Urolift Procedure - February 2017
Posted , 35 users are following.
To give back to the onlilne community, I want to pass on some information about my Urolift procedure for BPH.
First the patient - I am 68, 6ft 172 lbs. I have had one BPH operation about 10 years ago (TUNA) from the same doctor who did the Urolift. Other signifcant conditions - HBP and hypothyroidism treated by medicine, Fairly active physically. Working very part time. Enjoying my children and, especially, grandchildren.
Impetus for the procedure - failure of tamsulosin (less than 1 year) to improve flow and with unsatisfactory side effects.
Confirmation procedure - Physician did a cystoscopy 4 weeks before the procedure to confirm this procedure was correct for the geometry of my prostate. Topical pain medication used. Was recovering well. Soreness while urinating was going away after a couple days. Was given 1 antibiotic pill. Either from my anatomy or something I did, it wasn't enough and I developed a urinary tract infection. Very painful 7-8/10. Needed additional anti-biotic. In a follow up visit 1 week before the Urolift procedure, things were better and we decided to go forward.
Urolift - Pre-Op: Was told to stop medicines (including herbal) that would contribute to bleeding - e.g., low dose aspirin and Lovaza (gen). I stopped the few other herbals that I took. Continued with the thyroid (levothyroxine) and BP (valsartan/hctz) - the latter was stopped the day of and taken later when I got home.
Surgery location - like many, this was done in an ambulatory surgery center, not a hospital. In my case, the center was run by the urology practice.
Procedure:
Cost - I am not going to focus on cost, because everyone's coverage is different. As I understand it there are 3 bills - urologist, anaesthesiologist, facility. The latter asked for a same day payment. The others bill.
Procedure schedule - 1:30 pm s
1)12:30 pm -- Reception review and confirmation of information and stoppage of food/water/medicines 12 hours before procedure
2) 1:00 pm -- prep for surgery, viitals, IV started. Met with urologist for last minute questions (mostly on activity after the operation). Met with anaesthesiologist - she doubled checked food/water stoppage and looked in my mouth (I realized post facto looking for dentures). Administered fetanyl - following was told by others
3) 1:30 procedure - was told it would take 30 minutes. My wife was shown before and after polaroid of the opening of my prostate. What she described looked like the photographs in the Urolfit pamphlet.
4) 2:30 pm approx - As I came out of the fetanyl, I was not as groggy as I expected. Strong urge to go, but nothing coming out. I walked to the bathroom myself holding onto the pole containing the saline feed for the IV. I had 4 bloody (medium) urine drops come out. They said that was enough.
5) Given instructions on post-op procedure - primarily minimal activity for a week. I was given the ok to do walking. Which I tried 2 days later.
6) Prescribed antibiotic for 5 days.
Ride home - I live 30 min. from the surgery center. We had plotted places to stop in case I needed to before I got home. Did not have to stop.
First day - very sore starting and stopping urine flow. Later that day it seemed flow was stronger, but hope might have colored my perception. Ate sourdough waffles (my wife is great) late afternoon. Ate a light dinner later. Forced myself to drink more water than I usually do (thanks to my wife) Sat up. Couldn't go to sleep until 3:30 am. Slept for 2 hours. Went to the bathroom. Slept for 2 hours. Note on clothing. Since I expected some bloody urine, I bought and used Depend pads for a couple of days until the blood stopped.
2nd day - soreness about the same as the cystoscopy procedure. Sign of blood was fading (didn't want to look too closely, though). Stream seems to be stronger (my wife said she could hear it too). Once I get the urge to urinate, I have to get in there fast. Urine flow starts quickly. Had to change pants once as I was not careful. Stopped the use of the Depends pads as there was no blood visible and I started having better control of the stream.
I will post follow ups. I am scheduled for a Uroflow PVR (check of flowrate) and urologist follow up two weeks after the procedure.
I am writing this to help people who are faced with the decision on what to do with their BPH. I am not an advocate for one procedure or another. This is a personnel decision. As you know, this is anecdotal. We are all different. Yet, we are also all the same. I would like to thank the others who have posted on this forum.
