My Aquablation Experience
Posted , 29 users are following.
Hi everyone
Since Aquablation is a relatively new treatment for BPH, there is limited actual patient experience information out there, i wanted to document my journey. Hope it helps others who consider aquablation.
Before my aquablation operation:
Age: 59 , Latest PSA: 6.9 , PVR : ranges between 400-700 ml, prostate size: 66 ,
severe trabeculation, mild median lobe.
Background:
i was monitoring my PSA value since my early 50's ...it was 5 next year was 6 following year was 7, then it went up as high as 13(all these are approximate values)..finally it went down by itself(see above).
i didn't have insurance at the time, so i didn't go to a doctor but was informing myself about PSA values.
In the meantime my BPH symptoms started
First thing to consider is why a PSA value would increase...besides other factors(BPH) ,cancer could cause it to rise. To rule it out, went to doctor..had digital rectal exam..no cancer indication...
Now that i had insurance...had biopsy done(12 point needle)...no cancer..
So..my problem was BPH. I chose Aquablation because it is a minimally invasive robotic treatment, which preserves all other functionality in that area.
Fast forward..2 days ago (12/19/2022) i had the operation.
I know that the experience can change from person to person...this is my experience.
the operation was really nothing to worry about...you are under anesthesia , i woke up..procedure done.
had a catheter in and a bag. Minimal to no pain(as far as i know they just gave me tylenol)..
they hung 2 bags (each 3 Liter) of saline solution which was circulated through my bladder and out, to flush the urinary system...all night long replacing both bags every hour or so.
From other patients experiences ,i was expecting them to remove the catheter the next day and doing 3 pee tests to see if i can pee and empty my bladder, but my urologist told me that the plan is to release me from the hospital WITH the catheter and that he would remove it within 3-4 days.
So now i am home with a catheter and a bag..couldn't get an appointment yet to have it removed.
Many people mentioned that they had constipation....i don't have that experience yet as of today.
many people were kinda ok with the catheter..i am not..it is very uncomfortable because as you move the catheter moves in and out into your utethra..because of this, sometimes there is shooting pain at the tip of the penis..can't wait until this thing is removed.
The urine is really bloody right now..which is expected...the important thing is to NOT have blot clots and so far there is none. many people also mentioned bladder spasms...which i didn't experience so far.
i was prescribed an antibiotic to prevent infection...pain..minimal (with tylenol).
Also..each morning i had an erection(which was painful because of the catheter)..good sign nevertheless.
Will update my post as days pass.
7 likes, 80 replies
Jdanner46 ihsan2022
Edited
thanks for sharing
75 year old and had procedure done on November 9th hardest part has been retraining bladder and strengthening kegel muscles at first i was peeing every 45-60 minutes slowing improving to 3-4 hours during the day and 6-7 hours at night still not back to pre surgery times but getting better. i still get the urge anytime around running water or cold. pain has been minimal tylenol or advil
medicare covered everthing dr. Bey at The Urology Group in Cincinnati did mine
good luck
compiler Jdanner46
Posted
How soon did the bleeding go away? Still has the urinary leakage? What was the prostate size before the procedure?
alexander56512 Jdanner46
Posted
Hope you had as good experience as I have had with my Aquablation procedure on last October 27th at Davies Hospital in San Francisco.
Would like to here any issues you had or have now.
bcb1 alexander56512
Edited
I would encourage all the guys that have had Aquablation, to start a new thread on here, rather than replying to an existing thread. I think it would help seeing the various experiences of each individual. I have mine scheduled for Feb 23 and I plan on doing a thread about it.
There isnt a lot of information about Aquablation on the internet other than the website and videos from the manufacturer, and while the experiences they post are very nice to read, I think these non-scripted experiences on here seem a lot more real and authentic.
alexander56512 bcb1
Posted
Good idea. Just started a new thread.
alexander56512 ihsan2022
Edited
I am surprise you were discharged with a Foley.
The day I was to be discharged, they removed the foley and said 'try to pee'.. I peed so they set me home without the bag.
You are certainly brave removing the Foley on your own.
I'm out 3 months and agree with you that it is amazing knowing you dont have be catherterized the rest your life.
I was only in total retention 2 months before deciding on the Aquablation.
BTW who was your Dr. at Stanford? . Probably friends with my doctor here in San Francisco
ihsan2022
Posted
Hi everybody
it has been almost 5 months now since i had my aquablation.
Overall everything is going well.
No frequency, no urgency, good flow (not very strong but acceptable). No more back pain, or kidney pain.
I sleep through the night. Sometimes i wake up 1 time.
now the cons...first time i had sex (after 5 weeks or so) the amount of ejaculate was very little and it didn't get better but other than that no problem..my sex life is as good as it was before the operation.
This means that i have retrograde ejaculation(which was not what i was expecting) but it doesn't bother me..so..all in all...great.
interestingly after so long, a couple of days ago 2 small pieces (i don't know what it was) came out of my urethra while i was peeing. Today i had sex and the amount of sperm was double of what it was but still can't be compared to the amount before aquablation.
I assume that my body is STILL healing and that piece that came out may have been restricting the sperm channel. Maybe it will get better. I don't know. We will see.
Nobody here reported anything about the PSA level after aquablation(at least i didn't see it).
So..yesterday i got my PSA test. My PSA is 3.8 (anything below 4 is considered normal).
Back in 2016 my psa was about 3.5 but over the years it had risen up to almost 10.
Hope this extra information helps people who wonder how much the aquablation affected the PSA.
TommyNewhouse ihsan2022
Posted
Hello, i had the procedure done on 12/29/23, about a month and a half ago, the catheter was rough, I kept getting spasms and it was tough! i ended up taking the catheter out myself believe it it not. there initially was a lot of blood, in fact I had blood in my urine for about a month. As if now i have a powerful stream, but when i need to go, i need to get to the bathroom. i can barely hold it in, im really hoping thus gets better. My doctor promised three things- 1st, i'd be off medication, which i am, 2nd, i'd have a great stream, which i do, 3rd, i would empty my bladder when i go. At this point, i cannot be empting my bladder because I'm peeing about once every 1-1/2 hours. I have a follow up next month and I am trying to stay positive. I will keep you all updated as i progress.