Seeking min side effects medication for BPH other than Tamsulosin, Alfuzosin ...

About a year ago I noticed mild BPH symptoms.

Retention Progressively getting worse

Diagnosis was a enlarged prostate lobe

Medication prescribed. Have not taken medication much. Due to noticeable Side effects of medication.

Still searching for holistic or dietary Solutions.

Also looking for non-side effect medication (calisis not an option)

Currently Retention always present getting worse at night. However it improves during the day.

There is alot pressure within the bladder. But the flow is very low. Feels like the bladder so full it's going to burst but it only dribbles out.

Concerned of damage of pressure buildup in the bladder. For example toughening a bladder wall or damage to bladder wall.

This type of Retention just gotten worse recently. I'd imagine toughening of the bladder wall with permanent damage takes months?

Hi Johnny:

Retention for me this last year was pure hell. My first urologist (who I fired) had his nurse and resident attempt to teach me self-catherization as a way to manage my life (and problem). Very unpleasant experience which led me to an indwelling catheter (which also sucks).

The next urologist ultrasound me at 343g and stated I had only one option - removal unless I wanted to live by a catheter for the rest of my life (Hell No!). Here is where the seed was planted for me and I researched techniques. I live by the rule of fixing the problem, not treating the symptoms. This urologist recommended simple robotic prostatectomy (SRP) and I started researching. However, I did not like him much or his practice/offices. Having made up my mind that SRP was the way I wanted to go, I then searched for the right urologist and facility.

The next urologist was my guy. I liked everything about him and I have a huge amount of respect for the facility he represents and where he performed the procedure.

Johnny, 11-weeks later after surgery, the scary thought of retention never enters my mind. I am so confident that I now drink whatever I want, whenever I want, regardless of quantity. If you have had retention, you know exactly what I am talking about. No more early AM runs to the ER, no more "stabbing" myself and bleeding with a self-catheter, no more indwelling gigging my penis until it bleeds. When I pee now, I push it out with a force (and volume) that I cannot remember ever having. I also had very weak streams and had to relax just to let it go. My wife use to tell me I was very slow at the toilet. Now I am setting speed records of emptying my bladder, shaking off, and zipping up.

Retention no longer rules my life. I am free and I take no medications for anything.

Dave

sounds like you need a procedure.

how effective is HoLEP compared to GL? how do they compare to button turp?

Hi Derek:

I would disagree with successful patients do not come here. If I misunderstood your comment please clarify. I never came here at all until after my successful SRP. I came here with the purpose to help and show "drastic" invasive procedures are not scary. Perhaps I have missed the true purpose of this forum.

Dave

The UK hospital where I had GL in 2004 went over to Holep in 2012 as they said on a split decision. HoLep has the advantage of saving tissue to check for cancer cells while GL destroys it all.

Button TURP uses low-temperature plasma energy, instead of heat, to remove prostate tissue so is better than TURP but is not so precice as GL or Holep

I am a successful GL patient from way back in 2004 before this Forum existed and hang around here to try to correct the mostly negative comments from many posters who have not even had a procedure. You must agree that we get a lot of negative comments from a minority of patients who have had bad results from various procedures.

You have written negative comments about the Urologists you rejected before finding the one you liked and trusted.

What was the recovery time for your SRP ? With GL or Holep it should be day surgery.. I traveled home by train on day two and went to the Races on day three walking around all afternoon. On day four there was a bus strike and I walked about 2 1/2 miles each way to an appointment.

People were surprised and said I though you were having an operation. I said a procedure not an operation.

As my Uro said GL is a very gentle procedure. OK my prostate did regrow to 135 grms and I had a Thulium/Holmium procedure nine years later.

Hi Derek:

You are correct. I did bad mouth two urologists. One that just wanted to treat the symptoms and the other was I did not have a good gut feeling. I guess I wanted to help others by saying be picky, find the doctor you (and your significant other) feel comfortable with, and you are in control of who does anything to you. Sharing my experience got away from me. I will stop sharing about the other two and focus on who positively change my life.

