Ive had my urethroplasty surgery 5 days ago and now I’m really struggling to go for a poo as it’s very uncomfortable on the toilet and feels like the surgery area is going to rip open. Not been eating much as I’m very blocked up with all the pain meds and antibiotics. Any advice would help.
I'm not sure if this is the place for this, but I'm a fairly healthy 22 year old male, not sexually active, no injuries, no issues at all aside from gastric and anxiety. Over the last month, I've been experiencing some issues with peeing, slow to start, weak flow, soreness in the back and groin. Now granted, as I said, I have anxiety and this happened to start days after an issue. Now I've dealt with this on and off with some relief at times and others not so much. My biggest fear is that I have a stricture or blockage, as symptoms tend to overlap but it just doesn't line up cause I essentially have no reason to have that. Could this just be muscle tension brought on by my anxiety that has now worsened from me straining and excessively urinating?
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for some guidance from people who have gone through a similar experience.
I'm currently 10 days post-meatoplasty for a meatal stricture. After my catheter was removed, my urine flow was very good for the first 3–4 days, but since then it has gradually become weaker. Now I have to strain quite a lot to urinate, and I often feel like I don't empty my bladder completely.
My urologist (from a well-known hospital) examined me and said the incision is healing normally, even though the cut extends about halfway down the tip of my penis. He has advised me to do self-dilation with Lox jelly 2–3 times a week and to get a uroflowmetry and post-void residual (PVR) test in 2 weeks. He is optimistic that the dilation will improve things.
He also told me that my bladder may be stretched because I had the stricture for a long time, which could be contributing to my symptoms.
For some background, I previously had an OIU for the same meatal stricture, but it didn't provide much improvement, which is why I eventually had the meatoplasty.
I'm feeling anxious because the weak stream has returned so soon after surgery. Has anyone experienced something similar? Did your urine flow improve over the following weeks with healing and dilation, or did you need further treatment?
My urologist also performed a cystoscopy and told me that the rest of my urethra is normal. According to him, only the meatal narrowing was causing the obstruction.
I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you.
How long did you wait before drinking alcohol again? Is there any benefit to delaying this?
Thanks
Who else has a literal 24/7 urge to urinate with their stricture?
It’s not a UTI - I’ve had this 24/7 for years on end.
My partner was given a foley that he has to walk around holding. He wasn’t sent home with anything to strap it to his leg. Is this a red flag? Trying to trust his team but, he finally removed his bandages and found they cut him at the tip when he had surgery to place the catheter. It’s not a big cut, but he wasn’t told they had to slice into him, and I’m starting to have doubts he’s receiving proper care.
Thanks to everyone who answered my previous questions- your input was taken to heart and is much appreciated.
Been dealing with a stricture all of my life, I have also always been more of a 'dribbler' than a 'shooter' and at times not getting much out at all.
My question is, if anyone else has been in the same boat and if so did you still dribble after urethraplasty or were you able to shoot eventually?
Quick summary: I want to hit something really hard, and I'm angry about how my life is going and how little control I have, which is driving me mad.
I was born with hypospadias and had many surgeries when I was a child. Everything was fine for 11 years, and then suddenly, at the age of 17, I couldn't urinate. I'm 25 now, and this fucking shit has never gone away.
Dilation after dilation, catheter after fucking catheter—it almost always instantly closes up again, leaving me with a tight, narrow stream, and sometimes just a dribble after the operations. I always dealt with it, but the last three months have been completely out of control.
In March, I got pneumonia and urinary retention at the same time. The pneumonia was likely caused by breathing in harmful fumes while working with CNC machines. Since then, I've lost my job funnily enough i left a good job where i did Computer aided design and mechanical assembly and left that great job for a shit company, had two urinary tract infections, lost a lot of money because I haven't been able to work, lost a lot of muscle because I haven't been able to go to the gym or work, erections are painful as hell, and I've had blood in both my semen and urine.
I can't get the treatment I need because the NHS fucking sucks.
I'm at my breaking point. My life sucks. I could go on and rant forever.
