Gixxerman
Guru
- Location
- Market Rasen
I have an enlarged, but none cancerous prostate (benign prostate hyperplaysia or BPH).
Over the last 10 years, urination has been hesitent to start, and often.
I was coping, but starting to become slightly concerned.
Things came to a head 2 weeks ago when I was disgnosed with a kidney stone.
Incidentally, I wouldn't wish these on my worst enemy as I have never known pain like it.
Being the NHS, the machine for busting the stone was only availble at my local hospital on Thursdays, and as luck would have it, the day I went in with the issue was Friday.
The urology team didn't think it was a good idea to leave it for a week, due to my pain levels and the fact that the kidney might be damaged.
So as a stop-gap I had an operation to fit a J-J stent, which alllowed the kidney to get rid of urine.
They also hoped that the stent would make room for the stone to make its own way out. However given its size of 5mm that is unlikely, so another operation is IMO likely to be needed.
It was noted that pe-operation that I was not fully voiding my bladder and 350ml was being retianed. This was even worse post operation with 500ml being retained.
So they fitted me with a catheter and sent me home. This caused me some servere distress as my Dad had a catheter for BPH for the last 10 or so years of his life and it made those years an adject misery (smelling of wee, frequent leaks ruining bed linen and matteresses, and urinary tract infections galore.
This was borne out when I went back in a week later with a raging UTI and temperature on 39.3 which needed 3 nights in hospital and IV antibiotics.
I told the urology team that I do not want a long term catheter as it will be life changing for me. I am 58, but very fit and active, I cycle, wlak, climb mountains (even apline ones) and still play 6-a-side football. All this will end if I have a catheter. So I told them that this is not a practical solution in my case. They did seem very reluctant to go the surgery route though as they thought I might regret it if complications resulted.
So what are my options? Well there is surgery, with TURP (transurethral resectioning of the protetate) and other forms of prostate surgery. There is also drugs that can shrink the prostate, but these take 6 months or so to work, that is if they work at all, as the certainly didn't for my Dad.
They have started me on Tamsulosin as this is a muscle relaxant. My fear is that anything other than surgery is just staving of the inevitable, and I'll end up catherterized forever.
The worry is that surgery has some risks. Retrograde ejaqulation (whereby semen goes into the bladder), incontinence and urinary urgency.
The other factor is that I will be joining the company health insurance scheme in November (only can enrol yearly), and claims can be made from January after joining. They also treat existing complaints. This would allow me access to private healhcare and no doubt more choice of procedures available. I also have the financial funds to pay for the operation privately should I need to. So maybe with drugs they can get me to a point where the catheter can come out and give me so time to assess my options.
So have others had similar issues? What did you do? What was offered? Did you have surgery? What procedure did you have? How did it go? What were the long term experiences with surgery?
Thanks for any help.
Over the last 10 years, urination has been hesitent to start, and often.
I was coping, but starting to become slightly concerned.
Things came to a head 2 weeks ago when I was disgnosed with a kidney stone.
Incidentally, I wouldn't wish these on my worst enemy as I have never known pain like it.
Being the NHS, the machine for busting the stone was only availble at my local hospital on Thursdays, and as luck would have it, the day I went in with the issue was Friday.
The urology team didn't think it was a good idea to leave it for a week, due to my pain levels and the fact that the kidney might be damaged.
So as a stop-gap I had an operation to fit a J-J stent, which alllowed the kidney to get rid of urine.
They also hoped that the stent would make room for the stone to make its own way out. However given its size of 5mm that is unlikely, so another operation is IMO likely to be needed.
It was noted that pe-operation that I was not fully voiding my bladder and 350ml was being retianed. This was even worse post operation with 500ml being retained.
So they fitted me with a catheter and sent me home. This caused me some servere distress as my Dad had a catheter for BPH for the last 10 or so years of his life and it made those years an adject misery (smelling of wee, frequent leaks ruining bed linen and matteresses, and urinary tract infections galore.
This was borne out when I went back in a week later with a raging UTI and temperature on 39.3 which needed 3 nights in hospital and IV antibiotics.
I told the urology team that I do not want a long term catheter as it will be life changing for me. I am 58, but very fit and active, I cycle, wlak, climb mountains (even apline ones) and still play 6-a-side football. All this will end if I have a catheter. So I told them that this is not a practical solution in my case. They did seem very reluctant to go the surgery route though as they thought I might regret it if complications resulted.
So what are my options? Well there is surgery, with TURP (transurethral resectioning of the protetate) and other forms of prostate surgery. There is also drugs that can shrink the prostate, but these take 6 months or so to work, that is if they work at all, as the certainly didn't for my Dad.
They have started me on Tamsulosin as this is a muscle relaxant. My fear is that anything other than surgery is just staving of the inevitable, and I'll end up catherterized forever.
The worry is that surgery has some risks. Retrograde ejaqulation (whereby semen goes into the bladder), incontinence and urinary urgency.
The other factor is that I will be joining the company health insurance scheme in November (only can enrol yearly), and claims can be made from January after joining. They also treat existing complaints. This would allow me access to private healhcare and no doubt more choice of procedures available. I also have the financial funds to pay for the operation privately should I need to. So maybe with drugs they can get me to a point where the catheter can come out and give me so time to assess my options.
So have others had similar issues? What did you do? What was offered? Did you have surgery? What procedure did you have? How did it go? What were the long term experiences with surgery?
Thanks for any help.
