New To Catheterization & Have Concerns
Posted , 18 users are following.
I am considering having a TURP but want to try self catheterizing to see if I can postpone or avoid the TURP. I would appreciate any information as to what to expect, avoid and employ (size, shape, and brand of catheters) as well as any suggestions as to method of insertion (things to do and things to avoid doing).
I am scheduled to have my urologists nursing assistant show me how to insert a catheter in a week or so and would like to go into that session as informed as possible. I would greatly appreciate anyone who has had or is having catheter experience to share any words of wisdom with me.
Worried in Colorado
0 likes, 45 replies
tom86211 barry3313
Posted
I have done both CIC with a regular tip and coude. The regular tip was much easier. The coude was painful. Earlier this year I was scheduled for a bipolar TURP and was hoping to avoid it by doing CIC. I tried, but failed. Too painful. This is easy for some and difficult for others. My urethral lining is very sensitive. My TURP operation was very easy, no pain, and I went home the same day after 4.5 hours, but had to wear a Foley catheter for 3 days after. Had I stayed overnight in the hospital I might have not needed the Foley. My recovery was fast and easy. I am glad I had the TURP. I continue to improve with less frequency/urgency and now my sleep is improving, Retro was not an issue for me.
Supertractorman barry3313
Posted
My only comment is that as you age your Prostate can still grow, and I got to the stage where I could not get the catheter past the Prostate so had a TURP and in 12 months it had grown back and I was self cathing again until that would not work, and they wanted to do it again, but I refused and had it removed as there was Cancer there as well.
tom86211 Supertractorman
Posted
I assume you had a robotic prostatectomy (RRP). Did you have incontinence after the operation and if so how long did that last?
Supertractorman tom86211
Posted
Tom, Yes it was a robotic da Vinci procedure which went well, and I did my exercises and got my normal bladder control back in about 4 months and healed very quickly. I still have stress incontinence and am awaiting the procedure to control that. Just wish now I had never had the TURP and had the Prostate out then, as the TURP causes the problems I have now due to the extra stitching which has to be done. I would add I had 5 years of Active Surveillance as the Cancer was not critical but turned out to be larger than expected when they did examinations of it on its removal.
David
tom86211 Supertractorman
Posted
Five years ago I decided to have radiation for my prostate cancer rather than the robotic removal. Now, in retrospect, I should have had the removal. Since my prostate was still in place and blocking my flow, I have had five years of BPH torment. Yes, some men don't completely regain continence after a RRP. No way of knowing if that would have happened to me. I went on active surveillance for a year and a half but was constantly concerned that the cancer was growing and might spread, so after my second biopsy that showed "progression" I decided to have the cancer treated. Anyway, good to hear your operation went well.
Supertractorman tom86211
Posted
Tom, Unfortunately when on Active Surveillance you always worry about something unfortunate happening in relation to your Cancer. Even now I am having pains in my hip, leg and shoulder and you think have I got Cancer now in my bones, did something get out before my Prostate was removed.
David
tom86211 Supertractorman
Posted
I had the same experience on AS (lasted a year and a half). Was always concerned that the cancer was growing and might spread. So, after my second biopsy decided to have the radiation. After that was over my anxiety level dropped and I now understand that, at least for me, not being treated was very difficult psychologically. On AS I was always reading and researching about prostate cancer - seemed to take over my life. But after treatment that all calmed down.
lester90053 barry3313
Posted
When will there be preventive research so that procedures and catheters will be a thing of the past?
pluff_mud barry3313
Edited
You have received advice from several experienced members who follow a CIC routine. As you can see everyone has a little different experience. Everyone's plumbing is different. A few follow up comments:
In the USA, catheters are sold as single use items. I do not recommend reusing them, except in an emergency. It just invites infection.
The only two times that I have been injured and had bleeding was the first couple of times that I tried inserting coude tip catheters. I have successfully inserted them subsequently, as I gained more experience and confidence. However, if you don't need them to get around obstructions, why use them. They must be inserted in a certain way, and that just adds to the complexity.
I don't know what the advantage is for using small diameter catheters. I use size 18FR and 16FR. My uro told me the larger the catheter, the larger the lumen size (inside diameter), which empties the bladder faster.
Try different brands and lubricants until you find the ones that work best for you. There are many options out there. Plastic catheters vary greatly in stiffness, which can make a difference in ease of insertion and chance of injury. Even, hydrophilic catheters vary in the degree of slickness.
