PS- as with other members of the Dr. K Club, readers can feel free to message me in regards to my experience or for travel logistics to Houston. I'm glad to pay it forward and help if I can.
Oh no. I was hoping to see nurse Samantha one of these days. Now that hope is shot. 
Pete, thanks for the update. Hank
Pete,
Good to know you're out of the catheter. You are lucky - 6 days is a walk in the park I had to keep mine for 14 days!
Now is the time you need to keep the faith and have patience which ain't the easiest thing sometimes. Your prostate is now bruised and battered and bloodied like its done 15 rounds with a prizefighter. But the good news is it has no choice but to get better. Baby steps for a few weeks and you'll start to notice things getting progressively better.and better. I look forward to hearing about your recovery so please post.
I'm sorry to hear about Samatha leaving Dr. K; they were truly a star duo! Do you have any idea why? I thought the set up between them was working so well.
WIshing you the very best.
Pete Kline
HONG KONG
"..25k over the next 40 years is $625 a year...."
Love your optimism. 😁 Hank
4-Week Follow-up Post
All good!
Everyone tells me the magic really kicks in at 6-8 weeks post-op for FLA for BPH but I'm experiencing improvements by all measures at 4 weeks. No negative side effects. No discomfort. Focal Laser Ablation is "surgery" but compared to some of the stories I read here, recovery has been a breeze!
After removing catheter, there has been no pain or discomfort of any kind in regards to prostate. Some initial urinary urgency which has improved every day and a bit of blood upon initiation of urine stream and blood in ejaculate which is perfectly normal and has now 95% abated.
The feeling of a "marble in my bladder" is completely gone (the cyst causing this was ablated). The BPH symptoms, nocturia, ability to hold urine and stream strength are now all better than pre-op, and as I mentioned the best is yet to come!
Insurance reimbursement is still in process but still represented by the insurance company as reimbursable. We'll see and I keep that info updated.
Dr. Karamanian continues to follow-up with me weekly, which is a very nice and and unheard of personal touch. He is a special guy!
Bottom line: if all progress were to stop today and insurance not pay, I'd still consider the experience well worth it in terms of expense/effort/results. I'll post again in 2-3 weeks and let's see if things get better as everyone says they will.
I'll take this opportunity to once again URGE men to take charge of their own care! Don't let your prostate and/or urethra be destroyed and risk retrograde ejaculation and incontinence unless you have exhausted every other possible choice! I researched heavily, for years, and FLA was the clear choice of treatment for my BPH and prostate cyst, and all of my function has been perfectly preserved with essentially no risk of side-effects. The only question remaining to be proven for FLA is durability, and in my opinion, ablated tissue sure as hell can never progress to hyperplasia or hypertrophy again!
Happy Member of Dr K Club
I am very glad about the progress. Congratulations !
5-weeks since procedure update. Wow. Great. And the "best" I'm told is still to come in next 1-2 weeks. All blood in ejaculate and urine stopped 5 days ago. Got up one time last night and that was because bladder was full! Firehose of a stream, complete void with no dribble. Stream in general is better than maybe...ever. Can hold urine, regularly, longer than in any recent memory, maybe...ever.
Could not be more happy with my FLA procedure for BPH with Dr. Karamanian. If it continues to get better from here, well, that would be crazy...
Bad news! Despicable scumbag insurance company has determined to not pay anything. This after "pre-approval" letter saying it will pay. I'm going to fight in every possible way. USA health care system so broken, pays for destructive, side-effect ridden, poorly diagnosed procedures, declines safe very effective procedure. How f'd up is that. Regardless, it's the best money I ever spent (invested!).
PS- IPSS symptom score from 21 pre-op to 6 as of today. No side effects, no recovery discomfort. Total symptom resolution.
Pete.
Mike here, Dr K Club April 6th. Good to here you are doing good. Have you recruited any other friends from Hong Kong? You could set them up with your friends in Arizonia, charge them a fee and split the money.
I agree, will miss Samantha, she was good and comforting for us old guys. I think a male nurse might be a little discomforting for some In a personal situation. In my case, my blood oxygen levels were a little low, so for 3 1/2 hours and totally conscious for the whole procedure. It was nice having her to keep me still and to talk to. I am 6 ft 3 and it was very uncomfortable staying still while conscious. When I had the procedure, Dr K did not have all the special cushions then. I am an automotive engineer and work with ergonomics as part of my job. Dr K was an engineer first before he became a radiologist. We sat together the next day and decided he needed more cushions to keep people comfortable and still for the long time in the machine. We went to several ergo sites and picked out what he needed. Will miss Sam, she was very personable.
