I have been living with BPH symptoms for about 5-8 years and I am only 54 years old. My urologist offers very little help other than drugs or TURP, the so called "Gold Standard".I have been reading endless websites on my condition and how to treat it for many years. This is no solid or logical path to take, it all seems like a gamble. This forum has been a great help , but each individual has different experience. I have had 2 AUR in 2 years and I plan my day , everyday based on where the toilets are. I am just so tired of it all! I don't know what to do. To date, I don't take any medications and I have had no procedures done. I don't want anything called or remotely associated with ROTO-ROOTER! At this point I MUST do something. My plan is: 1. Meet with top Urologist at UCLA. 2. Meet with Dr. Bagla in Virginia. 3. Meet With Dr. Karamanian in Houston. Make a decision and DO SOMETHING! ANYTHING!
Glad you have the means to see so many people. I didn't have that option. Hope all goes well for you! I am 2 weeks posy Green Light. So far, it's ok for me. Still stings quite a bit towards the end of my stream. Sporadic bleeding....not enough to cause alarm, but just when I think three times ago was the last, I get another surprise of a shot of blood. MUCH less effort at this point, other than that I can't really say because I'm only 2 weeks out.....
Your plan 3.
Below is from Dr. Sperling in Florida who also does the FLA procedure.
FLA-BPH is performed under real-time BlueLaser™ 3T mpMRI guidance instead of a visual scope or ultrasound guidance. Unlike transurethral procedures that access the urethra through the penis, Under real-time MRI guidance, a small laser fiber optic is inserted precisely into the center of each area to be treated. During each 2-3 minutes of laser activation, special software shows temperature changes in the tissue being treated, assuring there is no heat damage to surrounding tissues. Following ablation, the MRI is used to confirm each ablated area. After the procedure is done, the patient meets with Dr. Sperling during a brief recovery, and then leaves. The entire procedure is thus completely different from transurethral procedures such as TURP, TUMT, TUNA, other transurethral laser procedures, Resum therapy, and Urolift®.
The more you search the more you will have doubts. GL is a good simple procedure. HoLep is also good and saves tissue to be sent to a histologist.
I was out and about the day after GL after my 75 grm prostate was done with no problems. I had the advantage of not having a large median lobe and a surgeon who did a bladder neck sparing procedure.
why don't you try tamsulosin.
why don't you try tamsulosin.
Hello - What are your symptoms and what size is your prostate?
Dave
Bob,
You are on a right track. In my personal opinion and experience that I expressed so patiently on this forum many times, PAE is the best option so far for most BPH patients except with small prostate. Specifically Targeted PAE which I underwent. I'm 12 month post the procedure and can't be happier. In my opinion you don't need to travel to Florida or Texas. I've done it with Dr. Picel at UCSD and there is a IR Professor in LA who does at at Mount Sinai. It might be expensive if not covered by insurance. Check with your insurance. Enlarged Median lobe is not such a problem with Targeted PAE. Most of us went through similar experience with AUR. Myself twice too + bleeding eventually, but I'm 71 and suffered starting age 62. Medications can help a lot and postpone the surgery. . Alfuzosin has relatively few side effects. You might need it anyway due to the thickened bladder. Good luck.
I wish the best for you! - Keep us posted on GL.
I was looking into Dr Sperling , seems to be more info on Dr. K- Thanks for the info.
I am 54 as well with BPH and median lobe. I was on Flomax for years but the effectiveness of the drug has gone down so needed to do a procedure. However, I didn’t want to do any invasive procedure that would risk causing impotence or retro ejaculation. My first urologist only did Rezum and he didn’t have good reputation. Switched to a second urologist who only did TURP and started recently to do Rezum but wasn’t comfortable with the fact he didn’t have a lot of experience in Rezum. The more research I did on this forum and online the more I liked the Urolift procedure as it was the least invasive of what I mentioned above. Urolift sent me their top urologists in the NY area and I ended up getting Urolift done two weeks ago at one of the highest rated urologist by the Urolift company. So far, 12 days post procedure, things have exceeded my expectation. Very little bleed in the first few days which stopped completely after 5 days. No pelvic pain (one of the possible symptoms), little burn when urinating, no catheter. Excellent flow when urinating. Went to the Dr on Friday for a follow up and he said this should give me 5-7 years of symptom free life. Based on what I read on this forum, each patient reacts to procedures differently, in my case as of now, I am extremely satisfied with the outcome (realizing it has only been 2 weeks). Will provide update in the future.
Yes more research more doubt for sure! I dont know about my median lobe.
I have tried Flomax and daily Cialis. Both make me so dizzy that I can't function.
Hi Dave,
Prostate estimate by DRE is 60CC. Symptoms are peeing all the time ! Urgency, cant hold it.
If I do hold it, stuck in traffic or something, the whole day becomes dribble, dribble every 10 minutes.2 AUR in 2 years.Night time is not too bad , up at 1am, up at 3am, up at 5:30 am and stay up- Go to gym. I usually go back to sleep though.
I know you are happy with your prostatectomy , but your private message you sent me a few weeks ago scared the piss out of me ( I WISH ! )
Thanks Gene, Dr Picel has been on my radar, as I am in L.A.But seems Bagla has more experience?
Most likely you will not feel great first few days. I might be painful and frequent urination. Dr. Picel is nearby and so far had 95% success in his clinical trial He was trained in NC by another pioneer of PAE.
Hi, Because you have BPH and you mention that you have to plan your day around where toilets are located, you are probably having to get up often in the night for a pee. If so, this is probably the basis of your tiredness, so I suggest you have the TURP as soon as possible, since the enlarged prostate irritates the bladder; this way you should get better sleep and then be less tired.
I had the TURP many years ago and it works, but you may need to practice stretching you bladder which will have got used to having a small capacity, by "hanging on" as long as possible before urinating. Please don't forget to have a regular PSA test (every six months) as prostate cancer can remain dormant and then suddenly wake up within months; and ask what the PSA level actually is, don't accept that "its OK" because the PSA can vary widely from the average of 4 ng/ml depending on the size of your prostate. I have recorded my PSA test levels for more than 16 years and this is valuable for later diagnosis. If your GP is worried about a high PSA, the next step is an mpMRI scan, not a biopsy.
Your plan sounds first rate.
Before I made my decision, I spoke on the phone several times with Dr. K, Dr Bagla, and one other highly regarded IR. I have only the best things to say about Dr K and Dr Bagla. I ended up having a PAE with Dr Bagla about 2 years ago. I've had modest improvement that has allowed me to discontinue meds.
I love repeating this :-) Tamsulosin can give you Floppy Iris Syndrome and make future cataract surgery difficult. It also causes RE and other sexual problems. Speaking to the nurse at the surgery I once asked her what was the most complained about drug and that was it. I said Yes by men but she replied No by their wife’s. One a day Cialis is a much better alternative
Bobcats,
Why not try Tamsulosin as an experiment to see if helps you? That might be a bridge for you until you decide on a procedure. A PAE with Dr. Bagla might work if you don't have a median lobe issue. It would certainly be the easiest procedure with the fewest side effects and fastest recovery time. Tom