Andrewski said...
Over a few weeks or months (I can’t remember exactly) the constriction came back, a little worse than before.....
It's a road I'm not going down, if I can help it.
After my initial surgery, my flow was like a fire hose. But little did I know....the suture between the ureathra and bladder neck was leaking as well. This made me sick and I had to be recathed for several more weeks, for more healing. This left scar tissue (a stricture). So when they pulled the cath the second time....my urine flow was greatly reduced (back to the way it was before I had the surgery). People who have this problem are at a higher risk for stricture problems. Bigger wound....bigger scar.
I also had DVT from the surgery. So they put me on blood thinner medication. The blood thinner made my urine turn red. They tried going into my bladder with a scope to determine the cause of the blood. The scope would not go in due to a stricture. I was taken off of blood thinner long enough to have a dilation done to
open the stricture. They then determined that nothing was wrong inside my bladder. Back on the thinner again. And more bleeding. That was a harrowing time. It's difficult to go to the bathroom and see blood filling the toilet every time you go. But I did do that for several months because I needed the thinner for the DVT. I cut the thinner short by a month because it freaked me out so much. Then I had kidney stones.
In they go to blast 'em. This was around the year and a half to two year mark. They have to run a tube inside your bladder for this proceedure. At this time it was determined that my stricture was holding
open.
During this time....I researched strictures fairly thoroughly. I came away with the impression that (and I cannot find the study that told me this, I think I may have deleted it)......the impression that you get two shots at this. If the second "fix" doesn't hold.....all further instrumentaion will be palitive only. In other words...there is no cure other than possibly uroplasty.
My stream has dropped off more. However....I'm holding out. If there's one thing I do not want is to have to self cath from this crap lol for the rest of my life. I've made my call. I'm sticking with what I've got until I am forced into another proceedure.
A couple of guys here have fixed their strictures by self-dialating until the scar tissue becomes stable and stays
open on it's own. That's also a road I'd rather not travel unless absolutely necessary.
Now....if I were married and could not get an erection, that might could change my thinking on the subject. But that's not my situation. Only you can determine how to proceed.
Our thinking is very much alike Andrewski. Had I known what was causing the bleeding from the blood thinner, I would not have allowed the uro to dialate me. But, I was cornered.
It will take another such situation for me to have another proceedure done.
These things can be "delicate"....it's a delicate part of medicine. I'm just wigged out about
all of it. So I prefer to stay out of the operating room as long and as much as possible. And self cathing or self-dialating isn't something I'm willing to until it's a medical necessity.
What happens is....the more you mess with it, the bigger the wound. The bigger the wound, the more scar tissue. etc....