A glutton, I need to hear your BPH treatment story, unfortunately!

H

Huskerguy

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2010
Messages
709
Reaction score
1,239
Location
Central Kansas
OK, the background, I am 68, have had BPH for several years, took Doxazocin and it work OK. Tried Flomax and nothing but dizzy. Now its time to finally do something a bit more invasive.

I know I am going to get the horror stories here but I really am stuck between two options. I don't want to do the TURP even though that is what my Urologist said he would get if he were needing this and because he is a surgeon. Lots of healing time, bleeding and possible loss or reduction of sexual activities. Something about the semen going into the bladder seems weird to me!

The two I am considering are:

1. Rezum - which is a water vapor treatment therapy. Reminds of a water pic. Done in the office, minimal side affects, relief is quick and the equipment is supposed to work as normal.

2. Urolift - again, in the clinic application, quick, 5 years of data is good and as with the other, the OEM equipment is not affected. The downside to this one is it does not work on all shapes and there are those bands inside of me that someday may need to come out.

Your experiences?
 
Last edited:
Diet is a HUGE help. Lot's of veggies at dinner, in particular. I've had more improvement after eliminating garbage carbs. That is, starch-ohydrates, and of course anything with refined sugars. Grain, or anything FROM it (bread, pasta, risotto, tortillas, etc). Beans (besides the carbs, is nasty lectins). Fruits (fructose, duh). Dairy is okay in moderation, but stick with the 'firm' things, like hard cheeses. Use ghee for cooking, rather than butter.

This is the supplement I take, a/m and p/m:

Super Beta Prostate Advanced Chewables Supplement for Men, 60 Count - Walmart.com
 
Cutting Gluten intake will help as Gluten causes swelling and inflammation. My wife had to go Gluten free and so she doesn't have to make two sets of meals, I've followed suit - at least for the most part. I have also noticed benefits from being 98% Glute free even though I do not have to be.

Diet too will help as Victor Louis states above. Google "foods that help enlarged prostate". I have two friends that had so much trouble urinating in the morning, their Doctors put them on a low dose of the drugs they use for stimulating blood flow for sexual activities. Not Viagara, the other popular one - Cialis I believe. They not only report better results with urination, their wives are happy too! IMHO while surgery seems to work in many cases, it sort of scares me (side affects and ooopses) and I'd leave that as a last resort.
 
Ask me in a month. I'm having the Rezum in a few weeks. I went to three different Urologists and Rezum is what I'm going to have done.
There is also a green laser treatment that was recommended for men that take blood thinners, I'm not on them so the steam treatment best fits what I need.
Talk to more than one Urologist, it's your body.
 
I took meds for two years, then decided on what is still considered the "Gold Standard", a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). I had it done 7 years ago (I'm 68 now), and haven't regretted the decision. Rezum wasn't an option then, but there were a couple of Laser procedures available, and the Urolift. All but Urolift actually remove tissue, by cutting it out (TURP), burning it out (laser), or cooking it out (Rezum). Urolift uses small darts inserted though the urethral wall into prostatic tissue that hold the walls out, like shoring up a tunnel with 2x4's. Urolift can be reversed if needed, the others are permanent.

I thought about Urolift, as it is the least invasive, but I felt that since my prostate tissue had enlarged, it would continue to do so and Urolift would become ineffective after a few years, requiring a repeat procedure or other option. As an O.R. Nurse most of my adult life, I had seen hundreds of TURP's and knew (sort of) what to expect. I had most of my prostate resected, a total of 24 grams of tissue, which is about the size of a normal prostate. Mine had enlarged to over 35 grams (benign hyperplasia). I get yearly follow-up exams, my PSA is usually around .5-.7 and the prostate is barely palpable, according to my urologist. I don't have nearly the frequency I used to have, and retention is gone, and all the other functions are normal for a 68-year-old.

I won't say this is what you should do, just investigate the options thoroughly, and don't hesitate to get a second opinion if you have doubts.
 
The Gold standard for me 4 yrs ago. (TURP) In my late 50s..I was having issues urinating at night. Just could not go. Then it happened during the daytime as well. I messed around with all the snake potions and witches brews..modified my diet eliminating this and that...(red meat,dairy.etc etc) and my Dr. prescribing Flowmax which made me dizzy and I stopped using. Nothing really helped. Other than not drinking fluids...which then lead to kidney stones. Insult on top of injury.

Finally when I turned 59 I had full retention and a trip to the ER for a catheter. The absolute most painful experience of my life as my prostate was a big one and after two different people trying to get one "in" there...they called in a staff urologist,who hammered that baby home. Over 1 liter of urine releaased. Honesty thought I was going to die..I even gave up the safe combination to the wife! After that I went hunting for a good urologist and found one who had performed literally thousands of TURPs..so on his advice I went for it.

The procedure only required an overnight stay and about 1 week on a catheter. I did the twilight sleep with spinal to numb from the waist down. It took about 2 months before there was zero blood in my urine but I was doing things my DR told me not to..like mowing the lawn..lifting heavy items..driving on track. Amazing I healed at all. It's been over 4 years and although I do take Uroxitrol daily to keep the monster from growing back...I can piss like a race horse. Knock on wood!
 
