My urine problems as I age. (now nearing 73)

[mickcant]

Hi all,
I have had problems with lack of good sleep due to needing to wee many times during the night, this started back in about 1995, and having medication that did little to help! :olddude:

For some but not all men, the prostrate grows larger and makes the flow of urine through it difficult.

I will skip the many notes I have on trying to get help and go to my operation this week on 8th March 2017.

The 'Transurethral Resection of Prostrate' operation went very smoothly after seeing various people at Pre Op Assessment unit and being told what 'could' go wrong and filling in consent forms, the Anaesthetist injected two fluids into my arm, and the next I knew I was being transferred onto a ward bed, with a catheter installed and two big bags of fluid being fed into the catheter to flush the water system out.

The operation was done via the urethra, with a laser of some sort, you are left temporally more incontinent than before! in pain on weeing and being constantly nagged at to drink more water!
The ward was a fairly new built small 4 bedded unit off a main control point, sleeping was like trying to sleep in the central island of a busy roundabout !.

The nurses were mostly Pilipino and all were brilliant nurses.
As I had been there we had many interesting conversations about the Philippines.

The catheter was removed at about 4. 45am on the 2nd day and my urine output was monitored into bottles. :omg:

One minute I was told I would need to stay another night then I was sent to the discharge lounge, where there was no way they would just let me leave the hospital by my own means as I had arrived!

My arranged transport home had gone out without his mobile phone and was not answering their calls to come collect me, I could easily have walked the 15 or so minute journey home, but they would not let me, so it ended with them arranging a taxi and wheeling me to it.

Was I pleased to be home, at least my dog who had been looked after by my eldest son moving in was pleased to see me.
Mick.:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[stevewool]

Glad it all went well Mick, and the bonus of those Nurses too, any romance coming your way:smile:

[Michael Parnham]

Well done Mick, good luck with your health for the next twenty years:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[mickcant]

Glad it all went well Mick, and the bonus of those Nurses too, any romance coming your way:smile:

Hi Steve, no I was not looking to be honest and even if I did my retired income is about half what the government now requires us to have! :NoNo:
Mick. :smile:

[Longweekend]

Good luck with a speedy recovery...:xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Harry T]

Seems to be good news all round, yeah the constant nagging to drink more water :biggrin: been there got the T-Shirt, its really just to make sure the Bladder is working properly, and no Blood contamination in your Pee before you are discharged, lets hope you can get some good sound sleep from now on :xxgrinning--00xx3:.

[Terpe]

Glad to learn you've got that problem resolved Mick.
Hope you get back to fighting fitness and an undisturbed sleep routine very soon.

[imagine]

wish you a quick recovery and stop taking the piss :piss2: :biggrin:

[Arthur Little]

Mick ... I knew - from online discussions we've had in the past - that you'd encountered problems similar to mine in this respect. But what I hadn't realised was, that yours had reached the stage of requiring surgical intervention.

Tbh ... :anerikke: ... the very idea of a catheter fills me with dread as, having worn one [overnight] on a couple of occasions, I'd found it wasn't the most pleasant or comfortable of experiences.

However, you're possibly a braver man than I am, my friend. And I'm :BouncyHappy: delighted to read that the operation is already making a significant difference to your everyday life. So take care! :xxgrinning--00xx3:

[Doc Alan]

Glad to know that your operation went smoothly, Mick :xxgrinning--00xx3:.


Benign prostate enlargement is indeed especially common in older men, such that around 3 out of 4 men at your age have symptoms caused by pressure on the bladder and urethra ( the tube for urine ).


As its name implies, this is NOT prostatic cancer, the risk being no greater for men with an enlarged prostate than without such enlargement. No doubt you will have had a range of tests to confirm benign enlargement.


The symptoms may be mild and not require treatment, apart from " lifestyle changes " such as limiting caffeine and alcohol intake. If symptoms are more troublesome, then various medications may be prescribed ( as I understand you tried previously ) to relax the bladder muscle.


Surgery is only recommended when symptoms are more severe - usually, as in your case, transurethral resection ( removal across the wall of the urethra ).


Best wishes for your recovery and improved quality of life.

[mickcant]

Thank you all for your messages. :xxgrinning--00xx3:

As of the moment the inconstance is worse coupled with pain on weeing, but I was advised this would happen and reduce over the coming weeks, I am relived the operation went ahead. :olddude:

Mick.:smile:

[johncar54]

RE urine incontinence. It is possible to buy a device which gently clamps the penis and thus the urethra.

Having seen the device on line I manufactured one for a friend who needed a nappy all the time after his op. thus making it impossible for him to leave his house.



Difficult to describe in writing but here goes. I took two pieces of stiff plastic strip (salvaged from something) and cut them to about 2” long (variable with size of penis). I stuck a short length of Velcro on one end of each strip to form a hinge. I stuck one side of the Velcro on the other end one strip and then a longer piece of Velcro to the other 2" strip, leaving a flapping piece. Thus the two strips of plastic can be mounted across the penis to form a clamp, with the amount of pressure infinitely adjustable by using the Velcro, on the other end to the hinge. (The device was in the form of a an index finger and thumb clamping the penis).

With the second one I made I used a couple of pieces of sponge, cut from a washing up pad, to cushion the inside edges of the clamp.

The pressure required to stop the leak is very little.. Certainly not enough to affect blood supply.

Of course one would not leave the device in place for hours and hours but it made my friend’s life normal, he could go out without fear of leakage

Hope this is understandable and helps those with that problem.

[stevewool]

So Mick , one wee on , sorry I ment week on:biggrin:.
How are things, getting better i hope.