Aquablation: Post-surgery expectations

On average two to three times per night. On vacation and depending on what beverages I consumed up to 4 to five times per night.

Fred,

Did you have this done at Mayo Clinic? If not, where and by which doctor?

Thanks,
Paul

My recommendation would be to find a Urologist in your local area that is familiar with the Aquablation procedure.

Thanks for your recommendation, but I was asking Fred about his PAE experience, not Aquablation.

Unfortunately, I am not familiar with PAE.

LOL

I had aquablation done at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA on 3/20/2024. So far, so good. The procedure itself was uneventful, and I woke up in the hospital without a hint of pain. So far my only hiccup has been that I wasn't able to empty my bladder sufficiently in the hospital so they reinserted a Foley catheter, which I had for four days. Removing the catheter was really only a few seconds of discomfort. I was told to beware of sudden frequent urges to urinate, so I had pads on hand. I've used them once.

I stayed home for a day and a half after the catheter was removed, then went back to the office. It's now been ten days, and I feel perfectly fine. The only remaining obstacle that I can tell is that I still have some blood in the urine and it can be a bit painful to pee. I feel like I could go back to the gym and go back to having sex right now, but will give it another week. (My doctor said 10-14 days). My urine flow seems to be better, but still getting up several times a night and am peeing as frequently as before. I'll report back after a month to give a progress report.

@pinguin846 - Sounds like you're doing great! It took me a month or so before I never saw any blood in the urine, especially at the initiation of flow, but that has almost totally stopped (six weeks post) and every other thing I expected to be different has come true: once or twice a night, much more rapid peeing, no discomfort, and sex is great even with a little "twinge" of discomfort. I'll take all that.

Let us know how things are on May 1st...

It's interesting the variances in the time frames doctors are recommending for restrictions on exercises and sex. I know other doctors have said a month to up to six weeks; my doctor told me 10-14 days. I'm at day 11 now and feel perfectly capable of lifting weights but will give it another week just to be safe. FWIW, I'm 64 and in very good physical shape, so perhaps I'm healing more quickly than average. In any case, I'll take it!

Hello all...new here. Aquablation scheduled 4/29/24. Had issues with not being able to urinate (at all) after anesthesia since 2/2010, after my first hip joint replacement. Also after 2nd (3/2011), and then after both shoulder joints (5/2020 & 9/2022). Also had the more common BPH symptoms, outside of anesthesia, but mostly minor and tolerable. Went on BPH meds (tamsulosin & finasteride) after the first shoulder joint and was catheterized for a week after 2nd (that's when I went to double daily dose of Flomax). My urologist had been suggesting TURP, but gave Urolift as another, much less preferred option (too high a likelihood of failure; he thought I'd likely need to have a TURP or back on meds anyway; neither he, nor the his hospital do Aquablation.) I didn't have either, as was urinating fine, meds were handling things. On 2/13/24, I had a hernia removed; I'd been urinating fine before that (and even went off meds awhile with no problems...which was great! ...even was able to ejaculate...a little). Both hernia surgeon and urologist thought I should be OK to urinate after the hernia, as was a more local anesthetic. Just before hernia surgery, I asked an anesthesiologist; she did not agree; she was pretty sure I'd have issues. She was right. I was able to pee...once...after surgery, and went home. Had to return to ER the next morning to be catheterized. I've been catheterized since 2/14/24. Instead of just having TURP (which my urologist thought was best), I asked another urologist, different hospital, for a second opinion. He agreed with the downsides of Urolift and TURP, and after research, I have decided on Aquablation...I discovered this support group today. Grateful for everyone's input. Sounds like a very mixed recovery experiences. I'm hopeful for a good outcome, but sounds like I should expect 4-6 weeks to full recovery. Any other suggestions on how to best cope after the procedure are welcome! I'll check in after...Thanks!