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

Hello Chuck,

Please see my complete post below.

Joe1953

I do not recommend. I researched everything I could and then had it done July 2019; resulting in irreparable damage to nerves and bladder. Further, despite assurances that only a small percentage 'might' experience retro, afterward they told me it was inevitable and that I should have understood that going in

I had Rezum three days ago. It was done in the urologist's office. It was brutal in terms of pain. The pain lasted for the rest of the afternoon and evening, requiring me to take three more hydrocodone pills along with acetomophen. It subsided the next day, fortunately.

As prescribed, I had taken two hydrocodones one hour before and I was breathing nitrous oxide, which did very little. I had requested to have the procedure done in an operating room with a general anesthetic, but was told that was not possible because the Rezum equipment could not be moved there.

Somewhere I read that one of the advantages of Rezum for doctors is that they can perform more of them in their office than in an O.R. in a given time frame and thereby collect more fees. If that's a main motivation, it is appalling from any ethical or human rights point of view. The pain from Rezum may be in a bearable range for many or most people, but it is not for all. Nor is it predictable who will be in which category.

The urologist told me that I may need a second treatment. If so, there is no way that I will not have it done in an operating room with a general anesthetic.

I would recommend that people really think twice about having Rezum performed in an office setting. If I had known it was going to be so bad, I would have insisted on the O.R. or searched for a doctor who would do it there.

It's too soon to tell whether it will be effective. I will report back in about four months.

I had Rezum done in the Doctors office last week. Very painful, 4 blasts. Had a catheter inserted. Was given a small leg catheter bag and sent home. 2 days later I am admitted to the hospital for 3 days for Ecoli blood infection. my nurse noticed the small leg bag and asked me if I had a night bag, which I did not. She said that's crazy . She gave me one and , and showed me how to use it. I believe my blood infection came from the small bag backing up at night. I am praying that after 6 days with a catheter , I am able to urinate on my own.

Can't speak to the effectiveness of my procedure yet, but hoping for the best.

Great Forum !

Had Rezum done in the Doctors office last week. 4 blasts, quite painful, still alive. Was given a catheter with small leg strap bag and sent home. Two days later, I was admitted to the hospital for Ecoli infection , blood infection , caused by either the procedure or catheter . Spent 3 days in the hospital. A nurse in the hospital gave me a night urine bag , which I should have received in the doctors office. Getting the catheter out tomorrow after 6 days. Praying I am able to urinate on my own.

Hello Chuck, I am a 70yr old who recently had this procedure done on 6/30 , here in Orlando Fl, as an outpatient in hospital. I was well informed by the DR of what to expect up front so there were no surprises afterward. I was put to sleep for this procedure which the doctor recommended. They was a catheter inserted while you are under which you will wear for 3 days, attached to a bag which you have to drag around and empty often. This was the most negative impact of the procedure as it is somewhat uncomfortable but certainly bearable with a couple tylenol and careful moving around. I stayed home for the 3 days afterward. Removing the cath was not fun, but the discomfort was short lived. After he cath is removed a stent is placed in uretha that allows free urine flow. A string is attached to the stent that allows the doctor to remove easily after a 3 week healing process. Aside from some urination burning, there has been no discharge or blood to date. Too soon to tell if this is going to work. The worse is the 3 days afterward with the cath and bag emptying process.

Let me tell you about my experience.

I will try to be as detailed as I can be (without being too wordy) so others might know exactly what to expect, or at least how it is for me.

I had this done 13 days ago today.

I still need to urinate frequently and it is painful and still contains varying amounts of blood. (not alarming amounts but sometimes it is bright). I dribble a very small amount now and so pad the inside of my underwear with toilet paper.

My prostate wasn't large by comparison to most but had a small lobe developed into the bladder and that was causing symptoms of a much larger prostate.

I went to room. The young girl tells me to strip from waist down and offers me a white paper sheet about the size of a small towel.

(Put my clothes on a chair across the room.)

Laying naked on the table my legs hanging off the edge she begins forcefully squeezing lidocane into my penis. It hurts! I think if she'd just taken a moment it would've been better.

Another girl gives me nitrous oxide tube to hold and inhale at will. I begin.

Dr. comes in puts my legs in raised spread position in supports made for it. Tells me to "hit it hard" I do, practically hyperventilating on the stuff.

