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
avenses ChuckP
Posted
Today is one month from where I had the rezum treatment, great improvement started two days ago, I am peeing normally now 100-150ml and sometimes more, strong pressure and no more waking up at night.
jeff03573 ChuckP
Posted
SO I'm 46 and Ive been dealing with BPH since I was about 30. Over the last year the urgency and frequency had led me to start to use intermittent catheters and I would still have an urge within 30 minutes to go again. Without boring everyone I will say that I have tried every drug over the past 16 years, and when it got so bad that I would not leave the hotel without a catheter (while traveling) I knew that something had to be done.
At first I really wanted Urolift. I liked the idea of not heat, just staples. So I went in for my 6th or 7th cystoscopy in the last 15 years and I was told but my urologist that due to the median lobe basically being "flopped over" the top of the badder opening that Urolift was not an option. Nothing to "staple" it to.
So, we went with Rezum. I had it done last wednesday under GA. I woke to feel no pain, other than the Foley, and i had almost no blood in the bag at all. Occasional tiny clots pass through, but thats about it. Whats KILLING me is that apparently I have night time erections. I lube the catheter, I make sure its clean, I put antibiotic ointment on it etc. As SOON as I start to fall asleep the penis swells and starts to take up the slack in the catheter. The pain literally brings me to the floor. I cannot get up fast enough to start the blood flow out of the "extremities" and to somewhere else. I had an appt to remove the catheter on Wednesday, but I have asked for them to do it tomorrow.
I did find this thread prior to my procedure, there are some scary thoughts about this in here, but I have to say that I felt I was literally poisoning myself with all the drugs, and nothing was working. I chose this over TURP, but was hoping for the Urolift.
Anyway, Im a relatively young guy that has been dealing with this for a ling time, and I have faith that it will work. My urologist has been at it for many years, and travels the world looking for new procedures and seeing how other countries handle this problem. He had done about 50 when I came around last week.
I have read some recommendations here to leave this thing in for 10-14 days, but I feel sick due to lack of sleep and am very irritable at home simply due to the foley. I have tried to sort through some of these pages to look for others that have had a similar experience, but the website is a bit hard to follow. If anyone has any insight on doing a self cath and taking this thing out at about day 5 I would appreciate your thoughts.
Im happy to answer anyones questions and will try to get back here to update my progress. Thanks to all that have contributed here.
davidaami jeff03573
Posted
I was under the impression that some people are self-cathing within a few days post REZUM. So can you try to at the urologist's office to see if that would work ?
jeff03573 davidaami
Posted
Thanks David, thats my plan right now. Take some IC's to the office and see how it feels after this thing is removed. I also have some Flank pain that wasnt there before, Im not sure what thats about. I have been taking an antibiotic since the procedure, no fever, etc. I'll ask the Urologist tomorrow about all that. I was getting pretty adept at the IC, hopefully after the procedure the area isnt too painful or tender to do so. I dont feel a thing right now other than the sandpaper whenever I move and the problems at night, which are troubling to say the least.
ken19524 jeff03573
Posted
Jeff, I had my Rezum procedure about 16 months ago. Still doing very well.
I self-cathed about a half hour after the procedure at the hospital, and again about an hour later at a gas station restroom on the drive home. I had perhaps a slight discomfort but it wouldn't have even made it to a 1 on the pain scale.
My research prior to the procedure convinced me that I did not want a Foley. and since I had been self cathing for several months, the urologist readily agreed.
With the twilight anesthesia and self cathing for about 4 weeks after ( I could have stopped at 3), my Rezum procedure was simple and painless.
Obviously not everyone has it this easy, but self cathing was definitely just as easy and painless after the procedure it was before.
timothy81571 jeff03573
Posted
My Foley was removed on day 6, and I had issues with very week stream and PVR immediately, I learned to CIC on day 14 and didn't find it painful.
