Hi all,
Back in 2018 I had Rezum done, but it did not work at all, and now I plan to have Holep surgery, but
I am concerned about incontinence, and I wonder how to avoid incontinence after Holep surgery.
Please someone can share their outcome.
Thank You
I had an unsuccessful UroLift 2 years ago, so I’m looking at the same surgery (HoLep) or Aquablation.
My understanding is incontinence is very rare with HoLep. You may have incontinence immediately following the surgery, however it is common for it subside a few weeks post-op.
If you have a full HoLep, you will have retrograde ejaculation. If you are fortunate enough to have a median lobe - Holep (only removes the median lobe). There is a good chance that you will not have RE.
At least, that’s what the medical articles are stating.
I wish I had more information regarding possible sexual side effects following the procedure. That subject seems to be something which is not talked about. I had 1 feedback when I asked the question. He simply stated the only side effect he suffered from was RE, otherwise sex felt the same as it did pre-op. Not sure why there wasn’t more feedback. I would like to know the possible outcomes of my sex life following HoLep, so I can prepare myself mentally if the outcome goes south.
Hi Bill,
Thank you for your input, I don’t know if I go to have Holep due to incontinence, or I
chose an other option.
I did run across one guy who said he did a lot of kegel exercises before his surgery and had no issues with incontinence after the surgery.
I believe he started a couple months before the surgery took place
You are right Bill, I heard in UK people do kegel exercise before HoLEP surgery, but I don’t know if it’s true about that. I have tried to a kegel exercise, but it is not easy to do correctly with pelvic floor muscles.
Go with Aguablation. I had Urolift on Jan 2020, and 2 years later BPH symptoms returned. So on Sept 2023 I underwent the Aguablation procedure.
it’s been 10 weeks now and I’m very happy. Peeing like a 20 yrs old, No RE. i’m 64. i asked my doctor how long this lasts, he said ‘for life’.
did you have any problems with bleeding? I am on daily Coumadin/ anticoagulants for my heart valve. that was the only downside I could see to operation. Catherine a little bit longer bleeding a little bit more.
catheter in a little bit longer bleeding a little bit more
2 months post HoLEP. No incontinence. Did a lot of keagels and core work prior to, and continue the keagels after surgery. I think this made a big difference.
Hi Bill,
I was told by my uro, he said “Incontinence is dependent of surgeon technique. We now do an early apical release to spare the sphincter and preserve continence. Some surgeons do not do this and as a result incontinence occurs.”
The following address retrograde ejaculation ,however it may be something you might want to try to see if it helps.
Saw this in a Mayo Clinic article
Long shot, some meds to try. Easiest to get a hold of is the cold medicine.
Drugs to treat retrograde ejaculation are drugs primarily used to treat other conditions, including:
Imipramine, an antidepressant
Midodrine, a medicine that constricts blood vessels
Chlorpheniramine and brompheniramine, antihistamines that help relieve allergies
Ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine, medicines that help relieve symptoms of the common cold
hi Bill, I’m 2.5 month post holep. I have a rather good outcome in that there wasn’t any incontinence, bleeding stopped after 6 weeks.
urine stream was stronger after the 2nd day and remained so. Bladder is still over active but my urologist did say that should go away in time.
Sex wasn’t an issue, still require the blue pill. Ejaculate is minimal, probably half a teaspoon but I’m not bothered about the lack of. Grateful I can still have sex, climax like normal. However I noticed morning wood to be stronger than pre holep.
Hope you find my experience useful, wishing you all the best for your holep.
if you have some Flomax or something similar you might try taking half the dosage for your overactive bladder. I do that, it helps tremendously. if you take half the Flomax dosage(.2mg) the side effects only last 12 hours,
scheduled for HoLep in Feb. Surgeon "s only obvious concern was bleeding. this is due to my daily anticoagulant medicine that I take for my heart valve. since the surgery will take place out, of town (5 hours away)he wants me to stick around for a couple weeks.
GSDog, 6 weeks bleeding, are you on any type of anticoagulants/ blood thinners? does drinking plenty of fluids help with clotting? clotting seems to be the real issue, more than the bleeding itself. the surgeon said the clots build up in your bladder, backs you up and blocks you. that’s where the real concern lies. he wants me to stick around in case he has to go back in. however it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense stay that long if you bleed for 6 weeks, since the same event could happen up to 6 weeks later.