As noted in my last blog, I was scheduled for prostate surgery. I was told to be at the hospital at 1:30 that afternoon. The surgery was as an outpatient and I was supposed to be able to go home in a few hours. I could eat and drink only up until midnight the night before. I got to the hospital nervous and hungry. Thirsty, too.

The surgery was to start at 4:30 that afternoon. Talking to the check-in nurse, I found out that my urologist had several patients before me that he was operating on. I was to be the last. I hoped he was not going to be too tired. But, I thought, he should have lots of practice by the time he gets to me. My wife and I waited in the waiting room for about an hour before they called us back. Read more . . .

My urologist gave me the options for fixing my BPH: surgery or drugs, and he did not thing the drugs were a good option.  My prostate was 50 grams and myurethra was almost completely blocked. Antibiotics were no help in opening up my urethra. So, if I wanted to use drugs like Avodart or Proscar, I would have to wear the catheter for several months until the prostate shrunk enough. Ugh. That was not a good option.

Then there is surgery. I asked about the less invasive laser treatments, such as the green laser. My urologist said those laser treatments would require me to continue wearing the catheter until my prostate shrunk enough from the laser treat. He said that the laser destroyed the inside of the prostate and that the prostate would collapse on itself, making my urethral opening larger. But, that takes time.

My doctor's first choice was TURP - trans-urethral resection of prostate. TURP requires an overnight hospital stay. It also has a 2 to 4 month recovery period.

The other option was HoLAP - Holmium Laser Ablation of the Prostate. My urologist was not too optimistic about HoLAP, considering the size of my prostate. At 50 grams he said I was on the high end of the range for it. Read more . . .

Finally, after 2-1/2 weeks I got in to see a urologist. This guy is highly recommended. I found out later that other urologists chose to go to my urologist.

The first thing they did was remove the catheter. It was not painful at all, this time. I was either used to it or the nurse was much more experienced. I think it was the level of experience. The doctor did the usual things, digital rectal exam, ultrasonic probe up the butt. He said my prostate was about 50 grams. He prescribed a stronger antibiotic, told me to come back in a week.

He wanted me to continue wearing a catheter. He said my trouble with the catheter I had was because it was a latex catheter. He put in a silicone catheter that was a lot more flexible. It felt much better.  Read more . . .

As mentioned in my last blog entry, I made a trip to the emergency room at the local hospital to have a catheter inserted in my penis. The catheter relieved my acute urinary retention problem.

I did not know what to expect. I was ever rarely sick. Never had a catheter anywhere near my body. This catheter was about as thick as a pencil. It was inserted, with silicone lube, into my meatus, through my penis, through my closed up prostate gland, and into my full bladder. Once in place, the nurse inflated a balloon at the end of the catheter so that it would stay in place. Read more . . .

Tuesday night I worked late. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but I my butt did hurt. For the past several weeks, I had trouble sitting for extended periods. That is a problem because I have a desk job. It sort of felt like I was constipated. And, it got worse the longer I sat.

Well, anyway, I got home that night about midnight. I puttered around the house for just a few minutes and then went to bed. Little did I realize that I would not be getting any regular sleep again for a long time. Read more . . .