Posted , 10 users are following.
I just had the Rezum procedure. I am 52 years old and have had problems getting up 3xs+ a night to pee, with not a lot of production. I am coming up on the 5th day of a Foley catheter.
The big question is what is it like coming off the catheter?
0 likes, 17 replies
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changejobs matt63827
Posted
Wishing u well. I haven’t taken the procedure yet but will be in the future. You will have a number of people chiming in.
Quick question. How many shots did u have, did u have a large median lobe and what state did you do it in?
matt63827 changejobs
Posted
Thanks for the well wishes!
I don't know how many 'shots' I had. I saw two urologists. The first one told me about the procedure after doing a cystscope on me. He said I had a 'short' prostate. After he told me about the expected pain level (and I am a light-weight), I asked him if he could put me under. He said they weren't set up for that. He said he would have given me between 3-4 shots.
So I found a urologist who was set up for it. He measured my prostate with his finger at 30grams. When I went into have the procedure done, he told me he didn't see the need to put me out for a '5 minute' experience. But if I was in enough agony, he would. I never went 'under.' He did give me an excellent prostate block which probably helped. It felt like to me he did multiple shots. But I never asked how many and where.
My most painful experience has been the first 8 hours with the Catheter in. If it wasn't for Azo, I don't think I would have slept that first night. The drug is an over-the-counter urine/bladder relaxer drug. I had a constant painful urge to pee. With the help of the Azo, the last for days have been bearable. (Plus I have used Lorazapam to take the edge off a couple of nights for sleep.)
oldbuzzard matt63827
Posted
It can vary a lot. Some people can't pee for awhile (took me almost 4 weeks) and others can the next day. Things typically don't improve from your baseline for 4 weeks and sometimes its worse before it get s better - but they won't let you off the cath until you can at least dribble out enough to function. If you're one of the unlucky ones who take awhile, have your doc show you how to self cath, which will allow you to live normally until you can pee.
Some docs fill you full of saline and won't take out the cath til you can pee the whole thing out - - don't fall for that trap. if that's what they want to do then insist on self cathing, and you can decide when you need help and when you don't.
matt63827 oldbuzzard
Posted
Thanks "Oldbuzz.." for your insight!
How do you prove you can pee without first taking out the catheter anyway?
oldbuzzard matt63827
Posted
Matt - They take it out and if you can't pee to their satisfaction, they put it back. Foleys are really uncomfortable (as you no doubt know by now) and for most people , self cathing is a breeze. If you fail your first pee test, you might want to ask about having them show you how to do it. Much less pain and you can do things like work out and run, which you pretty much can't with a foley.
mike588 matt63827
Posted
I haven't had Rezum but I can tell you there is nothing to worry about. The catheter slips out easily and you feel great after with no pain, you'll feel like jumping and clicking your heels unencumbered by that horrible tube that was inside you. You should get them to take it off for you, and then they will test if you can pee at the office and act accordingly.
The issue is, will the swelling of the prostate make it impossible to pee? If so either you learn how to self cath, or you get the foley put back in for another week and repeat the procedure until the swelling goes down. When they remove the catheter they have a simple test, first they empty the bag, then they inject saline solution back into the bladder, asking you to tell them when to stop and try and let them inject at least 100 mls. It hurts a bit if you think about it your bladder has been compressed for a week or more and suddenly it's getting inflated. After you tell them to stop they pull out the catheter and ask you to pee. The nurse knows how much she injected, so it's easy to see how much you peed out and judge if it's safe to let you go. It's not a "trap" it's to see you are able to pee on your own because they don't want you rushing to the emergency room after. Yes you can ask them to show you how to self cath, but often there is a special nurse who teaches that so you have to make a different appointment for that, or ask in advance they should be ready to do so on your next appointment. They did let me go the first time, but within a day I was blocked again so I had to rush back, had I know how to self cath I would have avoided weeks of wearing that damn thing.
So main thing is to stay calm and not worry you'll be fine.
matt63827 mike588
Posted
Thanks for the wise words to stay calm and not worry. I had the Cath out. I got some flowage urine-wise. I hope it continues and I don't get stopped up again like you.
oldbuzzard matt63827
Posted
Best to learn self cathing regardless, as some are ok when the foley comes out, the retrogress. One way, you freak out, possibly go to the ER, go back, get the foley back in, lather, rinse, repeat, The other way, if you can't empty, you wash your hands, self cath and go about your life until nature lets you do it naturally. Also, there will probably be a point where you can function adequately without any sort of catheter, but would fail the full bladder pee test. This lets you make that decision.
matt63827 oldbuzzard
Posted
@oldbuzz...what do you mean "retrogress"?
richard25210 matt63827
Posted
matt63827
Posted
Does anyone have any suggestions what to do about the frequency/insomnia???
Does
oldbuzzard matt63827
Posted
Matt - self cath before bed and before going out. It will get better over the next week or 2, but self cathing before bed will help - you're probably not emptying.
mike588 matt63827
Posted
I agree with oldbuzzard, it will get better and it might take 4-6 weeks or even longer. You probably should drink more water to help the process by flushing out the dead cells - I'm guessing your bladder is not as empty as you feel that's why after an hour it feels full again. Another cause of this could be a UTI, common after wearing a Foley catheter, so if your pee is cloudy and you feel urgency and it burns a bit you probably have a UTI. Self cath will help you sleep better but you'll still get up after say 2 hours probably. I was told by a Urologist that after a procedure the body "remembers" that you were peeing frequently before, so it takes a long time for the bladder to get re-conditioned, for some reason some men seem to bounce back faster than others.
matt63827 mike588
Posted
i just at a bladder scan and i am at only 29, so voiding pretty well. No UTI either. Doc recommended against self cathing because of higger risk of infection. I did get Ditropan for my bladder contractions. Plus i have Azo.
oldbuzzard matt63827
Posted
FWIW, there is a higher risk of infection with a Foley than with self cathing. If it were me, I'd tell the doc I was willing to risk it. Foleys suck and self cathing is a breeze. Had me back in the weight room in 5 days - try that with a Foley