Drtom jeff03573
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I had one such problem, but in retrospect it seems more funny than bad. After a trip to the ER, and a new Foley, I had a sex dream and an erection. It at first felt good, and then hurt quit badly. When I woke up and knew what happened, the erection and pain went away. It wasn't funny at the time, but now is. By the way, I'm 73 years old and chose the Rezum for its lack of sexual side effects.
jeff03573 Drtom
Posted
Foley came out ok, she was only able to get 80cc into the bladder unfortunately. I watited around while they decided what to do and offered to send me home. I had some water at the office and was able to void, but not a lot. Made it home and it was a dribble fest. Did the IC to finish it off and found that it was a little tougher than previous, but not painful. Twenty minuted later had to go again, lots of spasms from either the bladder or the prostate (cant tell) but was able to void on my own this time with a very small improvement in the stream.
THey had me taking the meds I was on before and added an anti-inflammatory knowing that might delay the healing process but after reading some of the stories on here I wanted to keep the swelling to a minimum.
IF anyone is reading this and wondering if they should do it, I wont weigh in on that for some time. BUT what i can say is that if you are contemplating any prostate procedure I would definitely limit the time you have on the foley, that was awful. If you are afraid or uncomfortable with Self Catheters, get some practice in and get comfortable, it'll save you a ton of stress and possibly a trip to the ER.
steven05114 jeff03573
Posted
@jeff03573: I would definitely limit the time you have on the foley
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I had my Rezum done at the end of November 2018. That was after 9 months of self-cathing and 1 month of a Foley before that. The urologist told me to keep the Foley in for 2 weeks. I had absolutely no problems with the Foley being in for 2 weeks. After the Foley was removed and before I could start peeing on my own at 4 weeks, I had a few episodes where it was difficult to pass a softer and more flexible catheter and instead I had to use a stiffer and less flexible one. Personally, I can see the reason to leave a Foley in until the swelling from the Rezum procedure is gone. My 2 cents.
raygar13 jeff03573
Posted
the guy who did the clinical trials for rezum (richard levin) sends a lot of patients home without catheter (foley) teaches self catheterization. I would have your urologist teach you just in case. I had 15 injections jan. 31 foley 3.5 days and was able to urinated on my own after although very slow at first. volume started to pick up around the 2 week mark, thats when i quit flomax. no pain, no bleeding. slow improvement. at 62 like you my prostate symptoms came early. prostate was 150 at procedure time. at 8 months now, improvement continues to gradual improve. my ipss went from 22 to 9 with 3 points for waking in the night. standard 2 hour intervals has given way to some 3 hour sleep intervals. leaking is vastly better as is the ability to hold off urination which began to improve around the 2 to 3 month mark. I know with me, the urologist had trouble getting the foley in after the procedure (15 injections) the average foley is 3.5 days and results are different with every patient. I was like you though and wanted it out asap. If you can go on your own you are well on the way to recovery, be patient, the improvement is slow , but the science behind the procedure is both innovative, effective and has the least side effects for men with bph looking for relief. Good luck to you and keep me informed on your progress
jimjames raygar13
Posted
raygart: "... but the science behind the procedure is both innovative, effective and has the least side effects for men with bph looking for relief..."
I assume you meant "the least side effects (from a surgery)..."
For me looking for something less invasive, and for the most part without side effects, I still recommend self cathing (CIC) at least as a starting point, for those so motivated.
It has served me well for over 5 years. Haven't had a UTI for over a year and my IPSS score is like it was when I was a teenager. It's become a non issue in my life like brushing my teeth, except it takes less time.
Several threads on the topic here on the subject.
Jim
davidaami jimjames
Posted
Glad to see you're back JimJames. Hope you're doing well.
tom86211 jimjames
Posted
Here's an issue with CIC that hasn't come up before on this forum. The whole procedure requires some level of manual dexterity. I have done it before but it wasn't easy. Recently I hurt my shoulder and my right arm has been almost useless for weeks while the shoulder is healing. So, if someone who is doing self cath has an arm or hand or shoulder injury, or a TIA, and can't clear his bladder without the CIC, then he can be in serious trouble. I once went into total retention and had to be rushed to the ER in terrible pain. If my wife wasn't home to help me and drive me to the hospital I could never have gotten in the car to drive myself - just too much pain. I was literally on the floor screaming. This past year my mother in law had a few minor TIA incidents, and if she weren't able to clear her bladder naturally who knows what would have happened to her. So, I am not comfortable with CIC as a first line of relief, only as an emergency backup.
