REZUM--HAVE YOU HAD THIS DONE???????

OB, excellent advice summary regarding Rezum.

The only thing I might add is to consider a general type anesthesia. Some men have reported that the Rezum procedure was rather painful. But a twilight anesthesia means that you wake up after being out for around 30 minutes without any pain. I was also able to self-cath less than an hour after my procedure, so there was actually very little 'recovery' involved. There was some urgency for a few days, but for me ibuprofen did the trick. Mine was almost two years ago. So far, so good.

Ken

Just to 2nd Ken on excellent advice from OB. Rezum is a good 1st option before considering something more invasive like TURP or GLEP. The pain from my Rezum was tolerable after 1 Valium and 1 Percocet. Some guys would prefer a twilight anesthesia though. My Rezum was 1 year ago and so far so good too. Knowing how to self-cath before you have your Rezum is critical.

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Steve

Being twilighted is a really good suggestion. The procedure was fast, but Rezum was pretty painful for me - others less so, but knowing what I know now I would have opted to miss the fun.

You mean that it was not fun to look up at your urologist smiling down at you while the 9 second beep was going on?

Hi folks, Outtatone here. I was fine w/Rezum and quit looking at these discussions/blogs.

I have posted my experience on Rezum from 3 years ago. The Rezum is temporary but has still been well worth the cost, time and pain. I had posted my original experience because I felt like there was lots of negative perceptions and doubts. Anyway, if anyone wants to learn more, please see these two post.

My original story: (Rezum part 1)

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/rezum-treatment-details-553352

The story I am on now: (Rezum part 2 or the next chapter)

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/rezum-treatment-details-part-2-722110?page=0&order=Oldest

I found this site very helpful helping me to learn about options. I know some folks had issues w/Rezum but I didn't experience the same and it seemed there weren't enough voices out there on the positive effect of Rezum.

Can you please explain the self cath advice that has been given here many times? I have only had a catheter twice.

I had kidney stone which wouldn't pass so they had a stent in me which was hell. Literally screaming everytime I peed. I had a cath when I had retention issues. It sucked for a week due to the nature of wearing the damned thing but it didn't hurt. Why would I ask for self cath? Dr. office said ok if I wanted it, they would order on day of procedure but why?

Foley's suck. They are painful, uncomfortable and you can't do anything physical. You walk very gingerly and are always trying to avoid having it pull. Plus they show under pants.

Self cathing, once you get the hang of it is quick, easy, not painful and lets you do whatever you want, including vigorous exercise or sex as soon after the procedure as you fell up to it. A lot of men only need the foley for a week or so - although I would self cath in a heartbeat to avoid a week on a foley. But some unlucky ones (I was one) can take as much as a month to pee and that would be pure hell. They take the foley out, fill you up with saline and if it doesn't come gushing out, back goes the Foley for another week or two. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Plus, until you get a procedure done, it will take a trip to the ER with retention off the table. Before Rezum, self cathing was a life saver a couple of times. Once on a business trip...30 seconds to get the catheter out of my bag, 20 to wash my hands then 15 to use it. Roughly a minute, vs hours and hours at the ER and some made up story to co-workers and clients.

Jimjames has posted some great guides to self cathing and there are videos on Youtube. My uro showed me how and I was literally, good to go.

I have had 6 Foleys in for various reasons. Most of the discomfort comes from the drain tube moving around, so you have to securely tape the tube to your leg, and pad your penis in your underpants, and keep the insertion point well lubricated. I used Neosporin. This made the experience easy. If one doesn't keep the tube from tugging and moving around it's going to be uncomfortable.

I wore a Foley for 6 weeks before beginning self-cathing. I ride my bike 25 miles every day, so my uro nurse gave me a plug for the Foley so I didn't have to wear the bag while biking. Worked great. She also recommended KY jelly to lubricate the insertion point which also helped.

But I must say I was very happy to lose the Foley and have my little buddy back untethered! Freedom! Although I am now self-cathing 6 times a day, it is 200% better than that Foley! Like JimJames has said on another thread, as routine as brushing your teeth once you get habituated to it!

Patrick

I have done self cath and it hurt like h.... and I will never do it again unless I go into total retention. Everyone is different. My urethral lining is very sensitive - doesn't matter how much lubrication I use. Last time I tried I only got the catheter in one inch before the pain became unbearable.

