Had sex one week after green light laser surgery for prostate. Have I injured myself?

I heard there is 2 procedures for this. Green light and blue light. What is the difference? How soon after the surgery can the patient heal? Is it painful?

Hi. Fascinating comments -- v. helpful. I have BPH -- am 57 and have had it for several years. I'm currently on Avodart and Flomax and the uro says my day of reckoning is coming -- need a TURPS. I have done a lot of reading about PVP and it seems worth considering for all the obvious reasons. But does anyone know a competent PVP surgeon in Vancouver, or western Canada -- or anywhere in Canada? Is it covered by my provincial health plan? The uro is quite pro-TURPS, although I have not talked with him about PVP.

Thanks for any help

I just had the surgery last Thursday. Took the catheter out after 1 day. The burning is gone after 2 days. My stream is still weak, and I still get up 3 times at night, so I am still waiting for the horse-like stream and complete emptying. My doc was Dr. Steele and I am very satisfied. I will be 63 in July. Have had slow stream for 4 years. Uroxatral and Flomax make me tooo dizzy.

My experience is the same. Had the surgery 5 days ago. I had a TUNA proceedure some years ago and this was much better. Mine was at Gramery Urology Solutions in New York City and done by Dr. Jed Kaminetsky. I would recomend both the center and the doctor. If I had known how easy it was going to be, I would have had it when I first had difficulting urinateing :-D

I had the green light laser treatment 9 days ago- had sex with my wife today with no problems (other than anxiety). Stream is good, no particular urgency, no bleeding (which was very minor) for 4 days now. I think only people having problems are posting here. Go for it! You will be glad you did. Just find a doc who does it all the time.

Considering surgery for enlarged prostate in UK. National health Surgeon only recommends Turp. This procedure seems quite invasive, and long recovery time.
Green light promoted by private hospitals, where testimonials are good(but then again they would be wouldn't they) UK greenlight costs £5000.
Turp is free on national health service,but would prefer green light .
Any experiences by anyone on Turp operation, so that I can make more of a judgement.Scary things on Turp procedure are almost certainty of retrograde ejaculation, chance of erectile dysfunction, and some incontinence! Is greenlight experience much different.

I'm Ken. 76 yrs. Had GL 10 weeks ago. Urination is frequent (30-60 minutes apart). Slight burning sensation when urinating. Urgency high (thank God for adult diapers). Minor pecker pain that is constant. Makes sleeping difficult.
Still, even with these drawbacks it is immeasurably better than before GL.

I guess I'm one of the unfortunate few. I had green light laser surgery performed one year ago. Totally decimated my sex life. Retrograde ejaculation, very weak orgasm, erectile problems the whole nine yards. If I could go back in time I'd never have had this done, but the doctor had assured me that complications were so rare as to be virtually nonexistent.

It seems that most of the comments here tend to be negative. I had the green light procedure done on June 23rd. My urologist said I could go home without a catheter if I could urinate fully before discharge (same day), which I did. I was his first patient to discharge without a catheter. I was uncomfortable that evening and the next day but not since. I haven't had any bleeding since that first full day after surgery. I continue to have urinary urgency and have to rush to the toilet but my urine stream is strong and consistent. I have absolutely no pain. My urologist called to see how I was fairing on the third day and I congratulated him on his work. I have no complaints at this point and would do it again tomorrow. I do hope the urgency and poor control get better. But, as for pain and discomfort I have none since day two. I live in Belleville, Illinois USA.

penis

Had my GL a month ago. Results are excellent. If I had read all the posts on line, I would have been scared off from having the procedure for sure... I am glad I had it done. Had bleeding off and on for about three weeks, its stopped now. Flow is at least double what it was before surgery. Still get up a few times a night, but less than before. Training my bladder now - read somewhere that it takes your bladder some time to adjust to new flow. So going through the routine to go every 4 hours. One night slept six hours without waking - priceless! Only complaint would be that there is some cramping inside at the end of urination, MD said it would go away after a while. Even if it does not, I am glad to have done the procedure.

I had greenlight 14 days ago, took the catheter out 24 hours later as advised. My stream is like a race horse. The first 3 times I urinated was like urinating 50 thousand tiny razor blades. Today for the first time, I did low impact on the treadmill. About 7 hours later I had a bowel movement with a lot of blood from my penis. A very large clot came out as well. Still on anti-biotics for another 3 days. I would probably do greenlight again if I got a nurse that did not have cold hands! I am hoping that the exercise might have caused the blood and clots to be ejected and nothing else. Up to this point the blood has been minimal.

