Bright and sunny day, feeling better and ready to travel

[Clipper]

We are heading out to do some shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond. They are having a "Store Closing" clearance sale and we have two gift cards to spend before they close the store.

First time out in quite some time when I won't have to plan the day around mapping all the prospective public restroom locations.

Kit, you were wanting to know how I made out. Well, the complications aside, the procedure has been quite successful and is still getting better. For a couple of years I have always had to look for a restroom wherever I went, whether it be shopping, out to eat, or somewhere else away from home. It was not unusual to hit the rest room several times along the way. Last night I used the bathroom before we left for the bowling alley. I didn't bowl, but sat for over 2 hours and watched my team bowl while I drank a large black coffee. We went to Perkins after bowling as we always do. I ate and drank another cup of coffee. I finally used the restroom before we left to make the trip home. My brother has done well after having it done. Even after all the pain, the infection, the spasms, and 5 days of serious discomfort, the procedure has been a real positive experience with pleasing results.

It should have been a 15 minute deal with a couple of days of recovery, but it is what it is.

[clarencebunsen]

That is a much better report than the last couple you posted. Good to see.

[Ralph]

  Glad to finally see a post from you!  I was getting a bit worried.
Glad, that in the end it is working out well for you. 

[kit]

Thanks for the positive update, Clipper. It's good to hear that you're doing so well and not bothered by frequent 'head calls' any more. When my urologist tells me it's time for me to do something about my frequency problem, I'll ask him about this procedure.

[Clipper]

Feb 11, 2023 6:58:01 GMT -5 kit said:

Thanks for the positive update, Clipper. It's good to hear that you're doing so well and not bothered by frequent 'head calls' any more. When my urologist tells me it's time for me to do something about my frequency problem, I'll ask him about this procedure.

I hope when the time comes that you get the results my brother and I have seen.

Any procedure can have complications, and with my usual luck, I hit the lottery and experienced the worst of the worst, haha.

In my case I didn't wait for my doctor to recommend it. After seeing how pleased my brother was with the results I read all I could read, viewed many videos of the procedure itself, and actively sought out a doctor to do the procedure. After having the anesthetist cancel my first appointment for the surgery because I had a sinus infection, my old urology clinic was scheduling way into late March. They only had one doctor that was trained in the procedure and only dedicated one day a month to performing the procedure. They only did it at a Johnson City hospital day surgery, and I would be paying a $175 copay to the hospital, plus the copay to the doctor as well as the anesthetist.

The urology clinic I now use does the procedure every Friday in the office or twice a month at the hospital if that is what the patient prefers or pre-existing health conditions dictate doing it in a hospital setting.

Done in the office, there is the anesthetist, the doctor, and a representative technician from the manufacturer of the device who assists the doctor with every procedure. Easy peasy. they start the IV, inject the sleepy time into it and 15 minutes later you wake up and walk next door to a room where you spend another 15 minutes to clear your head before walking to your car to be driven home. Had I not had a problem with the bleeding and required the catheter I would have been fine and felt fine until that evening. By the next morning all hell broke loose. The kit comes from the manufacturer in a sterile package, ready for use. the doctor said that of all the hundreds of procedures that he has done, only once before has a patient ended up with an aggressive infection such as I had. He strongly suspects that it was the catheter that was contaminated, not the device.

Doing fine today. Just continuing the antibiotic 4 times a day for another few days. I see the doc again on the 27th.

I would probably recommend discussing it with your urologist sometime soon. They do a scan and if your prostate has gotten too big you won't qualify for the procedure. The scan will give the doctor an idea of where you are at now and how long it might be before you might not qualify due to increased size. It is great to no longer experience the aggravating and inconvenient bladder habits that we have just taken for granted and learned to live with. it is nice to no longer have my bladder screaming at me all day and all night, haha.

[kit]

Thanks for the details Clipper. I had to postpone my last cystoscopy because of sciatica that came on me a couple of months ago. It hurt so bad that I couldn't climb up on the examination table. It's getting a bit better now so I'll call and reschedule. It's a new doctor that I haven't been to before (my regular doctor moved to New Jersey near his family) and I'm not sure if he does the urolift procedure. I'll ask about it.

[Clipper]

Feb 12, 2023 7:56:27 GMT -5 kit said:

Thanks for the details Clipper. I had to postpone my last cystoscopy because of sciatica that came on me a couple of months ago. It hurt so bad that I couldn't climb up on the examination table. It's getting a bit better now so I'll call and reschedule. It's a new doctor that I haven't been to before (my regular doctor moved to New Jersey near his family) and I'm not sure if he does the urolift procedure. I'll ask about it.

I hope that your sciatica resolves soon Kit. I know that pain all too well. I used to experience it quite often, but finally my neuro doc surgically corrected it with a disc removal and fusion. Feel better soon my friend.

[Atticus Pizzaballa]

There is an ad on TV concerning a new device that can be work to alleviate the pain of sciatica.

www.amazon.com/BEACTIVE-Plus-Acupressure-System-Compression/dp/B0B5P12FQ3/ref=asc_df_B0B5P12FQ3/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598243301730&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8728385968604779279&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1023438&hvtargid=pla-1730419118085&psc=1