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

Good morning William.  It look like your doing ok for now.  I would not rush into sex.  Let the prostate heal for a few weeks.  Take it easy and get some rest.  That was a lot of truma to your body  Take care  Ken

Congrsts Sounds like you're doing well William. So you only had to self cath the first day?

Yes, I feel really blessed. I only had to self cath once, right after I got home. I can get enough unirne out after this by sitting on the toilet (I've been mostly peeing this way for years) and adjusting my posture to encourage it to flow. It's more effort now than it used to be, but it avoids having to use the catheter. I think the Ibuprophen I'm taking is keeping the swelling at bay.

As I understand the Rezum process, I hope that as the dead prostate cells are removed by my body in the next few weeks, my flow will improve. I may even get to go standing up again.

Thanks, Ken. Sounds like good advice. My summary paper said to wait 3 days, but 3 weeks seems like a better target. Besides, it's always better if you wait longer.

William I think that happen to alot of men has they get older.  I have to seat most of the time because the second time i had a surgery thay put in a catheter and it pulled the pee hole down and made it bigger.  So now it sprayes or make 2 streams.  So I sit no big deal.  If you have trouble peeing either sit in a hot tub or take a hot shower and let the water run down the front of you that should help you pee.  Good luck and take it easy  Ken 

No problem buddy.  I know when I had my urolift done my doctor told me 2 weeks.  After 10 days I could not wait any longer.  Mostly because I was afraid that something would go wrong.  Every thing has been good.  You had more trauma done to your prostate they I.  So let it heal.  But let us know when you do dicide it is right for you.  No Rush you have the rest of your life  Ken

This is my two week Rezum procedure update.

First, I'd like to thank everyone that has shared their prostate related experiences. I was only aware of this one Rezum thread before my procedure. Since then, I discovered a wealth of information in the other prostate forum posts. Keep sharing, guys.

One other relavent thing about my physical profie to note that I picked up in other posts: I am 5'8", 147lbs, BMI of 22.4. Hope this helps you correlate my experience to what you may encounter.

Over the past two weeks my sleep pattern has been pretty poor. Sometimes I'd be up every hour or so to urinate just a few drops to be able to get back to sleep. Every two hours was probably the average time I had to get up; sometimes it was less than an hour. Last night, the first time I awoke was 3 hours, the longest I've been able to sleep in one stretch. Progress!

Starting on day 6 through yesterday, I woke with a (light) bloody discharge in my shorts. From about a half dollar in size to 3 inches diameter. There was no pain and the discharge didn't wake me. There was no discharge this morning, day 14. Maybe these are the evil extra prostate cells leaving my body. One can only hope.

On days 7 and 8, I had a dull ache in my left testicle. Not too bad, gone on day 9.

Urination frequency and urgency was an issue most days. Has improved last two days; was out about 3 hours this morning without having to go. Some days have definitely been more of a challenge than others. There was a funny feeling with urination within the penis (not real pain, but almost pain) since the procedure. This decreased day by day and is now about gone.

There has been slight improvement in urination to this point. I'm looking forward to this improving at least two fold. One positive thing that I have noticed is that my urine smell is now "normal." Before the procedure, the smell was very strong, like it was concentrated. Maybe this is what caused my bladder stone that precipitated my seeking a solution to my urination problems.

I have my one month followup with my uroligist on 6/27. I'll update my status then.

William. Thank you so much for update and info.

Today (6/27/2017) was my one month follow-up after the Rezum procedure. Here are the highlights of my doctor visit.

*IPSS (just considering the past few days) was 13 versus 23 before procedure.

*PVR was 0 ml versus 50 and 150ml before procedure. Note: I had to work a bit to achieve this by “pumping” the bladder (not straining) to get as much out as I could. It wasn’t free flowing until the end, but at least I could empty my bladder.

*I told my urologist that I’ve been experiencing minor pain toward the tip of my penis when urinating for the past five days. He said that my urine did not show any signs of infection and that the pain could just be part of the healing process. This issue was not pursued further.

 My urologist was happy with my urination progress to date and so am I. The next follow-up appointment is at the end of September.

Other things of interest to forum members that I didn’t discuss with my doctor follow.

On days 6 through 13, I awoke with some bloody discharge in my underwear. It usually wasn’t very much and it didn’t wake me when it occurred. The discharge stopped and then came back on days 21 through 24. From what I read about this procedure, this seemed so normal to me that I even forgot to mention it to the doctor.

Frequency and urgency were common during the first two weeks. It’s amazing how external cues cause you to want to urinate. (Believe me, day 6 is probably too early to pressure wash the driveway.) On day 14, there was a marked improvement in both frequency and urgency. It would be four hours before I’d have to go, and then I wasn’t in a rush. There was a day or two of regression during the last two weeks when urgency returned a bit, but not as bad as during the first two weeks.

We waited exactly three weeks before having sex. I wanted to wait as long as possible to maximize prostate healing time while allowing enough time before my appointment in case there were any issues. (My instructions were to wait at least three days after Rezum before engaging in sexual activity, but I had absolutely no interest after just three days. It was at least ten before I really considered it.) The first two times were disappointing; I’d say the experience was about 25% of what it was before Rezum. The third and fourth times were on the order of 70%, and the last effort was at least 90%. In all cases, the ejaculate was brownish, getting lighter each successive  time. The amount of ejaculate seemed to be a little less than usual.

In closing, I’d like to correct I misstatement made in my first post. I said the prostate local anesthetic was applied by a long needle through the urethra, but the doctor said today that the needle was actually inserted through the anus. I don’t know how the needle could be inserted there while the ultrasound unit was up there, too, and I don’t really want to think about it. I’ll just chalk it up to one of the miracles of modern medicine. 