Best of luck.
jimjames pluff_mud
Posted
Just a note on reusing catheters. I am fortunate because of insurance that I don't have to, but some here have to pay for each catheter. Some of the hydrophillics can be three or four dollars each, so at 180 a month things can add up. Compare that to rotating three or four red rubber catheters a month! If you follow proper disinfecting protocols you should be fine. People have been and still are using disposable catheters for years. Of course the catheter companies would like you to throw them away after a single use, more profit lol This pertains to non-hydrophillic catheters using external lube. Hydrophillic catheters are single use, at least their coating is.
Jim
barry3313 jimjames
Edited
I want to thank everyone that has jumped in to provide me with the information and comfort that has followed my request for support. I am more appreciative than I can express for the kindness, time and valuable information and suggestions you all have given to me.
This community is an invaluable asset to me and I am sure I will lean on it and learn from it as my personal journey progresses.
Heartfelt Thanks and best wishes to all of you.
Barry
jimjames barry3313
Posted
Barry,
That is what we are here for. To crystallize my thoughts, self cathing may or may not be the answer to you situation, either temporarily or even permanently. That said, you might owe it to yourself to find out because there is little downside compared to a surgery which can cause permanent issues. If CIC doesn't work out, you can always take the surgical step.
As to all the other stuff and debates here on who makes the best catheter, etc, don't dwell on it, because that's not the main issue now.
But if you decide to go ahead with CIC, it really comes down to which catheter works best for YOU. That is the best. Try a red rubber, try a coude and a straight, try Speedicath, try Cure Cath. It doesn't matter which one you use as long as it works for you. I tried more than a dozen before I found what works best for me.
Jim
pluff_mud jimjames
Posted
I don't think the FDA is concerned about manufacturers' profits. They are labeled in the USA as single use for the reason that there is a greater risk of infection if reused. For that reason, I don't recommend reuse, regardless of disinfection protocols.
barry3313 jimjames
Posted
Jim,
My thoughts exactly!
I have always felt that surgery of any nature should be the last stop and that all other options are off the table. I got caught up in "Doctor Land" and was too quick to agree to a TURP before exploring my other options.
This Community has made that opinion all the more valid and real. I feel like a need to try CIC to understand if whatever trouble or downside there is to it is worth the effort before rolling over and letting Western Medicine "have its way with me".
I am especially encouraged by some to the posts that confirm that voiding the bladder on a regular basis can promote its becoming stronger and moving back toward (if not all the way) normal.
Thank you again for your time, care and sharing knowledge with me.
Best Regards,
Barry
jimjames barry3313
Posted
Barry,
Sounds like a plan. But again, give it at least three or four weeks before making a final decision. If you're like many here, you will take to CIC right away. If you're like a few of this, and I include myself here, you may have a rough patch in the beginning. I can't speak for the others, but for me, things got easier and easier and within a few months, as easy and painless as brushing my teeth. I went from thinking "my life is over if I have to do this six times a day for the rest of my life" to place now where CIC is a total non issue in my life.
Jim
derek76 barry3313
Posted
A few hours out of your life for GL or HoLep and peeing like a racehorse on Lasix as they say.
Which conditions would you need to have to be willing submit to Western Medicine.
People in third world countries are dying of relatively simple conditions due to lack of medical facilities and poverty.
tom86211 derek76
Posted
Derek,
Sometimes I try to imagine what men went through before modern medicine. I went through total retention once and the pain was off the scale. My wife rushed me to the ER and the nurse put me on pain meds, then inserted my first Foley and drained off 1300cc. All pain went away. But, in the "good old days" no Foleys, no ER, just, what, whiskey? You are right when you say "a few hours out of your life for GL or HoLEP" and I would add the newer TURP procedures. Now, imagine what this will be like in 50-100 years.
Tom
derek76 tom86211
Posted
In Victorian England gentlemen kept their rubber tubes coiled up inside heir top hats. From then their life expectancy was fairy short before they succumbed to infection.
In 50 years some Uro's will probably still be offering the original TURP that I refused in 1994.
jimjames tom86211
Posted
Malleable Catheters were fashion out of Silver In the 11th century and there is evidence of catheters being used as early as 3000 BC. When you gotta go you just Gotta go and even early Man knew that.
Jim
hank1953 derek76
Posted
" A few hours out of your life for GL or HoLep and peeing like a racehorse on Lasix as they say. "
I totally agree with you now while out of ignorance I didn't agree with you 3 years ago. I even blasted at you because I was so high on CIC those days. Very sorry ! 😠Especially if one has a large prostate. However, it's only hoLEP for me because of its long lasting. Research data indicated hoLEP can last 20 years easily. Let say an everage person does 4 catheters a day. It's 1,400 a year and 28,000 in 20 years. It's a lot of catheters.