As for seeing other negative comments, you are correct. In some cases, men are coming here to grieve and mourn. They get caught up in rumors and other propaganda, to include hearing the rest of us "successful" men promote this or that. Boy, sure glad I did not come here first.

Thanks for the clarification.

Dave

Hi Derek:

My recovery from the Simple Robotic Prostatectomy (SRP) was:

1. Procedure on a Tuesday. Did not walk first day. Bladder was being flushed constantly through the indwelling catheter to prevent blood clots. My bladder was filleted for access to the prostate. Prostate was removed on one piece.
2. Started walking the next morning. This was promoted by the Dr. and nurses. I needed to get up and I wanted to. Moving is important.
3. Discharged 24 hours later. Bleeding from bladder was going away. If bleeding had not gotten under control, Dr. would have kept me longer. This is key when the procedure involves going through the bladder like mine was.
4. The most sore for the first 4-days. Not sore around the prostate or bladder, but sore in the mid-section from the incisions where the robotics were inserted. Mostly sore on the right side where I had an appendectomy as a kid. They had to cut away scare tissue when they went in. Only took Tylenol and Motrin to manage pain. Walked everyday. Was experiencing erections, even with the catheter in.
5. After 7-days stopped taking Tylenol and Motrin. Still walking.
6. Day #10, went in to see Dr. for catheter removal. Using indwelling catheter, pushed fluid into the bladder to expand it and x-ray to check for any leaks in the bladder. No leaks. Catheter removed and void test was successful. Left Dr's office.
7. About 3-hours later, when I felt the need to pee, went to the restroom and it came flying out. So much force and volume I almost missed the toilet. Right at the end of peeing, felt my healing bladder contract. Before the SRP, I do not think I ever completely voided my bladder. New feeling.
8. Had sex. Erection no problem. More precum now than before. Nothing ejaculates during orgasm, but can squeeze out fluid afterwards when cleaning up.
9. At 6-weeks, Dr. cleared me for the gym. I have always lifted weights and done cardio.
10. As each day/week/month goes by, I forget more and more when the procedure was done. My threat of retention no longer exists. My BPH no longer exists. I have a new normal.

Dave

If I have helped a few UK Guys to take the right path I have not wasted the time I have spent on this Forum. My BPH started in 1995 when the only option was TURP or a total prostactectomy. I was very fortunate that a journalist on one of the major upmarket newspapers was in the same boat and had researched all the options. His findings on TURP were frightening. TUMP the microwave procedure was just starting up and seemed promising and I even considered having it done in America or Isreal as it was not in the UK.

I read all that I could in the reference library on the prostate and found a book by the retired US Navy urologist that made sense and had information about laser procedures in the pipeline. I had some correspondence with him and his advice was not to have TURP but wait for a laser procedure.

There was a Usenet news group that was very popular with sufferers from around the world and was much more optimistic than this Forum that had thousands of posters. It still exists but is now little used. I have kept all the posts from way back then.

We heard rumours of GL PVP and one poster named Patrick was the world first patient and delighted with the result and just like the Remington Razor owner did he bought shares in the company then Laserscope. His recovery was instant and a few days later he flew from LA to Japan. His recovery was so good that many thought he was a company employee. Others followed on with their success stories.

I and others contacted Laserscope to see when the procedure would get to the UK and they put their UK rep Mike Degun in touch with us and he guided us to hospitals that were doing trials. Soon we UK patients were swapping our experiences in the news group. Mike actually observed all the procedures to report back to his company. I expect initial patients were selected for their suitability. I contacted the Freeman NHS Hospital in Newcastle and gave my history over the phone and was invited to come down for tests. I was my Uro's eighth patient and the teams thirty sixth. My procedure was done in the afternoon and I was kept overnight and had my catheter out at 6.30 the next morning. As I was not fully voiding and had a long journey they kept me for another night. Then home no problems and life back to normal.

Two friends who had theirs at different London hospitals one NHS and one private were out the same day one with a catheter the other without. They spent the night in London and back to their hospitals for a flow test the next day and home. One had a thirteen hour train journey home without any problem. The other went shopping on Kings Road with his wife before flying home. One like me has since had another procedure the other is still doing well after fourteen years but takes Cialis to help his flow.