Hi all,
been a bit of a struggle but I'm down for a urolift op this coming Thursday. My area "Dorset" could only offer the TURPS procedure but at 51 feel this a bit like playing Russian roulette with my sex life. After much badgering I managed to persuade my GP to refer me to Basingstoke Hospital which is the closest one that carries out the urolift procedure.
At the moment I'm not taking any medication but I have to pee maybe four times in the night and occasionally wet the bed. Thursday can't happen soon enough.
Hey, Smudge!
Sorry to read of your current state; CIC (Clean Intermittent Catheterizing) would have given you relief AND kept the sheets dry! (I've missed any of your earlier posts, if you said why you couldn't CIC) Although I (and surely the rest of us here) wish you TOTAL SUCCESS with the Urolift procedure, and if you have no reasons you CAN'T CIC, just a thought here: if for some or any reason the Urolift does not solve your problem, please keep CIC in mind; I had the UL 13 months ago, and it was a dramatic success--- for a few months. My Uro-doc then said he would recommend he do a TURP, but he already knew I wouldn't accept one. I have since gone back to CIC, while I evaluate the evolving options. As a result, I rarely get up at night at all, and if so, NEVER MORE THAN ONCE A NIGHT. Nice to be 67 and be able to say that! :-)
Good luck with the procedure, and stay in touch! :-)
Just a quick note based on your post. You seem to indicate that you talked them into scheduling the procedure. Keep in mind what we sometimes talk about here and that is the first step in this is not to decide to have the Urolift done. The first step is to determine if one is a candidate for Urolift in the first place. As you may have seen here in numerous posts, that there are physical conditions, prostatic as well as bladder that preclude its use, at least from the manufacturer's perspective.
and according to their guidelines.
That, of course, may be just what you're doing. It just sounded like you had talked them into doing it.
Anyway...best wishes. I just past my 6 month post procedure and am still very happy with the result.
Hello.. Smudge. I had mine done almost 2 years ago. Still going strong. Like you at 59 I was not ready to lose my sex life or my ejaculation. Did you doctor tel you if he is going to put in a catheter after. I have a problem peeing on demand so I talk with my doctor and he felt it was best to help the prostate relax. Had it done on Monday and the catheter came out on wednesday. Also take a few male pads with you just in case. Good luck Ken
Hi Bill, my initial post was very simplistic. It's been a long struggle to get here. I guess the point that I'm trying to make (badly) is that there are options out there now. As I said earlier, the only thing my local NHS was a TURPS operation. The specialist advised that I go for urolift private. I had pretty much decided that this was what I was going to do and was going to cost me in the region of about six thousand pounds. There are some NHS hospitals now doing this procedure but if you live in the wrong area then they aren't offered. In my case I found the specialist to be pretty unhelpful when I asked if I could go to another area. Apparently it's not the way the NHS works. So I did my homework, found a hospital and then had to go back to my GP and get him to refer me. As expected, he hadn't heard of this procedure. Why would he, he can't know everything. My experiences so far with Basingstoke have been so much better. I know it's not for everyone, but surely it must be worth looking into. Personally the idea of having TURPS scares me to death.
I am pretty sure you can have the Urolift done in Bournemouth. Agree it takes a lot of research and determination to find alternatives to TURPS. I had PAE at Bournemouth three days ago as a day patient via the NHS.
As you say, given some of the alternitives, certainly worth looking into. I came upon it on my own after my GP suggested it was time to get the 'rotor rooter' (not sure if that term translates there) but that sounded bad so I started research on my own. Found the one Urologist in Tucson doing them at the time, I believe there are several now, and got checked for candidacy.
Best wishes!
Prostate Artery Embollism. Lots of stuff on the forum. I wasn't suitable for urolift so had the PAE instead. Bournemouth hospital do both procedures on NHS.
Thanks for that. Sounds very interesting and certainly a possible alternative to a TURPS. It seems there are a few alternatives out there. I'm now a bit annoyed as my specialist from Dorchester didn't mention this. It really is a lottery out there. Fine if you're internet savvy and willing to do the groundwork but not so good for those that aren't.
