Is there a consensus out there IV sedation verses Lidocaine shot for Biopsy?

Hey Berdoo,

No real consensus, it seems to vary a lot from person to person. Some guys do just fine without even lidocaine. Others, like me, well I think the lidocaine injections just didn't hit the right spot. This happens sometimes in dental work too. So my doctor even wrote in my chart that I should be sedated next time. There won't be a next time though, that puppy is outta here. Might not be a bad idea to go for more cores, though, in any event.

DJ

Mine was done with a lidocaine injection although you couldn't prove it by me since each sample out of 12 stung like a strong rubberband snap on the tush. In hindsight though, I'm a baby with needles too. It did not take long and since I tend to have a queasy stomach recovering from anesthesia I would probably go through a 12 sample again with just a local. I do like David's point though about the 20 samples giving a better appraisal and I might opt for a light anesthesia then especially if they will give you that happy juice first.

Good luck,
Jake

I had mine done in the Uro's office he gave me a few shots of lidocaine that hurt more than the biopsy. Neither were much of a big deal. Some people are more tolerant of pain than others. Only you can decide what you will do. Best of luck.

Jeff T
Cajun Country

I ended up doing IV sedation as they had a very quick opening in the OR room for that.

I would have had to delay a week for the regular biopsy.

I would go IV sedation again (but there won't be another time!)

Mel

I had 12 cores done with only lidocaine. the lidocaine shots were the worse pain

of all for me. As Lou Reed sayed in Walk on the wild side,"valium would have helped that bash".LOL . the whole thing was over in about 20 minutes but it seemed like an hour. Glad i have nothing else to biopsy now. and psa was zero in Dec.

Each guy reacts differently. In my case there was no lidocaine just the 12 core shots. The first two were not too bad but each got progressively worse. It kind of felt like being snapped with a wet towel on the testicles. Not a fun thing. I definitely was counting at the end. Onece it was done I was light headed for a while but that happens each time I have any medical procedure done including a blood test. After I got up I drove home and had no problem with pain. It was a bit un-nerving watching blood come out while urinating. Overall I would not put it as one of the 10 most pleasurable things that I have done in my life but you can get through it. The pain is a lot less then getting a tooth drilled without having it numbed in my opinion. But as I started out each guy reacts differently. Good luck and I hope that you have good results from your biopsy.

I consider myself rather wimpy....and the lidocaine was fine for me. No valium either. Drove home - 30 miles. Pain level was very low. The biopsy was uncomfortable, but not painful.

I agree with Jeff - the shots hurt briefly, the biopsy was just annoying.

I would have been up the creek if I had been seriously sedated - no one here to help drive me home. So my choice was the one allowed, and "in the end" wasn't so bad.

The big choice is 12 vs. 20 cores, and then taking what that brings.

Hang in there.

I was out, in the surgery room and all. Woke up about 45 mins later.

I had 4 biopsies over 4 years all done with IV sedation.  My Dr. did not even mention an alternative to the sedation.  I do not regret the sedation as I had a nice nap each time & my wife drove me home.  My only regret is having to go through 4 years & 4 biopsies to find my cancer.  BTW, 4th biopsy showed Gleason 6 in 5% of one core but pathology report from DaVinci surgery showed Gleason 3+4 in 30% of prostate.  How can biopsies be so inaccurate?  I can understand a small difference but why couldn't they find the cancer with the first 3 12 core biposies?

I had 13 biopsies of every type and size. If you are getting a 6 core, there is no problem without lidocane; it's just one more needle prick. If you are getting more than 8 cores lidocane really helps.
Take a Vicodine 30 min before procedure and another after the procedure and you won't have a problem.
I had a 16 core without licodine and it hurt. I had a 26 core with licodine and it also hurt. I never was sedated and never had a problem.
JohnT

I had the 12-core biopsy with Lidocaine only. Glad I loaded up the iPod with some interesting podcasts to keep my mind off the procedure!

Frankly, the intrusiveness of the doc fooling around up my rectum was the worst part of the whole deal. The collection of biopsy samples was not really either painful nor especially uncomfortable with the local anesthetic.