My PAE results
Posted , 11 users are following.
I started having noticeable BPH symptoms around 8 years ago or so and over the years I did a fair amount of research on BPH. I was thinking of the Gat-Goren method for a while but was a bit suspicious of why it hasn't grown in popularity all over the world. I didn't like the TURP idea like my uro suggested. He completely glossed over the side effects. I asked about retrograde ejaculation and he said it was no big deal. ..No big deal to who? He was trying his best to sell it to me. A lot of these guys are all about the money. I did a flow test a year ago and it was 8, I believe. My uro said I was peeing like and 80 year old. I also did an ultrsound and my prostate was around 55 grams . By the way, I don't know how you guys with 100 gram plus prostates can function . My syptoms were annoying, having emergency stops at the bathroom, getting up 2 or 3 times a night etc. I've read about a lot of guys with way worse symptoms so I thought maybe I'd wait. I called Dr. Bagla about waiting. I had spoken to him a few times before when I had some questions. He said, getting it done earlier would increase the chances for a better result. To me minimally invasive or noninvasive is the way to go first.
So, I had the PAE procedure done with Dr. Bagla at the end of September. It was covered by my insurance. The procedure was a piece of cake maybe 45 minutes long. . Had a little pain and blood in the urine for maybe 2 days. Blood in the semen for another 10 days with a reduced ejaculate. The ejaculate returned to normal after a month. My peeing went back to normal... No crazy pushing or pressure. After a few weeks, I went to 1 time a night peeing now I'm making it through the night unless of course I drank a lot before bed. Much more control over things.. Another good side effect :My erections became more frequent. I hadn't had any sexual problems but the change was noticeable . So I'm very happy I had it done. The long term studies have been done (Dr. Pisco) and on the 10 year follow up the vast majority of men were fine. But , it can always be done again and I would if I had to. The risk of negative side effects have been over blown by urologists. I believe a few contribute to this site also. I'm sure when the procedure was experimental, 15 or 20 years ago, someone may have hit a nerve or something or an inexperienced Dr. made mistakes, but it's been around a while now and the science is clear. The Dr's can pinpoint exactly where they want to embolise. Go with the most experienced M.D. that you can. Good luck!
0 likes, 25 replies
kenneth1955 tgt111
Posted
Good Evening
Glad all is going well for you and your happy. That is all that matters
Have a good day...Ken
tgt111 kenneth1955
Posted
Yes, thanks Ken, I wish everybody could have great results.
TKM tgt111
Posted
tgt,
Do you know if you had an enlarged median lobe, and if he did the procedure for median lobe ? Did you have to travel to Virginia to have it done ? What tests did you do at home and what tests did Dr Bagla do in Virginia, before the procedure ?
Thomas
tgt111 TKM
Posted
I don't know if I had an enlarged median lobe. All I had was an ultrasound in my Uro's office and a flow test. I had spoken to Dr. Bagla several times and I asked about median lobes. He said that they are treatable like any other part of the prostate and that he'll be able to do that. I traveled to Virginia from New Jersey...4hrs ... I believe that's all the tests I had before the procedure. They can see everything they want at the time of the procedure.Tom
arlington tgt111
Posted
But PAE doesn't really work for enlarged median lobe.
kenneth1955 arlington
Posted
Hello Arlington
After reading up on some of the information on PAE it can work on the median lobe. It work on all the prostate anatomical zones and the whole gland. Being that the median lobe is one of the zones of the prostate.
It just works better on some then others. Have a great day.............Ken
tom86211 arlington
Posted
I had my PAE done in Aug of 2017, with only minor success, but I do have some median lobe. After 6 months my IR said he could solve this issue with a second PAE targeting the median lobe, so my take on this is that IF you know you have a median lobe issue your IR has to be aware of that and target those arteries. Otherwise, there is a high probability of either a failure or minimum improvement, as in my case. My IR said he and his team were going over the scans from the procedure and figured out why the first PAE didn't work all that well. He said he went to a conference where this issue was discussed. So, discovering the shape of the prostate through imaging is really, really important before moving forward with any procedure. That's what I got out of my discussion with my IR.
tgt111 arlington
Posted
I don't think that's true. I believe that's a rumor that's floating around. I spoke with Dr. Bagla about that. Think about it. If they can get into every other part of your prostate, why can't they get into a median lobe?
tgt111 tom86211
Posted
Did your IR have a lot of experience? Like Ken said, everyone is different, different sizes.
kenneth1955 tgt111
Posted
Hello All
The PAE procedure has been around a while and I think they are still trying to work out the bugs. It does work very well for some men. Dr. Bagla is a very good doctor and has helped a lot of men with there BPH problem.