The procedure hurts bad! It was quick for me. Only 3 injections (15 are possible).

I think I briefly passed out.

When I sat up I had a catheter inserted and a large bag to deal with. I could dress now but had never had a catheter before and it was a real challenge. I was given quick instruction on switching to the leg bag and I drove home.

The catheter was painful! Right at the tip of insertion. I wore it for two days and could not work. My work is physical and I need to move around a lot. When i went to have it removed I told the girl how painful it was. She said there is an adhesive patch meant for keeping it in place. Too late plus that wouldn't have helped with the pain.

For me every time I read about "managing your comfort level" or "mild to moderate"

That says PAIN for me. For a week I had to scream into a towel while urinating.

For some reason, now bowel movements are not right either. I'm hoping it has to do with pressure from swelling and will resolve.

So now you know. Forget modesty and forget "comfort level".

I hope others found it a much less stressful and less painful experience.

I'm 59 years old. For me it was and still is a painful experience, but what is our alternative?

If it doesn't work or ceases to work as time passes, I won't have it done again. I'll deal with it and hope a less painful procedure is developed.

I had my procedure done four days ago.

First, my doctor told me to expect a pain of about a 4-5. He does not offer any pain meds or sedation. Not even close, I really do not understand why this is not done under some kind of sedation.

Three days with the foley catheter, that I removed myself at home.

So for its been twenty-four hours of just a dribble. I fear that I may need to go back in if things do not improve soon.

I do think doctors are over selling this procedure. Time will tell.

Hello, I have had the Rezum procedure on June 26th 2020. I am 63 years old and have been suffering with BPH for a few years now. My original urologist would only have me come and get an ultrasound on my bladder and tell me that I am retaining urine, but he only gave me Flomax and told me to return in 3 months and keep an eye on it. That went on for over a year. 2 years ago (2018) I noticed that my urine stream was getting more and more weak. So at the beginning of June I decided to research a new urologist. I found one that specializes in mens BPH issues here in Los Angeles. Met with the Dr. did the

ultrasounds, (bladder and prostate) to confirm I need to intervene with a procedure. I was a candidate for REZUM. I scheduled the treatment a couple weeks later.

I originally thought I would be right for the Urolift, but due to the size of my prostate, Rezum was the better procedure. I have only found this forum today so hindsight is 20/20. If you decide that this procedure is right for you make sure you do ALL of your research. Find out what condition your bladder is in, for me, mine was distended/stretched out from a few years of retaining. (Unbeknownst to me). As I thought I was retaining because of my enlarged prostate. (logical).

Now for the procedure. Nothing you will read with prepare you for the actual procedure. You will most likely be getting a "prostate block". That is an injection or two into your prostate via your anus. You will be told to 'clean out' with a douche bulb or fleet enema before the procedure. The injection is lidocaine. The intial injection is indescribable, not pain, per se, but pressure. Then you lie on your back and by then you probably already had a cystoscopy done. They will inject into your urethra lidocaine, and push it down into your urethra and put a clamp in the head of your penis while the numbing takes place. That is how they look into your urethra and bladder. Usually before the Rezum treatment to assess your situation. so onto the Rezum procedure.... After a few minutes the Dr comes in and you get into the stirrups and the device is put into your penis. You will be inhaling nitrous oxide the entire time if you don't do a general. Personally I do not like the feeling of the nitrous, sure you get high, your fingers, toes and lips start to numb out. So as you are in this state, the injections happen, I had 7 injections total. After the procedure, you are now have a foley catheter in place with a leg bag. For me, I have been retaining urine for quite some time. So if there is anyway to really talk to your urologist about the urine retention and do some intermittent self cathing first, to see what condition your bladder is in. If it is distended, then you will be in the same boat that I am in.

