REZUM--HAVE YOU HAD THIS DONE???????
Posted , 385 users are following.
I had a nice conversation today with the President of the "Urology Times". He was telling me that there is a "New Procedure" that has been approved called the "REZUM SYSTEM". The company that makes the system is called "NXThera, Inc". You can google them up and lots of stuff comes up. I called them for a referral and they gave me a Doctor in Minnepolis that has done it over 50 times now. I called his nurse and she said he would call me back and answer my questions on monday. As you guys probably know Doctors are not very good at returning calls but we'll see what happens. Iam not very good at explaining how the procedure works but basically they take the device and put it up the uretha and vaporize the prostate cells which kills them. It works with high pressure "steam" that at a certain degree will kill the prostate tissue. My question for you guys is there anybody out there that has had it done to them and how are you getting along and are there "side effects", etc etc?????
35 likes, 5645 replies
kevin881 ChuckP
Posted
I am 3 weeks post procedure. i had a foley catheter for 3 days, slow peeing when removed and a visit to the ER that night as i was blocked. back into a foley for 5 more days... removed and peeing slow. That night i had problems again and my Uro decided i should self cath... that went well for 5 days until the catheters popped a hole into my prostate and i could not self cath any more. back to a foley. i get it out Thursday.
during the 5 days i self cathed, i had 2 orgasms. both 100% whole blood and no semen... scary as hell.
im 50 YO had 6 injections and had no median lobe...
raygar13 ChuckP
Posted
I read improvements at 3 months. i noticed improvement in month 8 to 9 possible due to xl prostate and the amount of prostate tissue ablated. at some point you just notice that things are better, it happens gradually other than the initial flow picking up. keep us posted on your progress
raygar13 ChuckP
Posted
wow, how are you doing now. if any type of infection is present after the procedure and post foley it could trigger a trip to the er. At 9 months and doing extremely well after rezum I caught an infection between the bladder and the prostate and had to visit the er. when uro. removed the foley I had them set me up to self cath. 10 days of antibiodics, felt the infection exit from back to front and things are back to normal. Point is the initial swelling after rezum is obviously a potential problem for urinary retention. After 2 weeks thinks should start to calm down and if no uti is present things should go smooth. 15 injections for me, no bleeding or infection. able to urinate after foley although slow. stream picked up at 2 weeks, went off flomax and normal healing after. even saw improvement out to 8 months on leaking. now in total control leaking and ability to hold off urination.
OGsteve ChuckP
Posted
I just visited my urologist who I have been seeing for several years for BPH. I am 72 and have had it since my late 40s. I have had several cancer scares due to an increasing PSA but it has been holding steady for the past couple of years in the mid 5s. I also have been on TRT for several years which in part, led to the cancer scare. I have owned health food stores in the past and have read a lot about testosterone and prostate cancer and from all the research I have done (which my cancer specialist urologist agrees with), testosterone is NOT a cause of prostate cancer (have you ever seen a young man with tons of testosterone having prostate cancer?) In addition to testosterone, I take an aromatase inhibitor since all the evidence I have read indicates that as we get older, the aromatase enzyme converts testosterone to estrogen faster as we get older and it is the estrogen which can cause prostate cancer. I am including this just to be complete and to dispel any myths. But I digress.
I have been on terazosin for several years (that alone causes retro) and added 2.5mg of cialis daily a couple of years ago (great for sex life) and this combo seems to mostly keep the bph in check. I get up once or twice a night to pee but my pee is a dribble and the embarassing stains in my underware are testament to the fact that the dribble often continues for a minute after I am done. I decided to explore urolift since my Dr. said that he had it done with good results and after my wife threatened to throw away all of my almost new but badly stained underware. However, today after the "test" to determine if I was suited for urolift, I found out my prostate (85mm) is too large and that the frontal lobe impedes my bladder thus I am left with looking at Rezum or Turp (no f'ing way). I have scheduled Rezum for January but will continue to do research before committing fully to it. The doc tells me he has seen about an 80% success (he is the only one in the practice of 6 urologists who does it which he claims is why he did urolift instead.