7 likes, 170 replies
dan55298 mark02906
Posted
Dan
dan55298 mark02906
Posted
bobbya dan55298
Posted
bobbya
Posted
Hi Dan,
how ya doing after day 4 I believe, did you real the recent post from Justin ??, I posted back to ask for specific's. I don't like to hear the things he posted, its brought me back to square on on the uncertinly chart. I hope he post back to explain.
dan55298 mark02906
Posted
Hey Mark, I have been posting in a discussion with Bobby below, but just in case that does not show easily, I will put some of that on the main line here to you... Again, my Urolift was on Wednesday, today is Saturday...
Feeling pretty good today... Finally had a good number 2 this morning (maybe too much info
but that is kind of a big deal after surgery!) I had been doing OK there actually, had been using stool softeners, but had been afraid to push very hard. Today it hurt a bit during that process, but I guess that makes sense because the prostate is right there also. Finished my antibiotics yesterday evening, and I have been off the Norco since the day of surgery, or maybe that first morning, don't remember. Have been trying to decide how much and how long to take Urobel... the bottle actually shows a refill available, so I imagine some folks take it for a while. It is supposed to be bladder anti spasm drug, but I am not sure what a bladder spasm feels like. Seems like when I take it, it does indeed make it more comfortable to pee, and seems like that strong urge to pee calms down. I still have that by the way, seems like after I pee, I am still not empty. But I am used to that LOL! And oh yeah, it makes me pee a really nice green color!
We did go out to dinner again last night... had some Mexican, might be the reason for my above mentioned success this morning
The only issue with eating out right now is finding a soft chair, it is still tender on the back side. I can stand and walk around just fine... a little bit uncomfortable driving just because the seat is firm in the wrong spot. Planning to get a few things done around the house today, hopefully will not over do it...
Plan to give more updates as things move along.
Dan
mark02906 dan55298
Posted
justin_1212 mark02906
Posted
DO NOT DO IT !!!!
My condition is WORSE than before the procedure now my new Urologist says I am faced with laser surgery to correct but I will have to self catherize DAILY for the REST of life in order to keep scar tissue from forming again.
DO NOT DO IT !!!
bobbya justin_1212
Posted
dan55298 bobbya
Posted
Bobby, I don't think Justin 1212 is going to explain much. He has been posting this on a bunch of threads. I could not find where he explains anything further. It would be nice of course. Some of the responses to his comments were from Docs who do not understand what he is talking about. (you can do a look up on his info by clicking on his icon next to his name)
Dan
jim54917 justin_1212
Posted
100% agreement..........My opinion is as soon as docs know something has gone wrong, they stay as far away as possible....tried UROLIT customer service....they want legal info first. UROLIFT gives me the impression they prefer I go away and expire rather than admit their product can go wrong and the patient is absolutly left to their own protocol to survive....8 mos of pain and infection not worth the risk of trying to stay out of hospitals again to deal with med staff & UROLIFT trying to imply it's somehow the patients fault
dan55298 mark02906
Posted
Dan
bobbya dan55298
Posted
I appreciate Justin 1212 posting, but unless he tell us what happened its hard to put it into perspective. Maybe he will chime in.
Bobby
bobbya
Posted
Just a quick check in to see how your feeling after a couple days back to work ?? Hope things are improving daily. I guess i forgot to ask you, and was wondering, if it was the procedure that you were having the hard time going #2 ?? or was it the pain meds ?? Just wondering. I have an appt. with my family dr. on Thursday and gonna get his take on this procedure and what he would do. I really do trust this dr. he is a younger doc and is hip on all the new inprovements in medicine. This guys Justin 1212 kinda freaked me out !!!
bobbya dan55298
Posted
Hope your first week back to work has been good for you, and your healing nicely. Just wanted to say good luck to ya.
dan55298 bobbya
Posted
Hey Bobby, sorry I did not check in earlier... I guess it has been going well enough that I had not been thinking much about it at the right times... that is kind of a good thing!
