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The Urolift procedure; patient views and questions

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charles40613
charles40613

Would it be possible to keep this thread purely about Urolift and a means of sharing experiences from those who have undergone the process and invite debate from those considering it.

The Urolift process plus pros and cons are accurately described at many a website. Other very long threads discuss in detail BPH and other treatments such as TURPS, laser tend to overshadow people looking for advice on Urolift.

So for me, tired of getting up in the night. Tired of the medication and its side effects, tiredness and ED. Quality of life getting me down. I am 60 and reckon to be pretty fit and active.

I underwent this treatment (as an alternative to TURPS) 2 weeks ago at one of the 5 or 6 clinics/hospitals that appear to offer this treatment in the UK. It really was as simple as described on the web.

I had a 30 minute consultation with the consultant whereby he explained the procedure.

The treatment was booked for 10 am., it took about 15 minutes. I had it done under a local anaesthetic. To be frank if you are used to having your prostate and other bits probed there is no pain. It is just the thought of it you have to come to terms with. After the treatment you have to drink a lot of water to flush your system but I was allowed to drive home by dinner time.

First warning here. I did have to stop probably every 15 minutes with a sudden need to urinate. Fortunately I took a urine bottle from the clinic !

I could write for ages but will see what response I get to this post. I know on the day I was there, 4 other blokes were having the procedure and I sensed there was a regular flow of patients.

I’m now going through the period whereby I’m asking myself is there any improvement? It’s only 2 weeks in. I’m not sure is the answer at the moment. We are all different and recovery and improvement I am told does take time anything from 2/3 weeks to 2/3 months maybe longer. Your system needs time to readjust, I understand that, I don’t know how much time but I’m due for a follow up next week. I'm remaining positive.Would welcome comments from others.

18 likes, 1911 replies

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  • chuck20883
    chuck20883 charles40613

    Posted

    I am 70, live in the Denver area, diagnosed with Prostrate Cancer in Mid December. My Urologist has proposed a Urolift for the obvious reasons...Flowmax has improved frequency somewhat, but not enough.

    I am to start 9 weeks of IMR therapy soon (month or 2 at this rate).

    reading thru the posts, looks like it is common to have a cath for several days after the Urolift procedure...

    and it would appear that recovery for most men is multiple weeks...!

    I will add to this post once I have had the procedure...probably Mar 23 or 30.

    Thanks

    • kenneth1955
      kenneth1955 chuck20883

      Posted

      Hello Chuck.  It is not common to have a catheter with the Urolift.  It is up to the Doctor.  But it will be the best thing for you.  When I had mine 3 years ago.  I have a problem peeing on demand so I talked it over with my doctor and he told me no problem.  I only had it for 3 days.  The reason it is good for you after the procedure is because your prostate will be swollen and you may not be able to go and they will put one in anyway.  And I don't know about you but I would rather have one put in while I'm out then when awake.  Also after the catheter come out.  Buy some male pads and keep it in your under ware for the first day just in case.  After this procedure this was the first time i ever had a catheter.  I was glad I did.  Went out right after and within 15 minutes of leaving the office I had to go.  I put one leg out of the car and it let loose but it felt so good.  Take care  Ken  

    • rick49302
      rick49302 kenneth1955

      Posted

      Hi I am 67 I had my urolift done last week after about 3 days I started peeing large amounts of blood and blood clots after about an hour i could nor pee went into the emergency room They put in a catheter but the blood clots were blocking the catheter so they had to take it out and put in the biggest one they had when they pulled it out I was able to get up and pee with a lot of blood and blood clots then they put in the larger cath. and spent about an hour trying to wash blood clots out the next day I went to the doctor he put a even bigger catheter in. the following day I went back the following day and he took it out but told me if I start peeing large amounts of blood to come back right away. It has been 8 2 days and no blood hoping no more problems you do not know pain until you have a full bladder and can not pee. if I could do it over I would not have done the procedure a
    • kenneth1955
      kenneth1955 rick49302

