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Local urethral anesthesia before cystoscopy
In my first cystoscopy the medical assistant (nurse?) that injected the anesthetic gel was rude and apparently damaged the tip of my urethra. As a result of this I was for more than 3 weeks having pain on urination. Anybody else have similar experience? I had more cystos after and the gel was injected slowly without problems.
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6 Replies
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After a few painful cystos I told the nurse that the lidocaine didn’t seem to do much for me. She said she would give me a double dose and it was less painful with fewer after effects. Maybe it was just a placebo effect.
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Thanks! I’m a male with mild BPH. I’ve requested Lidocaine for an upcoming cysto (I’m 5 weeks post induction course of 6 BCG’s), and I’m assuming they’ll have some for me.
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After 20+ of these, I remind myself that this is 5 minutes of my life and if this is the worst part of this….so be it. For me, the worst was the irritation with my first void. After that, it was over. I do not even remember if my URO added lidocaine to the gel, it didn’t make any difference.
DX 5/6/2008 TAG3 papillary tumor .5 CM in size. 2 TURBS followed by 6 instillations of BCG weekly with a second round of 6 after a 6 week wait.
The answer is “it all depends.” That helps, doesn’t it?
Seriously, cystoscopy is very different for males than for females. For most women it is almost completely painless, just like a vaginal exam (which for me is worse.) Males, however, have a prostate gland that can interfer with a smooth insertion and this may, depending on the state of the prostate, be quite painful.
Each patient needs to discuss this with his/her urologist to determine what is best for that particular patient.
Sara Anne
Diagnosis 2-08 Small papillary TCC; CIS
BCG; BCG maintenance
Vice-President, American Bladder Cancer Society
Forum Moderator
I was told by my urologist and his assistant that local anesthesia (Lidocaine) is not necessary for a cystoscopy, just plenty of gel. I found 1 article in the medical literature that supports this. However, when I had a cystoscopy about 10 years ago with Lidocaine, it was more tolerable. Does anyone have any comments?
My first BCG experience with a neophyte led to an E. Coli infection (two nights in the ER and 14 days of daily antibiotics by IV) before treatment continued.
I found a PA with a heart who administered the balance of the treatments, layered me with betadine, gel, Valium and I regularly provided her a gift card to show my appreciation to make sure she stayed with me for each treatment. An Angel! Having a single provider, consistently applying treatment was the BEST money I ever spent.
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