Good comments all. I had a double wammy. BPH with complete retention 7 months ago and then a tumor was discovered in the bladder before the scheduled TURPS. They aborted the TURPS but got a sample of the tumor. The TURPS was aborted because of bleeding from a stricture in the urethra. The second proceedure they tried a green light which seemed to work ok. The third time they went in for the tumor, different surgeon. No problem, I even walked out the same day but my stream was slowing down. It was really slowing down before the tumor removal but all the attention was on the tumor. After about 6 weeks the second surgeon did a TURPS. It is so good I dont know why they fool around with all these other proceedures. 15 years ago I had a TUNA which was only good for about 5 years. I understand they really dont know how long the green light is good for. The green light works by slicing not removal of tissue. The TURPS removes tissue. If I was able to make the decisions when my problems started I would opt for the TURPS every time. The real problem is to find a sugeon that is very very comfortable doing it. That is the most important factor. My recovery was easy, I was only in for an overnight, the subsequent bleeding was as the doctor described it would be. It is now 2 months after the proceedure. I am sleeping through the night for the first time in 20 years, and I pee faster than I can ever remember. I am also finished with the pads I used to need for a bit of leakage. All that and I am 76 years old and happy to tell my story.

Thanks for sharing your experiences all of you. I have enjoyed reading about it and it definitely gives me confidence if I ever have to get a prostate procedure done that I really shouldn't worry so much about it. Thank you again!

had the greenlight at my Dr's urging 12/07, no real medical complications, but the sexual side effects (retrograde and diminished sensation) catapulted me into a deep suicidal depression that i am still not recovered from. only 57 years old... feel like I rushed into this, causing major life problems, even tho I pee better, I would have been much better off waiting. If you have any doubt, prone to depression or have anxiety, tell ur Doc and keep trying other strategies.... Any advice on the sex issue would be much appreciated. Hardly do anymore and my wife is getting frustrated with my constant feeling that i made a huge mistake...

My experience was excellent in Spokane, Washintgon.... But all major cities have people fully experienced in doing this operation. Call your hospital and speak with the urology nurse in surgery. She will tell you who.... I did and I am pleased.







Had the procedure on Friday, October 4th, 2009. Day surgery at Deaconess Hospital. I am a healthy, but overweight, 68 year old male. I take no medicine and have not had any health problems before this.







Went in to the operation at 7:30am. The doctor was done around 8:30m. I was fully awake from general anesthesia by 9:30am, and went home at 10:00am with catheter in place.







During the procedure, I was knocked out so I know nothing of operation. But no real pain once I got home home except for the catheter which feels totally foreign. Pain pills helped. I slept for 12 hours that evening. Best sleep I had had in months. Emptied catheter bag twice in that evening, but went right back to sleep.







I removed catheter the next moring. My urine was free of blood and a clear yellow. Since then it has been another 30 hours (Sat) and 54 hour ( Sun)since the operation. Now there is a little blood each time I urinate.







I went to work the next day, Saturday, after 24 hours . I did desk work. After 48 hours I was so well and full of life (normal) that I went for a walk in the woods. I am almost exacly like I was a week ago - nothing has changed my life.







The first urination was painful, as expected. The next was really not too bad. Almost no acidic pain. From then on urinating was never much of an irritant, but I still have a little hesitation each time I go. But I only experience a twinge of discomfort on the first moment of urination. After that it is all fine.















As for the actual results, it is way too early to know. I still go to the bathroom every 1 to 3 hours and urinate. Cannot know yet if the doctor took too little off the prostrate canal or if it is still swollen. I wonder if I will not get the relief I need from the operation. That is a question yet unanswered







But most bulletin board posts tell me it takes weeks to actually heal and get normal from the PVP procedure. So I am optomistic.







The urine stream is a bit stronger. Yesterday afternoon and today the urine stream started to divide a bit. I suspect a small blood clot is in the uretha stream and it will leave when it is ready to leave. Obviously it can't stay there forever.







I cannot imagine a person not doing this operation. The going to the washroom every 2 hours each day and night has to be maddening. It was making me sleep deprived and that was very, very bad. So the benefits far, far outweight the risks.







I suspect the few people who have bad results are







1) poorer candidates



2) results of too aggressive a doctor taking too much off



3) an operation performed by a newer doctor without experience







but for the tens of thousands world wide that succeed, their silence is testimonial to the fact that this is an absolute godsend.







I would recommend it to anyone if they qualify as a candidate. Done correctly, it is relative painless and far less intrusive than I thought.