Hello,
I'm new here (age 53, male) with a couple of questions about cystoscopies. I've had two so far--both rigid. The first was many years ago with only lidocaine and the second was under a general anesthetic where bladder biopsies were performed and small bladder stones were removed. Recovery from each of these procedures was difficult--especially the second time round It was very hard to start urinating again, and when I eventually did (more than 12 hours after the second procedure) it was very painful. After the second cystoscopy, the pain lasted for a full month.
I now need to do this a third time (for larger bladder stones), and I'm very concerned about post-procedure recovery--how to start peeing again on my own before my bladder fills and how to manage pain. Based on the last time, my urologist says that I have an unusually difficult response to the procedure.
To ensure that urine doesn't back up, he said he could leave in a catheter (while under the general) if I wanted, but given how irritated everything will be, I'm not sure that's a good idea. I know that anesthesia can cause urine retention as well. Is there anything that can be done aside from the catheter? As for managing pain, last time I was given Vicodin, and it made me very, very nauseous. This time he thought I might try Tramadol but had some concern about its blood thinning effects. He wondered whether performing the biopsies was what caused the pain to last for so long.
I know people here have a lot of experience with cystoscopies, and I'm wondering if anyone can offer advice on how to best deal with the post-procedure complications I've described.
Thank you.
rhz