I’m not sure if this should be a new post or part of the 80 page Urolift thread. That one seems to have gone so long, with so many very old posts, that I think this is better as a new thread. If the moderators disagree, I’m fine with it being merged into the other thread.
I had a Urolift done 8 days ago. I wish I had found this board before I had it done, as there is so much more info in the various threads here than all the reading I did before the procedure. Sadly, this site never popped up during routine searches, but was near the top of the search results when I search for specific side effects I was now having. Like some others have said, I feel like my doc undersold the negatives and the recovery pain. I’ll hold off on deciding whether he oversold the positives until I have given it some more time. So, I will add my story to assist anyone else who comes here looking for info. I’m going to give more detail than I see in some other posts because I want this to be something I would have wanted to read before I went forward.
I recently turned 60 and have steadily developed issues fully emptying my bladder. Start/stop, split stream, and having to pee 15 minutes after I already peed. I figured I could live like that for a while longer but a friend a bit older than me apparently had similar issues and his doc told him his bladder had suffered some damage from the condition. So, I made it a priority to see a uro for the first time in my life. I am otherwise generally healthy and in otherwise very good shape, exercising daily, so I normally only see a primary for an annual exam.
The doc calculated my AUA score to be 24, which is in the severe category. My number comes out a little less when I answer the questions online, so I must have answered more aggressively when filling out the paper at the office. The doc gave me the urolift brochure and told me how it was a great answer for someone my age, since it didn’t have any of the nasty side effects of the other options, including RE and that most men do not need to leave with a catheter. I knew the basics from prior research but the doc’s additional explanation of how it’s done was helpful in deciding to go forward and get the follow up tests to see if I was a candidate for the procedure.
My prostate measured to 40 and cystoscopy showed a closed channel, with a median lobe also present. The doc explained that the median bar lowered the positive outlook for a Urolift from 90% to 85%, as it complicates things but they put in the clips in such a way to pull it away from the bladder neck. I went home and researched it and came across the Medlift studies, which showed that Urolift was still a good procedure with this condition. So I went ahead and scheduled it.
I had it done in a surgery center, which is the only way my doc does it. The check in nurse told me there was a 50% chance of having a catheter when I woke up, which I told her was not what the doctor had said. He happened to be nearby so he came over to explain that if there is a lot of blood oozing, he uses the cath. He had already done 3 that morning with only one needing a cath so he hoped I wouldn’t need one but it all depended on the results. Sadly, I awoke after the procedure with a cath inserted. I didn’t even have time to register the disappointment as it was incredibly painful, with intense levels of pressure and burning. The pain literally caused me to shake and they put a shot into my IV to help. The shot took the edge off the pain but the pain was still very bad and I told the nurse that there was no way I could leave the facility while in that pain. The doc eventually came out from a surgery and advised it was there to avoid a blockage due to blood clots. He said it wasn’t absolutely necessary to keep it in but that I risked having to go to the emergency room if I did develop a blockage. The nurse took it out and I felt a world better. I asked for a something to pee in and I peed about 6 ounces with a fair number of clots. We discussed the emergency room again and they let me go home.
Once home about 1:00, I had to pee every half hour to an hour for a while. I passed my last clot at 3:00 and had very light pink to clear urine the rest of the day. I woke up 6 times during the night to pee. I am 3 to 4 times now. Oddly, I peed out one more clot on day 5 and now start most pees with a little bit of pink before it runs yellow or clear.
The first few days, my pelvic area was sore, and it felt like someone was squeezing something inside with pliers. I guess that is the result of the procedure compressing the prostate tissue. That makes perfect sense but I was not warned that the prostate could feel like that.
It hurt like hell to pee for several days, and still hurts today. Whenever I pee, the front part of my penis feels like I am passing broken glass or having needles shoved in there. And my prostate burns as the urine goes through. It takes a good 5 minutes for each of those feelings to subside. I took some AZO but it didn’t help. By the end of the week, I was able to go anywhere from 2 to 3 hours between pees, which is where I am now. I sometimes have a good flow and sometimes it is a very weak stream or even almost a dribble, which is worse than before the procedure. The doc said I won’t see the benefits of Urolift for 2 weeks, but I did not expect to have times with such a weak stream now.
There are a couple of things I am dealing with that I had not seen mentioned in some of the other threads, and I want to add them here to see if other people deal with the same thing. First, the burning in the prostate after peeing triggers a need to have a bowel movement, even if I don’t really have much there to get out. So, I go more than I normally would and sometimes just pass some gas but that eases the feeling that was triggered.
Also, I have a lot more difficulty peeing while sitting down. I feel it more in the prostate and it doesn’t seem like it wants to open up in that position. I guess it is either the angle of the various parts or something like that that is making it difficult.
So, that is the long story of where I am, 8 days into the process. I am hoping for dramatic improvement from here. As of right now, I am sorry I did this, but I will keep an open mind and post updates as the time goes on. I am hoping I am even half as happy as Ken is with his procedure once the recovery is complete.
FWIW, my friend that I referred to above had a HOLAP and he has not had a bit of discomfort since they took out his catheter after 2 days. He said he pees like 30 years ago. He does have RE, which he has decided is acceptable in light of his results. So, my view on Urolift will be colored by how happy he is with his procedure.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have about any of this. I appreciate what I have learned from reading other posts and I’m happy to contribute.