Hello. It's been a couple of years since I posted. Decided to share my experience. Age 57. BPH since around 2000 or before so it began at about age 37. Flomax started soon after that. Worked for a...
Hi. It's been a while since I visited and posted. I had PAE about 5 years ago at a time with the Gat-Goren folks weren't answering emails and when they finally did it was to inform me they had...
my residual is usually around 150cc. I don't get up that often though....
oops. I meant to say my current uro said small varicocele on one side, nothing on the other. the uro from 15 years ago said both sides. One side small, one side large....
I am at the 3.5 yr mark following PAE. (June 2013) I had about 7 or 8 bladder diverticulum removed in October 2013. (awful surgery) In May, 2013 I was self-cathing 3-4 times a day. 1 month after PAE...
i had a PAE and do not regret it at all. My prostate went from 53 down to 31 now. i was one of the early "trial" patients for a doctor. I was having to cath myself a couple of times a day prior to...
Well, I am confused. I had my spring Urologist appt. yesterday. 15-20 years ago I was told I had bi-lateral varicocele but nothing to worry about. I asked for an ultrasound because I was considering...
one other thing..... Have you ever been diagnosed with varicocele? A very large % of BPH sufferers (especially younger men) have varicocele. There is a Gat-Goren procedure that fixes them and...
just a thought. Buy some self-catheters. You can empty your bladder completely and have no worries of it at all.\...
Look into PAE, Prostate Artery Embolism. Had one 2 years ago. No side effects whatsoever. Prostate shrank from 52 to 34. Still on medicine, but prior to PAE I had to self-cath a couple of times a day....
Also, I was able to get off Proscar with it's awful side effects and am now feeling much better. I want to get off flomax and cialis and be prostate/bladder "drug free". Unless something else is...
It seems that folks on here have generally seen much, much faster improvement with the PAE than with the GG. PAE fixes the problem by directly limiting blood supply. GG works on the supposed source...
My PSA hasn't changed at all since starting checking it. Yes, Proscar will lessen it. Almost anything that shrinks the prostate will supposedly lower PSA. I very surprised and sorry to hear that your...
Gavikron- I am approaching the 2 year mark post-PAE. I notice you mentioned that PAE should likely raise the PSA levels. This wasn't true in my case. I have been a 0.8 ever since I had my first...
I am a pharmacist and for many years was skeptical about melatonin being any good at all. I was also traveling overseas 3-4 times per year which kept my sleep pattern messed up often. I needed help...
some people are born with a narrow bladder neck and suffer urinary retention from early age. Others can become narrowed due to prostate crowding over a long period of time. flomax and cialis work,...
Well, stopping flomax is definitely not what I can or should do. Flow was diminished after 2 days and awful by the 5th day. I started back on flomax and am doing fine now. So, the other option my uro...
I do have mid-lobe protrusion. Had so many MRI-s before and after the PAE and then around the time of fixing my bladder diverticulum (and after it in the ER) that I think an MRI should be out for a...
Hey MGL59, yes the published data for green light is about 1/3 get RE, but the uro that wanted to do one on me 2 years ago, said that the data is way off and the figure is more like 80% and that, if...
You guys are mentioning "improved sexual function" with the PAE. I personally know that this is one of the desired outcomes of PAE. It is a marker that they study and look for. My wife and I had a...
Hey Dave, You can add me to the list of: PAE with success. I also had to have a bladder diverticulum removed before the success was significant....
good to know, Bob, about the bladder neck resection. If it comes to that in the future, I will feel more confident....
Bob, I drink bottled water all day. By lunch, I've usually drank a liter. At lunch, I drink my only Dr. Pepper of the day. afternoon and supper more water. I no longer drink coffee at all even though...
Hi Bob, Presently, I am satisfied with where I am at. I am able to urinate fairly completely, albeit slowly. I don't have a fast or strong stream but do empty. The times I check, which now is...
when trying to get off of Flomax because i was having to take 2 to 3 per day and getting some dizziness, my doc told me to try Rapaflo because it was stronger. In 2 weeks I was 10 out of 10 having...
