Natural Void

hi arlington

how long are you doing cic ?

aisling

5 years this July

Hi arlington, You say doing CIC 5 years.Did you have chronic urine retention,or do you have some NV> PS this message to me . I'm still doing CIC i have chronic urine retention>

thanks,

frank

Yes. I went in to full retention after being prescribed antihistamines for hives. The antihistamines should not be taken by someone w/ BPH.

arlington, It is my understanding if you do CIC taken antihistamines should not be a problem. This could stop you from urinating ,but CIC takes care of that?

frank,

Arlington,

"Yes. I went in to full retention after being prescribed antihistamines for hives."

Did you ever get out of the full retention after this incident ? Were you already having chronic retention before this ?

Agreed. I meant if you are still voiding naturally.

However, I'm currently experiencing a s****y situation where my catheter is not passing through. I thought (and my uro agreed) that since I'm cathing, I could get off the alpha-blocker. So I discontinued it a few months ago and now the cathing has become much harder (takes up to an hour where it was 3 minutes before; and sometimes it takes 3 or 4 catheters before I can get one to pass). I've had to switch to a different type and it's an ordeal. I'm going to start back on the Rapaflo tonight and see if it helps. Could be a false passage; the space has definitely gotten smaller). I may need to go get another cytoscopy.

I've said all that to say that sometimes we nedd to take the same measures we take when peeing naturally even though we are catheterizing. I was lulled in to a feeling that I could always catheterize so I can quit the drug. I also think I'm going to have to cut back on liquid volume and caffeine (even though I only have about 120mg daily) to see if that helps.

No and no.

Hi,Arlington,

Some types of hydrophilic pre-lubricated catheter can get "sticky" just a few minutes after the coating has been activated. For obvious reasons the "small print" does not tell us this (bad for business). I am offering this just as a possible underlying cause of your difficulties.

My background is engineering, not medical. Logical reasons that come to mind: how far in does your catheter go? Does it get to either sphincter (external or bladder)? Could it be a stricture that closes up on you? Other than these random thoughts I cannot think of anything else. But obviously you seem to have a serious problem here! I hope you find a solution!!! Warm regards, alan86734.

Alpha blockers definitely help cathing. Let's hope it helps you enough this time. What brand of catheter are you using ?

Thanks a lot, Alan. It seems to get stuck at the external sphincter (about 5-6 inches in). The Uro thinks it's more likely a false passage than a stricture. If the Rapaflo doesn't work he's going to do a cytoscopy and I'll probably need to wear a Foley indwelling catheter for a time to hopefully settle things down. In the short term this is what I'm trying to avoid as it may interfere with a vacation abroad (although that is obviously a secondary priority!). I appreciate your comments.

Thanks Hank. I've tried several.

By far my favorite is the speedicath male compact - but this is the one that I have not been able to pass through in the past 2 weeks. Although the first 6 inches of it are only 12"Fr size, it is a bit more rigid and not coude tip. It is very discreet. It looks like a magic marker or a thick pen.

So I've had to revert to the Bard Magic3 which is 14"Fr coude. It is much less convenient but after much effort and sometimes several wasted catheters, I've been able to pass it through without having to go to the ER.

My Uro gave me some samples last week of a new one which is very good and went in the first 4 times I used it - but not the next 3. It's speedicath flex pro, 12"Fr and is very flexible - with a coude tip. The times it didn't work may have been because it is too flexible and couldn't push through. That's probably good in terms of avoiding the creation of a false passage. I'm going to pick up some more samples of that one today. In terms of discretion when away from home, this one is in between the other 2.

Don't use the regular Coloplast Speedicath. The one with the green package. It is very stiff and is known to cause injuries and false passages on this forum, myself included, I think.

Coloplast makes two versions of the non lubricated plastic catheter. One is softer and more flexible than the other. Both come in a green package, but have different model numbers. I like the soft version.

Hmmm, so confusing! Is the soft one also called Speedicath ? How can you tell them apart ?

Everyone is different but if the catheter is stuck at 5, 6 inches in, you might have problem at the bend or external sphincter. I had so much problems like that before when I was using the stiff Speedicath. Now I don't have that problem anymore after switching to softer, more bendable catheters.

I believe it is. the soft version says soft in the name, and I believe that the model or reference number begins with 1. I think the stiffer version starts with 4. Check their website.

Agreed. I've never used that one because it's too stiff to be that big and not lubricated.

thanks Hank

the softest one i've used is the speedicath pro flex coude

the best one i've used is the speedicath compact male (it's hydrophillic and only 12"Fr but it's stiffer and not coude)