      Posted

      I am sorry that you had a problem.  Did you have a catheter after the procedure.  I had one for 3 days because I know the prostate was going to be inflamed.  I read many reports before I had mine done about men not being able to pee after and running to the hospital.  I was not going to go through it again.  I would rather have a catheter put in while I was out then one put in when a wake.  Went through all what you said.  Clot of blood the first day and bladder spasms with blood coming out around the catheter.  Had it removed 3 days later.  Burned to pee but was good in a week.  It has been over 3 years for me.  And this would be the only procedure I would ever have.  PS  I do know the pain of being in retention.  My bladder stopped after I had to have a repair done on one of the clips.  Got 3 blood clots on my prostate and one broke.  ( It was from my blood thinner taking them to soon )  I shut down and was having bladder spasms for 6 hours bladder trying to get rid of the blood.  I was told by the doctor in the hospital that a bladder spasm is like a labor pain.  You have no control over them.  Had to had surgery to burn them off the prostate.  If i need more clips so be it.  Because they will not be doing any cutting on me..Have a great day  Ken      
  • gene51836
    gene51836 charles40613

    Posted

    I'm having the procedure by the end of April and it was explained just as you stated. Has anyone had any complications with this procedure, how long a time to heal and being able to perform sexually with my wife.

    • kenneth1955
      kenneth1955 gene51836

      Posted

      Gene you should be fine.  Did the doctor tell you how many clips he is going to put in.  I had 4 put in.  Sometime you need more depends on the size of the prostate.  I don't know if you have talk it over with you doctor.  It is up to the doctor if he puts a catheter in.  I had one put in.  I found out it was best.  When I was researching I found out a lot of men have problems peeing after a few hours.  That is because the prostate swells up after.  I would rather have a catheter put in when I'm out they put in when I'm awake  I only have it in for 3 day's was good to go in a week.  I did masturbate 5 days after the catheter.  I was just checking to make sure all was good and it was but got yelled at my doctor.  They do not want you to have any kind of sex for 4 weeks because they want the clip to a heard to the prostate.  Also if you do have a catheter after it come out ware a pad for a few days.  Because when you have to go you have to go.  And you may not be close to a bathroom.  Take care  Ken      

    • gene51836
      gene51836 kenneth1955

      Posted

      My doctor is putting in 6 clips and i will have a catheter in for 24 hrs, Procedure April 26th and removal of Catheter 27th. Follow up with him a month later. My 47th wedding anniversary 6/26 we have planned a long weekend away.  
    • kenneth1955
      kenneth1955 gene51836

      Posted

      You will be good to go by then. That's 2 months.  Just relax and take your time.  No heavy lifting or messing around for the first month.  Good luck  Ken 

  • Cactus_Michael
    Cactus_Michael charles40613

    Posted

    Not sure how active this discussion is, but It seemed like a great forum to join.

    I was a Urolift candidate and had the procedure 2 weeks ago.

    A quick diary FYI.

    In hospital surgery with full sedation. After a PAINFUL cystoscopy, no more urethral entry without something strong.

    4 staples & Catheter. Was told only 10% need one - I DID!

    Catheter out the following morning. Awkward, but tolerable for a day.

    Wore Depends for a few days, then for about a week only at night.

    Days 2-4: Extremely painful urinating. Worse than a UTI. I needed to pee every 15-35 minutes 24/7 - no relief, poor sleep. So bad my heart would race and I'd have to grip onto a towel rack or brace myself with a hand on the wall. Tried standing pee and woman style. Both equally painful, but at least it made for a little variety. If that's not enough the pressure to pee created the pressure to defficate. TRY holding that in while peeing!

    Day 4-6 getting toward 45 min to an hour.

    Tried AZO at doctor's advice. Did nothing except stain everything with its Kool-Aid orange stain. For two nights on that remedy I wet the bed even with the Depends. Nasty stains. Got off that quickly.

    Around day 8 I was getting better and 3-5 times in the night.

    Now, 2 weeks later, I'm going on 2-3 times in the nights and manageable during the day. Pain minimal now, but still there. But bladder usually feels empty when I pee.

    Now the FUN stuff:

    NO sex of any kind for a week.

    Had sex with wife 3X so far. First time, lots of stinging after org., then less the 2nd and 3rd time.

