It was life changing for me. I returned to work after 2 weeks. I do heavy lifting and I am constantly on my feet with no trouble. I did clean out my garage after a month which might have been a little excessive as I had some light bleeding afterwards.
I never had a slow stream. So I cant help you there.
My prostate was 110 grams with 92 grams removed.
I was 58 when I had the surgery.
I did have a Urethrotomy to enlarge my Urethra . It was done to reduce the risk of strictures caused by the movements of the resectoscope. The opening is now permanently larger ,about 1/8-3/16 of an inch. The internal incision did give me very minor discomfort for a few days when urinating.
I waited 6 weeks for sexual activity. Probably not necessary to wait that long . I considered my first orgasm to be a medical issue ,like purging the prostate of the blood after my biopsy. My wife doesnt take very well to that kind of thing ,so , I took matters into my own hands so to speak. I experienced a normal ejaculation the first time but have Retrograde ejaculation going forward.
I took a little time to retrain my bladder after surgery. After a couple weeks I didnt get up but once a night. . Last night I slept through the night and never got up.
As to the pain, Stephanie informed me it radiates from the prostate to the tip of the penis. I never experiences that pain until several weeks post surgery. It was was Jaw clenching but not unbearable ,and lasted about a minute after urinating. I never took pain meds post surgery,with the exception of the Morphine given to me in the recovery room. I woke up to a burning in the prostate . I was given Morphine and it was almost gone. I never took anything for pain again.
When I had any Questions , Stephanie , Dr Lingeman`s nurse
helped me out . Their staff was so helpful. They were truly a gift from God.
All the best
just me
The scabs will come off in small pieces and will pass easily . You wont feel them.
The burning pain is a normal part of the surgery erection or not. It will stop but may take some time. I did not have the pain at first, but developed it for a couple weeks then it went away.
The leaking issue is a lot harder to answer. Everyone is different. Some never leak . I still wear a pad for very minor dribbles that occur due to a stressful job.
The best thing you can do is do the kegal excercise.
I had the surgery 3 years ago. I have no regrets. I experienced acute retention 70 time between July 1 and October 22, the day of my surgery. I had to self cath twice a day. Do I still dribble? yes,but the trade from CANNOT urinate to Dribble is a very good one.
All the best
just me
Thank you for replying. I agree with all you said and will take your advise about the Kegel exercise which I'm sure will help me. Thank you again.
Propinor
Sounds pretty normal to me. I experienced that as well.
I dont have any issues laying down at night .
I am not retired . I still do heavy lifting . i have a leak every now and then. Not a big deal to me. As I said before I have experienced ACUTE retention . I still thank the Lord for my Drs and nurses every time I pee! Last night my wife heard me peeing, She said That sure sounds like a pretty good flow!! just me
Steve (HOLEP class of 2013). BTW, Steadyhealth asks yiu to type in a word to confirm yiu are a human. The word today is "WATER" - how appropriate! ;-)
I still get some burning deep inside when I start a stream but it isn't as bad as a couple of weeks ago. Doctor said to try Aleve or Ibuprofin. Aleve may have helped, not sure. All in all, doing great. no leakage since week 3. No urgency. I'm so happy with the outcome.
I am now three and a half weeks post HoLep. Done Aug 24 by Dr. Lingeman in Indianapolic. I would like to give you guys an update....and also ask a few questions of the longer term vets about my ongoing recovery.
Within the first two weeks all visible signs of blood in the urine were gone; leakage had been reduced by at least 90% (very rarely does leakage occur now); stream is definitely stronger than it was pre-HoLep; pain is significantly down and, last but certainly not least, the sex is very good (TMI?).
I still am experiencing some "issues" and would apprecaite feedback from others whether this is "normal".....although from reading all these posts, it seems the only logical conclusion is that there is no "normal"...
1. I still am getting up 2 to 3 times each night to urinate .... and during the day experience frequent need to hit a bathroom...sometimes a couple times in an hour. And, when I get the "urge" I better not ignore it for very long. Is this normal and when can I expect to be able to sleep an entire night without having to get up??
2. Pain... For the first couple of weeks it was bad at first and then less. However, it at first was "focused" at the end of my penis and then gradually worked its way back in the penis and surrounding gland...prostate I presume. The pain seems to have "plateaued" in the last week or so....still toward the "rear"; still occurring toward the end of the urinating and then persisting for a few minutes after finishing? And I have not noticed any improvement in this in the last several days. Is this normal and how long can I expect it to go on?
Thanks for everyone support.
RT and SQ
I was getting up once per night at around 4am then all of a sudden it went to zero times 2 days ago. So maybe you'll suddenly see some improvement. I think it takes time for you body to get used to having a bladder that can hold more so for awhile it still signals you that you need to go. Seems to get better over time.
1) Make an appointment ASAP to have biofeedback training (2 sessions a week apart) to make sure yiu are doing kegels correctly (I wasn't). This is covered by medicare. Then do the kegels in AM and PM.
2) don't expect full recovery for 3-4 months. But it will get there soon enough.
