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

I talked to his nurse today and she said she will have the Doctor call me on monday.  She did tell me one thing that does concern me.  The president of the company that invented the device told me that there would be NO retrograde ejaculation at all.  The nurse told me that is NOT TRUE.  She said some patients do experience that.  I'll see what the Doc says on monday.  I hate when medical professionals "down play" what is bad news. 

Tom; After I talk to him I will write a report here.  I can tell you without any doubt whatsoever there will be "Pain".  Anybody that tells you different is full of you know what. 

Chuck,

Very much looking forward to your report. 

In Sept. 2014 I had HDR Bracytherapy for my low grade prostate cancer. I had two treatments spaced two weeks apart. There was no pain because I received a spinal each time. 

After any form of radiation to the prostate there is some swelling. After the second treatment the median lobe of my prostate swelled more and I was unable to urinate - ended up in the emergency room on Sunday evening. A Foley catheter was placed in me and after five weeks and six catheters being put and taken out I was able to urinate again. This only happens in less than 10% of all Brachytherapy patients, but I guess I was one of the lucky ones. 

Radiation eventually causes the prostate to shrink a bit so I have slightly better urinary function than I did before the treatment. But, I still experience most of the usual symptoms of BPH described here by others. 

I was turned down for PAE because the doctors said that cutting off the blood supply to part of the prostate after radiation might cause unknown complications.

So, I have been seeking other methods to deal with these issues that don't involve cutting, blood and a hospital stay, as would be required with a TURP. I have had enough issues with biopsies and blood and reduced sexual function with tamsulosin, so I don't need anything else going on. 

Of course, had I elected to have the prostate removed through a robotic procedure, as two of my friends did, I would be having other issues - such as major incontinence, ED, etc. 

I am very much looking forward to the information that is sure to follow in these posts.

Tom

 

My doc said that there is a 2.5% incidence of RE. I'm borderline - sometimes more than others, but never like before, Its slowly improving so I'm hopeful, but I may be one of the 2.5%.

Good Luck to you!...

I'm doing way better than you apparently. When I read stuff like what you're going through, peeing pretty well with some partial RE sounds really good. I wish you luck too!

I have been thru 24 days getting better pain was absolutely off the chart six squirts and each hurt more to the point I screamed literally and loud disrupted whole office had my first attempt at sex yesterday wasn't to bad until ejaculation pure blood said it happens??

Hi tom 24 days after procedure very painful during procedure but not much after when I pee it stings a little or a lot tried sex yesterday no problem except semen was bloody

If your concerned about infection drink 2 table spoons of pure cranberry juice mixed in water it's bitter but my wife has been doing all her adult life to ward off uti s .

Tom  I have been reading up on both because I like to be ready for anything.  I would never have any of the 10 other procedures that cause retro.  On PAE there will be some pain and bleeding but it does not cause retro.  What it does is you will have less coming out because you are making the prostate smaller so the prostae will not be making what you did before. On Rezum The men that have had it some pain concern and some did not worry about it.  You will have a little bleeding because there putting needles in you prostate.  But what concern me is.  This is what I read.  We saw no clinically significant change in erecitile or ejaculatory function There was a low occurrence rate of decrease ejaculatory volume. 6 subjects. 4.4% and Anejaculation 4  subjects 2.9%.  I could not find out was it a trail for 100 men or 1000.  To me that sounds like a crap shoot ot russian roulette.  If im having something done to my body I want to know for sure Take care Ken  

Ken, as you know I had the urolift last July.  Iam very happy with the results. My urologist put in 8 implants instead of the usual 4. It made all the difference in the world.  I have normal sex, no retro, and now only get up on average about 2 times per night instead of the usual 4 or 5 that it was before the procedure.  I couldn't be happier.  Oh, I almost forgot. I now pee like a 17 year old.  It flows like Niagra Falls !!!!!

I'm glad to hear that buddy.  I remember when i talked to you last year that you may need more implants.  4 worked for me Take care and I have you and your wife have a great holiday  Ken

pain during the procedure is 10 + unless you are under anesthesia. Pain after the procedure is 1. the only side effects is that the positive outcome of the procedure is not felt for several weeks, so you have to live with your symptoms for quite a while after the procedure until you feel better.

Hi Chuck.....the videos and articles written about Rezum definitely don't talk about the swelling, and the catheter duration and the the eventual healing. I had read that I would have a catheter with foley in for 2-5 days. My foley catheter was in 3 1/2 weeks....it's like walking around with a pebble in your shoe for 3 1/2 weeks but it's not your foot that is hurting. The pain I experienced during the procedure was 2 out of 10 while others here on the forum experienced 8 to 10...yikes. The discomfort of wearing a foley for 3 1/2 weeks was depressing but I finally got the Dr to let me self cath as I was encouraged by others here. That helped heal the urethra better than leaving the foley catheter in. For me, it's been almost 6 weeks and I'm voiding on my own and watching improvement take place very slowly. I still think Rezum is the best choice to preserve sexual function and avoid incontinence. Best of luck.