I first saw specialist from Dorchester. He was so unhelpful that I asked my GP for another referral to Poole. The Urologist in Poole still kept advising me to have TURPS but I refused, so got a referral to the radiologist in Bournemouth. Apparently I was an ideal candidate for PAE and the procedure was quick and painless. Too soon to tell if the procedure has actually worked. Yes you do need to be computer savvy and never believe everything you are told without checking. Good luck on Thursday.
Can't believe you haven't had medication for your problem which would have helped a lot.
Jamaica47 Good for you. Stick to your guns. I'm happy that you did not fellow the doctors. There are some that only know one procedure. Hope you heal fast Take it easy Ken PS Smudge5577 Good luck thursday I know you will be fine Ken
It is always a feature on this forum that in the USA self catheterisation is the norm but here in the UK it isn't, for whatever reason. I think if I got to that point then i would be taking the surgical intervention.
Very much so. Unfortunately it's taken many months to get to this stage. Initially it wasn't too much of a problem but that was over a year ago. After initially seeing my GP a year ago I am hopefully now going to have the operation on Thursday. After initially being referred to a specialist, there is a wait of up to eighteen weeks to get to see one. All the various tests were done over about a month, then a further wait to see the specialist again to discuss the results.
I felt insulted and unhappy after waiting all that time to be offered only one treatment. TURPS! What another specialist had advised was a Urolift and when I mentioned that was told that he couldn't help as they don't do them. He said I'd have to go private. He couldn't/wouldn't advise on a way forward other than that I would have to have a look on the internet to see if any other hospital was doing it and to speak to my GP to see about getting referred to another area. So in a nutshell, you wait months, and when you finally have all the tests you reach a brick wall. I have to say that my experiences with Basingstoke have been completely different. They seem much more organised and take the time to explain everything in great detail. Dorchester on the other hand seem to need a good kick up the arse. My GP has also been superb. Fingers crossed for Thursday and I'll be back soon to let you know how I get on.
When I saw the specialist in Poole he would only offer TURPS. I told him I wanted to find out more about PAE, and he just mentioned offhand that they do the procedure in Bournemouth. If I hadn't raised the subject he would not have offered it and there is nothing on the Bournemouth website to say they do these various procedures. The radiographer told me they have had 90% success and he was surprised they didn't get more referrals!!!!
Our NHS is brilliant in as much as our treatment costs us nothing - but the system is disjointed and almost impossible to navigate, especially if you don't want the bog standard treatment. Thank goodness for the internet!
Good luck on Thursday. Stay positive. Make sure you ask lots of questions about what to expect after the op because once it is done you won't see the surgeon again until your next consultation.
Smudge. in the US it is a little different. I have read on here that over seas there are sometimes you don't even see the same doctor. And here we have the same problems to. Some doctors are only trained to do one or two procedure and they will push them on you So we go for a second opinion . And when you mention the less evasive procedures they will tell you that they will not work. You have to get the information to make your pic. Urolift is a very good procedure. At 59 when I had mine I did not want any side effects that the other will give you. Retro especially. Most doctor think this is not a problem at our age Men at any age should not have to give up anything just to pee better. All fuction are important. I wish you well and good luck on thursday. Let us know after Ken
I'm in Orlando and when I had mine. I talk to my doctor every day. He called me in the morning to make sure I felt ok. Smudge you will be fine. They say it take about a month to heal but I was fine after a week. Just relax and drink alot of water God bless Ken
Let us know how the procedure goes. Wish you the best. I , myself just had the TURP procedure. I still have to self catheterise, but it's only been 8 days since the foley was removed and I have been able to pee on my own, not much, tho but it's a start. Have to retrain the bladder. Good luck.
Hello Warren. I hope you get better soon. It just get me when you have a procedure to fix the problem and you still have to do CIC. I know you have to heal but. You should have been able to pee better. With a turp they make a tunnel You think it would work within a couple of weeks. But it happen with al of the procedures We all heal in different ways. Good luck to you and god bless Ken
Although my Urolift was not a permanent solution for me (The brilliant effects lasted only for a couple of months...), the recovery was phenomenol! I had the surgery on a Tuesday, was very uncomfortable (and on pain killers) the next day, flew 3000 Km home the following day, and the day after that, I stacked a half cord of firewood, with no ill effects. So your recovery could come much more rapidly than the doctors expet!