This Ever Happen To Anyone?

Posted , 10 users are following.

In April of 2016 I had the green Light Laser operation for Benign Prostate Enlargement.  The operation was a success but the urine still did not flow. (much)  It seems I had another problem. The bladdrer muscles were not doing their job.  I was instructed in how to self cath and that's what I did for 2 months.  My cath suppier kept me in enough #14 self lubed catheters to allow me to "tend to business" 4X per day although I rarely went beyond 3X per day.

After 2 months I was put on 25 mg bethanechol 3X per day.  SUCCESS! I WAS 17 AGAIN! GOOD-BYE CATHETERS!

However, lately (last 6 weeks or so) I have noticed that when I sometimes get up to go in the middle of the night and always upon awakening in the morning that when I tried to go...NOTHING!  I had to bear down and PUSH it out with muscles that I could control.  During the rest of the day everything was fine.

However, the pattern is beginning to repeat itself for the rest of the day as well.  I will see my UR in a few but I'm losing the battle so until I do see him I will self cath. (When I was taken off catheters I still had a 240 catheter "stash."  I'm glad I kept them.)

I'm suspecting that I have developed some sort of bladder ring obstruction.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has had first hand experience with my situation or from anyone who would like to share an opinion.

Tom 

0 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • Posted

    Are the symptons you're experiencing now similar to what you experienced prior to taking Bethanecol when you had to self cath?

    Jim

  • Posted

    Is it possible more prostate tissue grew back again to block? Sounds horrible. The self cath is saving you. Don't worry your urologist or another urologist will figure out a  solution. I had greenlight, when they destroy the ejaculatory ducts you never feel normal. Right?

  • Posted

    Tom: The operation was a success but the urine still did not flow. (much)  It seems I had another problem. The bladder muscles were not doing their job.

    -------------

    Is that what your doctor's said -- "the operation was a success"?

    Did they do urodynamic testing prior to your Green Light? If they didn't, shame on them. Nothing is certain, but that "another problem", the bladder, can be tested prior to surgery to give indications how succesful that surgery might be. 

    Jim

     

  • Posted

    Tom for some reason I think your problem was your bladder not your prostate.  So you have surgery for nothing.  I would see another doctor  Good luck  Ken 
  • Posted

    Hi. I had urodynamics tests before my HoLep as my Uro thought that my bladder might be 'dead' as it had stretched to twice normal size. In the event the test showed very strong bladder muscles. Yes, your problem could be an obstruction or whatever.

  • Posted

    Tom did he doing any of the tests on you to check the bladder function.  Why did he say it was the surgery was a success. Your on bethanechol 3 time a day for bladder retention and you have to do CIC.  If your prostate was yhre problem agter a few week you should have been fine and peeing great.  He should have taking care of the bladder first to help it not get rid of the prostate.  I think with having this surgery it just caused you more problem.  I would see another doctor for another opioion and see what he said.  Remember doctors can do a surgery and most of the time it is right but there are sometime they dont know if it will work until it done.  Good luck  Ken 
  • Posted

    This has been stated on this site so many times, but for anyone considering surgery, consider, consider , consider before going through with it. A second opinion is always prudent I think. I've had nocturia and other urinary issues for years but when my urologist examined me, he said: "surgery probably wouldn't help you much."  My symptoms were caused by a combination of prostate, bladder, and sleep issues. I don't know how your doctor could say your surgery was a success given your post surgery symptoms. I hope your symptoms improve and your surgery does turn out to be a success. 

    • Posted

      I am very happy that you had a docto0r that care enough to tell you the truth and not do the surgery anyway.  Some do.  Are you doing anything to help with your problem  Ken
    • Posted

      Reg: I don't know how your doctor could say your surgery was a success given your post surgery symptoms. 

      ----------------

      It's like the cynical joke, "the operation was a success but the patient died".

      So what his doctor is probably saying is that the HOLEP was a technical success. All that means is that he was able to remove whatever tissue he wanted to remove. But what matters to patients are clinical successes, i.e. did the patient have symptomatic improvement. In this case, obviously not. 

      This is a very important concept because when you ask a doctor how many "successful" (TURPS, HOLEPS, PAE's, etc.) he has performed, he may only give you the number of technical successes. Same when you look at study data. So always make sure you ask and look for outcome data in terms of symptom relief. 

      Jim

      Jim

    • Posted

      I'm trying to find ways to sleep better. I limit fluid inrake after mid-afternoon.  Right now I'm taking a melatonin supplement with valerian and chamomile and it seems to help somewhat. Flomax didn't help much. Perhaps cathing at bedtime might help but I haven't tried that yet. Most of my nocturia occurs in the first few hours after I go to bed which makes sense because I probably accumulate a lot of fluid over the course of the day. I make sure |I get well hydrated early in the day.  

    • Posted

      Look up "bladder retraining."  And what follows is a simple but potentially effective strategy.  We've all heard it said that guys with BPH aren't advised to drink after 5:00 p.m.  I agree with this.  That siad, just because we stop drinking at 5:00 p.m., we're still going to need to pee hours later.  Hold it, and hold it for as long as you can and then learn how to time sleep onset with with a really decent void.  You'll STILL have nocturia, but maybe you can get some mileage out of one decent void, just prior to sleep.

    • Posted

      Bladder retraining is a strategy for overactive bladder (OAB) but can be counter productive for retention issues. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for men with obstructive BPH to have both conditions although one is often secondary to the other.

      What you have to be careful about is not letting your bladder stretch by delaying a void. This is how many of us got into these predicaments in the first place.

      To prevent stretching, you do not want your bladder to be holding more than 400ml at any one time which would be the sum of your natural void and your PVR.

      If you're self cathing (or have a home bladder scanner) the math is simple because you can accurately measure your PVR prior to bed time. If you're not self cathing, less simple because you will have to estimate your PVR based on your history. But unless your retention is secondary to OAB I would err on the side of voiding earlier than later, especially in the case of nocturia where there could be other causes such as too much urine production at night regardless of what time the fluids are taken in during the day.

      Jim

  • Posted

    You have to wait at least an hour after you arise in the morning before your system can start even though you may have an urge to go before that.
  • Posted

    Tom,  I had Greenlight done around 12 years ago.  It helped a bit, but after two years, I had to go back to re-do the prostate.  The second time, I chose TURP.  It worked better than the Greenlight. However, after several years, I had to go back in and do another TURP. After the surgery, I couldn't urinate on my own, which brings me to the present.  I am now doing self-catherization and it's the best.  The good thing is after 8 months, I can feel that something is improving because I can now urinate on my own, but unable to empty the bladder completely.  I will continue to self-cath, and hopefully I will be like Jim James on this forum and have a reconditioned bladder, which is able to empty maybe not completely but almost all of the content of the bladder!

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