Thanks for that update. You make me feel a little better. I'm 2 weeks out and still self cathing. Very little is coming out normally. It sucks but is way better than a Foley. My blood still looks like a fine Burgundy wine. When does that stop? And at the end of the cathing the pee is very red.

had procedure jan 31. 2 ER visits prior. I was put on finesteride 2 weeks prior. wasnt sure why, already on flomax. when i googled finesteride I found out it helps with bleeding. 15 steam injections, catheter 4 days. was able to void post catheter, no pain, no bleeding. I agree with those who think foley inhibits the healing of the urethra. According to richard levin who does a lot of rezum and did clinical trials most of his patients self catheterize. my urologist felt it would be difficult to do this and foley for 4 days. motto how many injections for you? stayed on flomax for only 2 weeks after rezum. at 2 weeks i started to notice flow picking up and continues gradual improvement for a couple of months. after 2 months i was able to hold off urination and was in much better control of leaking. this to gradually improved months 2 to 4. any improvement after 4 months is hardly noticeable. all in all ipss 22 to 8. only relief i didnt get was from the 3 trips in the middle of the night. your best days are ahead, keep me posted

Hi Raygar,

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If you are still having to pee 3 times overnight, then you may not be totally emptying before you go to bed. What are your PVR's? While the Rezum clears the blockage, if your bladder is damaged, it may not completely empty. That is my case, but by self-cathing before I go to bed, I am empty and I only have to get up 1 time overnight. I also get a PVR number for my records.

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About the Foley v. self-cathing, after my Rezum, the urologist told me to keep the Foley in for 2 weeks, which was no big deal because 10 months earlier after an AUR event where they took out 2 liters of pee, I had a Foley in for almost a month. Holding that much pee is what damaged my bladder.

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Steve

Has your PVR come down? What is it now? I agree with cathing before bed. I was getting up 3-5 times a night.

Motto,

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So far for July my monthly average PVR is 115 ml. My monthly average for March was 139 ml. I had a 95 ml PVR yesterday. The decrease has been gradual but steady over time. If this trend continues, then by September, I should be below 100 ml which is OK. My streams are getting stronger too.

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Steve

Glad to hear you're getting better. I thought that would happen gradually over time.

Hi Steve and All,

Rezum done on May 24, 2018.

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Was back to Uro for a follow up on June 28, 2019 to check on how I am doing with my Med she prescribed in March 2019 to prevent additional UTI's due to my large PVR I have due to my long time 2000 mg bladder size increase due to prostate blockage that I did not know I had (just it was part of getting old).

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Once my last UTI was cleared, she put me on

1 GM Methenamine HIPP taken along with 1 GM vitiam C, once per day which is supposed to prevent UTIs, (note: it will not get rid of UTIs). No new UTI since following this. She also has reduced my Finsteride to 3 times per week.

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My PVR was 516 ml, which is an improvement from my max of 2000-800 ml prior to Rezum. She seems pleased with this improvement. Wants me to continue plan and return in Jan 2020 for a follow up.

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I have also seen a great improvement in sleeping thru the night since being on this new MED plan.

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I also always sit down to pee and after the first void, I lean forward toward my knees (which compresses my bladder) and then the second void will be larger than the first. I find that this allows me to sleep thru the night 6-7 nights a week without getting up.

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Best wishes to all.

Allen (Al)

i have no problem emptying my bladder. i have been waking up every 2 hours for over 10 years. i find myself awake and go to the bathroom, then back to sleep. nightly urination amounts arent big at all. have a couple of 2.5 and 3 hour intervals. thats it

I do the same but get up more frequently and my sleep intervals are shorter. This is a type of chronic insomnia and may or may not be related to urine retention.

raygar,

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Sorry about that. I forgot that you were the guy with the sleeping problem.

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Steve

I would agree, but as soon as i urinate right back to sleep. may need a referal and have someone look into the problem. 3 hour intervals would reduce the trip to 2 per night. A lot of rezum paitients saw improvement in this area. we'll see

So, what I am not sure about is whether I wake up then notice I have to go to the bathroom, or, if my bladder wakes me up first. Either way, it takes me several attempts to clear my bladder before I can get back to sleep and this can take up to 10 minutes. Used to take a lot longer before my recent bipolar TURP. I have been so used to being up and down at night that it may just be a very bad habit and now it's turned into chronic insomnia. Most people can sleep all night with a full bladder. I recently tried Tylenol PM but felt groggy and drugged and it didn't do much for my short sleep segments. Similarly, melatonin helps a little bit, but I am careful to take only small amounts of it because some report developing a tolerance to it and have to take more and more just to sleep. I don't want go become dependent on pills if possible. I spent my entire life just going to sleep, waking up once at night, and feeling OK in the morning, but this insomnia has been a plague for me for almost three years, and I can't seem to make any headway with it.