First your question... yeah, the number 2 issue at this point is more to do with the operation itself... it is not difficult, it just is obviously there when I push. It is more a discomfort than a real pain. I just think the thing is still sore, and it sits right in that spot where the number 2 action is taking place
Early on right after the surgery, I worked pretty hard not to get clogged up. I have over the years used Noni juice for fighting colds and to boost my immune system. One of the effects of Noni is it keeps you going consistently. I was still getting over a cold when I had the surgery, so I started drinking extra of that... along with lots of stool softener tablets (Colace). Never had a bit of problem with getting clogged up. (by the way Noni juice is a bit of an anti-inflammatory which I figured could not hurt. I get mine on Amazon now. It is a product of the tropics.)
Yeah and Justin 1212 is scary, but has he told his story yet? Unless he comes back and explains what happened, we can't really use his data. I would love to know why things went south for him... what did his Doc tell him? Sometimes when reading reviews on Amazon for instance, you can just tell the 'one' rating is there because the guy did something stupid... and until Justin reports back in and explains himself we don't know...
I did check in with the dock on line yesterday again... asked about the Uribel, should I keep taking it? I had read some of the side effects of it, and thought might be worth it at this point... but was thinking it was actually pretty cool because it is an internal pain med (said something like aspirin) along with being an anti-bacterial. He said drop it unless it was really helping... so I have stopped taking it... (that is the one that makes my urine a blue/green.) Seems so far so good... actually still peeing green this AM, and did not take any yesterday... Maybe? I can feel the prostrate a bit more at this point... not a big deal.
As far as flow... I think it is back to what it was a couple years ago, when I had already been taking flow max, and saw palmetto, etc. I have been taking a low dose of the saw palmetto (I take the Now Prostate Health version) for a few days, maybe that is dumb... have to decide on that. Have not had any more blood show up... was tempted to go for the sex thing, based on what the doc said, but I am thinking might just wait a bit longer... a couple folks on here said they had read four weeks... (my doc said one) Not sure what that does to the prostrate during, etc... I don't think I want the grappling hooks digging in too much extra!
Anyway, that is all for now... hope your doc visit went OK!! Let us know what his opinion was!
Dan
bobbya dan55298
Posted
Good to hear from you Dan, it sound like your doing really really well, and I am so Glad. O, BTW happy Good Friday. Thanks for clearing up some of my questions, you have been very helpful in a time when you need information. I do agree with your statements on Justin post, something happened and I know there is more to the story. Your right, if he doesn't post back with what happened we can't put much merit in his post. Anyways, I went to my family doc whom I have total faith in that is is looking out for me. Explain the whole story of my visit to the urologist without his knowledge. I won't bore you with those details. Anyway, he had never heard of the urolift, but most of the other procedures I did research on he new of and have refered some of his patents for those procedures. I did tell him about visiting this forum and have gotten lots of good info with good people like you. I was not interested in taking drugs that destroy my sex life to reduce the prostate. He said that the FDA has approved Cialias daily dose that people have reported with good results for the prostate. Yes, its very expensive, however there is an alternate and get the meds from Canada which is much cheaper and there is a generic for that med now also in Canada which makes it affordable for me. My friend is on it and says it does help. So for now I am gonna try that. My family doctor is concered about the MRI issue with the urolift, because I have had one hip replaced and will need another in the future, plus I have lower back issues which might require a MRI in the future as well. So right now I am gonna try the medication route and will put the urolift in the background for now. We will see after a few months how it all plays out. Keep in touch, I am really happy that the procedure seems to be working for you, but I want you to keep in touch o.k.
Bobby
dan55298 bobbya
Posted
Maybe I said this before, but the one thing that convinced me to go through with it was that my Uro Doc said all the guys in his practice had been watching Urolift results for a while, but they had not done any till about this time last year. At that point the five year report was out and it was looking very good. That is when they all got trained. He said he has seen various treatments come and go, many that had worked only temporarily, maybe six months or a year, and could not be repaired. That is why they held off.
But yes, I agree, you need to try medication first and see what works for you. My problem with Cialis was the side effects. I only took it once, but it gave me the same issue that Viagra does... my nose closes up! If that does not bother you, wonderful! (I seem to have all the side effects, all the time!)
