Turp experience and questions

I had scar tissue removed with a cycstoscope wire cutting tool about 6 months after my GL laser turp. It's not too uncommon as the prostatic urethra is removed during the turp and basically reforms itself with scar tissue. I had a 1.5cm membrane grow agross the passage which my uro removed with just lidocaine for an anesthetic. However i got a nasty UTI afterwards which was sorted out with 10 days of antibiotic.

I've heard of other people getting blocked after a turp by prostate tissue that never left the bladder until it stopped them up. 

hey andyr1961, have you had to flow test yet? Just curious...

I had laser turp on December 4, 2015.  Went through the normal issues.  At the end of the 1st week I lifted a small rug and began bleeding more.  That led to passing blood clots about 6 - 8 weeks after surgery.  One clot shut temporarily stopped my urine flow but I finally passed it.  After 3 1/2 months, my urine stream was smaller.  It's been five (5) months and now I started the urgencies to go to the bathroom.  Doctor performed a digital and said my prostate was "fluffy".  He put me on 30 days of antibiotics, which did not help much. Stream is weak, some dribbling, and weird directions of peeing.  After 30 days of antibiiots, he changed antibiotics and put me on doxycycline for two weeks.  If I don't get better after this last run of antibiotics, then back to the doctor.  After reading your post, it seems to me that my symptoms are due to scar tissue blockage.  I want him to scope me and FIX the problem.  When your scar tissue was removed, did you have to have a catheter, or were you able to leave the doctor's office without one?

I'm getting ready to go on vacation and having to be cathed would ruin it.

Scurry,

Was away for 3 weeks and just saw your post.  What I had was a thin membrane that grew over the area where the prostate meets the urethra. My doc used a systoscope tool to remove it. No cathneeded but I did get a UTI, so maybe anibiotics would be a precaution. Hopefully that will take care of it.  In my case I had a seconf laser turp and blsdder mouth resection a year later and a classic turp a year after that in April 2015.

Thanks for responding.  I 'm waiting for the doctor's office to call and get me in for a cystoscopy.  Just finished 6 weeks of antibiotics.  Still have a weak stream, have to stress to keep it going, and it quickly fades to a strong dribble.  All this after having TURP on Dec.4, 2015.  Everything started down hill after I passed two painful blood clots.  I still feel like something could be in there but is that possible after 5 months???  Nevertheless,  they plan on putting me under and going back in to find the problem.  One last thing. When I had the surgery I asked the doc to do his best to preserve the flap that allows seme to go out normally.  I just know that something is blocking my urine flow and that is VERY frustrating.  A  week or so after surgery I had a strong flow. 

Scurry,

Something is blocking you. It could be a membrane, or it could be a clot, or as in my case it could be the bladder neck was still overgrown, or I also had bladder stones when they went in with the GL the second time. After they removed the membrane with a ocal anesthetic and the cystoscope wire (about 6 months after the first GL) the uro advised me to self cath once every 2 to 4 weeks to "keep the channel open" and keep other membrandes from forming.  During that time my PVR was still between 125 and 250 ml. I did that for a year then got a massive hematuria at the end of the year which necessitated a second GL about 16 months after the first one.

My urine stream was never good after the first few months of the first GL. It felt like I had broken pipes. I'd  lean to one side or push out my belly to restart the stream. Seemed like it was screwed up, even though I did urinate.

When I got the hematuria, I went in for the second greenlight. The uro cleaned up all the blood clots in my bladder, cauterized three bleeders on my prostate and bladder neck, removed bladder stones, and resected (trimmed) the bladder neck (mouth). I no longer had a problem urinating, and my pvr was around 30 (and still is).

But a year later I had a second massive hematuria and my uro used a clasic turp to clean up the clots, remove more prostate, and remove what was left of a median lobe protruding into the bladder. That was about a year ago. 

Although most men with prostate hematuria are on blood thinners, I never was (and cannot ever be while I have a prostate). During the first hematuria and GL I needed 8 pints of whole blood. Needed 6 pints during the second hematuria and classic turp.

During the 2 greenlights my uro preserved the flap above the ejaculatory duct which projected my semen down and out the penis instead of back into the bladder which is retro ejaculation. I was really concerned about this, but after the classic turp I got retro and didn't even notice until I wondered why there was no semen afterward. To me it was a non issue. The ejaculation felt the same to me.

