Urolift this week by the NHS
Posted , 19 users are following.
Hi all,
been a bit of a struggle but I'm down for a urolift op this coming Thursday. My area "Dorset" could only offer the TURPS procedure but at 51 feel this a bit like playing Russian roulette with my sex life. After much badgering I managed to persuade my GP to refer me to Basingstoke Hospital which is the closest one that carries out the urolift procedure.
At the moment I'm not taking any medication but I have to pee maybe four times in the night and occasionally wet the bed. Thursday can't happen soon enough.
2 likes, 132 replies
cartoonman Smudge5577
Posted
Hey, Smudge!
Sorry to read of your current state; CIC (Clean Intermittent Catheterizing) would have given you relief AND kept the sheets dry! (I've missed any of your earlier posts, if you said why you couldn't CIC) Although I (and surely the rest of us here) wish you TOTAL SUCCESS with the Urolift procedure, and if you have no reasons you CAN'T CIC, just a thought here: if for some or any reason the Urolift does not solve your problem, please keep CIC in mind; I had the UL 13 months ago, and it was a dramatic success--- for a few months. My Uro-doc then said he would recommend he do a TURP, but he already knew I wouldn't accept one. I have since gone back to CIC, while I evaluate the evolving options. As a result, I rarely get up at night at all, and if so, NEVER MORE THAN ONCE A NIGHT. Nice to be 67 and be able to say that! :-)
Good luck with the procedure, and stay in touch! :-)
alan1951 cartoonman
Posted
"I had the UL 13 months ago, and it was a dramatic success--- for a few months."
I keep reading several iterations of your comment, cartoonman, on patient.info, and I have a theory - though it could certainly be inaccurate. There is a suggestion from the manufacturers of the device, and from certain urologists, that men who have BPH may be able to give up prostate medications, post-op.
And so they do.
However, the Urolift procedure is a remodeling procedure. It doesn't change the biochemical metabolism of the prostate, whereas 5-AR inhibitors actually do change it. Results? The patient who gets the Urolift goes home with a wider channel. He can pee unencumbered immediately, and begin to have normal ejaculations again in short order. However, after the effects of Avodart / Proscar wear off (these drugs have an extremely long half life by the way), then what happens? The prostate begins to regrow. Problems return. Patient is back to square one.
cartoonman alan1951
Posted
Yes, Alan, I see this as a "likely accurate" hypothesis. I asked the doc about stopping the meds post-op and he said Sure. I hadn't liked the side effects (both the retro-ejaculation AND the dizziness), and even though I already had that thought in mind, I happily stopped. And then...the effects were as indicated earlier.
Your comment reminds me, since I am watching for the trial results of the iTind procedure, that the same thing is likely to happen with that procedure. Which then begs the question: are the side effects of Avodart/Proscar worth the beneficial effects? Sigh. If it ain't one thing...
Oh, and the dizziness does matter to me: I'm heading back up to the roof, where I have been engaged in a re-slating project three stories up,these past four days! I may be 68, but I ain't done yet! :-)
alan1951 cartoonman
Posted
In all sincerity, maybe entertain the notion of giving up whatever prostate drugs you're taking long enough to get your roof reslated. (Vertigo / Syncope due to alpha blockers - Yikes!).
AZBill Smudge5577
Posted
Just a quick note based on your post. You seem to indicate that you talked them into scheduling the procedure. Keep in mind what we sometimes talk about here and that is the first step in this is not to decide to have the Urolift done. The first step is to determine if one is a candidate for Urolift in the first place. As you may have seen here in numerous posts, that there are physical conditions, prostatic as well as bladder that preclude its use, at least from the manufacturer's perspective.
and according to their guidelines.
That, of course, may be just what you're doing. It just sounded like you had talked them into doing it.
Anyway...best wishes. I just past my 6 month post procedure and am still very happy with the result.
Smudge5577 AZBill
Posted
Hi Bill, my initial post was very simplistic. It's been a long struggle to get here. I guess the point that I'm trying to make (badly) is that there are options out there now. As I said earlier, the only thing my local NHS was a TURPS operation. The specialist advised that I go for urolift private. I had pretty much decided that this was what I was going to do and was going to cost me in the region of about six thousand pounds. There are some NHS hospitals now doing this procedure but if you live in the wrong area then they aren't offered. In my case I found the specialist to be pretty unhelpful when I asked if I could go to another area. Apparently it's not the way the NHS works. So I did my homework, found a hospital and then had to go back to my GP and get him to refer me. As expected, he hadn't heard of this procedure. Why would he, he can't know everything. My experiences so far with Basingstoke have been so much better. I know it's not for everyone, but surely it must be worth looking into. Personally the idea of having TURPS scares me to death.
AZBill Smudge5577
Posted
As you say, given some of the alternitives, certainly worth looking into. I came upon it on my own after my GP suggested it was time to get the 'rotor rooter' (not sure if that term translates there) but that sounded bad so I started research on my own. Found the one Urologist in Tucson doing them at the time, I believe there are several now, and got checked for candidacy.
Best wishes!
kenneth1955 Smudge5577
Posted
frank74205 kenneth1955
Posted
Hi Ken,Haven't talked to you in quite a while?I'm still doing CIC. Maybe you know the answer to this question i have been doing CIC for 8 months. I believe my prostate size shrunk. I was taken dutasteride for 8 months.
prior to to this my PSA was 6.8 ,now its 5.2. I stopped taken drugs ,since my Urologist said no need to since i do CIC.I wonder what will happen if the prostate keeps growing, and CIC won't work? Did you ever hear of that?
Thanks Ken
frank,
Jamaica47 Smudge5577
Posted
Smudge5577 Jamaica47
Posted
What's PAE?
Jamaica47 Smudge5577
Posted
Prostate Artery Embollism. Lots of stuff on the forum. I wasn't suitable for urolift so had the PAE instead. Bournemouth hospital do both procedures on NHS.
Smudge5577 Jamaica47
Posted
Thanks for that. Sounds very interesting and certainly a possible alternative to a TURPS. It seems there are a few alternatives out there. I'm now a bit annoyed as my specialist from Dorchester didn't mention this. It really is a lottery out there. Fine if you're internet savvy and willing to do the groundwork but not so good for those that aren't.
Jamaica47 Smudge5577
Posted
I first saw specialist from Dorchester. He was so unhelpful that I asked my GP for another referral to Poole. The Urologist in Poole still kept advising me to have TURPS but I refused, so got a referral to the radiologist in Bournemouth. Apparently I was an ideal candidate for PAE and the procedure was quick and painless. Too soon to tell if the procedure has actually worked. Yes you do need to be computer savvy and never believe everything you are told without checking. Good luck on Thursday.
Can't believe you haven't had medication for your problem which would have helped a lot.
kenneth1955 Jamaica47
Posted
Jamaica47 Good for you. Stick to your guns. I'm happy that you did not fellow the doctors. There are some that only know one procedure. Hope you heal fast Take it easy Ken PS Smudge5577 Good luck thursday I know you will be fine Ken