Urolift Procedure 2018

I had the Urolift procedure March 30,2018 at the suggestion of my urologist when I asked if there was something to replace using Flomax in order to end the runny nose side effect. My urologist told me that with the Urolift I would most likely not need Flomax any longer.

My baseline is that I am 76 years old, 5' 8", 212 pounds, and in relative good health. I had prostate cancer that was treated successfully with "seeds" (brachytherapy) about 15 years ago and have been on Flomax, 1x per day, ever since.

OK, to the pre and post procedure stuff; prior to the procedure my urologist did a cystoscopy and found a small polyp that he cauterized and then we waited 2 weeks before doing the Urolift. The procedure went well, 4 implants were used, local anesthetic was used. After the procedure and being able to urinate some I was asked if I wanted to go home with a catheter and bag in place or if I wanted to self-catheter if necessary. Not wanting a bag I took the second option..........this was a mistake! It wasn't long until I felt I had to urinate and was not able to so I self-catheterized (size 16 French) and the relief was wonderful. This was the first of many self-catheterizing over the next three days that yielded many blood clots of all sizes. On the 4th day I finally was able to get a stream (although very slow) started and no longer hat to use a catheter. For the next few days the urine went from very red to pink and then yellow with occasional red and pink flashes. For the next 6 days and nights I had to get up every few hours to urinate and  found that giggling the base of my penise would help restart the stream (I hardly ever felt emptied). I am now 26 days post procedure and still find I have to urinate at least every 2-3 hours during the day and every 3-4 hours at night. I have not had any pain since the procedure and am still taking Flomax once a day. My urologist said it can take 4-12 weeks for my system to adjust and if it doesn't, he may have to do a laser adjustment at the bladder neck.

Really, the only reason I had the Urolift was to get off Flomax and end the maddening runny nose side effect. With what I feel now and have gone through I believe if I had the choice I would skip the procedure and put up with continuing to use Flomax, a slow stream and runny nose. I will add to this post as time and my condition hopefully improves.

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