Good evening Bix.  I had the urolift done 2 1/2 years ago and it has worked great.  I had a catheter for 2 days ( I had one because I have a problem peeing on demand ) So my doctor through it would be best.  It has no side effect and I feel that my orgasm are more intence after I had it done.  I would do it again  Ken

PS  I don't like catheter ether but it is put in when your asleep and coming out is easy   Ken

Whatever procedure you do or don't have, you should never have to wear a catheter again. Have your urologist show you how to self cath. Its WAY better, doesn't hurt and you can live a normal life doing it. There are threads on it on this site - search for JImJames who is an expert and has detailed everything - from what brand to use and how to do it.

Rezum and Urolift have better than a 75% success rate, but only if the prostate is your issue. Many docs do procedures on people without properly diagnosing them. AN enlarged prostate is the most likely, but not the only reason for pee difficulty. It can be your bladder too, or a combination. No prostate procedure will help with any bladder issue.

IDeally, you should have bladder dynamics testing to find out how much you retain and how well your bladder works. If much, or all of your problem is your prostate, either of these procedures had a better than 75% success rate. You should discuss which one has the best chance of the best results with your doc and opt for that one, if your prostate is indeed the problem.

Thank you for that.  THere has been alot of men getting rushed into prostate surgery and it not the prostate that is the problem.  Make sure test are done for the best resluts.  A bad thing withso me urologist is if they can find or see a problem They assuse its' the prostate and want to start cutting away.  Do the research and get as second opioion.  Take care  Ken 

I had the REZUM surgery done 12/15/16.  Yes had to wear a cath and had it taken out and put back in. AWFUL! But for me the only success I have had is I can pee better, BUT can't sleep any more.. That was the reason for the surgery, getting up three times at night as really effected my life and still having to go all the time.  Not sure why Dr said so may awesome things about the rezum surgery. I'm still not there at 58 and very unhappy having it done. I had a lot of pain and the WORST discomfont after the surgery. No I would't reccomd it.............

Leon,

I did have success with the procedure. Yet, I see in the blog many, like you, have not had favorable results. I know in my case, as the procedure was ongoing, there was a technical consultant providing added direction to my urologist. It makes me think, the procedure has specific criteria in the steaming process that are critical and if not achieved, result in less than optimum results. In my case, I had a lot of bloody mucus discharges over a 3 week period. Could it be in your situation, they simply did not pass but instead combined and formed another obstruction? I know the pain of the procedure is immense, but a I wonder if a second attempt is possible and would benefit you? I only know that I am back to a routine equal to when I was in my late 20's, Good luck!

Wow, that doesn't sound good, Leon. If I had read your post before getting Rezum done on 5/26/17, I might have reconsidered; maybe even going the CIC route (which I learned about in the prostate forum after the fact). As you can see by my entries in this thread, though, I haven't had nearly as rough of time with Rezum as you have experienced. At least not thus far.

It seems to me that there are so many variables in these prostate procedures and in our bodies that ultimate individual results can't be predicted or guaranteed. I get the impression that Rezum is as much art as science. The only constant is that most men will eventually get to the point when something needs to be done to deal with unination issues.

I hope your sleep gets better going forward.

  Bill

Leon and William,

It's a misconception, often fostered by urologists,  that a successful treatment for bph/luts will always cure nocturia (night time urination). The two can be mutually exclusive. You can have nocturia with and without bph/luts. Sometimes a successful prostate reduction surgery or procedure will cure nocturia, sometimes not. It has to do with the cause of your nocturia.

If the nocturia is being caused primarily by incomplete bladder emptying, then a succesful surgery or procedure can cure the nocturia. But if it's being caused by excessive kidney urine output in the evening (over 40%) then a surgery or procedure isn't going to help much. 

Jim

As usual, jimjames is right. It can also be caused by an overactive bladder. While I never sleep all night, sometimes I have to get up after 2 hours and sometimes 6. It all depends on how much urine is there. I have a small bladder and seem to create a lot of urine when sleeping, so I still get up a lot, although less than pre-Rezum. The good news is I get my business done in 45 seconds rather than 10-15 minutes.

Yes, overactive bladder as well. Or both. If you want, you could find out which it is by a careful void log as long as you are pretty certain of your PVR. Of course a catheter (CIC) or a home bladder scanner could pin it down exactly. 

The problem is that too many uro's, instead of taking the time to investigate, simply lump everything into "BPH" and then recommend whatever procedure it is that they are trained on. 

It's a treadmill that unfortunately too many men end up on, but there is a way off and that is taking charge of your own diagnosis and treatment.

Jim

Urolift is a great procedure from a side-effect profile perspective; fewer than 30% of men having this performed will need an overnight catheter afterwards, and it can be performed in about 5 minutes.

The lasting effects are uncertain, as it has existed for fewer than 5 years at this point.

I generally counsel patients that the first month is the worst;

after the steam is applied to the prostate, swelling occurs, which makes the symptoms worse. Because of this, we place a catheter for 1-3 days, or teach patients clean intermittent catheterization, or place a urethral stent. After 1-2 weeks, the swelling largely resolves, and the prostate begins to shrink. By about 3 months most men have a significant opening, and by 6-12 months, they will have maximal improvement. Generally speaking, if you are voiding 7-10 days after the procedure, you are "out of the woods".

I had mine done 2 1/2 years ago and all is fine I would do it again  Ken  You could say around 7 years now  2 years of trails  Ken