Dave, almost every time I drink coffee I have issues flare-up again. So, I rarely drink coffee anymore. interestingly, I love Dr. Pepper. One a day doesn't bother me, so I don't think it is just the...
Michael- it seems median lobe intrusion seems to be a disqualifier for all these procedures in regards to effectiveness. After reading a median lobe, which I have, I decided against spending the...
Hey Gavrikon, Congratulations on your improvement. You mentioned not needing ED meds since your PAE and wondered if it had anything to do with it. I believe the answer is "yes". I have read some of...
well, it's been a few months since I updated, so here it is. I went back for final post=op visit with my surgeon. (he did the diverticulum removal). My residual volumes are now hovering between 180cc...
Hi Bob, Yes, it is the 5mg per day dose. I am an rph and a preacher, and when he suggested it, I was hesitant, since I am "high strung" anyway. I told him my routine, he laughed and assured me it...
Bob, I was taking Flomax 0.4mg twice daily and was having much dizziness. My Doc, for a short while bumped me to 3 per day and I was having Retro often. I complained. He changed me to one Flomax per...
Hi Geoffz, If I had the PAE to do over again, I'd do it. And, I would have no reason at all not to use Dr. Bagla. They are great folks. I thought there were 1 or 2 other guys on here that had it, but...
Hey Mr.D, this thread and its predecessors are filled with posts about PAE. I think about 3 of us had it done. I had it done in Virginia. My prostate shrank from about 55 to about 35. My urine flow...
so the price has about doubled in 2 years?...
I remember reading that large median lobes do not see great success from GG. It also seems to not see as much effect from PAE....
Hey Bob, glad to hear things are improved. question, though. I don't remember if you stated you had retrograde as a result of your previous GL laser. If not, have you noticed since you had your...
Hi Bob, I am very sorry to hear of your troubles. Those bladder spasms are hellish. The procedure he plans to do, if necessary, will be like via urethra. Like a TUIP. No work on bladder neck. Only a...
Geoffz, I am not disappointed that I had the PAE. if not for PAE, my only choice would have been Green light laser or GG. GG was not an option for as they quit taking patients in May. Had my PAE...
I believe I may be the only poster on here that had the PAE done. Dr Bagla performed the procedure and it was covered under my insurance. It was successful in that it reduced my prostate from over 55...
Geoffz, don't give up on the PAE on my account. It did shrink my prostate from a 50+ down to 35 or less. It did what it was supposed to do. My problem is that I also, evidently, have a narrow bladder...
geoffz, i spoke with my uro about the diverticulum and he said mine emptied fine. it's low and wide mouth, but my feeling is that when the bladder contracts it pushes urine in the diverticulum (which...
Michael, check with your insurance company about whether or not PAE is covered or not. My insurance, BCBS of Mississippi covered mine that I had done in Virginia....
Bob, I started off in May using a 10 and hated it, very tight. After the PAE, I could use a 14 with no problems. This tells me the prostate shrank, no doubt. But, recently during the bladder/prostate...
I am one of the PAE guys. I had absolutely no side effects from the procedure. No pain, no bleeding, no sexual side effects, no headaches, no nothing. I also had no positive therapeutic results. I am...
Hi Bob. I cath morning and night and sometimes at noon. I basically only void 120-150cc at a time and every time I cath it is between 350 and 480cc. It's like I urinate until I get to that level and...
1 a day for years with no problems. Had to go to 1 cap twice daily and started having some dizziness, vision disturbance, and retrograde ejaculation about 20% of the time. Finally, that quit doing...
I figure if neither the rapaflo nor the flomax were helping decrease my residual urine volume, I may as well use the one that doesn't cause the retro. One flomax per day never caused, 2 per day does...
lol. \ I guess I was unclear. I wasn't speaking of urine flow. I was talking about the "retrograde reversal". [/quote]...
more than tingling. Have (lately) some amount of pain in lower back. With higher dose of flomax, I had full retro maybe 10% and reduced ejaculation about half the time. 1st time after rapaflo, was...
I've had the diverticulum probably 10 years, maybe longer. that's when we found it. I've wondered if that's the problem of my retention, but MRI and cystoscope say the diverticulum is wide-mouthed...