9 years ago I was 65 years old and was having serious BPH symptoms. My local urologist offered me a TURP procedure. After looking into it, I declined and spent the next 9 months self-cathing while researching alternatives. I decided on Rezum and have been very satisfied with the results for the last 8+ years. Several months ago, though, the old BPH symptoms gradually returned. I tried tamsulosin as well as alfuzosin, neither of which helped. So I contacted the location where my first Rezum was done and had a second procedure done. Again this time I followed my three recommendations for a Rezum procedure. The first is to choose an experienced urologist, or at least one who can provide good answers to your questions. My previous surgeon had moved to a new, more distant location, so I met with the new surgeon. The new guy even mentioned on his own that he would avoid the ejaculatory ducts. Since I’ve had no sexual side effects from the first procedure, and from reading about unfortunate results from other men, I felt that this was an important qualification. The second recommendation is to learn CIC (Clean Intermittent Catheterization) before the procedure. This allowed me to avoid the Foley catheter after the procedure. The third recommendation is to insist on a form of anesthesia. Typically this is a propofol anesthetic and avoids feeling the pain associated with the procedure.
I’m now 10 days out from the procedure and it’s going well. I’m starting to pee on my own, although I’m still using catheters to fully empty my bladder. So far no RE although the semen volume is lower, probably due to some of the prostate necrosis as well as my age. There’s been no pain to speak of except that self cathing the first 24 hours was a bit painful.