Joe’s Enlarged Prostate Story
“At work I wore a path in the carpet from my desk to the bathroom!”
Although Joe can laugh about it now, going to the bathroom up to 20 times a day while at work wasn’t funny. And waking five times a night to pee wasn’t funny either.
Having an enlarged prostate wasn’t that big of a surprise, seeing that his father, uncle, and grandfather suffered from the same issues. Through conversation with his primary care doctor, Joe learned he had an enlarged prostate, common as you age. In fact, his doctor had just undergone treatment for it. “He recommended I make an appointment with Dr. Palka to talk about the PAE procedure.”
Prostate artery embolization (PAE) is a minimally invasive procedure to treat an enlarged prostate, also called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). When the prostate enlarges, the tissue presses on the urethra, interrupting the natural flow of urine and causing frequent and sudden urges to urinate. The procedure requires no surgery, takes less than two hours, and has a very low rate of complication or side effects.
Joe’s brother was taking medication for BPH and complained of side effects, so Joe was looking for an alternative. “After meeting with Dr. Palka and knowing my primary care physician approved, I decided on PAE. I also did some homework, looking at research. It seemed a more natural way to recuperate and with no side effects.”
Joe readily admits that, during the first two days following PAE, he was uncomfortable. ‘There was blood in my urine for the first few weeks, which is normal with PAE.” But within a week Joe started to notice the benefits. “It happened that quickly! I went from waking up five times a night to just two. And my trips to the bathroom during the workday became much less frequent.” By the second month, Joe was waking just once a night, and now he enjoys eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. “At work, I’m not having to leave a meeting to go the bathroom, and I don’t have to plan ahead when I have a meeting coming up.”
To men considering PAE, Joe says, “I’d highly recommend it because it is a natural path to heal your issues without any side effects. You’ll keep your manhood. If you want to sleep through the night, this is the way to go.”
The IR Center at Michigan Institute of Urology is one of the busiest in the nation, performing hundreds of prostate artery embolization procedures for patients with enlarged prostates. Learn more about the PAE procedure and the physicians leading the IR Center of MIU.