raygar13 jimjames
Posted
I did mean least negative side effects from surgery or procedure. No retro, etc. pain after procedure is zero, procedure itself is uncomfortable, not painful, bleeding was none for me, finesteride 2 weeks prior. healing time for the ablated prostate tissure is short, results are very good ipss 22 to 9. prostate 150. good luck to all
raygar13 tom86211
Posted
had urinary retention twice prior to rezum. 4 am finally realized i couldnt urinate, had to drive myself to the ER, very difficutl in that condition, fill out paperwork when you get there, I was hopping around like a jumping bean, painful too. What a relief when foley is put in...
steven05114 jimjames
Posted
Jim,
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Glad to see you are back too. I hope that you are doing OK. I had my Rezum at the end of November 2018. It cleared the BPH blockage so I can pee on my own again after 10 months of catheters, but due to bladder damage, the recovery has been slow. I am satisfied with the results of my Rezum.
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Since you are a data guy like me, my PVR's started around 150 ml. In the last month, 8 months post-Rezum my PVR's are below 100 ml. I measure my PVR's twice a day by self-cathing, as I did not want to spend the money on a bladder ultrasound like you did. I am tracking the results in Excel tables and graphs.
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What I find interesting about this, is that there is lots of medical literature on studies of how BPH blockage leads to bladder damage, but no studies at all on bladder recovery. You and I recorded our own bladder recovery which may be of values to other guys with BPH and maybe to the medical community too.
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Regards,
.
Steve
tom86211 raygar13
Posted
You were lucky you could drive in that condition. I was in such pain that if I had tried to drive myself I might have lost control of the car. The nurse drained off 1300cc of urine and gave me an IV with pain meds, then once the urine was out the pain went away. That was my first experience having a Foley shoved up the tube. After that it was six weeks of Foleys in, Foleys out and a few CIC experiences. After that I am always grateful that I can stand over a toilet and pee.
tom86211 steven05114
Posted
Steve,
Good point about bladder recovery. I am now about 5 months post bipolar TURP and my bladder continues to "settle down". My frequency/urgency is slowly improving and I can definitely notice I can go for much longer stretches of time before going to the bathroom. The bladder still has a way to go, but my urologist never told me that it might take many months for the bladder to recover - I had to learn that here.
Tom
Motto raygar13
Posted
This is why I tell everyone to learn how to CIC.
jimjames tom86211
Posted
Hi Tom,
Actually this issue has come up before.
Did you know that CIC is the go to procedure in the SCI (spinal chord injury) community? Many of the men and women there have motor/coordination issues that are quite severe but where there's a will, there's a way, and there are devices available (one is called "the third hand" that can help facilitate CIC.
That said, I could imagine a situation where severe loss of motor skills would make unassisted CIC impossible, and if one couldn't, or didn't want, someone else doing it, then they could turn to the other options.
But for me, the benefits of CIC, far outweigh the risks, and that includes hypothetical future events that I have no control of.
Jim
tom86211 jimjames
Posted
Jim,
Yes, I am aware of the spinal cord injury use of CIC. But, you are obviously healthy otherwise and able to use your hands and arms. You said that "the benefits of CIC far outweigh the risks and that includes hypothetical future events that I have no control over. " This is exactly my point - hypothetical future events that you have no control over can happen at any time. You just don't think these events will happen to you. You are gambling that you won't have a TIA or stroke, or a fall or injury. I have been struggling with a shoulder injury for the past five weeks and I am in great physical condition, but for a few weeks I could barely use my right arm. My mother hurt her hand (she's 92) and had to have an operation, and now can't use it. My mother in law had 3 TIA's in the past year and was almost unconscious for 2-3 days each time (she's 93). Things can happen unexpectedly. I hurt my shoulder cutting a tree branch. I don't know where you live but people slip on ice all the time in the winter and get injured. I will never, ever forget the pain that I went through going into total retention and being rushed to the ER. So, I never, ever want to go through anything like that again, which is why I absolutely want to be able to clear my bladder naturally on my own. If I hadn't hurt my shoulder and my mother in law hadn't had her TIAs and my mother hadn't hurt her hand, I would not have even thought that these sorts of things could happen suddenly and without warning. I hope nothing unexpected happens to you. I just don't think it's safe to CIC as a first choice - as a backup or emergency procedure, yes.
Tom