Thanks for the info but my catheter was removed 2 days ago.
I am fine now. I am curious about how your rezum went..did you have any pain after rezum? I am positively surprised that after my Aquablation i had minimal to no pain related to my prostate, even though they pretty much destroyed a chunk off my prostate.
Also how was your recovery in general?
Thanks for posting your experience. I am wishing you a speedy recovery.
Now that you few days post-operation, what is the colour of your urine like? still bloody? Is sting when voiding still bad? Do you feel that you are now emptying the bladder completely after voiding? How often do you have to pee during the day and night?
Many thanks
Hi Ihsan, thank God, no pain. 5 weeks out now, no side effects either, and slowly improving. I am posting weekly updates on this forum if interested. Not sure if the link will work, but here it is
I’m sorry to hear about your experience. Based on what my doctor told me, it is a mistake to take the catheter out the next day. (As I stated above, when he first started doing Aquablation he would take the catheter out the next day, but half the guys would end up in the emergency room). I have come to believe that many doctors are giving an overly rosy prediction of the recovery period.
Except for the constipation, your experience sounds pretty similar to mine. I advise you to take a deep breath and tough it out with the knowledge that it likely will get better. As I have documented in a separate thread, my recovery has taken much longer than I thought based on my discussions with my Uro and the Prologics web site. Because the recovery took longer than I expected, I hit rock bottom mentally at about the six-week mark. The good news is that just over 4 months after surgery, I feel quite good and almost all of my symptoms have been resolved. My eating and drinking the last few days has been excessive, but last week I had three nights where I slept more than seven hours without having to pee. It felt like heaven. Good luck and let us know how your are doing.
12/26/2022 1 week after aquablation.
i don’t have any problem peeing, other than it is still burning and stinging.
my main problem right now is that each time i pee there seems to be fresh blood for a second or two, then it clears up somewhat.
i can not empty my bladder completely but much better than before the procedure.
But this could be because my bladder walls have thinkend, meaning it is not related to the procedure but due to my bladder being damaged…will find out when i see the doctor on Jan 19th.
The frequency will be somewhat misleading because i drink way more water than i used to in the past. So i have to go almost every hour or so. At night i still wake up 2 times or 3.
Hey guys - It’s been a few days since my initial post, so I thought I’d give an update. I am now 12 days post-procedure. Thanks to Michael and Ihsan for the encouragement and progress reports.
On my end, things are getting better, but not as quickly as I would like, and definitely not as quickly as I had been led to believe. My urinary incontinence has resolved considerably. I am now very much in control as to when I use the toilet, although there is some additional dribbling afterwards, which is a new symptom. I am getting sufficient warning to use the toilet, and I am not waking up in the night nearly as often as before the procedure. The urine stream is much stronger since the surgery, and I get the sense that my bladder is emptying. (Haven’t had PVR test since surgery.) The strong urine stream makes me feel young again - maybe I should go write my name in the snow! The last few nights, I have only woken up once to use the toilet, compared to four or more times per night pre-surgery. So that’s a win. Uninterrupted sleep is a huge improvement.
I am still having bleeding or oozing from the urethra, constantly throughout the day. I am wearing pads inside my underwear; wearing tighty-whiteys for now; I’m usually a boxers guy. (Stopped the depends yesterday.) The blood clots and gets stuck on my pubic hairs (probably should manscape for the duration of this ordeal), and my penis gets stuck with blood onto the inside of the pads (happened with depends too). Ouch. I am hoping that this will resolve, but it is taking a long time, and this is not something I expected at all.
My urine is still dark red in color, at least some of the time. I think the coloring should have cleared up to a normal yellow by now. I have noticed several small blood clots in the urine flow, and some dark red sediment (dried blood?) that sinks to the bottom of the toilet bowl. This is all disconcerting, and I think it should have improved before now.
Bowels are mostly back to normal, so that’s good.