So bottom line, I am looking for some solid advice. I have read about 2 years of the forum and still reading more. Thanks in advance for advice and for sharing your experiences.
davidaami OGsteve
Posted
So as another Steve on here has suggested, make sure to shop around for the right urologist for REZUM. Find a urologist who has a lot of experience with the procedure. Consider using the urologists of the guys on here who have had success with the procedure. Maybe learn how to self catheterize before the procedure occurs so that you'll be able to deal with some blockage due to the swelling following the procedure.
steven05114 OGsteve
Posted
Hi Steve
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This is the "other Steve" that David is referring to. I spent about 10 months researching my BPH procedure options and urologist options. I was guided through this by a close family member that I have known for over 60 years who was an MD for over 40 years. He often had lunch with a urologist after doing surgeries.
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The family-member-MD had the same negative view of TURP as you mentioned above. We decided on Rezum after looking at over a half dozen of the BPH procedures available today. Urolift was disqualified early for several reasons. What you have is a median lobe and not a "frontal" lobe as you mentioned above.
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His advice was to only go with a urologist who has done a minimum of 50 Rezums.
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It is a new procedure and there are many urologists out there that have only done a few Rezums. The urologist that I selected was recommended to me on this forum. She had been doing Rezums for 2 years, had been practicing for over 25 years and was part of a big practice where everyone did Rezums. This is a good formula.
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Also, any guy who has a Rezum should know how to self-cath before the procedure.
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Good luck to you.
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Steve
steven05114
Posted
PS: My Rezum went "like clockwork" in terms of both the procedure and recovery. I went from complete blockage (AUR) and 10 months of catheters to being able to pee again. My athletic activity was down for only 2 weeks.
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Because of bladder damage, my PVR's took about 9 to 10 months to return to normal for our age (under 100 ml). The longer that you wait, the greater are your chances of bladder damage, that is unless you start self-cathing.
tom86211 OGsteve
Posted
OGSteve,
I had a bipolar TURP this past April (I was 72 at the time). Operation was easy, no pain, fast recovery and my flow is much stronger now. Bladder continues to recover and am doing better every month. I would not consider REZUM because of the post procedure swelling and many weeks of catheters required until the swelling goes down. Mixed results here with REZUM - some great outcomes, some not so good. BTW - no retro from my TURP - my urologist was careful. We discussed this before the operation and he came through for me.
About the dribbling after urinating when you get up at night - I have had this for decades - a minor form of incontinence. I just pad my underwear with toilet tissue folded over a few times. Absorbs the urine. Have been doing this for most of my adult life. No big deal. Try it. Will solve your underwear issue.
Tom
raygar13 OGsteve
Posted
I also did a lot of research prior to rezum last january. prostate 150, psa 29.8. I based my decision primarily on richard levin, a urologist who did clinical trials for rezum and now does 95 percent of prostate procedures with rezum. From my experience 15 injections, the procedure is uncomfortable but not painful. went on finesteride 2 weeks prior to the procedure and antibiodics 3 to 5 days before and maybe a week after. for the procedure I had a prostate block 2 shot and waived the oral pain medications and was able to drive myself home. the injections are 9 seconds and at 7 seconds the injections get a little warm, then they move on. I had no bleeding except for a little pink day 2 around the foley catheter (3.5 days). Was able to urinate post foley although a very slow at first. No pain in the prostate area at all, noticed a mass reduction of the prostate immediately. at 14 days the flow picked up a little and I went off flomax. Most noticeable improvement months 2 to 3. At present, psa 19.8, no leaking (100 percent cured) no urgency (able to postpone urination). ipss 22 to 8. no retro, would have the procedure again, no regrets
raygar13 tom86211
Posted
good post tom, I cant imagine swelling from rezum is any worse than turp. turp addresses issues in the urethra and clears the runway. rezum addresses prostate tissue around or outside of the urethra and if done correctly removes enough tissue to take the pressure obstructing the urethra away. I agree the results are mixed in this forum. With rezum its not the steam that kills the cells its the energy released when the steam turns to water. If you have one area that is blocking you and you target it, even a little swelling in an area that is already blocking you can lead to your not being able to urinate. Like I mentioned before finesteride 2 weeks prior for bleeding. antibiodics are a must. infection will block your ability to urinate.
