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Prostate BPH - FLA in Houston UPDATE

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peter45673
peter45673

It is now 8 weeks since my FLA operation in Houston.  Things could not be better. I have a good healthy stream and I have started to sleep right through the night without having to get up to pee. This is something that has not happened for so long that I thought getting up 6 or 7 times was normal.  There has been no collateral damage whatsoever; no retrograde, no incontinence and no ED.  It's almost as if I never had BPH.  I wish everyone good luck in their own personal search for a remedy.

2 likes, 129 replies

129 Replies

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  • dennis47445
    dennis47445 peter45673

    Posted

    I remember when I used to get up as many times as you had to.  I did 2 turps and 1 greenlight.  Eventually my bladder became so flacid that I had to do CIC.  All this took place in a span of around 14 to 15 years.  I'm 68, going on 69 by the end of the year.  CIC, was the best thing I did for my urine problem.  Now, I can go for hours  without looking for a toilet.  Best wishes.

     

    • Motto
      Motto dennis47445

      Posted

      So just by using CIC you got better? That retrained your bladder? 
  • peter06599
    peter06599 peter45673

    Posted

    Great news Pete. I had Urolift done over a year ago and did not have as great results as I expected. Still wake up 2-4 times a night. Just biding my time at the moment but am considering FLA as my next step.  Bobby 72221 said his insurance would not cover FLA procedure. Was yours covered by insurance? If not do you mind sharing what FLA costs in general? Thanks!
    • bobby72221
      bobby72221 peter06599

      Posted

      Dr Walsers normal cost is 25000  He might work with u. I think Dr Karamanian is around 20000 and extra 2000 if he does bph.  Costly but I felt my body was worth the price of a cheap vehicle
  • mike588
    mike588 peter45673

    Posted

    if you haven't had a prior procedure on prostate I believe there is a 6k discount to be in a study with Dr K - so 14k - never heard of extra 2k for BPH

    • bobby72221
      bobby72221 mike588

      Posted

      You could very well be right. That was what Dr Ks office quoted me when I was checking the different Drs who performed the procedure.  I just went with Dr Walser since he had done well over 200 FLA procedures and had trained Dr K. He also cut some of the price.  
    • mike588
      mike588 bobby72221

      Posted

      sounds like he's good at cutting :-) OK ablating..

  • pete31426
    pete31426 peter45673

    Posted

    Hello Peter, thanks for posting and sharing your experience. I'm heading down to see Dr. K in two weeks, was supposed to be tomorrow, but a little storm passed through Houston and I was forced to reschedule :-(

    Can't wait to get treated! Glad to hear of your positive results! 

    Very impressed (like so many people) with my experience so far with Dr Karamanian and his office.

    Even though it's oriented towards FLA for prostate cancer, he has a great video on YouTube that is very informative and thought provoking. I'd suggest it is a "must view" for anyone considering FLA. I originally wanted PAE but for a variety of reasons would no longer even consider that procedure. FLA makes so much more sense on so many levels for BPH and other urinary flow restriction issues.  

    Good luck to us all.

  • frank74205
    frank74205 peter45673

    Posted

    Hi Peter, Thanks for that report on FLA. I have a question? Did you have complete urine retention before you had FLA? Thats what i have 

    Thanks

    frank

    • peter45673
      peter45673 frank74205

      Posted

      Frank, I didn't have complete retention I could always manage to get an egg cup full out. But another guy who had FLA did have full retention, in fact he presented to Dr K with a foley inserted. He has done amazingly well. Pretty much the same as me his great results came after about 8 weeks. If you email me privately I could ask him to get in touch with you.

      Pete

  • arlington
    arlington peter45673

    Posted

    Hi Peter,

    What was your condition before the procedure?  Did you have an enlarged median lobe?  Continued success!

    Thanks

    • peter45673
      peter45673 arlington

      Posted

      Yes. 185 cc prostate too. It's 9 weeks now and I feel completely over BPH. I don't know about other treatments but FLA has worked for me 100%.

      Pete

    • mike588
      mike588 arlington

      Posted

      I don't know if Peter was referring to me, I was in full retention. I also have/had large median lobe pushing into bladder, it was not entirely removed according to Dr K, just what he thought was causing the obstruction.

      It's been six months, I am happy with results, though I still need to take Flomax. I believe my bladder was damaged by waiting too long and doing PAE probably made it worse. Things are up and down, I am prone to get UTIs. Although I could probably stop I have been doing CIC (Self Cath) periodically (nightly, miss a night here or there, flush multiple times a day if I feel the need) to flush out stale urine which I believe helps prevent UTIs. Depending on what I eat or drink I sleep better, get up 2-3 times or sometimes only once. No RE even while taking Flomax, prior to surgery Flomax WAS causing RE so that is a bonus.

      I can't know if any other procedure would have been better, I feel if you want to avoid RE this is the best one and less invasive not going through the Urethra.

    • peter45673
      peter45673 mike588

      Posted

      Hi MIke,

      I was not referring to you as it happens. It was a patient from New York who I am in touch with. He is doing very well.  DId we chat while I was in Houston?

      I also chose to self-cath for about a week when I first got back from Houston because my bladder was slow to rehabilitate but it has adjusted very well since.  I'm sleeping right through the night. I do not need Flomax which I stopped taking immediately after the operation.

      Are you noticing on-going improvement or do you feel you've plateaued?

      Pete

    • mike588
      mike588 peter45673

      Posted

      Hi Peter no we did not speak.

      Any improvement now is due to my bladder getting back into shape I would imagine. I have noticed some improvement in the last week. As I wrote before I've been getting UTIs - so improvement could be because the UTI is under control, and the UTIs may have been masking progress. I was even told by my Urologist with regards to conventional surgery that the bladder can be an issue, and it CAN get back in shape but it takes a long time. So I still have hope I can ditch the Flomax.

      Thanks Pete!

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