Anyone Self Cathing? I still am after over 10 years.

First, find a good catheter. If affordable or reimbursed by insurance, I'd go for a hydrophillic such as the Coloplast Speedicath. I started with size (FR) 14 and after some practice dropped to a thinner diameter FR12. I also found the Coude (curved) tip caused less irritation going around the prostate.

Second, study technique a little. I use the self-named "dive bomb" technique, where my hand never touches the catheter except at the funnel end. More on that in some of the earlier threads here. Also be gentle. Even more gentle that you think. It's not a race to see how fast you can get in and out 😃

You want to be as hygienic as possible. Beyond hand washing, I now use Dynarex Obsterical BZK wipes to clean the meatus prior to CIC.

You don't want more than 400ml of urine in your bladder at any one time. The more urine sitting around, the more likely a uti will incubate. For some that means cathing twice a day, for some it means six times a day. Better to cath more than less if you're not sure to keep bladder volume lower.

Lastly, luck 😃 Some here report almost no UTI's for years. Some have the occasional one. Others, like myself not so lucky, However I have what is termed a "bladder diverticulum" which is like a bladder attached to a bladder. Because of that I cannot empty both completely at once so urine will remain longer than if I didn't have it. And again, the longer urine remains in the bladder, the more apt it is to incubate bacteria which causes UTI's.

Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.

Jim

Thank you .

I just had removed a diverticulum , very big, 2 litres. It had obstructed every thing and thats why I couldn't pee. The urologist were obsessed with the TURP and I had to fight 4years not to have it done. Instead I wanted the diverticulum removed so finally I win. However the bladder is damaged and there is an obstruction at around the neck of bladder.

So now I selfcath 20 days now. I chosed Speedyflex, which it is all covered and you dont get to touch any parts of the catheter. I love your philosophy of keeping the ml down to 400. I was thinking same thing as I want try to soften my bladder .

Thank you

That's a big diverticulum. Mine is 400ml when completely full. What was the procedure and recovery like? Were you able to do any natural voids before it was removed? Forgetting about self cathing for the moment -- how did your void pattern change before and after the removal of the diverticulum? Are you able to do any natural voids now, or just self cathing?

Yes, keeping your bladder volume under 400ml will keep it from stretching and also make it easier for the detrussor muscles to empty it. Sometimes when my bladder is acting up, I will throw in extra caths to keep volume even closer to 200ml. I call it a bladder vacation lol because it gets a temporary rest.

Good luck with CIC. It's made a big difference in a lot of our lives and hopefully yours as well.

Jim

The diverticulum took over every space.

It moved the bladder and prostate out of place and sat on any tube that allowed wee out. That was an obstruction to start with, that lead to the diverticulum and bladder to enlarge. However I used to void by squeezing the bladder with my hands. I didn't like that as It was a horrific strugle. I always thought self cath was a more civilised way to pee:). The urologist thought though that the prostate has grown completely shut and thats why They wanted me to have a TURP. I argued the matter to the Hospital complains board, saying that the diverticulum has grown so much that I wanted removal so the bladder could relax. They waited too long and so bladder is more damaged then it should had been if the docs listened to me few years ago when I asked for removal when diverticulum was 1.2 Lt about.

Finally I was put on emergency list for removal and last 20thOct I had a robotic removal.The recovery was better then what I hoped for.

Now I can void when it is full and then the flow will stop. I don't want to force push the bladder and from there I cath. However Im trying not to get to full stretch I also always wanted to cath so that I wouldn't force bladder . So I must try the complete bladder Vacation 😃 Now I had found solstice in self catheterisation and training to empty + mental blockage to use self cath out and about into public places as I really need to go back to work.

The diverticulum had grown so much that looked like a pregnant lady belly.

So it became impossible to work. I couldn't even hold my pants up. So I had to leave fulltime employment whilst determined to fight for my right to refuse TURP and have diverticulum removed instead.

Waiting next appointment to see what else they can do; the last time I had a cystoscopy, the narrowing is near the bladder neck and was told of a possible Bladder neck incision.

I still am hoping to , in the future to void more naturally, so I need to enlarge the narrowing in the Bladder neck. I would be very happy if I can do around 400 ml naturally. We'll see.

My prostate is not enlarged and TURP would had been devastating. Unnecessarily suffering.

Kind regards,

Emanuel

If you do decide to do a bladder neck incision (TUIP) understand that you may end up with retro ejaculation. For some not a big deal, for others a big deal. However here's a link to a TUIP that does spare retro to some extent.

https://karger.com/uin/article-abstract/103/1/102/305650/Ejaculation-Sparing-Bladder-Neck-Incision-with?redirectedFrom=fulltext

The other thing is that prior to any prostate procedure, you should have urodynamic testing done to make sure that the procedure has a good chance of working. What you don't want to hear from the uro is "The TUIP was a success, but unfortunately in your case you won't be able to do natural voids. Urodynamic testing prior can prevent that conversation.

Jim

Thank you very much. You are well informed 😃

That is exactly the conversation I dont want. Now I want to master the art of self cath . Mean while I'll hear what the uro says in my next appointment in the new year.

regard,

Emanuel

Hello

I have also been doing self cath for going on 2 years now. Never had a UTI thankfully and I find it easy to do. I use hydrophyllic coated 12fr and can fold them and put in my pocket so they are convenient. If you have any questions feel free to reach out.

Regards

How often do you self cath? I am self-cathing twice a day for over 2 years. Actually works very well for me. No UTI's.

I do it as much as I need really. Sometimes 5 or 6 times. I would say average of 4-7 times depending on what/how much I drink. Also, no UTI's.