My recent PAE experience.
Posted , 6 users are following.
I learned a lot from this message board so now it’s my turn to give back. I’m 65 years old and have been having BPH symptoms for several years now. Never was in retention but nighttime urination was pretty poor. Symptoms were weak stream, hesitancy, frequent urination and sometimes urgency. Prostate size confirmed by MRI was 104cc with an enlarged median lobe. Had a PAE done in Miami with Dr Bhatia. Total time at the outpatient facility was about 4.5 hours including the 2 hour recovery time. The procedure itself was only 45 minutes. It was virtually painless and cool to watch on the screen. Dr said everything was very straightforward with no complications. He was able to target both sides AND the median lobe and told me my results should be excellent. He had no problems whatsoever getting to the proper arteries and that my median lobe wasn’t as big as the MRI reports said it was. Also said that because I was never in retention and my PVR’s were low, I shouldn’t need a catheter after the procedure. While in recovery extreme urgency was already setting in. They put a condom catheter over your penis ( NOT a foley IN your penis) before the procedure so if you had to pee during the procedure you can just go without disrupting the procedure. It was left on in recovery so you didn’t have to keep going to the restroom. Even though I had extreme urgency in recovery it was very hard to void and I had to push really hard to get it out. That extreme and constant urgency along with frequency (every 25-45 minutes) continued throughout the day and into the evening. By evening, I was voiding only about 10ml each time and it was very hard to push out. When it worsened to just dribbles, I panicked and went to the ER thinking I was going into retention. ER found I was only retaining 12ml of urine, instructed me to keep drinking liquids and taking the drugs the IR prescribed. So no catheter was needed and I went home. With constant extreme urgency along with frequency, sleeping was impossible but voids were getting larger in quantity so at least things were going in the right direction. No pain at this point.
First Day after PAE; Extreme urgency continued through the morning then started subsiding in the afternoon but frequency continued. By evening the urgency was almost non-existent but frequency was still there. Voids were getting up to 75-125 ml. Still no pain.
2nd day after PAE; Woke up in the middle of the night with extreme and constant urgency. That continued throughout the morning then subsided in the afternoon. Frequency was between 30-60 minutes but some voids were getting up to 125-180ml. At night I got up twice, didn’t measure voids but they were substantial. Still no pain
3rd day after PAE; Got a decent nights sleep. Extreme urgency was gone when I woke up and when I felt the need to pee I actually had substantial voids. I stopped recording void volumes but they were mostly substantial. Hesitancy on some of the nighttime voids was still there.
4th day after PAE; Got a good nights sleep. I think I was up twice during the night to void. Again, when I felt the need to pee I had good voids and a decent stream.
I will continue update as things change but will answer any questions you have. My advice for anyone considering PAE is to find a doctor who has ALOT of experience and I sure wouldn’t have wanted to get on a plane the first 3 days afterwards.
0 likes, 10 replies
ProstatePete
Edited
This is now day 12 post PAE. Urination is definitely better than before PAE and all side effects from the procedure itself are gone. Never had any pain and still don't. Manual stimulation from the wife resulted in ejaculation on day 11 and didn't notice any blood in the semen, semen quantity was the same as before PAE. Erections are just as strong as before but noticing more spontaneous erections happening out of the blue. Very happy with PAE so far and looking forward to even more improvement as time goes on. Even if this was the only improvement I see, I would still be satisfied.
daryl54162 ProstatePete
Edited
Were you on any medications for BPH before the procedure? I ask because I am wondering if people who describe improved sex (e.g. spontaneous erections) after PAE might just be reacting to the discontinuation of drugs that are known to affect sex.
Or does the reduced prostate actually help?
ProstatePete daryl54162
Posted
daryl54162... I was on Alfusozin before PAE and still am until I have the 1 month consultation with the Dr so no change in Meds but noticeable increase in spontaneous erections. The only thing I can attribute the spontaneous erections to is a smaller/softer prostate from PAE because that's the only thing that has changed. In the years I was suffering with BPH I asked 5 different doctors ( two of them urologists) if a large prostate could affect erections and got mixed answers. One said yes, two said no and two said maybe. I think my experience is showing that it does.
ben27324 ProstatePete
Posted
Did you take any prostate medication or any pain killers after the operation ?
ProstatePete ben27324
Posted
ben.... The Dr had what his staff called a drug cocktail that they prescribe after the PAE procedure. Here's the list;
Large doses of Ibuprofen for swelling
Phenazopyridine to reduce urgency
Oxybutynin to relax muscles in bladder and reduce urgency
Acetaminophen/Codeine for pain
Stool softener to relieve constipation caused by pain meds
Bactrim Anti Biotic to prevent infection
Esomeprazole to protect the stomach and prevent heartburn caused by all the other drugs
Ambien to help you sleep the first couple of nights
CarlosZ ProstatePete
Posted
Hello,
Very smart going to Bhatia, he is a researcher.
Thank you for posting this. Did Dr. Bhatia require any testing for pca.? What was your psa going into procedure? Have you taken recent psa test?
Thank you
ProstatePete CarlosZ
Posted
I felt very comfortable with Bhatia's extensive experience with this procedure and am very happy with him and his staff. He wanted a MRI to screen for cancer, a uroflow test and some bloodwork including psa. My psa a week before the procedure was 5.6. My psa has been at or around that number for several years so it wasn't concerning to him or my urologist after considering the huge size of my prostate. Large prostates throw off a lot of psa.
CarlosZ ProstatePete
Posted
Thank you for the detailed response.
ProstatePete
Posted
Just a quick update as I'm approaching 3 months post PAE. Urine flow is still great. Had some blood work done and am happy to report my PSA is down to 2.8. Was 5.6 a week before PAE, so that would suggest a possible 50% reduction in size of the prostate.
ProstatePete
Edited
Just had an ultrasound to determine the new smaller size of my prostate 3 months after PAE. It come in at 66ml compared to 104ml before PAE. Bottom line is that PAE really worked well for me. Relieved all BPH symptoms ,shrunk my prostate and lowered my PSA by 50% .