    BUT - NO ONE here on on ANY site for this procedure mentions that you have bloody ejaculate just like in a biopsy. This really p****d me off (sorry for the pun).

    But no one anywhere mentions this and that it can take several WEEKS before you return to clear. Beware. It's a gross, yucky reddish-brown sludge that cums out.

    So after a year and a half of 2 biopsies and this procedure, I've had more days of abnormal sex than good days. Yeah, it still feels great at your fun zone area, but I'm at the end of my rope with this yucky semen stuff.

    I was told most guys clear this bloody part up in 2-3 weeks. Each of my 2 biopsies took 3 months!!!  Be Warned. Oh for a normal sex life. Well, I'm  peeing better which is what this was really about and I didn't have to go on meds, HoLep  or Turp.

     

    • george18730
      george18730 Cactus_Michael

      Posted

      Hi Mike:

      I had four staples and I can tell you that my Urologist uses a catheter more often than not- pretty standard procedure nowadays.     Your recovery seems pretty predictable with one exception; who told you that having sex at two weeks was acceptable?  Granted that the Urolift is much less traumatic than many of the other procedures but, none-the-less, there's still plenty of healing to do.  It's not surprising at all that you're having bleeding after sex at two weeks.  Give yourself more time to let your prostate and urethra heal properly. 

    • kenneth1955
      kenneth1955 Cactus_Michael

      Posted

      Hey buddy.  I had my Urolift done over 3 years ago.  I also had a catheter.  It is up to the doctor.  I had mine for 3 days  After the catheter came out  it burned to high heaven when I peed for a few days but I was good to go in a few weeks.  I could not wait for sex so I took care of myself.  That first orgasm hurt and it was a little blooded I did it after 7 days.   It cleared up in a couple of weeks.  Got yelled at by my doctor he told me that they do not want you to have any kind of sex for 4 weeks because they want the clips to a hear to the prostate.  Remember all men heal at different rate.  Just relax.  Had a 12 needle biopsies done 14 years ago.  A lot of pain between my legs and the first orgasm was a bloody mess,,  Ken 
    • nealpros
      nealpros Cactus_Michael

      Posted

      It might not be as much fun, but you could use a condum for a while if the blood in your ejaculate bothers you or your partner. That said, unless you have AIDS, the blood isn't really hurting anybody.

      Neal Pros

    • Cactus_Michael
      Cactus_Michael george18730

      Posted

      Hi George,

      When did you have your first ejaculation after your procedure?

      And then, how long after that was your semen clear?

      TY, Michael

    • Cactus_Michael
      Cactus_Michael kenneth1955

      Posted

      Hi Kenneth,

      3+ weeks now and semen is still a bloody mess, not even a difference from my first time 2 weeks ago.

      There's widely differing reports on when to have sex. I prefer to say ejaculate. Some have gone for 7 days, others for a month.

      No one seems to have consensus.

      Kinda going nuts here about when and how frequent to ejaculate. Forget the pleasure part, I just want this clear again so my sex life can be normal. What's your thoughts about frequency and total clear semen?

      TY, Michael

       

    • george18730
      george18730 Cactus_Michael

      Posted

      Hi Michael:

      The best I can recall is that I waited about a month.  My semen was clear but it burned and there was also discomfort around my prostate.  It probably took a few months before it was close to pleasurable again. Have you asked your doctor about the blood in your semen?

    • kenneth1955
      kenneth1955 Cactus_Michael

      Posted

      Michael  I cleared up after a couple of times.  The first time there was some blood but the second was more pink.  Have you ask your doctor it should have cleared all ready.  What about a condom so you would not worry about the blood.  You can still enjoy the sex.  Remember we all heal at different rates.  Take care  Ken
    • Cactus_Michael
      Cactus_Michael george18730

      Posted

      It's actually been pleasurable for me even back in my 2nd week. But clean - no.

      I see my doc tomorrow (which will be 3 weeks and 5 days) - hopefully for some light on this.

    • Cactus_Michael
      Cactus_Michael kenneth1955

      Posted

      Done the condom, of course. You are so lucky that by the 2nd time it was clearing.

      But still can't do oral or visible j/o with someone else yet.

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