use but seemed to help my recovery.
Good luck as you get further from the procedure.
geepondy B_Ware
Posted
I was re-reading your post. It looks like you started running 16 days in? I'm 17 days in and today mixed in some light jogging with my walk. I don't really have any groin discomfort to speak of but I'm trying to get over the fear one of those clips might pop out due to the jarring action of running! Out of my 5 mile walk, I ran about a mile at a 10 plus minute clip. I usually run maybe a 8.5 to 9 mile clip. Still nervous to weight lift as well as it seems anything I do will engage the core to a degree, intentional or not.
B_Ware geepondy
Posted
I can't imagine that lifting will cause any issues with the clips. While I am far from being a doctor, I don't see the prostate being very stressed from working the muscles in the surrounding area. the only discomfort I had from the lifting by the time I got back to it was from sitting on a bench or other equipment. But if you're not having and discomfort when you run, then you are probably past the swelling phase and should be okay.