Tom,

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Now after my Rezum, for my one overnight pee, I still have to make several attempts to clear my bladder before I can get back to sleep and this can take up to 10 minutes so I having the same problem. It is due to my bladder being weak from damage so it can't push all of the pee out in one try. What did your urologist say about bladder damage?

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Steve

on the cystoscopy she said the bladder looked good. after lying in bed, if i walk around a little it is easier to completely empty the bladder. when they scan the bladder after urination, i am voiding completely.

Good Morning All

I was not going to say anything but after reading all the post this morning I have to....

I have been keeping track of the Rezum procedure for over 2 years and I have not heard of the a lot of the stuff that I have read over the last 2 weeks

Catheter's in for up to 4 weeks, CIC problems, problem with starting, a lot of bleeding and of course getting up many time during the night.

Some men will do not want to put up with these problems. It seam like it get worse before you see any improvement. Some men are looking for a quick fix.

It is good that the men are telling there experiences and what truly happens because some doctors do not tell you what will be going on because each man will have some different problems and they do not know everything.

You just have to get all the information you can anywhere you can. Before you pick any procedure do your research and make sure you pick the one you feel you can deal with.

I hope you all have good results and your days get better. It just will take time

All the best.....Ken

I was first recommended turp by uro. Did extensive research on all procedures to reduce bph symptoms. overall rezum had far less bad results and complication and left most men 93 percent without retro. Not sure how many men who have had biopsies had urethra puncture in the process. I did, intermittent uncontrollable bleeding. it was a rare to have this done. I am with Ken, keep posting your results good or bad to help others make important decision. Like i said before minor discomfort during procedure, no pain, no bleeding, no retro....significan ipss reduction 22 to 8. 3 of which is trips in the middle of the night. best of luck to all and to richard levin chesapeak urology whose you tube informercial on rezum plus the fact that he did a prostate 150 like mine, and the patient came out fine. new trials for 80 to 150 prostates currently underway with richard participating in the clinical trials.

Hey Ray

I'm very happy that you are getting better.We have talked about some things and the research you did. Which was great. There are about 80 % of men that will do the research. That will give them the best results. But 20 % that feel the doctor is telling them all they need to know is not enough. Then when a problem comes up they do not know what happen after the procedure goes wrong.

Research this is the key and you have to remember with all the procedure out there a doctor will only have good things to say about a procedure he does.

Good health to all......Ken

I did extensive research on all of the procedures (GLEP, TURP, PAE, Rezum, etc.) too during the 10 months that I was self-cathing. I was fortunate to have a family member who has been an MD for over 40 years and I have known for over 60 years who guided me through the process. Others are not as fortunate.

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As such, I could get his input on my research results. We chose Rezum as the BPH treatment with the lowest morbidity (the bleeding and other problems discussed on this forum) and the lowest complications (RE and ED discussed on this forum) for BPH with a median lobe. The problem is that prostate surgery for BPH has a lot of bleeding and possible complications with some procedures having more than others.

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The first urologist that I saw only did old monopolar TURP which has the highest morbidity and complications, longest hospital stay and longest recovery time. When I asked him about the morbidity and complications, he avoided the question so I decided to find another urologist. I chose one recommend on this forum.

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The bottom line is to carefully do your research when you chose your procedure and to carefully chose your urologist before doing any BPH procedure.

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Steve

Steven,

My urologist thinks I have radiation cystitis from radiation for prostate cancer five years ago - the bladder cells are irritated. There is no way to know if this is true or not. The only solution offered was botox injections. I am also taking trospium which is supposed to calm the bladder but doesn't seem to be doing anything. There is a lot of guessing going on with urologists - no way to know for sure what is actually happening.

Tom

Make sure to reserve a 9 to 10 hour period for sleep so that you can get enough quality sleep with all the interruptions that are occurring. Have a pee bottle or something instead of having to walk to the toilet if that would be more convenient.

David,

Yes, I do reserve an extra couple of hours for sleep to compensate for all of the ups and downs during the night, and I do pee into a plastic beaker, but, I do go to the bathroom to pee in case something goes wrong. I also have to take a nap during the day. On the average I am losing about 1.5 to 2 hours of sleep per night standing in the bathroom or trying to get back to sleep.

Tom

I have gotten into the pattern of reserving about 2 hours of extra time for sleep. I am glad that I am retired and have the extra time available to do this.

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S

Yes I agree Steve about being retired. I'm partly retired now too, I still work part time.

It really is needed to spend extra time to try to get enough sleep.

Tom I'm glad you're taking the time and getting naps.