I still have an unpleasant feeling when I go to sit down in a chair, radiating from the base of the penis up to the tip of the urethra. It seems to be getting better, but it is still there and somewhat troubling. I assume that’s from the catheter.
Erections are not a pleasant experience. I get them usually when transitioning between sleep and wakefulness, which is typical for me. But they don’t feel good - like my whole penis hurts. I hope that gets better. I’m not doing anything at all to generate an erection - the orders are no sex for six weeks – but I can’t prevent the boners we wake up with, and they are really unpleasant these days.
I am really amazed and disappointed at how the doctor led me into this process without an adequate warning as to what the recovery process would be like. I think I have had it a little tougher than some others with this procedure, and that might be because my prostate was particularly large at the outset. (120 cc I think.) They haven’t told me how much tissue was excised.
If I had known what this was going to be like for the first month, I probably would have gone ahead with it anyway, although I might have timed it differently. In any case, this unpleasant surprise, which was really dropped on me in the recovery room, made me wonder what else I hadn’t been told, whether something went wrong in the procedure, and what the future really holds. The lack of information going in has seriously eroded the doctor-patient relationship, to the point where I really don’t trust him at all any more.
I agree with Michael that the doctors (and the happy talk from Procept) give an overly rosy view about the recovery of this procedure. It is difficult to find any information about this procedure on the internet, except from Procept and other urologists who are trying to sell it. The word needs to get out so that others can make an informed decision before signing on.
I guess that’s all for now - I will update again in a few days. Happy new year to all - Ed
So you get urinary incontinence post operation. Give more time to see it. What was your prostate size before the procedure, very large?
Not sure why they’re taking so long to moderate my last post. My prostate pre-procedure was 120 cc, which is considered large. I am doing a little better - incontinence has improved, but I am constantly oozing blood, or very bloody urine, from the urethra. I’m wearing pads to control. Otherwise, things are improving, although not as quickly as I would like. I guess I need to be more patient, but I really was not warned or prepared ahead of time that the recovery would be like this.
Your prostate is very large. Did you take dutasteride or finasteride before the procedure? Wait for a coup of weeks to see the urinary incontinence improvement. Your bladder needs to re-control the urine after the prostatectomy. Did your doctor tell your bladder conditions after the cystoscopy?
Hi - I did take finasteride before the procedure for a short period of time, but I couldn’t tolerate it. It made my very dizzy, and I did not like the retrograde ejaculation side effect.
My uro never said anything to me about the state of my bladder. I honestly don’t know whether it is healthy or not. My biggest complaint is that my uro really did not communicate with me before the procedure. I am learning post-op that most of my symptoms are not unusual, but I was never warned to expect these things.
I am gaining better control of urinary function, although the urine is still very bloody, with small granules of what looks like dried blood. I am still spotting blood or blood-soaked urine, all day long.
I am now two weeks after the procedure. I’m still experiencing severe constipation, and still waking up three or four times per night to urinate. All in all, I am not pleased with the results of this procedure, although I am hopeful the situation will continue to improve.
I am glad to have this site to compare notes with others who have been through this, considering the dearth of information coming from my doctor.
it is strange. the pain from base to tip of penis and on erection are the most odd of all the symptoms. I’m sure that will pass as you heal.
my uro said he doesn’t even give pain meds anymore since most can handle with tylenol and ibuprofen. in some ways, i feel like he is selling the procedure and it’s easy recovery in this way. he has told me some people are fine within 2 weeks and others take 2 months so he doesn’t guarantee anything. all he has warned me of is that I will see blood (so don’t freak out).
i think the recovery for aquablation, turp and green light are pretty much the same since they all cut through or remove the epithelial layer of the urethra and blood scabs / clots have to be excreted. that said, i understand aquablation to be less traumatic for the prostate due to lack of heat. not sure about the urethra though.
sorry you are going through this and hope you stay strong and see the positive. you have a great flow, are sleeping better and are likely voiding to an empty bladder. that’s awesome and so much better than many people on here.
