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

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ChuckP
ChuckP

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

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  • stephen38770
    stephen38770 ChuckP

    Edited

    Was very painful. Only gave me one pain pill, one zanix, and 5 antibiotics. said take one of each an hour before the proceedure. i think i levitated off the table. i no longer ejaculate. after cathiter issues urinating better. would never do again without more pain meds.

    • raygar13
      raygar13 stephen38770

      Edited

      yeah thats not enough. had 2 prostate block shots into the prostate via the rectum. was also prescribed either xanax or another med to calm anxiety. I wanted to drive myself home and we eliminated the oral med. was a little nervous that it would be painful, but not bad. the injections get a little warm at 7 seconds out of 9. My only problem was urgency on the table, similar to having a catheter, your body feels the tube and you think you need to go.

    • russ_777
      russ_777 raygar13

      Edited

      "2 prostate block shots into the prostate via the rectum"

      That's something I haven't had the "pleasure" of experiencing. Seems like you'd need the xanax for that as much as anything.

    • raygar13
      raygar13 russ_777

      Edited

      same process for a biopsy. I think its ultrasound guided. the 2 shots were because of an XL prostate. For rezum, the urethra was numbed, then the prostate block. When the medication kicked in the procedure started. the combination between the 3, prostate block, xanax for anxiety and numbing the urethra makes the procedure easily tollerable. The procedure is fairly quick. Foley is inserted after, if you were blocked off and the injections were placed into the area causing problems, even with a little swelling would make urination difficult. Average time for foley should be around 3 to 4 days. As a precaution, Learning how to self cath can also be helpful early after rezum

  • van61664
    van61664 ChuckP

    Edited

    I had the Rezum procedure performed in October, 2019, for BPH. The procedure resolved my urination issues which included an inability to void completely, difficulty starting urination, and waking several times to urinate during the night. The procedure was extremely painful despite the prostate block that was injected prior. I have a high threshold for pain, but the Rezum procedure was really intensely painful. The doctor administered four "shots of steam" of 9 seconds each. The fourth one was absolutely intolerable. I had serious complications after the procedure including a month of being unable to initiate urination despite having a full bladder and feeling intense urgency. When I did finally urinate it was very painful. After that first month I continued to have painful, burning urination. I did not attain normal urination until 8 weeks after the procedure.

    The worst after effect is that I now have retrograde ejaculation which appears to be permanent. I have no issues with getting and maintaining a strong erection, and I do experience the same intensity of orgasm as I did prior to Rezum. However, I do not ejaculate at all. I was told that this was a "very rare" possible side effect. Based on the reports I am seeing on the internet, I now realize that losing the ability to ejaculate after the Rezum procedure is most definitely NOT a rare side effect. Far too many guys have reported this problem. It is not a stretch to say that the inability to ejaculate has irreparably damaged my sex life.

    If I were you I would carefully evaluate all the options for treatment of BPH. Based on my personal experience I cannot recommend the Rezum procedure. I think the company that created the REZUM procedure publishes false statistics that seriously understate the potential side effects.

    I have talked to others online who are suffering the same consequences as me, so I don't believe my urologist nor do I believe the company's literature when they say my outcome is "rare". In my opinion that is an outright lie.

    • steven05114
      steven05114 van61664

      Posted

      van61664,

      .

      I am sorry to hear that your Rezum did not go well for you, When you chose the urologist who did your Rezum, did you know there record for doing Rezums? How long had they been doing Rezums for? Did another patient recommend them?

      .

      My Rezum went perfectly. I selected a urologist who had been practicing for 25 years and had done Rezums for over 2 years. My IPSS went from 29 to 6. After 10 months of catheters, I could pee normally again. I experienced no RE either.

      .

      Most alternatives to Rezum such as GLEP, HoLEP, and the various TURP'S will result in RE. Based on my excellent results from Rezum, which in my case involved 10 injections (4 per lateral lobe and 2 median lobe), I highly recommend Rezum.

      .

      Finding the right urologist with sufficient experience with Rezum is critical though.

      .