I left with the foley and bag as well as a night bag. Nothing prepares you for the leg/night bag situation. I highly suggest you get these butterfly tapes that have velcro to hold the catheter junction in place. It makes it easier and less friction within your urethra. Here is a checklist of things I got that helped me thru this catheter thing:

1. Sterile alcohol prep pads (to sterilize the cath point/tip before inserting into foley.
2. ViDava Medical Tube Holder (to hold the catheter in place, taped against your leg.
3. Nextcare flexible clear tape (to tape the night tube to the sheet, as you will be sleeping on your back the entire time, at least that was the most comfortable for me)
4. A 1000 ML beaker (to measure and record the volume of urine you expel)

   I kept meticulous records of my output. And I would empty the bags every 4 hours except thru the night. So at 10pm I would empty the leg bag into the beaker, remove the elastic bands so they dont get wet, since you have the butterfly tape holder it will hold the empty leg bag to your leg while your shower. Then switch it to the night bag after you shower and dry off. SO from 10pm-6am I would have the night bag, then empty the night bag, switch to the day bag take a shower with day bag in the morning (6am) and you are ready for the day.

   Also with the foley stabilizing tabs, I would switch legs every day so one spot doesnt get fatigued with the tape and bag. Sometimes you have to empty the leg bag before the 4 hours due to the volume of urine in the bag.

   The reason Im saying all this is because nobody will prepare you for this, I searched online and only found this forum today.

   Now onto my experience. so after 5 days with the foley catheter, I went back to the Dr on the 5th day I returned to have the foley removed in the morning and then return in the afternoon to pee for the Dr and leave. Well, that didnt happen for me. I could not pee, of course we are all different and unbeknownst to me, my weakened bladder muscle and inflammation I was recathed with the foley for another 7 days. Which I returned to have it removed and return that afternoon. Still not able to void any urine. So then I was told that I needed to self-catheterize myself, the medical technician and I went into the room and she instructed me on how to do this. I recommend you google self catherization videos on You Tube. The info will help you. Also there are 3 different sizes of catheters,

   Fr 12, Fr 14 and Fr 16. I was given a Fr 16, the largest. So I tried to self cath. After the first attemp it got to a point inside me and it stopped..... so I took it out and we tried another catheter, same size and same thing happened. It would not go any further once it hit the prostate and procedure site. (I did not know that we have a sphincter muscle in our bladder, nobody told me, nor did that even come up in any of my online research. At that time I did not know how to self cath. Hindsight, again.

   So to make sure there was not a blood clot or mass, the Dr went inside with the scope, the nitrous oxide, flushed out my urethra and put the foley cath back in for another 2 weeks. I know my case is very specific and unique. It is also harrowing and really tests your patience and stamina.

   It is now 27 days with the foley catheter in me. Im ready to loose my mind, I also lost 10 lbs due to inactivity and moving slowly and cautiously.

   Oh and every morning and night after my shower I would take toilet paper and wrap my penis with it and use the flexible skin tape to secure the kleenex or toilet paper around my penis due to the blood and discharge that you secrete from your penis while having the foley cath in you.

   I would also put a little neosporin around the tip of my penis where the tube comes out from causing any irritation.

   So on the 27th day, I had the Foley removed (for good) and now onto self cathing.

   Since I cannot move urine naturally ...YET. I am self cathing. This is the 4th day cathing. If you google male catherters you will find companies that supply catheters. There are many many that do. I found one in Texas called 180 Medical. I had several sent prior to me, knowing I will be self cathing, I wanted options. Maximum comfort and ease of use.

   I started with the Fr 12, it is called the GC Glide Intermittent Catheter. There is a video to guide you in doing this. Of course the first time is scary and weird but this is my 3rd day and I am having to self cath every 3 hours. This is in hopes of rehabbing my bladder, not letting the volume exceed 400 mL. The first time I cathed I was holding 1500 mL, and that is insane.

   I am happy to be free of the Foley cath and the self cathing is getting much easier to coordinate and manipulate.. Nothing prepares us for this.

   My hope is that in the coming weeks, my bladder will regain its memory, resiliency and will return to full function.

   I have not experienced an orgasm yet....so I do not know what is to come (no pun) regarding that. OH and also, nothing prepares you when you get an erection with a Foley cath either.... all I could do was yell; NOOOOOOOO and think of my mom, or nuns, or ANYTHING to stop the erection! UNREAL.

   As for the Rezum treatment, I hope that the size of my prostate reduces, I regain my bladder function. Because I know IF I did not do something, even more irrepairable damage could have been done, kidneys, etc can be affected.

   Good luck guys, I hope you dont have the experience I have. The verdict is not in as to the Rezum treatment, but again, what's done is done.

   Thanks for reading if you got to the end of this and I hope anything you can glean out of my experience will help you.... patience and faith shall prevail....