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.

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.