My remaining problem with the prostate is the size. It was 300g. before the last (classic) turp and 200g. after. I've been on dutasteride for 6 months and was going to have it sonogrammed to measure the size now but got hit with a tornado of illness in the last month.

Six weeks ago I was taking 2 mile walks and considered myself healthy and fit. I just spent 23 days in hospital, with a diagnosis of afib (rapid hertbeat) had 6 liters of water removed from around my lungs with chest tubes, and was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma. Had my first of 4 weekly chemos last week and am back home, using a walker indoors and a wheel chair outdoors. Put's the prostate issues on the back burner.

Bob

Well am now at three months , going every two hours in the night , pain every time I pee , and when I lie down or sit when I stand have abt 15 seconds to get to the loo , stream is strong but the razor blade pain driving me mad , no cancer in the tissue , is this all normal 

I'm at 4 months. I also get up 2-3 times every night. However, the other symptoms you mention have gone away. The razor blade pain was gone after about 1 week. I did have what I best can call muscle aches in the penis during and just after urinating for about 2 months. I rationalized that this was due to having a catheter for 2 weeks before the surgery, a catheter for 4 days after the surgery, and all the other instruments that were shoved up me. I suggest you check if you have a bladder infection. My wife gets those same symptoms (i.e., frequency, urgency, razor blade pain) when she has one. I hope you feel better soon.

Could be normal but you might want to check with your doctor.

My experience is similar to Art123. The pains while urinating lasted about 2 months and went away. But they were only for a few seconds at the start and stop of the stream, not during the whole stream. I used to hyperventilate whiler urinating to take my mind off the pain I knew was coming.The urgency was about 3 months. Getting up 3 to 4 times a night never went away, the turp was more than two years ago. The turp can't cure what is essentially a bladder issue once the stream is normal again. It's great for obstructions but has mixed results with getting up at night. The best solution I have found is to keep a couple of 1 liter plastic urinals in a basket by my bedside and sit on the edge of the bed to urinate into the urinals in the dark. I use a small reading light just to check the level so I know when to switch urinals. It keeps me from fully wakening and I get right back to sleep.

Thanks for your reply.  I am keeping a tally on pro vs con, and so far I've got mixed results.

Hi Bart,

Glad you are feeling better. I turned the corner at about 9 weeks after my GL laser. I get a kick out of all those adverts that show men on the golf course a few days later. I have a theory that large prostates may not heal as quickly as small ones. Mine was 120g. + and my uro removed 70g.

Bob

Hi Bob......the Dr. made it a point to tell me that most of his patients are fine or nearly fine shortly after the surgery, maybe 2-3 weeks. I laughed and told him about this blog. LOL   He then commented that I've been suffering with the symptoms longer than most (15 years) and he's happy with my progress. The larger the prostate and the longer the symptoms does seem to greatly contribute to the recovery (or non-recovery) period. 

 

Bart,

Do you know how large your prostate was and how much was removed?

Nearly everyone I have read that had real horror stories had very large prostates. I had bph for over 15 years before my first procedure.

Bob...... to be honest, I never asked but the Dr. did say it was "profoundly large" which I guess means very large. And I don't know how much was removed either. It didn't seem important at the time. I also know the surgery took much longer than expected too. Not much else.....

Hi Bart,

Profoundly large would mean over 100g. I would guess. Mine was 120g.+ the largest my uro had ever worked on. He rmoved 70g. leaving a 50g. prostate. Since the prostate continues to grow at 5% a year or more, mine must be past 60G. in the last two years. I'm guessing I'll be going back in time for another procedure.

had my first post surgery app a couple of weeks ago and the Doc said that the size of my prostate was 61g and he took 30g out. Normal prostate size according to him is 30g. 

tracking along like you. Almost 3 months since surgery and 2 months since the ER stint but almost no blood now, still a bit a pain when urinating but very little compared to before. How often I urinate hasn't  really improved (still at around every 90 minutes) and according to the doc since I had a 60g prostate and he took 30g out, i need to be more patience so I'm hoping to improve on the frequency. Getting a bit expensive having to buy dependables to use when not a home.