Up until about a year ago, I was super fit and muscular. I was the man. I've been dealing with urinary retention and all this other shit for years, but now it's worse than ever. I'm a driven, hardworking guy who's been passionate about work and has had some sort of job since I was 13. I want to succeed and finally buy my freedom from this modern slavery system, but right now I just want my health back.
Clearly, the NHS won't fix me endless waiting cancelled appointments, so I guess I'm asking if anyone knows of any alternative routes to getting a urethroplasty. Who would you recommend in the private/paid healthcare sector? As I’m not going to wait years to get the treatment I desperately need
I just feel so alone in all of this. It hurts me to say this and sound so weak, as I've always been the tough guy with bulletproof armour, but cant lie, I'm afraid I just want to be normal again, go back to MMA, get a dirt bike, just be a lad
Thanks. I'm going to punch something now.
I’m 29M and have lichen sclerosis/BXO since I was a kid.
I’ve have two strictures, one since I was a teen on my tip which is classic BXO apparently, but not insanely bad and a urethrotomy kept it fine.
The other is at the bulbar area, this came about 5 years ago and is really slowed my flow to the point I had mild kidney swelling.
After two dilations, I have been doing intermittent self-catheterization everyday for 5 years, and it works really well. It’s not flawless as it may aggravate the tissue, but it bought me time with minimal symptoms minus a flare up once a year or so.
I haven’t seen my urologist for 4 years now, and I’ve been removed from his patient list. He has always recommend I consider a urethroplasty as I’m young but would need to refer me to a reconstructive urologist. He introduced me to self-cathing to see how I take to it (fine mostly!).
I’ve looked into urethroplasties but I’m not sure if it’s what I want. If I didn’t have LS, I’d get it done as the success rate seems excellent.
But I know this is a lifelong thing that won’t truly go away. I don’t think I can justify going through it to then have it fail or simply reappear later elsewhere. I’d also have to spend time wearing SPC for at least month before and then the foley after, and have the gym graft.
I’m considering a perineal urethostomy, which is the closest to getting it resolved permanently.
I realize it’s not appealing to most young men my age. I already sit to pee and that doesn’t bother me. I’m also gay, so having kids naturally isn’t an option anyway. Ejaculating might be a little embarrassing in my taint area, but the urethoplasty and likely follow ups could also mess the area up. I know peeing in the perineum area can come with infection risks, but I figure women already deal with a similar setup.
I’m wondering about asking a urologist if they’d consider it over a urethroplasty. Am I missing something? Has anyone considered/done it?
This past Tuesday my boyfriend (35 years old) was hospitalized with acute urinary retention due to a stricture from a bike injury. They could not get a catheter in, so the next day he had surgery to have one placed. (Edit: they gave him a Foley, not suprapubic) He is supposed to have the catheter for 2 weeks, and will require reconstruction or something. He hasn’t had much opportunity to discuss things with the urologist, and he’s overwhelmed as an athlete who now can barely move around, so I’m trying to bridge our information gap. He’s home now, in a ton of pain, scared to unwrap and he doesn’t seem to have been informed on what exactly they had to do to place the catheter. We live in a rural area where a good urologist might be hard to come by, and I’m not convinced the urologist who placed the catheter is the one who should do the next surgery. Figuring out the costs is a whole other thing. I really want to do what I can to make sure he has as few complications from this as possible. I’m grateful for ANY tips, things to consider, or questions we should be asking doctors. Thank you!!
So I had a first time urethral stricture 2cm bulbar with low fibrosis
I had my optilume dilation 2 months ago and I have been fine for the most part
But today I just went to urine my stream was strong but it was spraying as it was going into the toilet and towards the end of my urination the stream split into two
This has got me worried could this be a possible recurrence?
