Prostate Artery Embolization (PAE)

How long before symptoms return after having PAE ?

PSA starts Rising Do you need to return For Biopsies again ?

After my procedure my PSA went down to 2.1 now slowly climbing

Thanks

Hi All

I had a PAE done at UTSW in Dallas Texas in Dec 2018. Procedure went well got both sides embolized , but I had no medial lobe, but did have a 191 gram prostate gland. My PSA went from 30 to over 400 which was considered a good sign. Quick history- I have had 5 biophys, all negative, in the past 20 years and i am 63 years old, I have never taken any prescription meds but have taken herbal remedies. These herbals worked until 2 years ago when i found via MRI that i had a 191 gm prostate ( funny urologist who is very experienced thought my prostate was 80 gms). Before( and after) that MRI I was getting up every hour to pee and could not go 30 min without peeing during the day, very debilitating. Urologist said my only option was simple robotic prostectomy , which removes all but the shell of the prostate. Of course they assured me nothing bad would happen. I soldiered on with herbal giving some relief. In 2018 saw that PAE was FDA approved (on this website) and found a Interventional Radiologist who did the procedure . Went in and after 5 hours -I was a hard case they went in through the wrist then had to go in through the inner thigh- I was in recovery. Stayed over night with a foley and next day took out foley and went home. Should have kept foley in for at least five days as i had to go to ER to get another foley put back in after I could not pee for 18 hours and could not pee due to blockage by dead tissue from PAE. After foley was put in I had 2 liters of pee in the bag--- what a relief that was! However, after all of this, I have been doing well- i wake up once a night now, can go 2 to 5 hours with out having to pee, have good stream, still retain about 150 ml in my bladder according to urologist at appointment in March. Life is not perfect but much better. If I exercise and sweat the symptoms are reduced and i can go longer without peeing.

That is my story to date- 8 months post procedure.

I would recommend this procedure for a large prostate and there is medical literature which mirrors my improvement of symptoms.

Need to go back to the urologist, but I have had issues with hospital and insurance and want that sorted before I go back again.

good luck

Steve

I had a PAE performed at the University of Virginia at the beginning of October 2019, so just about two months ago. The procedure was entirely painless (except for the discomfort of the catheterization during the procedure and for an hour or two after). I had a prescription for pain medication but did not fill it: there was no pain at all. One night in the hospital. Two weeks after the procedure I stopped taking Flomax, which I had been taking for almost ten years. I am doing fine without the Flomax and feel very much better than I have in years. It will be interesting to see if I improve still more in the next couple of months. One odd thing that I've noticed is that I've recently lost a few pounds--4 or 5, with no change in diet or exercise. I'm speculating that the loss is due to one or both of two things: less retention of urine (my bladder had a huge capacity) and a shrinkage of the prostate itself.

I'm very glad that it worked for you. You definitely performed it at the best place in US. You lost a few pound due to the less fluid retention in your body, possibly better sleep pattern, and generally better health. Mo, prostate weight loss is only around 30g. Your bladder hardly contracted since. Just wonder, flomax almost definitely caused RE. Has it gone since yo stopped using flomax after PAE?