At this moment it is still too early to say the surgical outcome is successful or not. You need to wait until the hematuria goes away. Please keep updating to help the others.
Here’s an update - now 15 days since surgery. Generally, things are much better. I feel totally in control of urinary function, with a good strong urine stream. I am not needing to use the bathroom nearly as often as before the surgery, and I am getting adequate warning. The urine stream is now the color of pink grapefruit juice, so that’s an improvement. I’m only waking up about once per night now. I have difficulty getting back to sleep after that, but I suspect that is more the product of many years of interrupted sleep, rather than a side effect of the surgery.
There is still a slight but constant seepage of blood or bloody urine, but each day it seems to be a little less. Still using the pads, but not needing to change them as often, not as much blood on them.
The pain in my penis and painful erections seem to have subsided considerably. I think that was from the catheter, but I don’t know, and as long as it goes away I don’t care.
Unfortunately, I am still having constipation issues, which is very unusual for me. I am back to a normal diet, with lots of fiber and drinking lots of water. Before the surgery, I never had this issue for more than a day at a time, and very rarely at that. It seems now that unless I pump the laxatives and prune juice, etc., then I am really blocked up. I hope that resolves soon. Maybe this is a new normal.
Best wishes for a happy and health new year to all - Ed
That’s great to hear. As someone potentially waiting for aquablation, I was hoping to hear some good resolutions for your pain. Happy New Year!
Here’s another update - I’m now 20 days post-surgery. Things really are better. I no longer feel any pain. My urine still varies from pink to red, and I am noticing small blood clots, almost like coffee grounds, at the bottom of the toilet bowl. That is not really a problem, just a little strange. I am no longer feeling a lack of urinary control, although I am still dribbling afterwards. It still hurts a little to try to shake it off after urinating, the way we all usually do. No longer using the pads in my underwear, since the bleeding/oozing has stopped pretty much.
I’m getting strong erections, which I take as a positive sign, and they are no longer painful. I’ve been told no sex for 6 weeks after the surgery, and I’m busting to get back to normal on that score. (Have other guys been told no sex for six weeks?) I don’t think I’m going to experience RE from all this, but I won’t know until I try to ejaculate, which I’m anxious to do! I think I’ll push the uro on that when I see him next week, and also ask if I’m cleared to get back to working out. I usually swim laps about four days a week, and I’m feeling kind of flabby since it’s been over three weeks since I last swam.
I’m not getting up much at night, maybe only once, and I don’t need to use the bathroom nearly so often during the day. I have a strong, powerful urine stream, for the first time in years.
Bowels still a bit constipated. I hope that improves, but I can live with it.
So, all in all, about three weeks after surgery, I am starting to see positive results. I do wish I had been better prepared for what the recovery would be like, especially for the first week. The unexpected symptoms left me really despondent right after the surgery, and that could have been avoided if I’d been able to prepare myself mentally for a few weeks in depends and without good control of my bladder. But now that I’m on the other side of it, I’m feeling much better about the procedure, and I’m no longer regretting that I went ahead with it.
good to hear, your account helps others get prepared so thx
Well I had the Aquablation 9 weeks and some what satisfied .
Just received the Anthem Blue billing from the procedure which im most completely covered.
So $88,000.00 for one day for everthing. And this is not including the 3 days after my temp went up for some UTI issues.
why only somewhat satisfied? doesn’t sound like a glowing recommendation. can you post what aspects you are less than thrilled about and a bit about your before and after? thx
Actually very satisfied considering I was in total retention before I went to the ERto get a catheterized and wait for the Aquablation procedure.
Frequency seems to be coming a little more of an issue since surgery, but urgency is no longer a problem compared to the previous years of 4 times a night getting up with little or no results.
Somwhen I look back, I take back the ‘somewhat’ and replace with quite pleased.
How large was your prostate before the procedure?