Take care, keep in touch and have a great Easter!!
bobbya dan55298
Posted
I am so glad your doing well with the procedure, I would be interested to hear from your primary Dr. if and when you tell him what he says. Actually I am glad I went to mine first. There is more than one reason that I am putting urolift on the back burner. A lot had to do with the answers I got from the Dr. that was to perform the procedure. It was almost like he was out for the money and not for my best interests. There is a lot of them out there. Anyways, yes, please keep in touch on a weekly basic if you can, and I will report back on how the Cialis works. Happy Easter as well,
Bobby
dan55298 bobbya
Posted
Hey Bobby... went to the doc today... first follow up... I am pretty confident my Doc was not in it for the money, at least in this case. He said there was not good alternative for me and would have kept me on Flowmax forever I guess... until he had gotten the "five year" report on Urolift.
So back to the docs visit... when you are making the go/nogo decision they give you a questionnaire which asks stuff like on a scale of 1-5 how are you with waiting after the urge to pee, how many times a night do you get up, how often do you think you have not emptied, how often do you stop and start, etc... I scored nearly at the top of that (maybe like a 35?) three weeks ago. Took it today and scored a 16. The doc said do you realize how your life has changed? He was excited! So am I... I asked him several questions, like what if I ever need treatment for prostate cancer? He said, "lets not go there, but you have not burned any bridges" That is one I had not thought of to ask till yesterday! Also asked if he had actually been able to see my prostate, and did it look good or bad, and he said "you can't tell if you have cancer by looking at your prostate until it is really bad, so quit worrying about that" LOL... Then I asked, if I should still feel a bit of discomfort during a bowel movement, and he said "you just had the surgery two weeks ago, don't worry about it." I also asked if I might still be better flow than I have today. He said he expected the swelling to go down more, and that should help... I also told him I am excited because my stream has hit the back of the urinal (rather than dribble down LOL) a couple times! He said great! Also had sex once so far and I asked if it should feel kind of weird at the end. He said probably a spasm from the bladder... (by the way, no retrograde ejaculation!)
So, that is about it for now... I am pleased with the results so far! All the best.
Dan
bobbya dan55298
Posted
I am so happy for you, I have been thinking of you all week, in hopes you would report in by the weekend. Glad you asked all the good questions and got good answers. You didn't ask about the MRI ?? That in itself could be a deal breaker for if and when I decide to have this procedure. Yes, its only been two weeks, sounds like you are doing remarkabley well. Sounds like you have a great additude also, I know thats gotta help with recovery. I am waiting for my cialias meds to arrive. I happened to take to a friend that had prostate cancer and has been treated for it several years ago. I told him of my condition and he told me in confidence that he has been on cialias for a year or so because he could not urinate and he said it really does work to help you pee. I asked him if he walks around all day with an erection, I didn't know, I thought it was a good question. He kinda laughed and said, the everyday medication he a very low dose and the only time he would get an erection is if he or she stimulated it LOL !!! We will see how it works for me and I will share my story like you have. You have helped me and probably many more that are lurking on this forum. We are all hear to help each other right ?? Keep in touch, and again, I am happy you have had a good report card for only two weeks in. Have a good weekend buddy.
Bobby
dan55298 bobbya
Posted
Gonna try once more... my computer has been going nuts... I might have another partial comment somewhere out there...
So anyway Bobby, I did ask about the MRI cards... he had forgotten to check on them... I think I knew more about the MRI stuff than he did based on my discussion after reading stuff on the Urolift sight... he said he would call his rep about it and get back with me. I also asked him if the comment from the guy who posted the bad stuff about his Urolift (Justin1212) He said it did not make sense... said he likely had a major bladder issue before the surgery. He did not see how Urolift could cause that problem (catheterizing from scar tissue due to the surgery).
I think I did say earlier I was going to tell my primary care guy that I had had the procedure using the on line messaging system, I just checked and here is what he said..."Thanks for the update, I'll admit that is a new procedure for me but I just watched the animation video and its a pretty good concept. Glad to hear its working well already. I'll update your surgical history in the chart. Please call or message with any questions or concerns." I am impressed! He checked out something he was not familiar with... pretty cool.