      Steve

    • raygar13
      raygar13 van61664

      Posted

      The reason retro is rare during a rezum procedure is not that the steam injections cannot damage the duct where the semen is injected, but the fact the urologist can control where they inject the steam. It is not the steam that kills the cells blocking urination but the energy released when steam turns to water. I asked my urologist if she could see that sensitive area and she responded absolutely and she stayed away from the area (no steam injections there). 15 injections for 150 prostate, 2 medium lobe. Painful urination is a symptom of infection and prostatitus. Men with inflamed prostate find the procedure more painful. Although uncomfortable, I found the pain to be about a 4 out of 10. 2 prostate block shots, no oral meds. This procedure is state of the art. The energy released when steam turns to water instantly kills the cells it comes in contact with. Although there is some minor swelling from the procedure the area recovers fairly quickly. I had no pain at all day 2, I expected it to be sore for a week or more, but nothing. after 3.5 days foley removed and was able to urinate slowly at first and things improved gradually as the dead cells were absorbed by the body. Retro can happen, result is more the fault of the urologist thnn the procedure

    • raygar13
      raygar13

      Edited

      2 things quick, painful urination is infection or prostatitus. retro is the fault of an inexperienced urologist, not the procedure. the urologist can see the duct that carries semen. if you inject it, it will be damaged. on pain, if the prostate is inflamed the injections will be more painful. had 15 with 2 prostate block shots, no oral meds for 150 prostate. 4 out of 10. no pain at all days 2. Rezum jan 31 2019. ipss 23 to 8

    • bill1095
      bill1095 van61664

      Edited

      I have posted this before, and have to agree that the retro problem with Rezum is more prevalent than they report. I had Rezum in Sept. 2019. The first few shots were very painful and I suspect that part of the prostate wasn't well anesthetized. I probably would have stopped the procedure if the shots hadn't got considerably more tolerable. I had a difficult recovery with lots of pain and had to have my Foley put back in the first time after I thought I was able to void. Had a difficult time with the Foley. On the positive side after several months of difficulty I started to heal and today my frequency and urgency issues are resolved. These were my main issues. I didn't have retro in the beginning but then it started and was intermittent for a short time and now I haven't ejaculated since a few months after the procedure. I chose a Urologist who had done alot of Rezum's and had trained with one of the originators. And I still have retro! Orgasms are mostly normal now and I had to adjust psychologically to the feeling that I was no longer normal. In reality it doesn't really matter and probably makes the sexual experience less messy, but you still don't feel normal. I would not choose the retro and ironically I chose this procedure as it seemed like a more thorough "fix" to the problem than medications or the Urolift, and believed the jargon that sexual side effects are rare. I'm very happy to have the main issues resolved, but I probably wouldn't choose Rezum again.And I do feel slightly misused in this process.

    • van61664
      van61664 steven05114

      Edited

      I thoroughly researched the urologist's history and experience. He is the leading urologist in my city and is in fact the urologist to urologists. He has been doing Rezum procedures for a long time. I don't recall the exact number of times he has performed the procedure but it is over 100.

      In retrospect I realize that he botched the procedure in my case. I believe that his mind was preoccupied with something else and as a result he was careless,

    • Joe1953
      Joe1953 van61664

      Edited

      Hello All-

      I had Rezum done on 5/16/18. Had terrible trouble getting Medicare to reimburse me but after 2 years of fighting got 100% payment.,

      I have read posts where guys have had less than spectacular results. I have to attribute this to the urologist involved. I have nothing but good things to say about the procedure. All the results that I got were as desired. Good urine flow with no RE ever. This procedure is definitely trickier that I thought. I also agree that it is one of the most painful things any doctor has ever done to me but only lasts 10-15 minutes.

      My only thoughts are I hope this holds up for my lifetime. If not, I suspect I will repeat the procedure WITH the same urologist, My current age is 67 yrs and very happy that I've had this done.

      JEF

    • john94113
      john94113 steven05114

      Posted

      10 months of catheters ?

      Are you saying you had Rezum and then needed a catheter for 10 months ?

    • TKM
      TKM john94113

      Posted

      John,

      If I recall Steven05114's case, he used intermittent catheters for 10 months BEFORE his Rezum. Correct me if I am wrong.

      Thomas

    • kenneth1955
      kenneth1955 TKM

      Posted

      Yes that is right. I remember him saying that.....Ken

  • Joe1953
    Joe1953 ChuckP

    Posted

    Hello Chuck,

    Please see my complete post below.

    Joe1953

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