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Saturday, December 13, 2008
Almost 10 months
This is another Prostiva RF post so if you are not interested now would be a good time to go to the next blog and read. It has almost been 10 months and I feel incredible. I go for hours without a restroom visit and sometimes forget all together. If you have spent years making sure you always know where the nearest bathroom is then you know what a huge feat this is for me. I drove to San Antonio about 2.5 hours away and then hung out with friends and didn't even remember I hadn't taken a restroom break for almost 2 hours. There is minimal pain when you get the procedure but then 4-5 days later you almost forget you had the procedure. I will say that my doctor did not stress to me the need to avoid caffeine and alcohol. This will cause your prostate to regrow and cause the same problem to recur. The medicine you take to treat the symptoms is very bad for your liver and overall health. The sooner you get off it the better. The medicine does not treat the prostate it only lessens the symptoms. So if you want to kill your liver to avoid some minor pain I would say you should really reconsider. The test for the Prostiva can also determine if you have prostate cancer. This type of cancer is the most treatable if found early so save your liver and your prostate with a simple test and then your peace of mind will be amazing.
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9 comments:
This is a great article from a great person. Most of us are too busy talking to listen.
Would like for Brandon to contact me
at lcunn@isp.com
Loyd Cunningham
Hi Brandon, Thanks for your blog. I just had the Prostiva procedure done yesterday, and I was fully awake. With local anesthesia, it was uncomfortable, but not too bad. I have a catheter inserted in me now, since many men have too much swelling to pee easily after the procedure. The catheter is uncomfortable, and it's kind of a drag to see a rubber tube sticking out of your man-piece. In a few days, I will go back in to have the catheter removed, then I will do the pee test to make sure I can pee OK.
-RobertT from Los Angeles
I'm glad you felt it was not too bad. It is really going to change the way you do almost everything. Sounds a little uncomfortable but you survived. I appreciate you coming by and let my know how it went.
Hi Brandon. It seems like it is taking a long time for the prostate/urethra tissues to heal from the Prostiva procedure. It's been almost 2 weeks now, and I still notice my pee is a little brown at the start, and my underwear is also showing some evidence of blood. It's a bit unsettling that it is taking so long for the bleeding to completely stop. What was your experience with regards to this?
Thanks,
-RobertT, Los Angeles
It did take a while for the pee to clear up. I would say 6-8 weeks maybe but it did finally happen. He told me the caffeine probably slowed my progress. I drank tea a lot. Thanks for posting your experience. It will help a few guys I am sure.
You mention the procedure "should last about 15 years", while Medtronic's own literature states 5 years. I'm wondering what the basis is for your more optimistic forecast. Also, one of the side effects cited is "obstruction (blockage)" which sounds ominous. Was this explained to you, along with how it is treated if it occurs? And finally, did you consider the other "in-office" treatment which uses microwave, instead of radio frequency, energy? If so, what were the deciding factors?
Your response will be most appreciated. Many thanks.
I based the 15 years on what the guy I talked to about it before I had it done. He said for legal reasons Medronic could only say 5 years. Blockage was explained but not really a concern I guess at the time that I remember. I would assume it is a risk involved with the procedure that is possible but not very probable. I am not a Dr so I would not know how it could be corrected other than rebuild the duct itself which sounds bad.
I didn't really consider the radio frequency treatment because after looking at both it seemed the Prostiva had a better chance of success long term. Based on what each procedure was focused on it seemed the RF would eliminate more tissue in the long term where the radio seemed to just reduce the inflammation short term.
Well, it's been about 7 weeks since my Prostiva, and I've stopped bleeding for some time now. My flow is definitely much better, although I still don't "pee-like-a-firehose" but I am glad I had it done. I would say to Sam who asked about microwave vs RF, the Prostiva uses RF to burn away tissue at the point of restriction. The dead tissue is absorbed by the body. The blockage risk issue, I believe is that sometimes the swelling is excessive, and prevents you from being able to pee. That is why my doctor had me wear a catheter for 5 days. When it was removed, "Ouch!" but I was able to pee 250ml which is my bladder capacity. I don't know anything about the microwave treatment, but I would think what is most important is to find a doctor who really cares about his work, and one who had done lots of procedures (whatever procedure you pick) with high success rate. Good luck,
-RobertT from Los Angeles
Thank you, Robert, for your input. It was quite helpful.
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