Experiences with Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate, HoLEP, Laser Surgery

Nell, I just had mine a week ago so I cannot be of much help except to say that my doctor says he has only had 6 out of 400 that still have incontinent issues at the 1 year mark. I guess it is the last thing to fully heal. I really feel for your husband. My hopes and prayers go out for him.

Jwb43

Thanks Just Me, Your words ring true. It would be no fun to go through what you describe. The weird thing is that I had very little leaking the first few days and now it is getting more and more. I don't want to start my kegals yet because it hurts down there as it is and I don't want them to make me bleed. I am having no bleeding now. The infection was a false alarm. The urine culture never grew into anything so they told me to stop the antibiotics. Go figure?

Hi Nell ,

 My surgery was Ocy 22 .  The first few days I had very little control . I returned to work after 2 weeks  and had to change pads every 2 1/2 hrs. This went on for a couple weeks.  Presently , I do not leak sitting standing or sleeping. My only leaks occur as stress incontinence. I leak when I pich up something heavy , or bend just right. I  do Kegals and they do seem to help , just wish they were working a little faster.  I do not regret my decision of having this surgery at all.

 There is a  surgical procedure where a type of valve is placed in the body . I am aware of it but know very little about it.  Personally, I would consider it only as a last resort.

Hoping for progerss for your husband,

just me

jwb43,

Glad to hear the infection was afalse alarm. If you go back several months ago in our previous posts jonal had the same experience . There is alot of info recorded with a lot of different people. If you have not read through all the posts take the time and do so. jonals infection was a false alarm as well.

just me 

Yes I thought I remembered something to that effect. I have read all the post but there were so many that I forget and get them mixed up. Sounds like you have a good memory. Well for now my healing is holding steady and waiting for the next plateau of improvement or some new unexpected issue. (let's hope not) I am still having no bleeding but I am sure it has to happen sooner or later when the scabs start breaking loose. It's very nice that you "HoLEP vets still keep montoring this blog and helping us new folks out with your experence and wisdom. Thanks for that. It means a lot to us.

jwb43,

  I  Remember how it was before my surgery.  I was eager to get the surgery done but concerned abouy ots after effects.  Now that Im on this side of it and experienced the tremendous improvement ,  It is a way I can help. 

Hope you are doing well,

just me

Well I came back from my 12 day cruise (Norway and Iceland!). It was great. And now catching up with the posts. I had zero problems at all this trip. Jwb, good to hear you improving. As Just me said - we are all different. I did not have the recorrance after5-6 weeks but - like you - I got an infection and went on antibiotics for 2-3 bweeks. Not a big deal. You said you did kegels but did you get biofeedback to make sure yiu were doing correctly? That was MY issue and solved after I learned how to do them properley. As for the shields, try them I think you'll find comfortable (and if you don't need after using a few, the cost is minimal. (Under$10 for under threee of them) Nell, I posted the incontinence pills my docror gave me a month of samples for and they seemed to help. Well back to checking my other emails now. Steve

Glad to see you had a good trip Steve.

 I Will be going to Ireland to see my son and daughter in law soon.  I have 3 little granddaughters  I have not seen for 3 and a half years due to my prostate and sciatic problems. One of them I have not even met yet. I am quite sure I will do fine with my prostate issue .  My sciatic, however is I reminding me of its presence.

How are you coming along jwb43 ?

just me

Hello Just Me and welcome back Steve. I am glad you had a good time on your cruise. I bet it was beautiful. I would love to see Norway. Glad you had no problems with your recovery. I am doing well. I have very little pain. Just some discomfort trying to find a comfortable way to sit so all the weight is not right on my prostrate. I ordered a donut type cushion to try out. It helps a little but I hope the tenderness goes away soon. I am only 3 weeks out. My incontinence is very low. Only squirts once in a while. And I have had no bleeding since the first couple of days. I have started to swim and walk over the last week to get some exercise and that is helping my mental outlook. The two problems I have now are I am eating high fiber and doing prunes and Metamucil but I still keep getting constipated. It's frustrating. Also I am not sure how long to wait to have my first orgasm. I have been having erections at night but keep ignoring them. I do not want to go too soon and start things bleeding.

Hi Steve and Just Me. Glad you had a good trip Steve. I would love to see Norway. I am doing pretty well thanks I have very little pain. Just some discomfort trying to find a comfortable way to sit so all the weight is not right on my prostrate. I ordered a donut type cushion to try out. It helps a little but I hope the tenderness goes away soon. I am only 3 weeks out. My incontinence is very low. Only squirts once in a while. And I have had no bleeding since the first couple of days. I have started to swim and walk over the last week to get some exercise and that is helping my mental outlook. The two problems I have now are I am eating high fiber and doing prunes and Metamucil but I still keep getting constipated. It's frustrating. Also I am not sure how long to wait to have my first orgasm. I have been having erections at night but keep ignoring them. I do not want to go too soon and start things bleeding. But I don't want to wait too long. You know "use it or lose it"?

Having trouble posting and it ended up on here twice. Don't know how to remove it? Sorry.

I am interested in any feedback you had on Dr. Krambeck at Mayo.
I am scheduled for a procedure there.
Minnesota Born

Hi jwb43

  It sounds like you are doiing very well so far!

Make sure you drink plenty of water to help with the constipation , snd stay away from alcohol as it will dehydrate you. 

I did not have an orgasm for about 5 weeks,but my prostate was almost twice your size.   What did your Dr say about it? 

How strong is you pain at you surgery site ?   An orgasm could aggravate you prostate . My pain was pretty much gone when I had my first one. If in doubt wait a little.  I am sure you wont Lose it!  I am glad you are doing so well .   

just me  

When are you due for HoLep MB? We'll try to guide you through your procedure.
Steve

Hi JWB! (For sume reason I am only getting weekly digest so I just saw this week's posts. I'll try to figure out how to get instant replies.

Sounds like you are on track. we told you that incontinanmce would go away over time. Isn't it wonderful!

Re: the constipation, I found that colace (generic) one in morning helped me and helps now. Needed it on cruise (along with prunes) because of all the white flour I was eating. It's mild (the colace).

As for orgasms - you may not want to hear this - but you have a whole life ahead of you and so just consider a few weeks an "inconvenience" Just follow your doctor's orders. four months from now you'll be here coaching others like Just me, Jonal and me.

Hang in there!

Steve