Hello fellow prostate problem sufferers. Has anyone had successful results with the Rezum precedure. It sounds good...like they all do, but what are the results with any of you? Less frequent urination? Increased flow, Sexual side effects ?
I am 72, in "reasonably" good condition....but I have to pee every 2 hours, night and day, so I NEVER get a decent nights sleep and it's ruining my life. I've tried various drugs and natural remedies with 0 success.
Any and all suggestions and comments are much appreciated
Do you CIC (cath)? It was a game changer for me four years ago. These days, I cath before bedtime, and am up once to cath again, in the "wee" hours. Occasionally I sleep straight through the night! I highly recommend it, regardless of what option you eventually choose for surgery or what-have-you! Threads on this site for JimJames' Dive-Bomb technique for easy cathing...
Hi Robbie, try the UROLIFT, had it done 3 weeks ago, up 6 times a night, 100 / per cent better, only getting up once in the night, I am 69, I feel like a young students again, sex drive through the roof.
We've had mixed results on this forum with Urolift, and I hope yours goes well for you, Robbie! I had mine done, with small (38gm) prostate, in Dec of 2015. My doctor did clinical trials for the FDA approval, so it was worth flying 200 miles to Salt Lake to have the procedure done. It was great, like yours, wonderful. On his ok, I quit the testosterone blockers, which I hated, but which intuition said was a mistake. Three or four months late, the free-flow ended, and I've been cathing again ever since, awaiting the next great solution! Again, I wish you well and hope yours is a long-term positive outcome! :-)
I would suggest checking out Aquablation. Aquablation uses water pressure to ablate the prostate tissue which is not nearly as damaging to the surrounding tissue as steam. Their clinical trial results were much better than Rezum, as reported at the AUA conference in May. Aquablation has a significantly better side effect profile when it comes to ED. You might google this study: "Aquablation: a novel and minimally invasive surgery for benign prostate enlargement"
Robbie, like you - I can't wait to read the responses. I had rezum scheduled for July 17th., but cancelled when I read all the previous horror stories - not ready to make the leap just yet. I'm 74 and I get up once a night - sometimes twice if I drink beer or wine. I take 2 Tamsulosin (AM/PM) per day and recently stopped the Avodart (PM) because I was told it has little to no effect after taking it for 2 years. After having to go every 2 hours - I've been fortunate to have experienced improvement with both frequency and urgency. But, I am locked into the Tamsulosin - if I try to cut down the symptoms return immediately. I also take chewable natural supplement called uricalm cranberry (2 x day/ AM - PM) which seems to have helped calm/relax my over active (ultra sensitive) bladder & that has also helped reduce both my frequency & urgency. I noticed an improvement about 2 weeks after I started taking the uricalm. Am I making the right decision? Who knows. It's rolling the dice. Everyone has a different story/experience. All we can do is put all the data together - try to make an informed decision and hope for the best. But, I am fond of trying (testing) different things and seeing what works. Good Luck to you.....
thank you so much for your reply. I've never thought about self-cathing... I didn't know it was easy to do. During the night when you have to pee, do you wake up or does the "urge" affect your sleep?
hi Jon, that's great news... my life now is miserable. My hesitation is the dreaded ED with all these procedures.. I wouldn't mind retro-ejac.... but the other problem is killer. Your procedure is recent so I hope you recover all functions to your satisfaction !!!
Hi Henry and thank you for your response. I've heard about Aquablation ..but don't know the long-term effects of it ..I'll definitely look into more about it. Thank yooooou again
Hi Ron, If you only get up once a night ...jeeez, you are one lucky guy !! I get up at least 4 times a night ...it sucks. I never tried Tamsulosin ...but I'll try anything at this point. and the cranberry thing sounds worth a try too. thanks so much for your reply. Have you heard of Rapiflow, I have no idea of it's results.
The "urge" awakens me. Usually at 250cc to 300cc. If I'm exhausted n in deep sleep, it can be more. When I first got into this mess, my bladder was drained of 2.5 liters! Residual holding was 1 liter! Doc said nothing to do about it, that you couldn't shrink the stretched-out bladder. But that's when I started JimJames' "World-Famous Dive Bombing Technique," for quick n easy relief. Cathing 5 X a day, as the urge slowly came back. I DON'T get the old "Gotta PEE!" signal anymore, it's a different, more subtle notification (I believe in listening closely to by body and its signals.).
Cathing is easy to do, yes, esp with practice. I've been practicing now for close to 4 years, well over 6,000 times! The only point where it's essential to be WIDE AWAKE, is to be sure you've prepped properly(for me, it's wiping the tip with alcohol on piece of TP) and for insertion of the catheter. The rest of the time, you can drift...
Rapiflo is the brand name of another alpha-blocker. Cardura=doxazosin. Flomax=tamulosin, etc. I think there are 5 different alpha-blockers. They all do the same thing in theory but some may work better than others for some patients.
You will get better information by looking for clinical trial results. Everything here is anecdotal and you can't project someone else's experience (good or bad) on to yourself. What does your urologist suggest?
hi Ted, a B+ is definitely worth it !! good for you ... I'm going investigate further ... have you read (i'm sure you have) the stories about the problems with Rezum? Who really knows what works and what doesn't... such a crapshoot.