So yeah, I am interested also in how the Cialis works out for you. like I said I did try it once, with the two day dose and it gave me the clogged nose side effect. I may end up doing the low dose if it has less of the side effect.
Also, did you see my question to the community at large earlier? (I posted a couple things for Mark). I really am curious, I forgot to ask the Doc about "shrinkage"... it has pretty much been continuous since the surgery LOL... not a big deal, because my erections are still OK, just that when it is not, it really is not! (I mentioned in that post about the Seinfeld episode where some gal gets a glimpse of George after getting out of the pool, and he says "Hey- Shrinkage!"
I kind of wonder if what I am experiencing has something to do with stretching the prostate! LOL Sort of like when old bags get face plastic surgery and then have a perpetual smile! (except for Dolly Parton, she has some kind of wizard surgeon... she used to be old than me, now she is about 20 years younger! 
Take care, keep in touch!
Dan
bobbya dan55298
Posted
Hi Dan,
Sound like your family MD is very open minded and thats great !! My MD had never heard of it either but was not as reseptive as yours. Maybe he was just upset that the urologist did not put me on cialas or some other meds before a procedure. Maybe it is a money thing for the urologist, don't know. I did not see your previous post to Mark, let me know what your Dr. says about shrinkage, and if it will return to normal after a period of time. I did not see that sinfeld episode, it does sound pretty funny. Glad you asked the question about the Justin dude that posted one time and did not explain. He scared the daylights out of me so I can imagine how you felt after just having the procedure and hearing him rant. My Dr. and my friend did say about the stuffy nose while taking cialis, I'm wondering if you can use a nasal spray to get rid of the stuffy nose ?? Have a good week and post back next weekend or sooner.
Glad your feeling good,
Bobby
dan55298 bobbya
Posted
Hey Bobby... I think you can do Allegra or Zertek maybe to counteract the nasal stuff with Cialis? Give that a shot... actually, I am using a nasal swab lately made by ZiCam... it actually works great to open me up, and it is supposedly not addicting.
Yeah, the post you missed was this...
"Hey Mark, I replied to Bobby below with some comments about my two week follow up visit today. Head several questions he answered. One thing to add, they gave me an emptying test today like you were going to get, no flow test though. I only had, I think she said, a CC left in me afterward. They did not make me drink a liter/quart though.
I do have one other question to those at large who have had the Urolift... Do you remember the Seinfeld episode where some gal happens to catch a glimpse of George naked? He had just gotten out of the pool. Later she was commenting to her friends about George's shortcomings, and he said Hey! That's pool "shrinkage"... Has anyone else noticed that since the surgery? I seem to have that pretty much continuously since the surgery... (except during an erection thank goodness)... just wonder if that is common, forgot to ask the doc about it..."
Funny thing is, his response said he had been talking to someone recently about that episode... it is worth watching on YouTube if it is out there... really funny... and applies to me now! (but like I said, does not seem to affect erection size, just the normal walking around size. LOL)
By the way, it is getting harder and harder to find out discussion in the thread... the sort tool at the bottom is kind of confusing. I finally set it to oldest first and am going to the second to last page of the thread to find our discussion now.
Take care...
Dan
dan55298
Posted
bobbya dan55298
Posted
Yes thank Dan, I like that idea better than nasal spray, I do take Zertek every now and then. Since we stay in Fl. 9 months, the stuf in the air hear is hard on my sinus. I don't have that problem when we return back to Michigan. Thanks for the tip.
dan55298 bobbya
Posted
Hey Bobby, don't forget to give us a report on the Cialis! And,Just an update from me... I have been a bit disappointed with the flow recently, till I tried waiting a bit longer, to see if I get higher pressure. That seems to work. I am thinking that because I have gotten so gun shy over the last couple years, I am running to the bathroom as soon as I feel any urge to go at all, and just have low pressure until my bladder is fuller. Waiting a while longer seemed to help today. Before with an kind of pressure in the bladder, meant I was going to be in trouble. Not so much today, Just need to get used to holding it a while again!
Take care,
Dan
bobbya dan55298
Posted
Bobby