3) get the pads and wear them. (shields, not pants). Yiu may not need them but will feel better they are there.
Yes, take advil or aleve for first few weeks for pain but tell the doctor. When do yiu see Dr. Lingerman again?
And, hang in there RT&SQ. Not everyone was thrilled with surgery but - based on comments here - about 98% are and I think that's pretty good return.
Steve
It is good to hear about your ongoing recovery. You stated your sex life going well. That is good to hear. And That is not to much information.
When I decided to join this group , I also decided to be honest and very open . There is an advantage in anonymity . Anyone looking for the truth about this surgery need to know all the facts . We were created as sexual beings.
and this surgery affects a sexual gland. There have been instances where prostate surgery can affect ones sex life.
I am happy to share it actually helped my erections. I do experience Retrograde Ejaculation as a result of the surgery . Due to the condition of my prostates , my ejaculation was very weak and very little volume before surgery.
We are parents of three great children who have blessed us with 9 wonderful grandchildren. I leave the begatting to some one else!!! Now sex is just for FUN!!
just me
It may take some time to retrain your bladder.
The journal I kept before surgery, shows I was very consistent in releasing 110 mils of urine. That is a very small amount. I was retaining around 300 mils of urine.
My Bladder had 700 mils removed in the ER When I went in the first time. I was in terrible pain, The nurses put on a heart monitor as my heart rate was 162.
After surgery, I had to wear a guard and change it every 4-5 hours except at night when I didnt leak.
After surgery, my leaking slowly decreased and I could hold larger amounts of urine. 230 mils was a milestone! I sleep through the night now. I kept my journal up for quite some time after surgery.
NOW the encouraging part!
After a night of drinking a few Iced teas, {non alcohol} I woke up in the morning and REALLY had to go. I grabbed my measured urinal to see what I could produce. 2200 mils! I could not believe it! That would have been 20 trips to the bathroom before surgery!
By the way, When I went in for my first check up the nurse had a hard time finding my bladder on the ultrasound because it was so empty!
The pain you described is normal, Stephanie told me it radiates and moves around but originates from the prostate.
Did you have a urethrotomy ? If so pain at the tip of the penis could be from that. I did have one . It is a very small enlargement of the opening,
Hang in ther It does get MUCH Better
just me
I am 67 years of age and have suffered from BPH for over 10 years and was on Tamsulosin for that period and also Finasteride for the past 3 years. At a routine urology appointment in February 2015 my flow test showed I was voiding around 100ml and retaining 290ml. My prostate size was estimated at 90g and it was suggested that either a TURP or HoLep procedure might be advisable to avoid kidney problems later on. I found this discussion site at that time and decided that HoLep looked the better procedure for me and opted for that to be carried out under the UK's NHS service as I don't have medical insurance.
I had found the information on this site so helpful that I thought I would add my experiences of the procedure to help others who may be considering it, especially as I had the complication of developing a urethral stricture post op (I believe this was discussed by 'Jack' some time back).
In the UK waiting lists for NHS treatment are notoriously long and my operation date was 27 June 2015 when I was to have Mr Mark Rochester carry out the procedure. Once I was on the ward a Mr William Finch arrived and said "Mr Rochester has asked me to carry out your operation today". I was rather taken aback as I had researched Mr Rochester's experience and I asked Mr Finch if he carried out many of these procedures to which he replied that he did. I felt I had to accept this situation. The operation went well and 75g was removed from all three prostate lobes with the lab results coming back negative for cancer cells. I was discharged that evening and the catheter was removed two days later, after which I was more or less completely incontinent for 2 days.
That improved quite quickly and after about 8 weeks I was pretty well free of stress incontinence but this had coincided with a gradual reduction in my urinary flow so I phoned Mr Rochester's secretary for a clinic appointment. There was a bit of a delay it being the holiday season and I had a cystoscopy examination exactly one week ago and he found a stricture up in the bulbar uretra just 'south' of the sphincter. By this time my Qmax was just 5ml/sec and my mean flow rate under 3ml/sec. The operation to fix the stricture was carried out three days ago and I was released after an overnight stay on Sunday. As soon as I got home I started having very painful bladder spasms and noticed that my catheter leg bag did not seem to be filling. Late Sunday afternoon is not a great time to get medical help in the UK but the urgent (not emergency) 111 phone number got me speaking to a duty doctor within about three hours, he contacted Mr Rochester's urology team who rang me straight away to say they would be sending out a community nurse to remove the catheter as it was due to be removed 36 hours later anyway. The nurse arrived at 22:30, removed the catheter and found it was blocked. Since then my urine output is increasing from 100ml to 290ml and the bladder spasms have ceased.
My flow now is incredible; indeed very much better than after the HoLep so maybe the damage that caused the stricture was already causing a partial blockage. I'll be called in to check my flow rate in about 4 weeks, or earlier if I notice a reduction in flow, as strictures can re-occur and I've been told I have a 50% chance of this happening so I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Although my recovery has not be straightforward I'm glad I had the HoLep as I'm hopeful that longterm I will enjoy its full benefits.
What a thrill it was to see that number.