Prostate Artery Embolization for BPH. Anyone have it done?

@leaddogy2k
First you want to have blood work to determine your EGFR. But be careful, as EGFR is completely dependent on age and Creatinine levels. I was taking a pre workout supplement and it lowered my EGFR 20 pts! The test Cystatin C measure kidney function with out the rather simple calculation of EGFR. I feel its more reliable as Creatinine can be affected by many different things.

As far as the dye. I took NAC 600 mg twice a day , 2 days before and 2 days after. This is not a method that is accepted everywhere and the studies are mixed. But since it has no downside, I did it. Also after the PAE in recovery you want to have a Saline drip for hydration. That is what most interventional radiologists suggest.

Then make sure you are very well hydrated before and after the procedure. I forget the water intake, but it is readily available.

As far as an interventional radiologist, my urologist gave me very sound advice, He said that he is a big fan of PAE , but most IR only do one or two a year where I live. So he uses a company that specializes in PAE that does 1000s a year. Or have it done at a major medical facility like UCLA.

Let me close this that until you have an MRI, you will be completely in the dark as to the cause of your retention. That should give you some clues as to why, and then you can make an intelligent decision as to what your options are.

@leaddogy2k

@leaddogy2k
First you want to have blood work to determine your EGFR. But be careful, as EGFR is completely dependent on age and Creatinine levels. I was taking a pre workout supplement and it lowered my EGFR 20 pts! The test Cystatin C measure kidney function with out the rather simple calculation of EGFR. I feel its more reliable as Creatinine can be affected by many different things.

As far as the dye. I took NAC 600 mg twice a day , 2 days before and 2 days after. This is not a method that is accepted everywhere and the studies are mixed. But since it has no downside, I did it. Also after the PAE in recovery you want to have a Saline drip for hydration. That is what most interventional radiologists suggest.

Then make sure you are very well hydrated before and after the procedure. I forget the water intake, but it is readily available.

As far as an interventional radiologist, my urologist gave me very sound advice, He said that he is a big fan of PAE , but most IR only do one or two a year where I live. So he uses a company that specializes in PAE that does 1000s a year. Or have it done at a major medical facility like UCLA.

Let me close this that until you have an MRI, you will be completely in the dark as to the cause of your retention. That should give you some clues as to why, and then you can make an intelligent decision as to what your options are.

Good place for me to jump in on this subject. I’ve been so busy as a tax accountant that I was anxious to pass this along. I had the PAE on 2/27. I can truly say my results are simply beyond expectations, nothing short of amazing.

The first week of recovery was a living hell having about 50 painful trips to the bathroom a day. I could not void more that an ounce or two at a time. Sleeping was a disaster. All your original symptoms are intensified due to after procedure inflammation. Then on the 7th day I voided about 6 ounces, yes I was measuring. Each succeeding day was a little better. I had gained 6 pounds from I guess water. Then after about 12 days I voided nearly 2 liters overnight and lost 3 pounds. Everyday got better and better as pain disappeared and after about a month I am voiding like a champ. I highly recommend this procedure but do your research. Find a doctor who has done a lot of them. I think the numbers on hitting the wrong artery are few as it is a rare occurrence. The prostate is not touched so there are no side effects other than post procedure discomfort, it’s called PES, Post Embolization Syndrome. This procedure is about 25 years old, used for BPH and research is being done on effectiveness for prostate cancer. I also read that it may become the new gold standard.

Do your research, NIH has some studies on it, YouTube has plenty of videos. Just remember you should stay home for about 10-14 days unless you live in a motor home.

@bill5letsfixthis exactly my experience.: 3 weeks post PAE. Feel like I am 30 again. First week after procedure is brutal. I was totally unprepared for it, but glad I did it.

@bill5letsfixthis exactly my experience.: 3 weeks post PAE. Feel like I am 30 again. First week after procedure is brutal. I was totally unprepared for it, but glad I did it.

@adacol can you describe why the first week was brutal?

@scien123

For me, very frequent and painful urination. Probably 40-50 times voiding only an ounce or two.

Doc said all the post procedure inflammation causes that. They don’t tell you this beforehand.

Motrin helped a little, but not much.