I am 71 years old and it has been 13 months since I had the Aquablation procedure.
Background: My prostrate was 147 grams in size, in 8 years it had doubled. I was seeing a urologist every 6 months monitoring my PSA. My PSA peaked a little over 10 and then settled back to an average PSA of around 4.5. I had a biopsy and there was no cancer detected. My prostrate was large with no abnormalities, other then the size. During my 6 month visits to the urologist pre-Aquablation I had an ultrasound on by bladder and was never told my bladder had not totally evacuated. The main problem I experienced was that twice (or more) times I would have flare-ups and have to pee every 30 to 45 minutes, Prostatitis. Usually a couple doses of 800mg of Ibuprofen would calm down the prostrate. The strength of my urine stream was tested. On the monitor was a graph with a setup in a quad pattern. The upper left corner was the range of a normal person. The lower right corner was the area of concern. My urologist was surprised that with the size of my prostrate I was almost equally between these two quadrants. I was starting to see some intermittent flow problem, starting and stopping, weak stream but these were few, but still concerning that a change could come at any time with the size of my prostrate.

I had the procedure and through this blog learned that my first couple months experiences were fairly normal. The bleeding, the incontinence, and yes some pain. About the 3rd week post procedure I woke up one night and the pressure of the stream while I evacuated my bladder was unbelievable. I thought this was what I was going to see, what I was told to expect for urine flow. But this occurrence was once and only once. If I have improved I think it is marginal at best.

I seen my urologist again after 6 months and advised him that besides the very severe Prostatitis problems in the past that was about the only improvement. My urologist was a little setback with his survey I took and when my PSA levels had not changed. I was still waking up ever 3 to 4 hours now to evacuate my bladder, average twice a night. I still experienced Prostatitis issues but not as severe prior to Aquablation. Sometimes I still experience a strong sense of urgency, just not as bad as it was. I wear a thin pad, I am having some issues of dribbling. My urologist wanted to do a cystoscope which I declined saying maybe the size of my prostrate will take longer to show results that are more positive.

I just had my PSA checked and I am still at 4.5, which honestly surprised me and a little disappointing. Since the 6 month checkup there has been no changes. Reluctantly, but out of curiosity I will probably get the cystoscope to see if there is any fluff which was not removed or scar tissue causing a minor obstruction.

Next month I will see my urologist with my newest PSA results. We will discuss my drugs and supplements I take. Maybe the hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg I take for mild water retention in my legs is part of the problem.