Tom

Tom did you ever try the lubricated ones? It's a different feel to the ones you spread gel over. The technique of insertion could also make a difference.

I do JimJames' "nose dive" technique with the SpeediCath lubed, sealed and sterile cath and its a breeze!

Mike,

I used hydrophilic antibiotic 14fr catheters - the best I could get. Almost impossible to complete the process, then the last time completely impossible. As I said in my post, urethral lining is very sensitive and likely narrow, so I am not a good candidate for self cath.

Tom

So sorry to hear - from my experience the first few times I did it the urethral lining was more sensitive but never hurt so much the way you described

Patrick I was taught by a nurse at my Urologist who specializes in teaching and yes that is the method she taught me. I use those same Coloplast ones and usually have no problems. I tried saving money using the ones that you have to use gel with and found I got UTIs regularly.

While I never had pain while self-cathing, the first few times there was a bit of "discomfort" as I was not used to shoving a tube down my penis...and I expect just the thought of doing this may cause a "mental block" to doing it successfully for some. No doubt some of us have physical barriers to doing CIC, but I suspect some of us also have mental blocks that prevent success with this valuable technique.

FWIW, I have tried samples of several others, including those you need to lube before using, but for me, nothing comes close to the ease and convenience of the Coloplast SpeediCath, which is hydrophilic, pre-lubed and sterile, ready for use. It takes me less time than flossing.

An extra plus, Medicare covers the cost of the SpeediCaths, so I don't have to worry about saving money by using inferior products.

Patrick

This is super helpful, because as the prostate gets larger, one never know when he might find himself in a situation that would be greatly benefited from learning CIC.

There are some on this forum who were told by several urologists that they would never void again naturally without a surgical procedure, but stayed the course with CIC and surprised their doctors by rehabbing their bladders enough to urinate naturally without a catheter and without surgery.

It may not work for all, but may be worth a try before rushing into a surgical procedure with little chance of success and risking unwanted irreversible side effects.

Bottom line, CIC can be a short or long term solution, depending on your circumstance and history. Some urologists may not recommend it as it is not a money-maker for them. Surgical procedures will always be available later on if CIC doesn't work for you.

Patrick

I was told by the 1st urologist that I saw that it was unlikely that I would be able to pee on my own again. That was after 2 liters of pee was taken out of me and when 6 months later, I failed my urodynamics tests which I am still suspicious of being flawed.

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After 10 months of self-cathing, the 3rd urologist that I saw agreed that it was time to try a Rezum. The Rezum was successful but because of bladder damage, it took 8 more months of bladder recovery for PVR's to drop below 100 ml which is OK for guys our age.

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For the last 4 months, my PVR's have been under 100 ml. I check my PVR's by self-cathing before I go to bed as I do not own my own several-thousand-dollar bladder ultrasound device. Also, by self-cathing before I go to bed, I only get up once to pee overnight 👍

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All guys who are considering a Rezum should absolutely know how to self-cath before they have the procedure. Swapping out Foley's is not the way to go.

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Steve

Hello All

I was not going to say anything. Don't want to get into it.

Only this. Men will have any procedure they feel is right for them. And some doctors are going to push procedures that they do over others.

Men need to do research before they do anything.

God bless you all....Ken

Steve,

Curious if you needed to self-cath during that 8 months after the Rezum? Can you share your post-op experience? So now you self-cath only once a day and void naturally the rest of the day?

Patrick

Patrick,

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After my Rezum, I had a Foley for 2 weeks as requested by the urologist. At 2 weeks, I could not pee on my own, so I got back to self-cathing 4 times a day. Due to 2 swelling episodes, I needed to use a stiffer catheter 2 times.

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At 4 weeks, I started to open up and all bleeding had stopped. By 6 weeks I was well opened so I went from self-cathing 4 times a day to 2 times a day. Between 1 and 3 months, I had a few episodes of shedding tissue that either came out when peeing or self-cathing, 2 of which clogged the catheter.

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Now I am peeing OK and I only self-cath before bed to measure my PVR's and it helps me sleep to be completely empty before going to bed. Overall, my Rezum followed the standard recovery progression.

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Steve

Thanks Steve. Being on a blood thinner, the 4 weeks of bleeding concern me. I will have to run this by my EP if and when I decide to proceed with the Rezum. Seems like I read Rezum had relatively minimal bleeding?

Patrick