OGsteve davidaami
Posted
My doc has done about 120 in the past year so experience is not an issue. He has not pushed me in any ways although he has been surprised when he sees my scores that I am not pushing him. He told me to expect the cath would be at most a week and full results would take up to six months and that I could expect mild discomfort. Other than that, I guess I am not very good at asking questions. No idea about the idea of self cath but frankly I am not sure I have the guts to do it to myself. I had to use nitrous for the cystoscopy... it just creeps me out.Still on the fence and not understanding why I would self cath.
raygar13 OGsteve
Posted
2 reasons, foley is uncomfortable especially 3 to 7 days, the tip gets rubbed pretty good. Depending on prostate size and the number of injections you may be able to urinate on your own right away but expect it to be slow at first. Healing is better without a rubber tube in you. Richard Levin sends most rezum patients home without foley and teaches how to self cath. he did the clinical trials for rezum and now does 95 percent rezum for bph. If for whatever reason down the road you cant urinate, self cath. is better than a trip to the emergency room. Foley 3 days. The procedure is uncomfortable but the results will make you forget. 15 injections for me, procedure with prostate block only, no pain day 2, no bleeding. Finesteride 14 days prior to help with bleeding and recovery
Badbolr raygar13
Posted
I'm 2 months out. At my 6 week I found out i had 5 injections not two. 2 on each side and one on median lobe.
My first ejaculations were strong, large, and bloody. Now i have about 60/40 retro with most going backwards. really sucks. I chose Rezum to avoid retro but it didn't work out that way 😕
TKM Badbolr
Posted
Badbolr,
Where did you have Rezum done ? Do you know how many Rezum the doctor had done before you ?
Thomas
Badbolr TKM
Posted
in SC. he said 'hundreds'...
raffie Badbolr
Posted
Unfortunately, there are unscrupulous doctors out there that see BPH procedures as cash cows & will say anything to patients to get them to use their services.
I wish there was a verifiable database healthcare workers had to use to track how many intimate type procedures they do & whether the results were good or bad to protect patients.
kenneth1955 raffie
Posted
Good morning.
Doctors should keep track of how many they do and how many work. If they don't there in it for the money.
See if you can talk with any of the patients that he has done the procedure. This way they can tell you what you can expect.
Good luck...Ken
raygar13 raffie
Posted
when i found out about Bph and asked the urologist how do we fix it....TURP and retro. went to the internet and researched all the procedures. Asked the urologist about rezum and reply was prostate was too large 150. After googling a rezum post by richard levin, he mentioned a patient with prostate 151 and had 12 injections and was doing well. She (uro) checked with the rezum rep and we scheduled the procedure. Dont think she was the most experienced at rezum as she didnt start from the back and move forward. She kind of picked the areas to inject with the help of I assume the rezum rep. 15 total injections 2 to the medium lobe. I am sure some of the injections were overlapping but she was aware to stay away from the area that causes retro and final results are very good. major symptom relief, no retro. Patients should do their own research, all of the bph procedures are profitable. This procedure made the most sense to me, state of the art.
oldbuzzard Badbolr
Posted
it will probably get better as time passes - mine did.
oldbuzzard OGsteve
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Why self cath?
1). Many men can't pee after 7 days. Most are able to function in 7-10, but some take as long as a month.
Foley's suck - they are torture devices. Its hard to move around, they constantly pull and they are clearly visible below pants. Car rides are tough, exercise is out of the question and they HURT.
Self cathing allows you to return to normal life almost immediately - including vigorous exercise if that's something you like to do. The disposable ones are easy to hide and once you get the hang of it you're looking at 30 seconds more than a regular pee. Also it allows you to start exercising you bladder before you can pee enough on your own.