Being that the prostate zones are all connected you would think that the whole prostate would be taking care of. In principle it works. But they have not figured why it does not work all the time.
In the trail that I read they had improvement in all zones even the median lobe. You have the pellets put in the veins to stop the blood flow to make the prostate smaller. I wonder if there a way to pin point the vein just for the median lobe. I wonder if this is even possible.
I may have to write Dr. Bagla and see if he has any thoughts on that.
I hope all of you good health..........Ken
tgt111 kenneth1955
Posted
Ken, I had a ton of questions and I talked to Dr. B directly. It's worth it.
kenneth1955 tgt111
Posted
Hey Tgt
Yes I have had him answer questions before. I sent him a e-mail. He will get back to me when he can.
The question I asked before was if you stop the blood flow to the prostate will the whole prostate die. He explained that the background of the prostate will stay alive. The bead travel to the area of increased blood flow. That is what causes the BPH problem
He also said that he has never seen this happen with the many years he has been doing it.
Have a good day.....Ken
MichaelVM7 tom86211
Posted
Tom,
If you have a multiparametric MRI, the IR should be able to read the CD and tell if you have a large median lobe.
I sent my MRI CD to Dr Karamanian, and he confirmed I have a median lobe (moderate) and a very large prostate (approx 130 cc).I had an ultrasound a few months later that reported 175 cc --- not sure which is more accurate.
But, in any case, the MRI imaging should give your IR all the information he needs. Ideally, you'd want the median lobe addressed during the first procedure.
Can you tell me, What did you feel immediately after PAE? Did you have an immediate worsening of symptoms and then improvement gradually?
I think men who are considering PAE can get more information on what to expect after the procedure from men who've undergone it than they can from their IR.
Thank you,
Michael
tom86211 MichaelVM7
Posted
Michael,
My insurance won't pay for the MRI - they say I don't need it. Costs $2400 to private pay for it.
PAE was comfortable and easy, awake during procedure. No pain whatsoever. After, lying in bed for most of the day was irritating. They go in through the femoral artery and want to be sure there is no bleeding, so I had to be in bed on my back for hours - very boring. I asked the nurse to put in a Foley and they drained off 600ml at 1pm - went in at 7am for procedure. Foley out a few hours later. Minor prostate irritation for the next week - taken care of with Tylenol and a second tamsulosin. Not bad at all. By second week almost all symptoms gone, then period of gradual recovery. I didn't get much out of the PAE because I have some median lobe, so flow is still blocked. But as for pain after, very easy. Can't even compare with what I am reading here by men who have gone through other treatments. May go in for a second PAE.
Tom
arlington tgt111
Posted
My experience w/ Dr. Bagla was that he was wildly optimistic re results.
tgt111 arlington
Posted
If you had a bad result, i could see why you thought that. Most patients as per the stats , have positive results. So I think his optimism is justified. "Wildly" sounds unscientific. I didnt get that feeling at all.
MichaelVM7 arlington
Posted
Does this mean you actually had PAE under Dr Bagla, or that you merely consulted with him and found his expectations to be unreasonable?If the former, I'd like to hear more.
I did speak with him (albeit briefly - less time than I wanted to spend with him) and he told me that I would have improvement "in three weeks." I must admit as finding that overly optimistic. However, of all PAE practitioners in the US, Dr Bagla is the most experienced. I think Dr Bahtia in Miami is very experienced but several hundred PAEs behind Bagla.
Awaiting your response, Thanks,
Michael