Aquablation: Post-surgery expectations

@vtredwolf
They gave me a QR code to watch videos. The codes didn’t even work!! I had to google what to do for it. Where I am I couldn’t find it locally. Pain in the ass actually not we all know where that pain comes from.
Yes, like I had stated I had all the tests and from that it was determined I didn’t have long before I went into full bladder failure. The odd thing was I didn’t suffer from the standard symptoms at all. I didn’t have a frequency or urgency problem ever!! A lot of pain and very weak stream. I had done the urocuff and it took me 103 seconds to complete, the nurse was shocked! Volume was 277ml so it wasn’t that I had this crazy huge bladder it’s normal. And the other part is, where I did have the above mentioned problems but my prostate was not even big according to my research. I was at 59grams seems like they don’t consider technically large until you hit 85grams. Must have been my prostate maybe developed a denser tissue to cause such a big issue. My biopsy of the tissue was totally normal. I have no clue what happened. I will say, I enjoy seeing a strong stream again. Things we take for granted?!
One more problem I have with the medical field is they make it sound that a low PSA level you are not at risk for cancer. I had a PSA of 2.3 so I went months believing I really had no chance of cancer. I found out at my men’s group about a month ago that is not necessarily the case. A gentleman there had a PSA of 1.2 and he has prostate cancer confirmed. It just means that we as men have to pull our heads of of our asses and make sure we are going in for our check ups and being honest about anything that may have changed. I personally have been way too guilty of never going to the dr. Up until last year when I started having bad knee issues and ended up having knee surgery. I would not even consider it, unless there was something of immediate concern I didn’t even entertain it. Life can be hard enough without major medical issues and I’m learning that going in for my check ups can help prevent a life altering scenario.
I have been a lone wolf all my life, break a finger grab a popsicle stick and tape it on. If I could reasonably fix whatever it was I did. Joined a men’s mental health support group and learning (slowly) that’s it’s okay to speak up when things get hard. Up until that point I led my life as it’s my problem and I have to be the one to fix it!! Didn’t feel safe about talking about things with anyone. Now going on almost 12 months of group I will share pretty much anything. And doing things on your own will only lead you down a dark road. It’s okay to speak what you feel, if we do and someone may have another perspective that isn’t going to solve anything necessarily but for me a comment made even if there’s only a small part that I can relate to helps. It gets you thinking about what is real, how much is amplified from whatever it may be.
Just as with the fear of prostate problems and whether or not someone will speak up and seek help is the same thing. We get this preconceived narrative and that determines our next step. Open dialog and be completely honest how things went for you and we could help a lot of men out there.
The worst part about all of this for me was constantly going in and exposing myself to at times who knows how many people. For me I started to loose my modesty after the 3rd visit during the cystoscopy. At that point it becomes I need to do what they ask if I want to heal. I joked with my therapist that I’ve had more hands on my nether regions in the last 6 months than the last 30 years combined. 🤷

@anthony11021 I just read the reply about the pain from his (@tredwolf) PAE. I didn't have anything that I would normally talk about. Yes, it stung a fair amount to urinate the first and second day and some for about a week, but not anything I would consider a real issue. In and out in 3 hours, no catheter and walking the dog several hours afterward.

Had Aquablation about 4 months ago. All is well ! Could not be happier. Hope it continues this way.

I’m wondering is PAE better than Urolift procedure?

@anthony11021 I have had a TURP, a PAE, and just a month ago had an aquablation. So far, I am more pleased with the aquablation than the others. The TURP I had done 10 years ago, and it wasn't that bad, but the healing took a while. I was peeing out scabs for a week and wondered if any one of those could cause blockage. The PAE was done a little less than 2 years ago. I read a lot about it and it seemed to be the least invasive and could/should work. Well, I got very minimal relief, if any, from it. I may have reduced my tamsulosin from two .4mgs to a single one every day, but still had to take that just to be able to pee 6 or 7 times a night, and dribble at that. This recent aquablation was the best. I had to stay one night in the hospital after the procedure, but the cathater was removed the next day and I went home after I peed a certain amount. I drove myself to the hospital and back home the next day(2 hour drive, no problem) Sure, it burned a little to pee for a few days, and a little blood at the beginning of each pee, but I had not peed like that since I was 18! I wa given some meds to lubricate the inside of my Urethra, and they worked. In about one week no pain at all. I suggest if you are going to go with the PAE, find a urologist who has a lot of experience doing so and demand bilateral. I think some are good with just doing one side, and I do believe mine did just that because he could not find the right pathway on the distal(on me, the left) side. I also used an internal radiologist because I couldn't find a local urologist who did PAEs. Good luck with whatever procedure you choose.

Many good options available for you besides what your Urologist said. Research Aquablation and HoLEP. Read the posts on this blog about them and make an educated decision. Find an EXCELLENT surgeon, even if you have to travel. If your doctor still calls TURP the gold standard, he's way behind the times. He will not recommend a procedure he does not do. Get a second opinion!