palmer_ent

hi folks - forgot to mention on that doctor's visit wednesday that my
urine output has dropped to that of a 90 year man. they are doing same
day surgery on me and i will get a local and be sedated with an i.v.
also. i've been told that i can't drive a car or make important
decisions for 24 hours after the surgery. there is a 60% chance that
this will cure it.

this is one of those things complications they talk about that could
happen from an RP. the good news, as the surgeon explains it, is that
the scaring from the RP is different from that of a trauma accident,
such as say, a motorcycle accident. the RP scar is able to be stretched
more and hence the higher cure rate. i was told that if this doesn't
cure it, then they go up in there and 'snip' away the scar tissue and
that has a 90% cure rate. he wants to do this first and see if that
fixes it.

on an interesting note, he looked at my incision scar and said it's
healing nicely. i asked him if my body makes too much scar tissue,
hence the problem i have. i said from what he is observing, i don't.
so, there you have it. those of the facts and what i going to happened
to me at the next turn of events. stay tuned. overall i'm still glad i
went this route and have no regrets.

low psa's to everyone.

~ curtis

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional

laser

hey Curtis, I had the "roto rooter" cystoscopy and dilation about 4 months
after RRP for the same stricture symtom you have described. Won't hurt a bit
if sedated - my doc for some reason got anxious and did mine in his office
with no pain killer and apologized later for his "litte shop of horrors".

It helped for about 45 days but it started closing off again. Did the "snip"
in May under a general anesthesa and it has worked great.

Turns out since the RRP I never had a great stream and now its a wonderful
thing.

Got really familiar with my old friend Foley and even removed the middle one
myself at home.

They say it is "rare" but maybe not so much - it is certainly fixable and
you should be looking forward to much more comfort.

Jim

dwight fitzmaurice

I have also had an ever decreasing flow since the end of my treatments. I
had radiation, but there appears to be a stricture about a half inch after
the prostate. Probably scar tissue buildup. I had total blockage twice
because of "mucus plugs" which meant a Catheter. The last time the Dr. did
a wire thing to penetrate the blockage that allowed him to screw on ever
increasing sizes of, well reamers is what I would call them. It started
with a 10 and went all the way up to an 18. I also had no pain killers as
it was an emergency (no flow at all, not a drop). Then I got a Catheter for
a week while it healed up. I have had very good flow since (one month now)
but I was also told that I will need to come in for the "snip." I am also
seeing a slight decrease in flow already.

How was the "snip" go? Any items to ask for or look out for? Did you need
Pyridium after the Catheter came out?

Dwight

palmer_ent

hi jim - got a question, you said that nasty word - foley. am i going
to have to wear this puppy again?

~ curtis

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional

aw

I had same problems at about six weeks post RP. Had one day surgery same as
you describe. Only problem was that with me it all gummed up about two days
thereafter. Very painful for about three days until some debris passed
through. For relief I wrapped hot and cold face washers around my penis.

AW

laser

The snip was a breeze compared to the cystoscopy - it was done under a
general anesthetic in the same hospital where I had my RRP last November so
I didn't feel a thing this time. Came home same afternoon and yes had to
have the Foley catheter again, but only for about 4 days. I understand it is
a quite delicate procedure that caused me to use the same surgeon who did my
RRP.

There is nothing good to say about the catheter but having had one twice
before (RRP for 3 weeks and cystoscopy for 3 days that I removed myself at
home) I didn't worry so much about the pain of it coming out - as you know
from previous experience there is none.

The flow is so much better now and I realize that it was never right after
the RRP. Having to learn continence over again but getting better each day!

No pyridium or any other medications other than antibiotics after the
procedure.

Look forward to it! It should be the fix!

Best wished to you.

Jim

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