Last edited:
I had bladder problems for around 18 years. My original Urologist Org. kind of morphed into a much bigger outfit as the 2 founders retired. The bigger outfit built a new large building with all the new equipment and began raping and scalping Ins. Cos. to pay the bills. They also seemed to have stopped fixing too many problems to get repeat business. Long story short, My first TURP was in the mid 80's. I have had 3 since that one. None have diminished My sex. I would recommend the TURP to anyone as the modern techniques are almost out patient. Gitterdone, get the catheter out, pee, go home. I wish You luck in whichever route You choose, but, I never had luck with drugs when blockage removal was needed. By the way, My last TURP was 5 years ago and I went in at 7 AM and was home at noon.
 
Nobody has mentioned TUNA (trans-urethral neural ablation) or is that not done anymore? Underwent it in 2005 IIRC and it worked for almost 10 years, until the cancer developed. No hospital or overnight stay necessary.

Also, always check any meds RXd by other docs. Some cause prostate swelling. This gets the uros all excited that they'll be able to do a TURP or TUNA when stopping the offending med is all that is necessary to reduce swelling. Don't ask me how I know.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
 
I’m 61. Been dealing with BHP for 5 years. Taking Finasteride and flomax for 7 months. Gall bladder removed last February. My diet is tough. What is good for the prostrate is not good for a guy missing his gall bladder and visa-versa. I drink 16 ounces of Hibiscus tea 5 or 6 days a week. Seems to be helpful. Doctor said I needed to drink more water. Easy for him to say. So far for me, following a proper diet and drinking more water, along with the hibiscus tea and the meds, has been turning the tide slowly. I occasionally eat what I shouldn’t and then pay the price for it. I have not had a blockage since I tried getting off the medicine after 3 months. Got back on the meds and have been ok since. Still have to go every 2 to 3 hours at night. Anywhere from 2 to 4 hours during the day.
Sorry for your situation but grateful to learn from this thread! Hope I have contributed something. I wish you well.
 
I've never had any problems with flow, etc, my problem is urgency, and having to go when I shouldn't have to. I'm on Flowmax right now, and it is helping, a little bit, but it's no miracle. Tonight, I drank a 20 oz Pepsi Zero Sugar, and about 20 of of Kool Aid. Not a lot for me, I always drink a lot, always have. 40 oz from the time I got up(1030pm) until 7am is pretty standard. Some nights, I can go 4-6 hours without having to go NOW, but other nights, I'm going a lot. Like tonight. 4 times in 7 hours.
I just went a couple of minutes ago, and I'm sure I will get hit with the urge to go before I leave at 8am. If I don't go, odds are I will have to anyway within an hour. The amount I go is all over the place too. 12 oz is about average, some times I will go a long while and it will be 20, other times it's like 4-6, which is ridiculous. Everything has to be timed to 2.5 hours. Driving, movies, everything. If I sit in front of the TV, or am on the PC, I can go 4 hours, easy. In the car, 2.5. Never more than 3. Walking into a friend's house starts the clock, 2.5-3 hours until it hits me like a sledgehammer. I will have to go BAD. How much? Sometimes, it's so little it's a joke, other times it's 12 oz plus, and that seems "normal" to me at this point. I think back though and I was one of those lucky people who could drive 6 hours plus without going. That ended in my later 40's

As far as Urolift goes, a friend of mine had it done and is very happy. Another friend was looking into it, but he isn't built for it, so he's looking at other options. Another friend is having the Rezum soon. He's having flow issues.
 
VictorLouis said:
What does that last part mean? Retention? You mean you can't HOLD IT, and have to purge immediately? THanks!
Click to expand...
I think retention means that when you've peed all you're going to, your bladder is still retaining a significant amount of urine. If I understand correctly, this is what causes you to have to go again soon, because the remaining capacity is smaller. This, of course, is a practical problem by itself, but I think that there is also a fear that it may lead to bladder infection. Not sure about that. Regardless, I have what my urologist considers a fairly significant retention issue (500 cc), but no bladder problems at all. I try to keep my fluid intake at two liters a day or so, sometimes augmented with a beer. Still keeping the B in BPH, but the H is growing. Have been taking finasteride and alfuzosin, which increased my urination interval to an acceptable length.

MRI soon, as a painless check on possible malignancy. Reading this thread with considerable interest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

CH4
A Christmas Story
2 3
Replies
43
Views
1K
Onomea
Onomea
SweetMK
I Need A Tracking Specialist!!
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
venomballistics
venomballistics
bobsguns
I need a coffee maker
2 3 4
Replies
63
Views
1K
Bekeart
B
oldbrownhat
Coral insert treatment for chronic knee pain
Replies
18
Views
735
jeffrefrig
J
DWalt
Unusual dog story
Replies
9
Views
676
jeffrefrig
J

Latest posts

Back
Top