Mainly when I pee it be one stream but u do get the odd urination when it splits at the end or sprays, but this time the flow was strong and it was spraying a fair bit towards the bottom of the stream
Any help will be appreciated I’m really worried rn 😭
I 26F have been experiencing extreme bladder problems. It was hard for me to find proper care but I finally got with a urologist who has given me a cystoscopy today and let me know there was extreme irritation and some blood they told my mom (she took me to the procedure) that is 100% IC although I don’t go see him again until the 13th of July. I have only been drinking water for months as pop caffeine even juice anything that’s not water hurts me very badly. I’ve been doing pelvic floor exercises at home to try to stretch and relax those muscles in my body. I am scared that this is also other things such as IBS or endometriosis or even something else as I am also just always tired and having other symptoms. I am scared and I feel like my whole life and how I eat has to change. Knowing this last forever instead of being able to fix it really has me down. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do ?
Who should I go to for the best chance at a one and done procedure? Preferably in the UK please but I am open to the US too.
How many of you guys have had strictures in the shaft & whats your procedures that youve had & results? Was reading that optilume can be more dangerous in the shaft
I was just wondering because I want to get a job sometime next year and I don’t know when I will have surgery.
Ive had PE from hypersensitivity & stinging sensation during urination, pain after ejaculation for quite some time. Issue began years ago after there was blood in urine after rough sex. Urologist wants to do a cystoscope instead of beginning with contrast imaging. Has anyone had similar symptoms with stricture or could this be something else? Thanks guys this is my first day finding this forum
I’m honestly at a breaking point and could really use some advice from anyone who has dealt with complex urological/reconstructive issues before.
Over the past several years I’ve had multiple procedures and ongoing complications, including:
- Scrotoplasty for scrotal webbing that went poorly. It seems like not enough tissue was removed, and I was left with painful/awkward lumps at both ends of the scar that may be related to overly tight sutures
- Intermittent testicular torsion that has sent me to the ER multiple times
- A recurrent urethral stricture
For the stricture, I’ve already had:
- Multiple urethrotomies
- Bulbar urethroplasty
- Optilume dilation
Unfortunately, at this point nothing has provided meaningful long-term relief.
I’ve also had several really negative experiences with urologists, and I feel completely defeated and hopeless. I genuinely don’t know what direction to go anymore.
I’m trying to figure out whether I should:
- Start over yet again with another urologist
- Look specifically for a reconstructive urologist
- Talk directly to a plastic surgeon/reconstructive specialist for the scarring and scrotoplasty issues
- Or pursue some completely different approach
If anyone has experience with similar issues, advice on navigating complex reconstructive/urologic care, or recommendations for specialists (especially around Phoenix, Arizona), I would be incredibly grateful.
Even general guidance or hearing from people who’ve dealt with difficult cases would mean a lot right now.
Hi, I'm 18 and in August 2023 i had a bike crash which broke my pelvis and in turn caused scar tissue to develop in my urethra. I had a surgery in October that year, I can't remember if it was a dilation or a urethrotomy but it was one of the two. I haven't had many problems since besides diminished flow and rarely slight pain, but lately as I go to pee I notice that as I stand up ( i sit down because its comfier) i keep peeing and end up peeing like a cup in my pants almost consistently. When I pee standing up, the issue isn't as bad but i can still feel it getting stuck. This never happened before. Is it going to regenerate and if so do i have to get more surgery?
Had catheter trauma about 6 months ago and now have a weaker stream dribbling and more frequent urination. Life is not going to be smooth for me now. I'm into bodybuilding and mixed martial arts you see. Having the thought of having to take months out potentially years out of training and could be years from repeated procedures I don't want to live to battle through it. I really feel for the people that have strictures, having the constant thought of has the stricture recurred is such a mental battle and torture. I'm going to find out very soon whether I have this terrible disease. Is 6 months enough time to conclude whether there is a stricture or not? Or should I wait even longer?
Help! I’ve had what I think is a small cyst on my urethra for a few years now. I’ve tried consulting doctors but they quote me a couple hundred dollars just to look and potentially $1600 to get it drained. It’s super small but when I touch it with my finger it feels like I’m pricking it with a needle. It doesn’t hurt to pee or anything but it does get irritated. Has anyone had this before?