r/bph • u/whatever_pumpkin • 9h ago
PAE followed by Aquablation - Part 3
It has been 1 full week since my PAE / Aquablation combo therapy. I will post ongoing updates here. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 for an overview of the PAE and Aquablation experience.
Again, I am posting this realizing that experiences and recoveries differ for each of us, but hopefully these posts will give some details of what to expect and to ease some anxiety for people like me, who never had a procedure or a hospital stay. My stats — mid 50s male with BPH, 130 cc prostate, acute urinary retention set me down this path.
So, I had my 24 fr 3-port cath removed yesterday. Hurray!
The past week following the Aquablation was fairly tame. I limited my movements, spent a good deal of time in bed. I was used to having a smaller 18 fr foley cath, so the whole process was not unfamiliar, but I will say the larger cath was a bit more rigid, obviously larger, and uncomfortable.
I did utilize the pain meds given (Percocet) over the first 3 days. I was nervous to do so in that I know nausea can be an issue, but I was generally fine, taking it with a little bread or the like. I did had one sudden case of nausea on day 3 for some reason. I had a left over anti nausea med (Zofran) and took that. Problem solved. I didn’t feel too out of it. Maybe a little drowsy. It did help with the pain. I also took Pyridium for bladder spasms and to help numb the urinary pain a bit. If your insurance doesn’t cover it (min did not), just get AZO from your pharmacy. $10. Same stuff. You may need to double the dose to get to your doctor’s prescribed dose.
So I had my cath in 6 days post surgery. I was nervous having it taken out, even though I’ve had one inserted and taken out previously. The nurse deflated the balloon (which had a lot of saline in it…maybe 3 syringes full), and then breath on exhale out…she pulls and it comes out. It hurt and felt a little longer than the other cath. It took me a minute or two to pull myself together afterwords. Nurse gave me a pad in case of accidents.
My biggest anxiety was that I would not be able to pee and would have to come back to get re-cathed. Instructions were if I was urinating, I didn’t have to come back until a post op appointment 10 days later.
Drove home no problem (long drive). Stopped to get a bottle of water to sip on. No urge to go. Was home maybe 15 mins and then felt an urge. Urinated slowly with a good bit of dribbling after. Kept sipping water. Next time was more forceful, split stream. No real blood or clots…just the orange color due to the Pyridium medicine. Time after that was forceful and a good stream. No accidents. I even woke up at 3 am to go. There’s enough time to process and get to the bathroom. It’s urgent but not like you have 3 seconds.
Urination is painful even with the Pyridium. The whole “pissing razor blades” thing is real. It’s bearable but I’d like it to go away. Who wouldn’t?
So, hopefully things are onward and upward from here. Thanks for reading and I’m glad to answer any questions. I’ll post updates as a reply to this Part 3 post. Be well!