Prostate and Bladder Issues: What to do?

I am a 75 year old male with a history of high blood pressure, an enlarged prostate, and chronic kidney disease (b). I have not been the prefect patient (always keeping appointments and keeping every appointment as scheduled) however I have been a daily jogger/walker and reasonable diet conscious senior. One morning in September I woke up for my morning run and went into the bathroom, feeling my daily need to urinate but nothing came out. Long story short, nothing came out ALL DAY! That evening I went to the ER and they TOOK CARE OF BUSINESS - to my horror but eventual delight at finally being able to pee again - though via a foley catheter. According to the doctor I have a very large prostate and a pretty large bladder diverticulum. For TWO AND A HALF MONTHS I've been wearing these contraptions along with their little bacterial friends as my doctor and I go through discussions of types of surgery and (with the Holidays approaching) time in his schedule to perform the surgery. About two weeks ago we agreed upon a 5 hour robotic diverticulectomy combined with a prostatectomy . However, a day after we set the date I received a message from the health care company stating that my payout would be in the tens of thousands of dollars - not to mention unlisted costs for "supplies" "anesthesiologist" and other things. I would have to make major adjustments in my life just to make their monthly patment requirements and at my age that would be difficult to do. This started me thinking about other means of getting the job done. My question to you guys is, do you think this surgery could be split (diverticulectomy then 3 maybe four or more months later for the prostatectomy). My thoughts on that is not only monetary but also because I read and heard that a 5 hour surgery would be "risky" for a man my age strictly due to the possible long term cognitive effects the anesthesia alone may take on the brain. I also read and heard that proscar and flomax (which I have been on for two months and already seeing positive results has been known to do a good job at shrinking the prostate so that both surgeries may not be necessary and the diverticulectomy may be the only surgery that may be needed and may not even require the costliness of the robotic process. I just got home after a third hospitalization due to a third UTI related problem. I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter.

Greetings, Testosterone-fueled Brother, @ch665296f - I am guessing, you were not under the care of a Mayo Clinic Urologist specialist when all this litany of medical treatment you describe was delivered to you. Unfortunately, that urological treatment "Horse Is Out Of The Barn" already for you.

Background on me – Miniscule PSA #s, no cancer, but a distended bladder due to years of living with BPH. In 2011, at age 70, I had "Gold Standard" TURP surgery performed on me for BPH by one of Mayo's "Top Uro-Docs." My Mayo Uro-Chair Doc carved out the inside of my prostate gland to dropping jaws & oo's & ah's of the observing urology residents and nurses.

I came out post-TURP-op "Clean & Green"... Removed the operation catheter shortly after the operation with no bleeding-burning. No temporary or long term difficulty urinating, no incontinence (as in "No Diapers Required"), no urinary tract infection, no TURP syndrome post-op low sodium in the blood, no sexual dysfunction/erectile dysfunction (had no sexual/ED dysfunction pre-op)... It was ONE & DONE w/ no need for a TURP retreatment.

I agree, the various “Prostate Shrinking” medication the primary care and non-Mayo urologist doctors prescribed for me were valueless, and did nothing, nada, zero, zed for me while I was taking them in the years prior to my Mayo connection, and Mayo TURP surgery.

I do not know where you reside, relative to the geo-location of Mayo’s three clinics. My first recommendation would be to “Get Thee To A Mayo Clinic For A Medical Evaluation… ASAP.” You have had too much whacking, hacking, “Green Lighting,” robotic prostatectomy, Gleason 7 Diverticulotomy Combo work. How much more “Let’s Try This Next Experimentation On @ch665296f” can your male “Plumbing” take?

Short of receiving a solid, "Take It To The Bank" Mayo Evaluation of your gear, try places like Cleveland Clinic, Texas Medical Center – Houston, Shands, & et all. Good Luck, “Prostate Pardner.”