Good to here you are doing great.
Mike H
Thanks for sharing Pete. Glad for your success. Hank
After 4 1/2 years on active surveillance, my G6 has progressed to a point where it needs attention. Additionally, I will have extra tissue ablated to help with LUTS which I've dealt with for 10+ years. I am scheduled for FLA in early December and looking for hotel, restaurant and other recommendations in the downtown Houston area during our stay.
As you already know, you are in good hands. Purely for the sake of convenience, I stayed at Marriott downtown, it's a block from Dr K office. Plan to take it easy after procedure. It IS surgery. I waited 3 weeks to even go hiking. All the best!
Thanks Pete, one benefit to this time of year is I will be busy with holiday stuff and can take it easy (physically) - heading out for a hike shortly today. One of the benefits of living in the N. Ga foothills.
-also, how long did you stay in Houston post procedure? He told me 3 nights, 4 days, coming in the day before for consult and expect 6 days with catheter. Consult is on a Monday, procedure Tues and planning to book return flight on Thurs. Since you lived 1500 miles away did you drive or fly?
Lovely area, lucky you. Keep us updated here how things go after your procedure. Only side effects for most are bit of blood at start of urination and in ejaculate for some weeks afterward. Some odd sensations (urgency for example) for a couple weeks after catheter comes out. Compared to some horror posts I read for other procedures a relative breeze!
Oh, PS, bring fiber cereal to eat while catheter is in, you don't want to be "pushing" while catheter is in! Very uncomfortable. One of the little things to ease the recovery! Also, if you are in a rough riding vehicle, like a pick up truck, use a seat donut. You might be ok without one in a car, depends on the seat and ride firmness.
I had procedure Thurs and flew (direct flight) Sun AM for approx 4 hours. I paid the couple hundred more for a big soft first class seat and I was perfectly comfortable with no donut. I got up one time to empty leg bag, no problem at all. I also took advantage of wheelchair transport in airport- awesome! Be sure you test the geometry of catheter tube with bended knee (sitting position, and be sure tube it is oriented on inner side of leg, so as to insure it does not loop over knee when you bend and PULL! Another little detail :-)
If driving, you MUST use a donut or the catheter in the perineum area will quickly hurt from rubbing!
I will also say that 6 days is relatively soon, and I definitely was concerned the first couple days I may not be able to void. The stream was very weak (prostate is swollen, of course!). All was well however. Dr K will advise you for your specific situation.
When catheter comes out, you will have urinary urgency! Be prepared for that the first few days and plan to be close to a toilet! It abates day by day.
Ok, 6 week post-op update. Progress continues, no negatives, I stopped taking my alfusozin (Uroxatral) yesterday which I've been on for 20 years. So far so good even with 2x daily coffee and spicy foods. Strong flow, next to no dribble afterwards.
It's possible things can still get better over the next 1-2 weeks.
No point in weekly updates any more. Anyone who may want to reach out to me via messaging on this forum is welcome to do so. I discovered FLA from the posters here that came before me and I thank you so much for taking your treatment public! Because of you my life is changed so much for the better. Focal Laser Ablation with Dr Karamanian was the only choice for me, could not be happier. Amazing, very special doctor, so thankful he was there with his skill and care.
Parting comments: Take control of your own health! Get imaged! Invest in yourself. F*ck the insurance companies, and gawd forbid, government healhcare!
Congratulations ! Wish you continued success !
The NHS in UK is brilliant, but like private ins it doesn't cover everything that's 'experimental' but then I did get PAE recently at no cost - at all. I know mothers that come over from the US to give birth (for free!). What's not to like!
Hopefully FLA is on it's way, which sounds as if it's the business but might have to go to the US & spend the 20K.
Thanks for the update Pete, good to hear. If I did not have a prior commitment tomorrow, I would have been in Houston yesterday having my FLA. I'm looking forward to December and an early Christmas present. (I've been practicing 'All i want for Christmas is a FLA'.... my wife thinks I've lost my mind! )